Windows XP Access problem

[George R]

I had to replace my 'C' Drive ( long story- don't ask!). Formatted new disc with same copy of XP SP2 and it loaded properly, but when the VIA drivers were loaded and the computer restarted, the following came up on the screen :- top line - Windows XP home Edition, below Windows Default. This page never used to appear. If the machine is allowed to continue with 'Windows Default' the message comes up 'Windows could not start because following file is missing or corrupt'
<windows root>system32\hal.dll.
Please reinstall. At this point the computer has to be switched off at the button and will restart to the Windows XP Home option.
Have tried reformat and reinstall but the condition continues.
Can anyone help sort this out please?
Thanks in advance.

 

[GSwadd]

Sounds like you have installed with the wrong hal (Hardware Abstraction Layer) for your system. Sometimes the installation selects the wrong one and there is nothing you can do short of re-installing it. Some dual-core and slightly non-ACPI motherboards need to be selected manually at the start of the install. When the message 'Hit F6 if you need to load a third party SCSI or Raid driver' is displayed, press F5 and select your motherboard type from the list then continue as normal. Just note it only shows 2 or 3 HAL types in the list and you have to use the arrow keys to scroll up or down.

 

[George R]

Hi - Eventually got this sorted outand you were correct about the HAL part : however the abit mainboard I have selects the correct HAL itself then you use f6 and the system disc adds the peripherals. The problem was that the VIA drivers were interfering with setup - I reinstalled everything without the VIA drivers but later installed them from the VIA website. All works correctly now. Thanks for your help - it put me on the right track.