Many computer system users are so accustomed to working in Windows XP that they do not want to change it to a more recent version of the operating system under any pretext.

However, XP itself, like the following versions of Windows operating systems, is susceptible to errors such as “HAL.dll cannot be started”, “The file is damaged or missing”, “File not found”, etc. Let's see how you can restore the system boot without radical measures, such as reinstalling the operating system.

What file is this?

If we talk about the file itself, then it will be quite difficult for the average user to understand the principle of its operation. In simple terms, the HAL.dll file in the Windows XP operating system is responsible for the interaction of software and hardware components. This is the so-called layer of software code at the level of hardware abstractions. It hides some aspects of hardware implementation at all levels - from hardware to programs. This applies to all components present in the system. Then why do errors appear that many people do not understand when loading the system? What does the message “HAL.dll is missing or damaged” mean on the monitor screen?

The Windows XP operating system is one of the most outdated operating systems. It is most susceptible to this type of failure.

Main functions of HAL.dll

If we talk about functionality, it can be noted that this library is a kind of layer that allows users and software developers to use application commands to directly access a specific hardware component, without even taking into account the brand of the device, the name of the manufacturer, etc. This is a generally universal bridge that gives the program the ability to run on any hardware in a universal mode. Let's try to express it a little differently. Based on the principle of operation, the functionality of the HAL.dll library can be compared with DirectX.

Why does the "HAL.dll is missing or damaged" error occur?

Generally speaking, there are many reasons for these types of errors to appear. The most common reasons are damage to the RAM and hard drive. In this case, you just need to perform diagnostics. Of course, we cannot exclude the possibility of infection with a virus that can change the structure of this file, as well as completely delete it from the computer’s hard drive. However, today we will not take such situations into account. You should assume that everything is fine with the hard drive in the computer, and there are no viruses on the computer. Thus, the error can be caused solely by software glitches.

System Restore

First of all, let's consider the situation when the system does boot. At the beginning of the boot process, a line may appear on a black screen that tells the user that the HAL.dll file is missing or damaged. In this case, the simplest solution is to boot Windows XP in safe mode with the command line. To do this, at the beginning of the boot process you need to use the F8 key, and then you need to select the appropriate partition. When the command line appears, enter the combination c:\windows\system32\restore\rstrui.exe. Next, you just need to follow the on-screen instructions. In many cases, this allows you to correct the situation. But what should you do if, even after performing this operation, a message appears about the absence of this boot element and the system does not boot at all?

Correcting incorrect entries in boot.ini

Some users do not even know that this error is not necessarily associated with this particular library. Sometimes this problem is a consequence. The reason lies in incorrect entries in the boot.ini file, which point to the volume partition in which the operating system is located. Of course, you can use some programs for Windows XP, but first let's try to figure out how this can be done without third-party tools. First, we boot from any Windows XP installation disk, setting the CD/DVD-ROM as the priority boot device.

After that, press the R button and go to the recovery console. Now you need to select the desired build of the Windows XP operating system. Enter the administrator password and use the bootcfg/rebuild command. Now press “Enter”. When a copy of Windows is detected, add it to the download list and confirm the operation by pressing the Y button. Enter the identifier in the form of a modification of Windows XP. Then we reboot and select the download option with a new source. After this, you can find the boot.ini file on the system. Open it using the standard Notepad program and delete the incorrect download path.

Troubleshoot using the console

The above system recovery options do not always work. The cause of this problem may lie in the absence or corruption of the required file. By default, it should be located on the system drive at Windows\System32\HAL.dll. Here we again need a boot disk and a recovery console. Only now the task comes down to finding the original file on the disk and copying it to the system partition of the hard drive. It should be immediately noted that such operations are only possible in the XP operating system; such tricks will not work with Windows 7 or 8. Let's assume the disk drive on your computer is designated by the letter E.

