Microsoft Windows XP

[Henneth Annun]

(No I don't know why I'm using it either....)

Alright. I leave my 9 year old brother with the computer for 3 hours, go out, come back and when I try to turn the computer on, it can't boot up.

Apparently this file was "missing or corrupt":

system32hal.dll

I fixed it up in a jiffy, so I don't need any help with that.

I don't know what the hell my brother did, but I'm pretty sure he didn't install a new hard disk or operating system. He doesn't even know how to do that, or for that matter, what those even are.

So, what happened? confused  

[nippIe goblin]

*Thinking* Well can you log on to it or are you using a separate computer? Whats the damage?  

[Henneth Annun]

No, the computer is fine now. It works perfectly, I'm actually using it right now. I stuck in the Windows installer CD, went to the recovery console, did what was neccessary, bootcfg/ rebuild, problem was fixed, took out the CD, rebooted the computer, it worked fine. Still no problems.

When hal.dll was missing, of course, the computer couldn't even boot up.

My question is why was hal.dll missing in the first place.  

[vincejustvince]

He probably was downloading his favorite Avenged Sevenfold songs on Limewire but instead received a virus, dohohoho!  

[Henneth Annun]

He's 9 years old....he can't download anything, and he knows to ask before he tries.

He was probably playing online games at some weird site or something....*irritated sigh*

---

Oh joy. It happened again today.

That's it. I'm switching my OS to Linux or something. burning_eyes  

[moonclown]

maybe she downloaded something with a virus,u know some pop up windows with some "oh u win!!!" carries bugs. if u have younger siblings try do something about the "limitations" in d internet usage  

[Oterys]

Wish I could be of some assistance here, but I have damaged files or rather corrupt ones all the time and I haven't played on online game in years...although my sister did download one (and nearly annihilated the computer in the process). So that could very well be the case.  

[MysteryCross]

nada clue hun... but i recommend getting Windows Vista for better protection.... [he can't mess it up then]  

[Henneth Annun]

Vista???

rofl  

[zz1000zz]

XWraith_LordX

Vista???

rofl

Actually, Vista is better than XP in many ways. The biggest complaint for Vista is just the memory issues, but for most people that should never be an issue.

Anyway, sorry I didn't post in here sooner. When you get the error message saying the hal.dll file is missing or corrupt, it can mean a few things. Since you got the error message again, that means you probably have one of two problems. The first possibility is your partition boot sector is damaged (corrupt or damaged by a virus). This should be fixable by writing a new partition boot sector, which is quite easy to do.

The other probable problem is you have a hardware problem. Your hard drive could have physical damage which would require you replace your hard drive. I would try the first solution, and if that doesn't work I would reinstall XP. If neither of those work, then you will have to replace the hard drive.  

[Henneth Annun]

zz1000zz

XWraith_LordX

Vista???

rofl

Actually, Vista is better than XP in many ways. The biggest complaint for Vista is just the memory issues, but for most people that should never be an issue.

Anyway, sorry I didn't post in here sooner. When you get the error message saying the hal.dll file is missing or corrupt, it can mean a few things. Since you got the error message again, that means you probably have one of two problems. The first possibility is your partition boot sector is damaged (corrupt or damaged by a virus). This should be fixable by writing a new partition boot sector, which is quite easy to do.

The other probable problem is you have a hardware problem. Your hard drive could have physical damage which would require you replace your hard drive. I would try the first solution, and if that doesn't work I would reinstall XP. If neither of those work, then you will have to replace the hard drive.

That's what I did actually, but it happened again.

Maybe I'll just buy new virus scanning software. burning_eyes  

[Macabre_Cogitation]

I used to have nothing but issues with XP. I'm sure IY can recall that rather well. I've actually built a BRAND new computer, not even an OEM part, and had issues that same day. I despised XP for years, but was stuck with it.

Since I've upgraded to Vista, I only had one blue screen, which was due to a REALLY cheap power supply that came with a case. Other than that, I love Vista.
As for the memory problems people complain of, just run at least 2gigs, and you're alright. You can get 4gigs of RAM rather cheap these days.
Hell, I can build you a pretty decent gaming rig for $700.  

[Rellik San]

zz1000zz

XWraith_LordX

Vista???

rofl

Actually, Vista is better than XP in many ways. The biggest complaint for Vista is just the memory issues, but for most people that should never be an issue.

I thought the issue with why people didn't like vista was the severely stunted compatability with Win 9x programs, resulting windows 7 having the so called "virtual XP" environment. Not to mention its rediculously over inflated price and resource intensity. Which is why though my system could piss over Vista, I still run XP pro x64.  

[Rellik San]

Macabre_Cogitation

I used to have nothing but issues with XP. I'm sure IY can recall that rather well. I've actually built a BRAND new computer, not even an OEM part, and had issues that same day. I despised XP for years, but was stuck with it.

Since I've upgraded to Vista, I only had one blue screen, which was due to a REALLY cheap power supply that came with a case. Other than that, I love Vista.
As for the memory problems people complain of, just run at least 2gigs, and you're alright. You can get 4gigs of RAM rather cheap these days.
Hell, I can build you a pretty decent gaming rig for $700.

Why would your power supply cause BSOD, which is an issue usually related to a memory leak? O_O  

[zz1000zz]

Rellik San

zz1000zz

XWraith_LordX

Vista???

rofl

Actually, Vista is better than XP in many ways. The biggest complaint for Vista is just the memory issues, but for most people that should never be an issue.

I thought the issue with why people didn't like vista was the severely stunted compatability with Win 9x programs, resulting windows 7 having the so called "virtual XP" environment. Not to mention its rediculously over inflated price and resource intensity. Which is why though my system could piss over Vista, I still run XP pro x64.

The average user would not be bothered much by the compatibility issues of Vista (once the early lack of drivers problem was resolved). The people who had this problem were usually gamers and/or designers, who make up a far smaller share of the Vista market. Also, the cost of Vista was not particularly more problematic than previous versions.

Finally, when you mention resource intensity, that is the very problem I said was the largest complaint.

Rellik San

Macabre_Cogitation

I used to have nothing but issues with XP. I'm sure IY can recall that rather well. I've actually built a BRAND new computer, not even an OEM part, and had issues that same day. I despised XP for years, but was stuck with it.

Since I've upgraded to Vista, I only had one blue screen, which was due to a REALLY cheap power supply that came with a case. Other than that, I love Vista.
As for the memory problems people complain of, just run at least 2gigs, and you're alright. You can get 4gigs of RAM rather cheap these days.
Hell, I can build you a pretty decent gaming rig for $700.

Why would your power supply cause BSOD, which is an issue usually related to a memory leak? O_O

The Blue Screen of Death is not (normally) caused by memory leaks. I would hesitate to say it never is caused by memory leaks, but if it ever is it is uncommon.

With that said, the most common source for a BSOD in Vista is an ACPI error, which naturally can be caused by a power supply.