boot.ini missing after bootcfg /rebuild

[pinnum]

I have a Dell PC running Windows XP Home Edition. Recently I started getting
the "Windows could not start because hal.dll is missing or corrupt" message.
I used my Windows CD and performed the bootcfg /rebuild procedure as per
instructions. This enabled me to boot Windows XP and access all my files. I
was even able to Restart and have it work properly. However, when I turned
my computer off and tried to boot up again, I got the "hal.dll missing etc."
message again. When I booted Windows using the CD again, I found that there
was no boot.ini file, only a boot.ini.backup in the C:\Windows\pss folder. I
tried creating boot.ini manually with Notepad, but the file was deleted again
the next time I tried to reboot. Can anybody tell me what to do? I feel
like I'm back in the '70s, using a disk to boot my computer each time.

[buffalo]

pinnum wrote:
> I have a Dell PC running Windows XP Home Edition. Recently I started
> getting the "Windows could not start because hal.dll is missing or
> corrupt" message. I used my Windows CD and performed the bootcfg
> /rebuild procedure as per instructions. This enabled me to boot
> Windows XP and access all my files. I was even able to Restart and
> have it work properly. However, when I turned my computer off and
> tried to boot up again, I got the "hal.dll missing etc." message
> again. When I booted Windows using the CD again, I found that there
> was no boot.ini file, only a boot.ini.backup in the C:\Windows\pss
> folder. I tried creating boot.ini manually with Notepad, but the
> file was deleted again the next time I tried to reboot. Can anybody
> tell me what to do? I feel like I'm back in the '70s, using a disk
> to boot my computer each time.

Try using Google: just put in hal.dll is missing in the search box.
It sounds like it could even be a failing HDD.
If you can, backup your HDD asap if possible the next time you get it booted
or take it out and put it in another machine to do a backup.
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/findbyerr ... haldll.htm
Buffalo

[pinnum]

Thanks, but I think I've already read about every article about this topic.
Also, my hal.dll is not missing (not to say that it might not be corrupt).
I was able to perform disk diagnostics through the diagnostic partition and
all the tests came out OK.

I guess I'm looking for someone to tell me why boot.ini gets deleted and
what to do about it.

"Buffalo" wrote:

>
>
> pinnum wrote:
> > I have a Dell PC running Windows XP Home Edition. Recently I started
> > getting the "Windows could not start because hal.dll is missing or
> > corrupt" message. I used my Windows CD and performed the bootcfg
> > /rebuild procedure as per instructions. This enabled me to boot
> > Windows XP and access all my files. I was even able to Restart and
> > have it work properly. However, when I turned my computer off and
> > tried to boot up again, I got the "hal.dll missing etc." message
> > again. When I booted Windows using the CD again, I found that there
> > was no boot.ini file, only a boot.ini.backup in the C:\Windows\pss
> > folder. I tried creating boot.ini manually with Notepad, but the
> > file was deleted again the next time I tried to reboot. Can anybody
> > tell me what to do? I feel like I'm back in the '70s, using a disk
> > to boot my computer each time.
>
> Try using Google: just put in hal.dll is missing in the search box.
> It sounds like it could even be a failing HDD.
> If you can, backup your HDD asap if possible the next time you get it booted
> or take it out and put it in another machine to do a backup.
> http://pcsupport.about.com/od/findbyerr ... haldll.htm
> Buffalo
>
>
>

[pinnum]

My personal theory is that one or more of the system files is missing or
corrupt or mismatched or the boot sector is corrupt and for some reason that
causes Windows to delete the boot.ini. I say this because when you boot from
the CD, it seems to be providing all the files etc. required for the boot.
Is there any software that detects whether all boot files are present and not
corrupt?

I just have to think that someone from Microsoft knows what causes this
behavior.

