SP2 & Disk Cleanup = Corrupt or missing system file, Computer wont

[Natalie]

Hi Everybody :) I just installed the Service Pack 2 last night and as a
result, my C: drive was low on free space, so I ran disk cleanup. I checked
all the boxes and I left it overnight since I had a lot of space that was
being freed up. I had no other programs open. When I woke up this morning,
my quick launch bar was gone. Also when I clicked on start -> Programs, all
that was listed was Accessories and Startup. I decided to restart and the
computer stopped at a black screen and now it says: "Windows could not start
because the following file is missing or corrupt: <windows
root>\system32\hal.dll. Please reinstall a copy of the above." I don't have
my Windows XP professional CD any longer. What do I do now?

I'd appreciate any help on this. Thanks and sorry for the long post.

[Mike K.]

Try to boot into safe mode (press F8 key) on boot up, choose "Last good Known
Startup". then try to do a System Recovery by right clicking on "My Computer".

Hope that this helps
Mike

"Natalie" wrote:

> Hi Everybody :) I just installed the Service Pack 2 last night and as a
> result, my C: drive was low on free space, so I ran disk cleanup. I checked
> all the boxes and I left it overnight since I had a lot of space that was
> being freed up. I had no other programs open. When I woke up this morning,
> my quick launch bar was gone. Also when I clicked on start -> Programs, all
> that was listed was Accessories and Startup. I decided to restart and the
> computer stopped at a black screen and now it says: "Windows could not start
> because the following file is missing or corrupt: <windows
> root>\system32\hal.dll. Please reinstall a copy of the above." I don't have
> my Windows XP professional CD any longer. What do I do now?
>
> I'd appreciate any help on this. Thanks and sorry for the long post.

[Natalie]

I tried booting in "last good known startup" and "safemode" and both times it
went straight back to the black screen: "Windows could not start because the
following file is missing or corrupt: <windows root>\system32\hal.dll.
Please reinstall a copy of the above."

"Mike K." wrote:

> Try to boot into safe mode (press F8 key) on boot up, choose "Last good Known
> Startup". then try to do a System Recovery by right clicking on "My Computer".
>
> Hope that this helps
> Mike
>
> "Natalie" wrote:
>
> > Hi Everybody :) I just installed the Service Pack 2 last night and as a
> > result, my C: drive was low on free space, so I ran disk cleanup. I checked
> > all the boxes and I left it overnight since I had a lot of space that was
> > being freed up. I had no other programs open. When I woke up this morning,
> > my quick launch bar was gone. Also when I clicked on start -> Programs, all
> > that was listed was Accessories and Startup. I decided to restart and the
> > computer stopped at a black screen and now it says: "Windows could not start
> > because the following file is missing or corrupt: <windows
> > root>\system32\hal.dll. Please reinstall a copy of the above." I don't have
> > my Windows XP professional CD any longer. What do I do now?
> >
> > I'd appreciate any help on this. Thanks and sorry for the long post.

[Ron Martell]

"Natalie" > wrote:

>I tried booting in "last good known startup" and "safemode" and both times it
>went straight back to the black screen: "Windows could not start because the
>following file is missing or corrupt: <windows root>\system32\hal.dll.
>Please reinstall a copy of the above."
>

Do you have a Windows XP complete installation CD or is it just a
"System Recovery" disk provided by the manufacturer?

If it is a "complete installation" CD then boot your computer with the
CD and choose the "Repair (recovery console)" option from the menu.

When it has finished booting and stopped at the C:\> prompt enter the
following command:

CHKDSK /R

That may fix the problem. If not, post the results back here and we
will try something further.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

[Natalie]

I don't have either cd... originally I had the entire installation cd, but i
lost it in a move. So I was just wondering if there was anything I could do
without it?

"Ron Martell" wrote:

> "Natalie" > wrote:
>
> >I tried booting in "last good known startup" and "safemode" and both times it
> >went straight back to the black screen: "Windows could not start because the
> >following file is missing or corrupt: <windows root>\system32\hal.dll.
> >Please reinstall a copy of the above."
> >
>
> Do you have a Windows XP complete installation CD or is it just a
> "System Recovery" disk provided by the manufacturer?
>
> If it is a "complete installation" CD then boot your computer with the
> CD and choose the "Repair (recovery console)" option from the menu.
>
> When it has finished booting and stopped at the C:\> prompt enter the
> following command:
>
> CHKDSK /R
>
> That may fix the problem. If not, post the results back here and we
> will try something further.
>
> Good luck
>
>
> Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
> --
> Microsoft MVP
> On-Line Help Computer Service
> http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
>
> "The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."
>

[Gus]

Is there a floppy disk in the drive?

"Natalie" > wrote in message
...
>I don't have either cd... originally I had the entire installation cd, but
>i
> lost it in a move. So I was just wondering if there was anything I could
> do
> without it?
>
> "Ron Martell" wrote:
>
>> "Natalie" > wrote:
>>
>> >I tried booting in "last good known startup" and "safemode" and both
>> >times it
>> >went straight back to the black screen: "Windows could not start because
>> >the
>> >following file is missing or corrupt: <windows root>\system32\hal.dll.
>> >Please reinstall a copy of the above."
>> >
>>
>> Do you have a Windows XP complete installation CD or is it just a
>> "System Recovery" disk provided by the manufacturer?
>>
>> If it is a "complete installation" CD then boot your computer with the
>> CD and choose the "Repair (recovery console)" option from the menu.
>>
>> When it has finished booting and stopped at the C:\> prompt enter the
>> following command:
>>
>> CHKDSK /R
>>
>> That may fix the problem. If not, post the results back here and we
>> will try something further.
>>
>> Good luck
>>
>>
>> Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
>> --
>> Microsoft MVP
>> On-Line Help Computer Service
>> http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
>>
>> "The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."
>>

[Ron Martell]

"Natalie" > wrote:

>I don't have either cd... originally I had the entire installation cd, but i
>lost it in a move. So I was just wondering if there was anything I could do
>without it?
>

Go to http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=310994 and download the 6
diskette set of boot disks.

Boot your computer with disk #1 and then insert the others as
requested. When it has finished booting it will stop at the A:\> and
you can enter the following command:

CHKDSK C: /R

Good luck



Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."