Computer Hope
Microsoft => Microsoft Windows => Windows XP => Topic started by: delluser07 on May 09, 2007, 03:03:43 AM
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I am having more problems with my computer (my previous thread is http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,35151.0.html). I have taken out my damaged hard drive and added a newer one as a master, which was a slave drive previously. It has a capacity of 160gb. I created a new partition, and the XP SP2 CD copied files from it to the new partition. It then had to restart the computer to continue with the installation. But I am now getting an annoying message,
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.
I have been able to get into the recovery console, and access the windows\system32 folder and the hal.dll is there. Is it possible it is using the wrong hal.dll as previously, my damaged hard drive had this, but I can't access that drive, even from a friends computer.
I have looked at forums and the main solution seems to be to re-copy/expand the hal.dll file from the CD and run the bootcfg /rebuild command. But none of these work.
The boot.ini file is as follows,
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
signature(000000)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
(signature() contains some numbers, can't remember exactly)
I then ran the chkdsk /r command and I got this message,
The volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems.
There has never been a problem with the drive itself as it's new and it is spinning OK too. Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks
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faulty or damaged IDE controller? Does your motherboard have 2 ide channels, and does it happen on either, and have you tried a different cable? Are you using an 80 wire cable? If so, is the blue end plugged in to the motherboard?
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Yes, my motherboard has 2 IDE channels. One is connected to the hard drive and the other to a CD/DVD. I haven't tried the hard drive on the second IDE channel. Also, I haven't tried another cable, but would that really affect it? Not sure about 80 wire cable. How can I tell?
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Have you tried the options at computerhope?
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000490.htm
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Not sure about 80 wire cable. How can I tell?
Is it a gigantic hard drive and an old ( > 4 yrs or so) BIOS? That combination can cause HAL problems.
Or not set up properly in the BIOS
After you install Windows, you may notice that the Advanced RISC Computing (ARC) path entry in the Boot.ini file starts with "signature()" syntax. For example:
signature(8b467c12)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(2)\winnt="description"
Signature() syntax is used only if one of the following conditions exists:
• The System BIOS or controller hosting the boot partition on which Windows is installed, does not support INT-13 EXTENSIONS, or has the INT-13 Extensions option disabled, and the partition on which you installed Windows is either larger than ~7.8 gigabytes (GB) in size, or the ending cylinder number for that partition is higher than 1024.
• The drive on which you installed Windows is connected to a SCSI controller whose BIOS is disabled, so INT13 BIOS calls cannot be used during the boot process.
Faulty cables can give some very odd and misleading errors.
If you have only one drive on a cable, connect it to the end connector, not the middle one.
I think you would get a message at POST if you had the wrong cable, but just in case..
You can tell if your cable is 80 wire because...
80 wire cable has more and thinner wires
(http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/ide/z_000524wires4080.jpg)
40 wire cables have all black connectors
(http://www.eutronix.com/IDE_cable2.jpg)
80 wire cables have one blue one grey and one black connector
(http://www.cablesdirect.com/prodimages/IDEU-2B_LR.jpg)
The blue one goes in the motherboard,
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OK, I do have an 80 wire cable. The blue connector is in the motherboard, and the black one is on the hard drive. The middle one is free. I'll try to get another one just in case or swap it with the CD/DVD drive one, but I don't think that will do it.
I have tried the solutions on http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000490.htm link. Nothing has worked.
Any other solutions please?
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see I edited my post. That "Signature" thing points to a BIOS setting problem. Unless you are using a SCSI drive!
Delluser, how old is your computer? What is the BIOS date?
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Well, the hard drive is 160gb and I created a partition of only 6gb to install Windows XP. I have had this computer for about 6 years, so I guess that's how old the BIOS is.
Sorry about my limited hardware knowledge, but how can I tell if it is a SCSI drive? Also, what is INT-13 EXTENSIONS and could I set/enable this from the BIOS. You seem to be narrowing the problem down....hopefully!
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I have had this computer for about 6 years, so I guess that's how old the BIOS is.
There you go... 6 years is a long time in the world of computers!!!
If it was a SCSI drive it wouldn't fit the IDE connector.
Light is beginning to dawn... was your previous drive under 8 GB in size?
