HAL.DLL IS MISSING OR CORRUPT (XP SP2)

I AM TRYING TO REPLACE THE HDD ON MY LAPTOP TO UPGRADE IT FROM 30GB TO 80GB.
I HAVE USED THE LATEST NORTON GHOST V 9 SEVERAL TIMES TO TRANSFER THE ENTIRE
CONTENTS OVER. I HAVE TRIED KEEPING THE NEW PARTITIONS SAME SIZE AS THE
ORIGINAL AND ALSO A LARGER SIZE. HOWEVER,
EACH ATTEMPT TO BOOT UP WITH JUST THE NEW HDD FAILS WITH THE HAL.DLL FILE
PROBLEM. HAVE TRIED USING RECOVERY CONSOLE TO EXPAND THE FILE FROM THE
ORIGINAL XP CD AND VARIOUS OTHER EVER DESPERATE ATTEMPTS BUT NOT GOT ANY
BETTER! PREVIOUSLY TRIED SAME WITH NORTON GHOST V4 AND GOT "NTLDR IS MISSING
OR CORRUPT". THERE IS SOMETHING VERY STRANGE ABOUT XP INDEED!
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GENUINE REPLIES ONLY PLEASE. THANK YOU.