hal.dll missing or corrupted

gonzo127

since it looks like you have a dvd drive and a cd drive have you tried booting to the live cd with both of them? also have you tried booting one of the laptops to the livecd just to doube check the disk is not currupted (or just running the check for error function on the ubuntu disk)

anyways yes you can hook up the hard drive to one of the laptops to get your stuff back, you will need a USB hard drive caddy (3.5 inch for a desktop hard drive) with the correct internal connector for your hard drive http://www.computer-hardware-explained.com/image-files/sata-vs-ide-labelled.jpg shows the differences between the cables that connect your hard drive to your motherboard

you can usualy pick up a caddy from ebay for ~£10, from a normal online shop for ~£20 and from somewhere like pc world ~£40

if it is a ide hard drive this would be fine

http://www.amazon.co.uk/EXTERNAL-DRIVE-ENCLOSURE-Indicator-1000gb/dp/B0037JW1Y4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292509858&sr=8-1

otherwise this might be a good choice
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Max-Value-inch-Drive-Enclosure/dp/B002LVUIQM/ref=pd_cp_ce_1

witchypoo

Yes I tried both, the DVD drive takes it's time checking and making noises before failing, the other (which we knew was faulty, hence buying the external rewriter) just goes straight to fail. The USB external drive doesn't even show up and I checked the Boot menu as suggested and there is no option to boot from USB
There is a diskette option but I have no floppy boot disks.

I've not tried booting the laptop using the LiveCD but I can try.

eta: thanks for all the help, it's much appreciated, the cases don't look too expensive, at least it's an option!

witchypoo

Right, I had no luck booting the laptop from the disc so I looked at the website again and I had not burned it correctly - it was unpacked, a single file.
So, I redid it, checked and it looked fine. Tried it in my Sony Vaio and it opened the menu, attempted check the cd or whatever it called it.. it did something, but the screen went black and stayed black, eventually it stopped making noises and spat the disc out. So I tried again, this time I selected try ubuntu without installing, same happened, black screen, scary moments waiting to see what would happen before the drive stopped making noises. Maybe my laptop cannot function with this because it's not a desktop. this is the title of the version I downloaded: ubuntu-10.10-desktop-i386.iso

Does this sound like I have done something wrong with my disc creation? Anyhow, I am about to see if the PC with the error will boot from this disc. Anything I have said, if it sounds wrong please please advise, everyone has been so helpful already!

Blackjack_Davy

This error is usually due to the boot record getting corrupted. If you can boot a XP CD-Rom find the recovery console and type "Fixboot"

witchypoo

Blackjack_Davy wrote: »

This error is usually due to the boot record getting corrupted. If you can boot a XP CD-Rom find the recovery console and type "Fixboot"

Thanks but can't boot from the XP CD

Tried my Ubuntu disc, but it did not manage to boot it despite making lots of noises and trying. Tried the other drive (broken one) and this time had a development in that it said something about not having a Boot Drive. (I had set it to boot from CD Drive only)

Still not established if my disc is ok or not, Re: screen going black on the laptop when I tested it (started with a purple menu screen with options, went black with no cursor or anything and stayed black, however it said the machine was on and wifi was on ) so don't know if it is my error, the disc's, or what. I've never had to boot from a CD so this is all a learning curve.

Richie-from-the-Boro

You are going round in circles, as predicted in #5 without a working CD/DVD you can not go one inch further [ no floppy / too old for USB DOS ] with your diagnostics. You have not stated whether the F11 does anything or nothing whatsoever. Hash 2 / 7 / 15 are useless without the wherewithal to boot the product. Just because you never saw a hidden partition, does not mean you don't have a yet to be revealed partition.

Your starting point is to take the drive out and bung it into a~n~other machine to get any important data off, then get a replacement CD/DVD for your lappie then your boot.ini / hard drive and all its contents can possibly be repaired.

witchypoo

I'm not entirely certain the CD drive isn;t working, but I don't believe the Ubuntu disc is right
I have tried another download of the 32bit version with Long Term Support, burnt to disc, and still it will not allow me to see what ubuntu should look like (try ubuntu before installing option) on my laptop, therefore how can I be sure it is even correct in the first place?

For the record, the machine which is 'broke' is a desktop PC - Dell Dimension 4600i and the dvd rom drive works or seems to. But it's not booting from the f12 menu or f8, although it is certainly trying.
I am not about to press f11 anytime soon before i have attempted to salvage what's on the hard drive even if that means getting the hard drive out and putting stuff onto my lappy as gonzo suggested. I haven't got another desktop machine to put it into. therefore i am not going to get a replacement cd for my laptop as its not the laptop that is broke. I might consider a new cd drive for the other computer if and only if the cd drive is later proven to be broken. If it comes to it I will remove the hard disk, salvage files, put it back in the tower and try f11 then.
Still not sure about Ubuntu, if my testing on my laptop caused the screen to immediately go black after selecting "try without installing" how can I be sure I have done it right?
the laptop I tried to test on is a Sony Vaio vpccw1z4e.

Richie-from-the-Boro

You can't put a 3 inch HDD from a PC into a 2 inch lappie
Any DOS / GUI disk including windows XP / Vista etc will do to test the CD / DVD / cableing etc
You are correct, pressing F11 [ fully-destructive restore ] I warned you about earlier
I never ever recommend Ubuntu, I always suggest Hirens

witchypoo

I didn't say i was going to put it in the laptop! I was looking at gonzo's suggestion of getting a basic IDE case for it and usb-ing it to the lappy.

Thanks, i will check Hirens out too

Incidentally it has Norton Internet Security 2011 on there, no idea what caused this failure of the boot.ini or hal.dll as the last person on there (my son) claims he only tried to listen to his music cd!

witchypoo

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

You can't put a 3 inch HDD from a PC into a 2 inch lappie
Any DOS / GUI disk including windows XP / Vista etc will do to test the CD / DVD / cableing etc
You are correct, pressing F11 [ fully-destructive restore ] I warned you about earlier
I never ever recommend Ubuntu, I always suggest Hirens

What a confusing link! I don't want all those programs, and anyway they don't have a download link or purchase link that I can see. However I found this page. Is this the thing you meant?
If so, is it quite straightforward, it looks quite complicated