"golden" wrote:

>
> Very interesting post because I have the exact same issue. Went to
> recovery console to do a bootcfg /rebuild for that one time get in
> Windows and I checked if the boot.ini was still there with no luck.
>
> I tried to access the boot.ini by msconfig but the tab wasn't there. I
> went by Startup and recovery button from System Properties and I got an
> error message (sorry i forgot to write it down).
>
> I'm starting to think it's spyware of virus that deleting that file but
> Norton 2009 showing nothing and I'm running Malwarebyte right now. The
> PC that I'm working on has been rebuild 3 weeks ago from the recovery
> partition. It's an HP Pavillion a1350n with the built-in recovery
> partition.
>
> Thanks for any idea
>
>
> --
> golden
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> golden's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/103481.htm
> View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/windows-xp-s ... 192135.htm
>
> http://forums.techarena.in
>
>

[touch base]

"pinnum" <pinnum@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:77086D64-B929-4513-B0B3-9BD2F1CCCB8A@microsoft.com...
I have a Dell PC running Windows XP Home Edition. Recently I started
getting
the "Windows could not start because hal.dll is missing or corrupt" message.
I used my Windows CD and performed the bootcfg /rebuild procedure as per
instructions. This enabled me to boot Windows XP and access all my files.
I
was even able to Restart and have it work properly. However, when I turned
my computer off and tried to boot up again, I got the "hal.dll missing etc."
message again. When I booted Windows using the CD again, I found that there
was no boot.ini file, only a boot.ini.backup in the C:\Windows\pss folder.
I
tried creating boot.ini manually with Notepad, but the file was deleted
again
the next time I tried to reboot. Can anybody tell me what to do? I feel
like I'm back in the '70s, using a disk to boot my computer each time.

======================================================

Did you read and try this procedure? I have used this several times with
100% success.

Repairing Windows XP in Eight Commands
http://icrontic.com/articles/repair_windows_xp


--
Regards,
Touch Base
Report back on the results, good or bad so others may benefit

[jose]

On Jun 5, 7:35

[john john - mvp]

You need to find out when the file gets deleted. Is the file present
just before you do a shutdown?

Get Sysinternals' Process Monitor from the Microsoft site and set it to
monitor the boot.ini file. If you enable Process Monitor's Boot Logging
feature the utility will boot right through the shutdown process. You
may need to do a complete boot/shutdown cycle with Boot Logging enabeld
to get good results. Enable Boot Logging & shutdown the computer. Then
reboot and shutdown again, the second set of results should capture the
shutdown activity. Use the filters to monitor only the boot.ini file,
else the log may be pretty big!

John

pinnum wrote:
> My personal theory is that one or more of the system files is missing or
> corrupt or mismatched or the boot sector is corrupt and for some reason that
> causes Windows to delete the boot.ini. I say this because when you boot from
> the CD, it seems to be providing all the files etc. required for the boot.
> Is there any software that detects whether all boot files are present and not
> corrupt?
>
> I just have to think that someone from Microsoft knows what causes this
> behavior.
>
> "golden" wrote:
>
>> Very interesting post because I have the exact same issue. Went to
>> recovery console to do a bootcfg /rebuild for that one time get in
>> Windows and I checked if the boot.ini was still there with no luck.
>>
>> I tried to access the boot.ini by msconfig but the tab wasn't there. I
>> went by Startup and recovery button from System Properties and I got an
>> error message (sorry i forgot to write it down).
>>
>> I'm starting to think it's spyware of virus that deleting that file but
>> Norton 2009 showing nothing and I'm running Malwarebyte right now. The
>> PC that I'm working on has been rebuild 3 weeks ago from the recovery
>> partition. It's an HP Pavillion a1350n with the built-in recovery
>> partition.
>>
>> Thanks for any idea
>>
>>
>> --
>> golden
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> golden's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/103481.htm
>> View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/windows-xp-s ... 192135.htm
>>
>> http://forums.techarena.in
>>
>>

[pinnum]

I believe my problem was caused by the power going off or being inadvertently
turned off while Windows was shutting down and doing an automatic update. I
did a system restore to a date about a month ago and the PC seems to be
working OK now.

