Do I need a new windows..?? <Windows root>\system32\hal.dll.

slimthinker

Hi folks......Having a problem starting the laptop. Its an Emachines E442 running windows 7. Really annoyed with Very.co.uk as this laptop is only 9 months old and the warranty states that I have to pay (£71.50 ) for software repairs..The following fault seems to me like 'software repair' is needed as it looks like its a Windows fault.

When I switched it on, I got the usual "enter f2 for set up" then it moved on to the "windows starting" section (just before it asks for the password) then the screen flashed for a split second, could only catch the first two words of what it said at the top....it started with "A problem........" but it went off before I could read anything else.

Tried the f8 option on start up to get to safe mode debugging mode etc, but it wouldnt get any further than that.....

Havent got a recovery disc (should have made one , i know i know) but its less than 12 months old and hardly used.

Not added any new software or hardware recently and was working fine until now, fully charged and fast too.....

Bought a disc on Ebay that allegedly recovers Windows.
Booted from this disc first. Tried recovery and nuke hard drive to try from scratch..wouldnt do either. Managed to get a diagnostic report ( via this disc ) which came up with <Windows root>\system32\hal.dll.
Now not even getting the windows start up screen.
Any ideas good people, very frustrating when not working properly arent they ???

Thanks in advance for any helpful ideas

tombruton87

go to ur local computer guy they should have an oem disk and can recover it for you. call around if there short on work should be able to get it done pretty cheap, there are other options that are in the eyes of the law illegal but u have got a licence. not sure wat this forum is like for talking about that stuff

andy2004

1. you dont actually need a recovery disc, what you needed was a windows 7 disc, and the correct information on how to use it to fix your OS before wiping the drive.
This recovery disc you bought through ebay what as it called,
There is a FREE recovery disc which you can download if you have a windows 7 machine but you where not supplied with a cd/dvd.

hal.dll is probably corrupted you should be able to restore it working by replacing the file.
how to replace. 1 download hirens boot cd and burn the image to cd and boot from cd, select mini xp, wait for the windows xp screen, insert a usb flash drive with the hal.dll file on it and then replace the one you have on your laptop with it, your OS. after you boot your computer then i would use the recovery option to reinstall the drive, as a precaution and make it factory fresh.

2. from the manual i just downloaded see link below
To restore Windows from your previously burned backup discs, you will need to
insert the first backup disc and enable the F12 Boot Menu via the BIOS Setup
Utility.
1 Turn on your computer and insert the first system recovery disc into the
optical disc drive. Restart your computer.
2 During startup when the eMac hines logo shows, press the F2 key to enter
BIOS Setup, where you can set system parameters.
3 Use the left and right arrow keys to select the Main submenu.
4 Use the up and down arrow keys to select F12 Boot Menu.
5 Use the F5 or F6 key to change F12 Boot Menu to Enabled .
6 Press the ESC key to enter the Exit submenu, press the ENTER key to Exit
Saving Changes. Press the ENTER key again to select Yes. The system will
reboot.
7 After rebooting, when the eMachines logo shows, press the F12 key to
open the Boot Menu. Here you can select which device to boot from.
8 Use the arrow keys to select the IDE1* , then press the ENTER key. Windows
will be installed from the recovery disc.
9 Insert the second recovery disc when prompted, then fo llow the onscreen
prompts to complete the restore.
10 Remove the recovery disc from th e optical drive once the restore is
complete. Do this before rebooting your computer.

You can download the manual for free from here http://www.pdfuu.com/acer-emachine-e442-manual-user-guide-and-troubleshooting.html its a pdf file, currently download so i can check the previous statement i made.

TakeThis

Haven't a clue what tombruton87 is on about....

You can download and save Windows 7 SP1 Home Premium x64 to a working computer with a DVD writer. Once fully downloaded and saved(it's a big file, more than 3GB), you can go on to transferring to DVD.

To do so;

Place a blank DVD in the drive.

Download and install ImgBurn(No need to install the Google Toolbar. Remove the relevant tick). Burn the Image to Disc. Use this guide(skip step 2b) to burning the image to disc.

Alternatively Windows 7 has it's own image burning software.

Once you have created the disc, you will have more options open to you. Let me know when you are at that stage.