I have recently moved from XP to Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bits via UPGRADE. . I found the settings transfer feature very handy , even though I still had to re-install ALL the programs I had on XP, which is why I'd hate to re-install Windows 7!
Windows 7 has been working fine, until yesterday. Now, I am unable to boot .
I tried F8 to get to the other options( Safe mode, etc) .I can't even get there. .
I also tried the repair feature, but, after a laborious scanning, the computer returns a message that it i is beyond repair. None of the other repair options worked ( restore to previous configuration, image transfer, etc).
Eventually I got the dreaded message that the HAL.DLL file is corrupt or missing.
I could take the bull by the horns and re-install Windows 7, but I want to avoid it as much as possible because it took me two days to re-install the ton of applications I had on XP, without counting an extra day for network configuration problem which prevented me to access the Internet..
I read about using the EXPAND command in DOS, to reinstate the HAL.DLL file. But why not the straight COPY command ?
To this effect, I ran a test on another computer and, with the COPY command in DOS, I was indeed able to copy the HAL.DLL file from a diskette on drive A ( yes, I still have one!) , to a test folder in Windows\System 32 . So I know the file was copied. I could do the same and copy this file, via DOS, into Windows 7.
The problem is that without being able to boot my computer , I don't know
1) how to get to the DOS screen to type the COPY command, and
2) what is the location of the HAL.DLL file in Windows 7 ?.
In XP, it is under Windows\i386\system32, but it might be elsewhere in Windows 7.
I tried a search on the Win 7 installation disk by clicking on EXPLORE , but I can't find any HAL.DLL file. Besides, the AUTO SETUP kicks in too fast to allow a thorough search.
I'd appreciate your comments and suggestions. I'd be glad to hear about other venues as well, but please address my question regarding the DOS-COPY solution, whether you think it will work or not
Thank you
Franco
Montreal, Canada