The file is located on the disk in the i386 folder. In order to make sure that this file is really present, you must use the E:\i386>dir command. The file name may not correspond to the original and is designated as HAL.dl_. In this case, you need to unpack the packed CAB archive. To do this, use the command expand e:i386hal.dl_ c:\windows\system32. Drive C must have a space in front of it. Of course, you can unpack the file directly to the system drive, and then simply copy it to the desired location. But why, if replacement and copying can be done directly? The system should then boot into normal mode without any problems.

How to fix the situation using third-party programs?

There are ways to fix errors related to damage or missing HAL.dll file that require the use of specialized applications. Type Acronis Recovery Expert, Acronis Disk Director, Bootice. These programs are, in principle, not much different from each other. You need to load them from a flash drive or optical media. They use the same principles in their work. Another thing is that the user does not have to enter specific commands. The menu of such applications is completely specific. Such programs are designed to recover damaged and lost data, as well as entire hard drive partitions.

As you have probably already noticed, all of these applications are general programs that are suitable for literally all occasions. In some ways they can help even an inexperienced user. Although the fact that an ordinary user who does not have certain skills and abilities will use these programs is highly doubtful. Most of them, unfortunately, do not even try to understand the essence of the issue and immediately rush to reinstall the operating system. And in vain, because when reinstalling the operating system, such errors may occur that the installation will not be completed. As a result, you risk getting a completely inoperable system.

Conclusion

Using special programs for data recovery is certainly good. However, there is no firm certainty that the required dynamic library file will actually be completely restored. For this reason, despite the ease of working with these applications and their almost complete automation, it is still better to use standard methods for restoring system boot. Of course, they are more complicated and take more time, but in this case you can be sure that the system’s functionality will be fully restored.

But still, in some cases, when dynamic library errors arise due to other software failures, the use of these programs may be completely justified. But if the problem is a malfunction of the RAM or hard drive, then it is unlikely that you will be able to fix this problem at the software level. To begin with, it is better to undergo a full test and, if necessary, replace some elements.

Booting Windows XP is a complex and multi-step process that begins from the moment the computer is turned on and ends after the desktop appears on the screen. During these few minutes, many operations are performed hidden from the user’s eyes, each of which lasts from a fraction of a second to several seconds. The process of starting the system itself can be compared to a relay race, where each participant goes through his part of the path and solves his own, strictly defined tasks, after which he passes the “baton” on. If at least one participating component falls out of this chain, the boot process stops and an error message is usually displayed on the screen.

To have an idea of ​​how Windows XP boots, let's briefly look at its sequence. We will not consider the pre-system stages of turning on the computer (self-testing, initialization and the start of BIOS code execution, etc.), and we will conditionally take the moment the BIOS program reads the first sector of the hard drive, where the master boot record (MBR), containing the boot code, is located. and a partition table (logical disks). So:

• The BIOS reads the MBR (Master Boot Code) and transfers control to it.
• The MBR boot code checks the partition table and finds a partition marked as active, reads its first (boot) sector (Boot Sector), and passes control to the code written there.
• The boot sector code transfers control to the Windows NT bootloader - the NTLDR (NT Loader) file, which is located in the root directory of the disk where the operating system is installed.
• The Windows boot loader puts the processor into 32-bit safe mode, checks for the presence of the hiberfil.sys file (the hibernation image), and if it finds it, loads it. If there is no such image, NTLDR reads the Boot.INI boot configuration file. If more than one operating system is listed in this file, a menu is displayed for the user to choose which system to boot.

• When the user presses the F8 key before starting the system, NTLDR opens a menu of additional boot options:

• Next, the ntdetect.com program is loaded to determine the configuration of the computer’s hardware devices.
• Following this, the Windows XP kernel (ntoskrnl.exe file) and the Hal.dll (Hardware Abstraction Layer) library are loaded, the task of which is to hide differences in computer hardware from the kernel code.
• The NTLDR loader then loads the drivers marked as bootable and passes control to the kernel (ntoskrnl.exe).
• HAL initializes the hardware and prepares the interrupt controller.
• Next, the input/output system is turned on and the remaining drivers are loaded, which are assigned the “auto” startup type.
• The kernel loads the Windows session management subsystem - the Smss.exe file, which creates the user environment and continues loading - starts the graphics subsystem (win32k.sys driver), the client-server subsystem (Csrss.exe) and the user logon program (Winlogon.exe and Lsass.exe) .
• After the user logs in, Userinit.exe is launched, which launches the system shell (Explorer.exe) and network connections. Meanwhile, the desktop appears on the screen.

