[MannyL]

I've been given a laptop of a friend's son to try and fix. This system has two installations of XP on it.

1) XP Pro refuses to boot telling me that

Windows could not start because the following gile is missing or corrupt:
<Windows root>\system32\hal.dll
Please re-install a copy of the above file

2) XP Home

This install boots almost to the desktop. I get the splash screen the lass comes up with a message and reboots the sytsem. The message says

When trying to update a password, this return status indicates that the value provided as the current password is not correct then it reboots.

I have been able to boot the system off a Knoppix CD to copy off the ducuments the user made. I tried booting off an XP CD but it refuses to access the cd.

I do not have a laptop HDD to standard IDE adapter so I can not pull the drive to work on it. Any suggestions?

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Hi MannyL...

Which XP cd do you have (Home or Pro) and do you have access to any other XP installations cd's?

wannabe1

[wannabe1]

Hi MannyL...

Which XP cd do you have (Home or Pro) and do you have access to any other XP installations cd's?

wannabe1

[MannyL]

I have XP Pro with SP2 on it but I can get access to Home easily.

[wannabe1]

Ok...Enter BIOS Setup and set the cd-rom to first boot device and the HDD to second. Use the XP Pro cd...make sure it's clean and without major scratches.

Then try this REPAIR to your installation of XP. This procedure will not damage or change your current files or settings...it will just repair or replace damaged system files. You will be asked for your Installation CD and may be asked for your product key. Follow the instructions carefully...print them out if you can. Note: This option is not always available on OEM Recovery Cd's

Once this repair has completed, you will have to download all Windows Updates again.

Let me know if you run into problems.

[MannyL]

Ok...Enter BIOS Setup and set the cd-rom to first boot device and the HDD to second. Use the XP Pro cd...make sure it's clean and without major scratches.

Then try this REPAIR to your installation of XP. This procedure will not damage or change your current files or settings...it will just repair or replace damaged system files. You will be asked for your Installation CD and may be asked for your product key. Follow the instructions carefully...print them out if you can. Note: This option is not always available on OEM Recovery Cd's

Once this repair has completed, you will have to download all Windows Updates again.

Let me know if you run into problems.

I have tried your suggestion. When the laptop boots I get the flashing underscore in the upper left of the screen but it never starts the windows setup. Instead after 5-7 minutes I get the standard XP boot menu. I've tested the XP cd in another computer and it is a bootable cd.