Uh oh...

[chigley]

Basically, it appears I have managed to knacker my Mum's laptop.

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

A bit of Googling found me this: "Invalid Boot.ini" or "Windows could not start" error messages when you start your computer

All seems simple enough, except I don't have the ruddy Windows disc! It's her works laptop so they have it... and she needs it for Friday.

I'm not sure if the CMD commands in that resolution will run without the windows disc, in which case I could try and put CMD on a floppy and boot from it - then run the commands... who knows!?

If anyone has any advice I'd really appreciate it!

Cheers

[Dim Tim]

Originally Posted by chigley

Basically, it appears I have managed to knacker my Mum's laptop.



A bit of Googling found me this: "Invalid Boot.ini" or "Windows could not start" error messages when you start your computer

All seems simple enough, except I don't have the ruddy Windows disc! It's her works laptop so they have it... and she needs it for Friday.

I'm not sure if the CMD commands in that resolution will run without the windows disc, in which case I could try and put CMD on a floppy and boot from it - then run the commands... who knows!?

If anyone has any advice I'd really appreciate it!

Cheers

Download the Windows disc ?

[TheDetox]

Get hold of a windows disk if u can, and do a "repair" it shud copy the original windows dll back, while keeping ur data, iv haf loads of damn dll missing and crap!!!

[chigley]

Lmao well it turns out that the Windows disc from my other PC works, but I've made things worse. I tried following that Microsoft guide, and I didn't realise it was an XP Pro not Home version.

When rebooting, I now have 2 versions of Windows to choose from. Home and Pro. Home just gives me a different error. Pro gives me the same DLL one.

I don't really care about having two as long as I can fix the Pro one. I'm going to try this guide: Restore Hal.dll - How To Restore Hal.dll From the Windows XP CD - Hal.dll

[chigley]

Urgh. I tried "expand e:\i386\hal.dl_ c:\windows\system32\hal.dll" and I get "Access is denied.

Help!!!

[chigley]

Urgh - well I had a sh*tter of a night last night. In trying to do a repair install I managed to overwrite her My Documents and all that stuff.

To cut a long story short: she went apeshiz

I'm now trying every single recovery app. I can find to see if I can get her files back. Fingers crossed!

[Astrates]

Ouch, good luck. Hope you get it sorted otherwise FJ may have a dead coder to replace lol

[chigley]

Well there could be some light in this after all. The recovery software is still scanning but there do seem to be a lot of her Word documents in the "Recovered File" list!!!!

I'm not counting my chickens yet, but I could well have been saved!

[Astrates]

*tears up FJ Coder Application* - j/k

Glad to hear it. I know my mother would kill me too.

[TEMPLE3188]

... a repair install shouldnt have deleted the 'My Documents' files, did you do the repair install using the XP Pro? Is the 'My Documents' files in the XP Home OS? Have you still got both OS installed on the same hard drive?

[chigley]

I really hope this works. She went bezerk last night. And I've got a day of school, and she ALWAYS leaves me a note saying "Hope you had a good sleep bla bla.. lunch is in the fridge. xx" kind of thing. Nothing this morning.

If she could come home to me holding a CD in my hands with her files on I'd be over the moon...

[chigley]

Originally Posted by TEMPLE3188

... a repair install shouldnt have deleted the 'My Documents' files, did you do the repair install using the XP Pro? Is the 'My Documents' files in the XP Home OS? Have you still got both OS installed on the same hard drive?

Notice I said "trying" to do a repair install.

[Astrates]

Wow your mum is way better than mine all I get when I wake up is "Walk the dog"

[TEMPLE3188]

Originally Posted by chigley

Notice I said "trying" to do a repair install.

Oooo...lol my bad for not noticing , last christmas my gf dad got a £2000 gaming PC and he ask me to install a driver for his HP printer, i went online and download a driver and when the computer restarted.....well it didnt , i felt like running home and nevercoming back lol.

But what happened me was something similar, the driver i installed deleted a couple of windows .dll files, so the OS wouldnt boot properly, did a repair install and it all worked perfect, it kinda refreshes all your windows setup.

Hope you get those files back! Know how it feels, its not so bad when its your own files, but you feel so guilty when its somebody elses .

[chigley]

Well I actually just remembered my partially-complete English coursework was on there! So I bloody hope this works now.

[Jon]

what folders are in the documents and settings folder on the main drive?

[chigley]

Originally Posted by Jon

what folders are in the documents and settings folder on the main drive?

Just the new ones from the second 'supposed to be repair' install. Looks like this recovery thing has worked though!

Cheers to everyone who helped.

[TEMPLE3188]

Nice to here !!

Just out of consideration, what data recovery software did you use?... incase ever come across this situation

[chigley]

Data Recovery Software to Undelete; File recovery; Disk recovery; Recover Deleted Files - best £40 I ever spent.

[Astrates]

Hmmm an investment perchance