Why won't Windows XP boot?

The reason why Windows XP won't boot could be any failure in the boot process, such as one or more components being missing or damaged. This can be the boot code in the first partition of the hard drive or active partition, the NTLDR bootloader itself, files responsible for starting Windows, as well as the system registry, which contains information about what to run and in what order.

Loading problems most often result from:

• unqualified installation of several operating systems on a hard drive, when instead of creating a dual-boot configuration, the boot code of a later installed system overwrites the code of a previously installed one;
• viral infection, mainly ransomware blockers, which can modify the launch parameters of files important for loading in the system registry, the files themselves and boot sectors on the disk.
• defects in the surface of the hard drive, leading to damage and loss of data on it;
• interruptions in the computer's power supply during read-write operations of files responsible for loading (if an unexpected shutdown occurs during Windows startup or shutdown, the likelihood that the system will no longer boot is quite significant).

Windows XP Boot Recovery

To figure out why the system won't boot, it's important to determine at what point in the boot process it fails. Problems at the very early stages of start-up will differ in appearance from problems with the boot files responsible for logging into the system. Let's figure out how to diagnose typical Windows boot failures and how to deal with them.

MBR (Master Boot Record) corruption

It manifests itself in that the computer boot is interrupted immediately after startup - after information about the computer manufacturer is displayed on the monitor, the screen remains black. Sometimes an error message is displayed, for example:

• Invalid Partition Table – damage to the partition table;
• Missing Operating System – operating system not found;
• Error Loading Operating System – error loading the operating system.

Solution

• Boot from the Windows XP installation disk to the Recovery Console: place the installation disk in the drive, configure the BIOS to boot from the CDDVD, and run the installer.
• When the text “Welcome to the installer” appears on the screen, press the “R” (recovery) key.

• The Recovery Console will launch. The screen will display a list of copies of Windows XP installed on your computer and you will be asked to select which one to sign in to.

• Next, enter the administrator password (if you have one). If it is not there, just press Enter, followed by the command to rewrite the MBR boot code: fixmbr, press Enter and Exit to exit the console and restart the computer.

This command only restores the MBR boot code, but, unfortunately, does not restore the partition table. Restoring the partition table requires the use of third-party utilities, for example, TestDisk - one of the free and easy to understand tools.

Boot sector corruption

The symptoms look like MBR corruption, but the system may display the following errors:

• And disk read error occurred – disk read errors;
• NTLDR is compressed – NTLDR loader is archived (compressed);
• NTLDR is missing - the bootloader was not found.

Solution

• Download the Recovery Console and log into the copy of Windows XP you need;
• Enter the command: fixboot– the bootloader (code) of the active partition will be overwritten. Next – Enter and Exit.

Important! If your system's root directory does not have the Windows boot loader file NTLDR, you will have to copy it from the installation disk or another copy of Windows XP and place it on the C: drive (if the system is located on it).

With the advent of Windows Vista, a utility was created Bootsect.exe, designed to rewrite the boot code of disk partitions. It can also be used to repair booting Windows XP.

The Bootsect.exe utility can be used if you have another Windows operating system on your hard drive or if you boot from a Windows LiveCD (“live” disk with an operating system that works when booted from a DVD or flash drive).

Restoring the system boot using Bootsect.exe is performed as follows:

• copy the Bootsect.exe file (can be taken from the distribution of Windows Vista and higher) to the root directory of the system whose boot you want to restore.
• start the command line and run the command: Path_to_bootsect.exe /NT52, For example: D:bootsect.exe /NT52.