To enable Int 13 extensions, you need to go into the BIOS and enable LBA (Logical Block Addressing). The option will probably be found in the section where you set up your hard drive. If the option is not there, your BIOS may be too old. I asked before, what is the BIOS date? You can see it in the bottom left hand corner of the screen as you power up and the POST screen appears. There may be a BIOS update available, but if the motherboard is very old, buying another may the best bet all round. It may even be flaking out, as I mentioned before.
for example this BIOS date is April 17, 2003
(http://www.linuxhardware.org/images/articles/nf2kt400-071003/SOYO-KT400-BIOS-Post.jpg)
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???
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Did you see the edit? Pls give BIOS date & motherboard maker & model
Another thought... have you ever replaced the CMOS battery? Does the internal clock lose time or display an odd date & time?
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OK, I'm not at home at the moment, so I will have to come back with the BIOS date and motherboard details tomorrow, along with the hard drive details.
My previous drive was 20gb.
I know 6 years is a lot, but the computer has worked fine without any problems. I've only had to upgrade my RAM from 128mb to 512mb and graphics card. My processor is 933MHZ, so it is quite slow but HAS been reliable.
You mentioned,
"If it was a SCSI drive it wouldn't fit the IDE connector."
but it does fit, so it isn't a SCSI drive. Getting slightly confusing.
No, I haven't replaced the CMOS battery, but again, not knowing too much about hardware, I wouldn't know where that is on first look. Is this a good idea to try? The clock time is OK, it hasn't displayed an odd date at all.
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"If it was a SCSI drive it wouldn't fit the IDE connector."
but it does fit, so it isn't a SCSI drive. Getting slightly confusing.
You asked, "how can i tell if I have a SCSI drive?" I was answering that by telling you that you clearly do not have one.
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Oh OK.
I will try to enable Int 13 extensions and let you know the outcome.
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OK. I had a bit of a success although I have a newer different problem.
For the missing hal.dll problem, you were right, contrex, about the boot.ini file containing the signature field. Although I'm sure I tried it last week, I used a generic boot.ini file which had the multi field within it. I went to the recovery console, deleted the wrong one and added the new one, booted it up and it installed XP.
Another thing within the recovery console, I used the command map arc before I replaced the boot.ini file and it showed the hard drive as,
C: NTFS 2000MB scsi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)
About the BIOS itself, the main BIOS screen doesnt show the BIOS date. It says
Intel Corporation 1996-2001
BIOS version A10
..
EA81510A.10A.0036P12.0109170945
Although it doesn't matter that much the motherboard Intel 815E, AAA10383-403.
Thanks contrex.
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About my newer different problem, last week when everything was fine, my old drive contained windows XP, and the newer drive had about 40gb of data (out of 160gb). As the old one is now damaged, I created a new partition of 2gb on this newer drive so I can install windows on it. This partition is now the C: drive, the question is where has all my 40gb of data gone that was there when it was a slave to the old drive. Yesterday I went into Disk Management, and saw the drive. It displayed C: Healthy (system)..2gb ....and next to it displayed, Unallocated space 140gb. Has my data suddenly disappeared, because I am sure I didn't format the whole drive?
How do I add the rest of the drive?
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Well, at least you got the disk recognised. You used the map arc command in recovery console, and it read the erroneous boot.ini file, and showed you the hard drive accordingly.
Let's take the new problem step by step.
About my newer different problem, last week when everything was fine, my old drive contained windows XP, and the newer drive had about 40gb of data (out of 160gb). As the old one is now damaged,
I created a new partition of 2gb on this newer drive so I can install windows on it.
(1) 2 GB is a bit small unless you aren't going to be installing much in the way of applications...
(2) How did you do this? What method/software did you use to create the partition?
This partition is now the C: drive, the question is where has all my 40gb of data gone that was there when it was a slave to the old drive.
I fear the answer to question (2) above may tell us that...
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I used the XP Installation screen to create the partition.
Let me start from when I had the old hard drive problem.
While that one was installed I had the invalid boot diskette error (my first thread contains more info). I was able to boot using the XP CD to the installation screen. My first thought was to do a Repair Installation. When I got to that screen though, it had mentioned "Setup cannot access this disk". Underneath that, it displayed the 2nd hard drive with the information,
Partition 1 158gb (110gb free) (with more specific numbers)
Now I am 100% sure :-\ (I hope), that I did not delete the partition from this screen (i.e by pressing D). I then took out my old drive, and set this new drive as the master. I got to the install screen again, only this time it mentioned something like Unallocated space 158gb. On that screen I pressed C to create a new partition, and I entered 2000MB. It then copied files and restarted to finished with the installation.
2gb is small but I was planning to use the unpartitioned space of the drive to install applications.
