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Restore to Dell Laptop fails RRS feed

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    Hi.

    I have a Dell Inspiron 5150 Laptop. The hard drive died in it and I replaced it.

    I've tried to restore from WHS and after the restore I get the message:

    "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
    <Windows root>\system32\hal.dll.
    Please re-install a copy of the above file."

    I've tried booting the laptop with Linux and replacing the above file with a copy from the WHS console file restore function with no success. I have also tried restoring from the WHS backup a 2nd time with the same results.

    What do I do now short of a complete reinstall of the O.S. from Dell CDs?

    I have restored another Dell laptop and a desktop machine with success.

    Thanks

    gib
    Wednesday, September 17, 2008 11:11 AM

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    Which operating system - Vista or Windows XP?
    Usually the system drive in Dell laptops has a hidden partition, which is not part of the backup and therefore also not restored.
    If you have a Vista DVD, you can boot from it and try to run the Startup repair in case the installed OS is Vista.
    If it is Windows XP, you can try the following (also booting with a Vista DVD and using the system repair options or a BartPE CD).
    Open the command prompt.
    Enter following commands (each ending with Enter key):
    c:
    attrib -r -s -h c:\boot.ini
    notepad boot.ini

    (What you now see, you get also shown, if you use the Check boot.ini button on the WHS restore CD after restore is finished (you should download the latest restore CD for this to function properly).)

    You will now see something like
    [boot loader]
    timeout=30
    default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
    [operating systems]
    multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Window XP Professional" /noexecute=optout /fastdetect

    Because one partition is gone change the (2) in both lines to (1).
    Save the file, close notepad and change the attributes back by

    attrib +r +s +h c:\boot.ini
    exit

    Reboot the system and check, if it comes up now.
    Best greetings from Germany
    Olaf
    • Proposed as answer by brubberModerator Wednesday, September 17, 2008 1:29 PM
    • Marked as answer by Gibster329 Wednesday, September 17, 2008 6:40 PM
    Wednesday, September 17, 2008 1:23 PM
    Moderator

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     To fix missing or corrupt hal.dll:

    1. After recovery CD has finished boot into recovery console from original Windows installation CD/DVD.

    2. Replace C:\windows\system32\hal.dll with the appropriate hal.dll; halacpi.dll or halmacpi.dll (multicore processor) for most consumer desktops /laptops from original installation CD/DV or from C:\Windows\driver cache. Then rename it to hal.dll

    3. Reboot, and install the necessary drivers (the machine will find lot's of new hardware because of the virgin hal.dll. Most of them will be found on the Windows installation CD/DVD, windows system32, driver cache or other folders. If you can't find some get them from OEM driver CD or download from OEM.

    You may need to reactivate your copy of windows after this process.

    Wednesday, September 17, 2008 11:54 AM
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    Which operating system - Vista or Windows XP?
    Usually the system drive in Dell laptops has a hidden partition, which is not part of the backup and therefore also not restored.
    If you have a Vista DVD, you can boot from it and try to run the Startup repair in case the installed OS is Vista.
    If it is Windows XP, you can try the following (also booting with a Vista DVD and using the system repair options or a BartPE CD).
    Open the command prompt.
    Enter following commands (each ending with Enter key):
    c:
    attrib -r -s -h c:\boot.ini
    notepad boot.ini

    (What you now see, you get also shown, if you use the Check boot.ini button on the WHS restore CD after restore is finished (you should download the latest restore CD for this to function properly).)

    You will now see something like
    [boot loader]
    timeout=30
    default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
    [operating systems]
    multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Window XP Professional" /noexecute=optout /fastdetect

    Because one partition is gone change the (2) in both lines to (1).
    Save the file, close notepad and change the attributes back by

    attrib +r +s +h c:\boot.ini
    exit

    Reboot the system and check, if it comes up now.
    Best greetings from Germany
    Olaf
    • Proposed as answer by brubberModerator Wednesday, September 17, 2008 1:29 PM
    • Marked as answer by Gibster329 Wednesday, September 17, 2008 6:40 PM
    Wednesday, September 17, 2008 1:23 PM
    Moderator
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    Olaf is probably right!

    Please note, you can use any NTFS aware bootCD / DVD / or diskette to boot and then edit the boot.ini as Olaf describes

    Wednesday, September 17, 2008 1:31 PM
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    Olaf Engelke said:

    Which operating system - Vista or Windows XP?
    Usually the system drive in Dell laptops has a hidden partition, which is not part of the backup and therefore also not restored.
    If you have a Vista DVD, you can boot from it and try to run the Startup repair in case the installed OS is Vista.
    If it is Windows XP, you can try the following (also booting with a Vista DVD and using the system repair options or a BartPE CD).
    Open the command prompt.
    Enter following commands (each ending with Enter key):
    c:
    attrib -r -s -h c:\boot.ini
    notepad boot.ini

    (What you now see, you get also shown, if you use the Check boot.ini button on the WHS restore CD after restore is finished (you should download the latest restore CD for this to function properly).)

    You will now see something like
    [boot loader]
    timeout=30
    default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
    [operating systems]
    multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Window XP Professional" /noexecute=optout /fastdetect

    Because one partition is gone change the (2) in both lines to (1).
    Save the file, close notepad and change the attributes back by

    attrib +r +s +h c:\boot.ini
    exit

    Reboot the system and check, if it comes up now.
    Best greetings from Germany
    Olaf

    Thank YOU Olaf.

    Your a genius :)

    Followed excellent instructions and now WinXP Pro is working again!

    Thanks again.

    gib

    Wednesday, September 17, 2008 6:41 PM