Boot configuration errors in the Boot.INI file

If the Windows XP boot configuration file contains errors or is missing, the NTLDR boot loader will not be able to find the system. The following messages indicate problems with Boot.INI:

• Check boot path and disk hardware – a suggestion to check the path to the boot disk and the disk itself;
• Could not read from selected boot disk – data could not be read from the boot disk;
• Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem – due to problems with the disk configuration, Windows could not be loaded.

Solution

• Launch the Recovery Console.
• After logging in, run the command: bootcfg /rebuild – Each disk partition will be scanned for a copy of Windows XP installed on it. When the first system is detected, the user will be prompted to add information about its boot to the configuration file:

The boot configuration will be restored.

Damage to system files

Many files take part in loading Windows - in addition to those we have named, several dozen more. The absence or damage of any of them can lead to the fact that the system will not be able to start, but instead will reboot cyclically or “delight” the user with blue screens of death (BSoD). A screenshot of one of the typical errors associated with system files during boot is shown below:

The entry “STOP C000021a (fatal system error)” indicates a fatal system error associated with problems in the Winlogon.exe or Csrss.exe execution input. This most likely indicates that the files are damaged or missing.

Solution

To perform boot repair, you need to find similar files and return them to their “rightful places” - in the WindowsSystem32 directory. Their copies are located in the Windows storage - the WindowsSystem32DllCach folder or on the installation disk in the i386 folder. On the distribution disk, files are stored in compressed form and must be unpacked before replacing. This can also be done using the Recovery Console:

• Copy the folder from the installation disk to the USB flash drive i386, connect it to your computer.
• Log in to the system whose bootloader you want to restore.
• Enter the command: expand d:i386winlogon.ex_ c:windowssystem32– with its help archive file winlogon.ex_ on the installation disk will be unpacked into a folder system32 under the name winlogon.exe. You can restore other files in a similar way. D: – in this case – the letter of the flash drive.

Damage to the SYSTEM registry hive

This registry hive contains information about the startup type of drivers, without which Windows cannot start, as well as some information about the boot configuration. Therefore, if the partition becomes damaged, the NTLDR bootloader will pause and display an error message.

Registry files are unique for each system, so restoring them by transferring them from another copy of Windows is impossible - you need your own partition. A copy of the registry created at the time of system installation is stored in the WindowsRepair directory

Solution

Restoring a damaged partition is also easy to do via the console.

• Sign in to Windows.
• Enter the command: rename c:windowssystem32configsystem system.old and press Enter. The damaged registry hive will be renamed, and now you can copy a new one in its place.
• Run the second command: copy c:windowsrepairsystem c:windowssystem32configsystem– the partition will be restored. After this you will be able to boot the system.

Hello! Today I didn’t plan to do anything on the Internet, I thought I’d go skiing and relax. But this morning I decided to come in for a few minutes to check my email and respond to your comments on the blog. I turn on my younger brother’s computer (he’s running Windows XP) and here’s an error I’m already familiar with “Windows cannot start because the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\config\system file is corrupted or missing.”

It’s a weekend morning, the main thing is that yesterday everything was turned off normally, but today there’s this “beautiful” error. I wrote about one way to fix this error in the article ““. Be sure to look at this article if the method I describe below does not help you.

This means that I needed to quickly solve this error with a missing or damaged \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\config\system file; I had no desire to play for a long time.

Therefore, before booting from the boot disk and replacing the “system” file with a backup one (this is exactly the method I described in the article linked above), I decided to try loading the latest configuration, that is, with the settings when the computer was still starting.

Everything worked out, after selecting the boot with the last known good configuration, the computer turned on and works fine. Now I’ll tell you how to do all this. Just a couple of minutes.

Removing the error “Windows cannot start due to a corrupted or missing file \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\config\system”

I did all this on a computer with Windows XP installed, but I think that this method should also work on Windows 7, but I haven’t tried it yet.

This means the computer showed us an error that there is no file \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\config\system, or it is damaged.

We restart the computer and immediately begin to actively press the F8 key, a window will appear in which you can boot into safe mode, etc. But we are interested in “Loading the last known known good configuration (with working parameters)”. So we select it by pressing “Enter”.