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Now I am 100% sure :-\ (I hope)
Sounds like the girl who said "I'm 100% sure I'm a virgin... I hope!"...
that I did not delete the partition from this screen (i.e by pressing D). I then took out my old drive, and set this new drive as the master. I got to the install screen again, only this time it mentioned something like Unallocated space 158gb. On that screen I pressed C to create a new partition, and I entered 2000MB.
Did you hear any faint musical sounds as you pressed C? That was your data setting off up the Swanee...
It then copied files and restarted to finished with the installation.
Right up the Swanee!
2gb is small but I was planning to use the unpartitioned space of the drive to install applications.
have you ever used XP before? This can be done, but it is tricky to get working right, I hear.
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So creating a 2gb partition on the new drive deleted 40gb of data? That is madness >:(
Also, when I set the new drive as a master, why did it not specify the data that was there when this drive was a slave.
I would have thought it doesn't affect it. How wrong! Now what, Is there anything I can do?
Data recovery software?? Is this any good?
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk
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So creating a 2gb partition on the new drive deleted 40gb of data? That is madness >:(
Creating a new primary partition involves creating a new partition table which destroys the old one, hosing the data it contains. Normal, not madness. Monkeying with partitions is a number 1 way to lose data. (Sorry to be so blunt, but I have to add "if you don't know what you are doing". And even if you do, sometimes!)
Also, when I set the new drive as a master, why did it not specify the data that was there when this drive was a slave.
Maybe it got lost already... maybe the data loss predates all this.
I would have thought it doesn't affect it. How wrong! Now what, Is there anything I can do? Data recovery software??
A possibility, I guess, but you'll want to consult a specialist.
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Should I stop using this hard drive then? I guess continuing to add data or install programs might make recovering the lost partition more difficult.
Is there some recovery software that can be run from a floppy on startup, so it could read the hard drive and then find and add the lost partition or something?
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You could try something like Partition Table Doctor, the trial version (supposedly) will tell you if there is data to be recovered, the full paid for version allows you to recover it.
http://www.easeus.com/download.htm
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OK, I'll give it a go.
Unfortunately, it requires you to have a good drive to install the software and the recoverable drive attached as a slave. I'll have to ask a friend to check it then, unless there is software that can check if you only have one drive on master?
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Well, I tried out a couple of recovery programs, and they have done half the job. The programs have been able to find files from previous partitions, but when I try to recover some of them, they seem to be corrupt. Even a simple .jpg file does not open, and .htm and .txt files have lots of random characters on them.
Are these files corrupt, and if not is it possible to fix them so that they are readable?
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Should I stop using this hard drive then? I guess continuing to add data or install programs might make recovering the lost partition more difficult.
Is there some recovery software that can be run from a floppy on startup, so it could read the hard drive and then find and add the lost partition or something?
Yes, stop using it until you are ready to get the data off. Spinrite will do this, but it is not free. www.grc.com
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I have attached a new master drive, but as mentioned, after running the recovery program, I have been able to view a list of files from the lost partitions, but when recovering them to the new drive they are unreadable or corrupt. Is there a fix for this? I'll try spinrite too just in case.
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The hard drive problems are getting worse and worse.
Over the weekend, a friend attached the drive I'm trying to recover data from to his computer as a slave drive. He ran 2 recovery programs and was able to see some files that had been lost to a previous partition. He did not recover any files to his hard drive and did not overwrite data on the damaged one. The hard drive has a capacity of 160gb (147gb unallocated space).
I took it back and installed a new hard drive as a master to my own computer and attached the damaged one as a slave drive. Now all of a sudden when I start my computer, my damaged drive has ONLY 30gb capacity, even on Admin Tools->Disk Management.
Where the heck has my disk space gone? Have some sectors been permanently deleted? If so, is going to a specialist the final solution? What a nightmare!
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I think by repartitioning the drive you have complicated things so much that the data is gone unless you want to pay a LOT of money with no guarantees. Partitioning a drive (correctly) requires some thought and a little experience.
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I think there are data recovery services that only charge if they CAN recover data, I guess that's my only choice now, unless someone else knows any other possible solutions.
I did a quick check on the Microsoft website and there is one article that describes my problem, and the solution would be to update the BIOS because that might be faulty, but it never has been in th past, so it probably won't work.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316505/
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Is this one possible reason why its showing 31gb?
http://erms.samsungusa.com/customer/sea/jsp/faqs/faqs_view.jsp?PG_ID=1&AT_ID=5549&PROD_SUB_ID=26&PROD_ID=-1
Something about jumper settings and the 32gb barrier.