[!!Nat!!]

Hiya. I switched on my laptop this morning and it loaded the ACER screen (i have an ACER Aspire laptop) and then came a black screen with white writing saying
'Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
<windows root>\system32\hal.dll.
Please re-install a copy of the above file.'

I've looked on the internet to see how i could fix it but i can't find anything because a lot of people say to insert the Windows XP CD etc. but i do not have that CD because when i bought my computer the operating system was already Windows XP Home Edition. How do i fix this problem or get a copy of this file and without losing data on my computer?? Please help i would realy appreciate it.

[Retired Tech]

You can borrow an XP Home CD

1. Configure the computer to start from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.

2. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer.

3. When you receive the Press any key to boot from CD message, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM.

4. When you receive the Welcome to Setup message, press R to start the Recovery Console.

5. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you have to use from the Recovery Console.

6. When you are prompted, type the administrator password, and then press ENTER.

7. At the command prompt, type bootcfg /list, and then press ENTER. The entries in your current Boot.ini file appear on the screen.

8. At the command prompt, type bootcfg /rebuild, and then press ENTER. This command scans the hard disks of the computer for Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000, or Microsoft Windows NT installations, and then displays the results.

Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to add the Windows installations to the Boot.ini file. For example, follow these steps to add a Windows XP installation to the Boot.ini file:

a. When you receive a message that is similar to the following message, press Y: Total Identified Windows Installs: 1

[1] C:\Windows

Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All)

b. You receive a message that is similar to the following message: Enter Load Identifier

This is the name of the operating system. When you receive this message, type the name of your operating system, and then press ENTER.

This is either Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition.

c. You receive a message that is similar to the following: Enter OS Load options

When you receive this message, type /fastdetect, and then press ENTER.

Note The instructions that appear on your screen may be different, depending on the configuration of your computer.

9. Type exit, and then press ENTER to quit Recovery Console.

Your computer restarts, and the updated boot list appears when you receive the "Please select the operating system to start" message.

[!!Nat!!]

thanks but wil i have all my data and things on my computer stil after i done that

[Retired Tech]

It changes the way your laptop see the path to the desktop, it does not change anything else

[!!Nat!!]

k so i still will have eveything on my computer; all the things that are saved on there like documents and programs? It won't restore my laptop then

[Retired Tech]

You keep the installation as is

At the moment it reaches a point where it cannot find something it needs, this replaces that only

[!!Nat!!]

Right ok thanks

[king kong]

i have that problem can i just run a vista disk and click repair