After selecting this item, Windows XP started loading and the computer turned on normally. After another reboot, the error did not appear.

It's that simple, you can remove the error:

Windows cannot start because the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\config\system file is corrupted or missing

If you didn’t succeed in this quick way, then try the method I described in another article. By the way, judging by the number of views of that article, this mistake is very common.

That's all, today is a day off :), so as little work as possible and as much rest as possible. Good luck!

Also on the site:

A quick solution to the error “Windows cannot start because the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\config\system file is corrupted or missing” in Windows XP. updated: January 12, 2015 by: admin

Hello everyone, “” is another error due to which the computer sometimes stops working. A little background. Before the weekend they brought me a computer and asked me to see what was wrong with it, as the user said: “Windows won’t load and an error appears.”

Well, of course, to start diagnosing the problem, I connected it to myself. The computer turned on, seemingly normally, even the BIOS made one short sound, which indicated that the system was ready for operation. But, as soon as it was time to load the operating system, the same error that the user mentioned was immediately displayed in front of me: “Error loading operating system.”

You can immediately draw certain conclusions that the problem lies with the operating system. What could have caused this error? There is no exact answer, since there could be many reasons for the error, starting from an incorrect shutdown of the computer, ending with the installation of some program that could damage system files.

As it turned out, a very large number of different tips and recommendations are described on the Internet ( such as: , reinstall the system or format the disk) to eliminate the text message with the error “Error loading operating system”. But, as it turned out, most of them were simply ineffective and did not bring any benefit. So I had to look for ways to restore the system to a working state on my own. Looking ahead, I’ll say that I succeeded, so read on and you will find out a hundred percent option that will help you cope with the operating system loading error

I want to immediately note that this message appears mainly only on Windows XP. Therefore, all further actions that I will describe below will be shown using this particular operating system as an example. But, if you have this error on Windows 7, then write to me in the comments and I will definitely try to help you.

Getting rid of the “Error loading operating system” error

As I mentioned earlier, I found a lot of advice on the Internet, but for me they were useless. But, I still want to share the topics with you in ways that, in my opinion, are the most appropriate and can really help.

The first of the simplest solutions is to change some settings in the BIOS settings. My examples will be on Pheonix - AwardBIOS, but if you have a different version it's okay, just look for similar names and items. As always, if you have any questions, please leave comments.

Go down one line and select “”.

Additional hard drive settings will open. It is here that by clicking on the item “” we select the value “ Large" After that, save the changes and exit the BIOS by pressing the F10 key. We check the result, if it does not help, move on to the next method.

Fixing the error using Check Disk

In this option, to get rid of the “Error loading operating system” error, we need an installation disk with Windows XP (Example). Which we insert into the drive and . The selection and installation of the necessary drivers will begin, so you will have to wait a few seconds. Then, a menu should appear where for the recovery line you need to press the “ R».

A black screen will appear in the form of a command line; a message should appear on the screen stating that first you need to select the operating system with which we will work. In my screenshot there is only one, so I put the number 1 accordingly, most likely you will have the same.

It will take several minutes to check for errors and correct them, if any were found on the hard drive. At the end of the check, we finish the work in the recovery line with the “Exit” command, after which the computer will begin to reboot, and you just have to check the result of the work done. Again, in case of failure and when the “Error loading operating system” error appears again, we try to get rid of it using the following method.

Getting rid of the “Error loading operating system” error using the Fixmbr command

For this option, as for the previous one, you will need to boot from the installation disk and go to the system restore line. Just like in the previous method using the number 1, select Windows, which we will restore and press the “Enter” key.

Now enter the command: . A text message will appear on the screen warning you that the existing partition table may be damaged. But, since Windows doesn’t load at all, you can safely press the “ Y" (YES), which will confirm the start of the process.

Below, we will write the command. Once again, a message will appear asking: “Do you want to write a new boot sector to the C: partition?” As in the previous option, click on “Y” and confirm the choice.

Now, having entered “Exit”, go back to the BIOS and change the boot priority from the drive to the hard drive. After the next startup of the computer, its performance should be restored to its previous state.