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11/10/2005: "For Frank -- Hal.dll"

Dell Dimension 2400, symptom, will not boot due to missing/corrupted file hal.dll

Click on the more link for information to overcome and restore the system.



This problem may come up with other machines, I don't know... I have now encountered it on three Dell Dimension 2400s. The system suddenly fails to boot with the given error message. The machine fails to boot from setup disk, so the machine cannot be restored to factory settings. The machine fails to enter recovery phase. Setup fails to allow CDRom to be set as first boot device.

PLEASE NOTE: These directions will restore the system to factory default, and you will lose all of your personal files, such as pictures, documents, etc. that you have not backed up. I did not attempt repair using this method because I am assuming that the error was caused by a virus that will likely re-infect the files after repair. If anybody tries this method and successfully repairs the system without having to do full restore, please email me and I will include that information here.

NOTE ALSO: This information is based on a system where the owner did not have the original restore disks. If you have the original restore disks, please adapt the information from below to suit your needs. The primary issue is getting the CDRom drive to be the boot device, and that may allow a person to follow the standard restore disk setup methods. See additional notes at the end.

• Upon starting up machine, press F12 to enter setup
  
• Disable HDD in boot devices (highlight and press space), then exit saving changes.
  
• Insert a winXP Home OEM disk and reboot the machine.
  
• Select Setup winXP on this drive
  
• Highlight partition C, the large section, and press D for "Delete", then "L" to confirm deleting the partition
  
• Highlight the largest size empty space (it should show no partitions) and press C for "Create," then subtract 8 from the total space in the size that shows (e.g., if it says 32498, change it to 32490) and press enter to create a partition
  
• Highlight this "raw" partition and select "setup winXP on this partition", then format (quick) NTFS, and win XP will continue to install.
  
• When it finishes the install, reboot; upon restart, use F12 to again enter setup
  
• Enable HDD in boot devices (highlight and press space), then exit saving changes
  
• When winXP starts up, right click on "My Computer" in the start menu, select "Properties", "Hardware", "Device Manager"; any yellow exclamation points or question marks indicate hardware that did not install.
  
• If you have your drivers disk, this is the time to run it. If you do not have your drivers disk, you will need to download the drivers for your machine from Dell. You will identify your machine with the seven alphanumeric code on your machine to retrieve the drivers you need. At this point, if you are uncomfortable proceeding, most computer savvy people can take it from here.
  
• After the drivers are installed for the basic hardware, continue to load updates, other software and peripherals.
  

Okay, if you got this far and you are doing your own restore and want to prevent this from reoccurring, check out my next post, which will get you ready to begin using Windows more safely.

NOTE: I THINK, but do not know, as I haven't tried it, that if you have your restore disks, all you need to do is disable hard drive boot in setup, use the disks, then re-enable hard drive boot.

I THINK, but do not know, that if you have the built in restore option, once you follow this method, you can then reboot and use your repeated F10 to restore the system to factory settings, drivers and software included.

I THINK, but do not know, that you MIGHT be able to select the repair option and recover use of your machine without losing data, if you know how to do that, but I do NOT think it will clear the system of the problem that caused the failure, so am not including instructions for that here.

I'm SURE that there are other methods for getting around this, but this is the easiest, safest, surest way to do so.