Never did figure out why boot.ini was being deleted, though.

"Touch Base" wrote:

>
> "pinnum" <pinnum@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:77086D64-B929-4513-B0B3-9BD2F1CCCB8A@microsoft.com...
> I have a Dell PC running Windows XP Home Edition. Recently I started
> getting
> the "Windows could not start because hal.dll is missing or corrupt" message.
> I used my Windows CD and performed the bootcfg /rebuild procedure as per
> instructions. This enabled me to boot Windows XP and access all my files.
> I
> was even able to Restart and have it work properly. However, when I turned
> my computer off and tried to boot up again, I got the "hal.dll missing etc."
> message again. When I booted Windows using the CD again, I found that there
> was no boot.ini file, only a boot.ini.backup in the C:\Windows\pss folder.
> I
> tried creating boot.ini manually with Notepad, but the file was deleted
> again
> the next time I tried to reboot. Can anybody tell me what to do? I feel
> like I'm back in the '70s, using a disk to boot my computer each time.
>
> ======================================================
>
> Did you read and try this procedure? I have used this several times with
> 100% success.
>
> Repairing Windows XP in Eight Commands
> http://icrontic.com/articles/repair_windows_xp
>
>
> --
> Regards,
> Touch Base
> Report back on the results, good or bad so others may benefit
>
>
>

[touch base]

"pinnum" <pinnum@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:058F360D-437E-4D28-9869-A68687A4383F@microsoft.com...
I believe my problem was caused by the power going off or being
inadvertently
turned off while Windows was shutting down and doing an automatic update. I
did a system restore to a date about a month ago and the PC seems to be
working OK now.

Never did figure out why boot.ini was being deleted, though.

"Touch Base" wrote:

>
> "pinnum" <pinnum@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:77086D64-B929-4513-B0B3-9BD2F1CCCB8A@microsoft.com...
> I have a Dell PC running Windows XP Home Edition. Recently I started
> getting
> the "Windows could not start because hal.dll is missing or corrupt"
> message.
> I used my Windows CD and performed the bootcfg /rebuild procedure as per
> instructions. This enabled me to boot Windows XP and access all my files.
> I
> was even able to Restart and have it work properly. However, when I
> turned
> my computer off and tried to boot up again, I got the "hal.dll missing
> etc."
> message again. When I booted Windows using the CD again, I found that
> there
> was no boot.ini file, only a boot.ini.backup in the C:\Windows\pss folder.
> I
> tried creating boot.ini manually with Notepad, but the file was deleted
> again
> the next time I tried to reboot. Can anybody tell me what to do? I feel
> like I'm back in the '70s, using a disk to boot my computer each time.
>
> ======================================================
>
> Did you read and try this procedure? I have used this several times with
> 100% success.
>
> Repairing Windows XP in Eight Commands
> http://icrontic.com/articles/repair_windows_xp
>
>
> --
> Regards,
> Touch Base
> Report back on the results, good or bad so others may benefit
>
==========================================

Thanks for the feedback.

Good to hear you got going again..

I think using System Restore by going back a month is a bit drastic,
couldn't you use a more recent date?

I would invest in a imaging program such as Acronis True Image (there are
others) and do a regular backup. Comes in handy
for situation like this.


--
Regards,
Touch Base

[pinnum]

I couldn't remember exactly when the incident occurred, so I thought a month
would be sufficient to get back a good configuration. I had actually set my
mind on doing a system repair from CD, which would have been a lot, lot more
trouble, so I'm glad the restore worked.

I back up things selectively on flash drive, guess I'm too lazy to do a full
backup.

By the way, thanks to everyone who offered suggestions to assist me with the
problem.

