Member Avatar for NickH

Ok, I built my own PC and it has been a rock for two years. I've since lost my copy of Windows XP, can't seem to find it.

I'm getting the HAL.DLL file is missing or corrupt error. I saw one of the threads on here regarding it, but none of the solutions work for me.

Part of the problem is that my hard drive is not IDE, but Smart (stupid) ATA. I never thought this would be a problem, but I don't know anyone who has a computer with an ATA power cable. So making my drive a slave is out.

I have a boot disk that my friend in IT made for me, including a fresh HAL.DLL file from his service pack 2. I can boot to DOS, but once there I can't seem to copy my new HAL.DLL file to my c:\winnt\system32 directory. It keeps saying invalid drive. Is there something about the DOS copy command I don't know?

I also tried editing my boot.ini file from the c: root, but it says insufficient memory. Any suggestions?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by rgpettit

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Short diagnosis and why the copy failed: the boot disk you used looks like a DOS-based environment that does not see or write NTFS volumes, so the C: path reported as “invalid” even though the drive is fine. The infamous “<Windowsroot>\system32\hal.dll is missing or corrupt” message is often a symptom — XP can’t find the file because the filesystem or boot configuration is damaged, or because the wrong HAL variant is installed, not because hal.dll was magically erased. (mirrors.arcadecontrols.com)

What to try first (when you have an XP install CD): boot the CD, press R to open the Recovery Console, run a thorough disk check, then restore the HAL from the install media using the Recovery Console expand utility. Example commands you would run from Recovery Console (substitute the CD drive letter if it is not D: and the Windows folder if yours is WINNT instead of WINDOWS):

chkdsk C: /r
expand D:\i386\hal.dl_ C:\Windows\System32\hal.dll

Recovery Console is limited (you must log on as Administrator, drive letters can shift, and the systemroot path must be correct). If expand reports “unable to create file” or the wrong HAL gets installed, stop and re-check the boot configuration instead of forcing more changes. See Microsoft’s Recovery Console guidance. (Recovery Console doc). (support.microsoft.com)

If you do not have an XP CD: either attach the drive to another Windows machine (as suggested) and copy the matching HAL from that system’s ServicePackFiles\i386, or use a WinPE/BartPE/ERD or a Linux live USB that can mount NTFS and copy files off the disk. Linux Live media and modern PE environments let you back up your data before attempting fixes. Remember: the XP CD contains several compressed HAL variants; copying the wrong one can still leave the machine unbootable. (mirrors.arcadecontrols.com)

Quick checklist: (1) back up documents with a Live CD; (2) run chkdsk /r from Recovery Console; (3) verify boot.ini and run bootcfg /rebuild if the loader points to the wrong folder; (4) restore the correct HAL only after the disk/boot entries are correct; (5) if repairs fail, salvage data and do a repair install. For a compact walkthrough of these options see a current XP troubleshooting summary. (lifewire.com)

Notes tied to this thread: — your “invalid directory” matches the DOS/NTFS mismatch; — plain DOS cannot natively write NTFS (so that comment needs the nuance above); — “access denied” when using a non-Recovery environment usually means the tool cannot reach that folder.

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Member Avatar for NickH

To copy the file, I went to my cd drive (f), and then from there typed
f:\>copy hal.dll c:\winnt\system32

thats when I got the error 'invalid directory specified', 0 files copied. Why can't I copy?

Member Avatar for NickH

Noone can help? My computer is still not booting...

Member Avatar for rasputinj

To copy the file, I went to my cd drive (f), and then from there typed
f:\>copy hal.dll c:\winnt\system32

thats when I got the error 'invalid directory specified', 0 files copied. Why can't I copy?

If you are at a command prompt, I do not believe you can copy files to a NFTS Partition, if I am wrong, someone please inform me. Are you in the repair utility when you are doing this? I believe you will need to be?

Member Avatar for NickH

No, I'm just in the cmd prompt from a boot cd. I don't have a copy of Windows to enter the repair utility. Do I need one?

Member Avatar for rasputinj

try to use NTFS for doxs

Member Avatar for bjs188

ok, i read a million threads on this hal.dll thing.
I used my xp disk (XP SP1), got to recovery. I can expand/copy from the disk to c: but not into c:windows. it says access denied. I can't figure out how to unlock it? any thoughts. I don't want to reformat the drive and reinstall the OS because I don't want to lose everything in my docs (pictures, work stuff, etc). Please help and I'll name my next kid after you.

Member Avatar for Member #127113

No, I'm just in the cmd prompt from a boot cd. I don't have a copy of Windows to enter the repair utility. Do I need one?

Hardware Abstraction Layer (hal.dll) will be needed to start windows you need to restore from your friends or relatives PC, because you doesn't have windows CD.
Take out your harddisk and make it slave (check jumper settings) then put into your friends PC and then copy the hal.dll file from it to your hardisk (where hal.dll is located).
Remove and restore the jumper settings to Master then start your PC.

Member Avatar for rgpettit

Hi Nick,
I am having the old HAL.DLL problem too.
I am now going thru all the forums to see what I can find. Did anyone reply to you?

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