"Touch Base" wrote:

>
> "pinnum" <pinnum@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:058F360D-437E-4D28-9869-A68687A4383F@microsoft.com...
> I believe my problem was caused by the power going off or being
> inadvertently
> turned off while Windows was shutting down and doing an automatic update. I
> did a system restore to a date about a month ago and the PC seems to be
> working OK now.
>
> Never did figure out why boot.ini was being deleted, though.
>
> "Touch Base" wrote:
>
> >
> > "pinnum" <pinnum@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > news:77086D64-B929-4513-B0B3-9BD2F1CCCB8A@microsoft.com...
> > I have a Dell PC running Windows XP Home Edition. Recently I started
> > getting
> > the "Windows could not start because hal.dll is missing or corrupt"
> > message.
> > I used my Windows CD and performed the bootcfg /rebuild procedure as per
> > instructions. This enabled me to boot Windows XP and access all my files.
> > I
> > was even able to Restart and have it work properly. However, when I
> > turned
> > my computer off and tried to boot up again, I got the "hal.dll missing
> > etc."
> > message again. When I booted Windows using the CD again, I found that
> > there
> > was no boot.ini file, only a boot.ini.backup in the C:\Windows\pss folder.
> > I
> > tried creating boot.ini manually with Notepad, but the file was deleted
> > again
> > the next time I tried to reboot. Can anybody tell me what to do? I feel
> > like I'm back in the '70s, using a disk to boot my computer each time.
> >
> > ======================================================
> >
> > Did you read and try this procedure? I have used this several times with
> > 100% success.
> >
> > Repairing Windows XP in Eight Commands
> > http://icrontic.com/articles/repair_windows_xp
> >
> >
> > --
> > Regards,
> > Touch Base
> > Report back on the results, good or bad so others may benefit
> >
> ==========================================
>
> Thanks for the feedback.
>
> Good to hear you got going again..
>
> I think using System Restore by going back a month is a bit drastic,
> couldn't you use a more recent date?
>
> I would invest in a imaging program such as Acronis True Image (there are
> others) and do a regular backup. Comes in handy
> for situation like this.
>
>
> --
> Regards,
> Touch Base
>
>
>

[golden]

Hi guys, sorry for late answer but I figure out a way to not having the
problem. I could track the problem occured on boot up. I simply disable
all unnessesary services and program at startup using msconfig and then
reactivate the one that I knew I really needed.

I'm sorry, I don't know which one was causing the trouble, I didn't
bother pin point the one but the PC works fine since then.


--
golden
------------------------------------------------------------------------
golden's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/103481.htm
View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/windows-xp-s ... 192135.htm

http://forums.techarena.in

[jose]

On Jun 25, 6:22

[twayne]

"golden" <golden.3ud0jc@DoNotSpam.com> wrote in message
news:golden.3ud0jc@DoNotSpam.com
> Hi guys, sorry for late answer but I figure out a way to not having
> the problem. I could track the problem occured on boot up. I simply
> disable all unnessesary services and program at startup using
> msconfig and then reactivate the one that I knew I really needed.
>
> I'm sorry, I don't know which one was causing the trouble, I didn't
> bother pin point the one but the PC works fine since then.

Glad to hear it's working, but you've used a temporary tool for
troubleshooting to "fix" your problem and it's likely going to lead to
confusion in the future if you try to use it again and especially ifyou
look at the actual serviced; they'll still show as running.
MSConfig is ONLY a tool, not a way to fix things. With it, you could
determin exactly which service is causing the problem. Then you could
go to Services and actually change how that service starts, or have it
never run again, etc.. There it would also show you want other services
might depend on the service, too, in case killing it breaks something
else you haven't discovered yet. Frankly, I'm wondering if some of the
services you stopped with MSConfig didn't come back on their own;
windows won't allow it stop some of them.

If you ever have to have someone else look at your machine, be sure you
tell them what you did with MSConfig or they might clean install a new
system for you and lose data. So get your backups in order, too. It's
your machine of course, so you can do as you wish with it.

HTH,

Twayne`