Restoring Image Does NOT Get Rid of hal.dll Error

Hi-

I use Acronis True Image Home 10 to back up my computer. I recently used Paragon HD Manager to shrink my system partition and use that unallocated space to increase my personal file partition.

Something went horribly wrong and I got the dreaded hal.dll error. I then used my bootable Acronis disk to restore the image I had made earlier. I rebooted and once again got the same hal.dll error.

Using the recovery cd from Paragon, I found that my boot.ini file was:
[boot loader]
timeout=0
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS

[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows" /fastdetect

I changed it to:
[boot loader]
timeout=7
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS

[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows" /fastdetect

This allowed me to get past the hal.dll error, but when I tried to logon, I was immediately logged off.

Does anyone have any ideas? Why would the hal.dll error stick around after I restore the working image I created before any of this occured?

By the way, I tried to reinstall XP from my Gateway Recovery CD and I did NOT get the hal.dll error.

 

ThatDude,

Sounds like you did it in an unconventional way.

Try fdisk /mbr from a Win98 floppy to zero the DiskID. If you don't have a floppy drive use this boot CD. Burn it as an image, not as data.

http://www.acronis.com/files/support/mbrautowrite_en.iso

Did it work?

 

Thanks for your reply. I used the disk and now when I boot up, I get the Invalid Operating System! message. I'm restoring the image (again). Hopefully, it'll work.

 

You are the second person today to get that message. I'll try the current download on my test computer.

No floppy drive?

 

Nope, only a CD drive. Good luck!

 

It didn't wipe out my MBR. Just worked as usual but it is suspicious that it's happened twice in a day.

Here is the other thread.

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=210558

I'd expect you to get the hal.dll error again when you restore that image. Fix the boot.ini as you did before and if you still don't get past the logon screen I'd zero your DiskID with BING (Clear Sig). Just ask if you have questions.

PS.... Did you select Restore MBR with the current restore?

 

Thanks. What's "BING (Clear Sig)"?

 

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/bootit-next-generation.htm

If you need to use it, I'll help out. It's not intuitive. There is a trial period of use and you don't need to install it on your HD.

 

Maybe somehow a BIOS setting got zapped and that's why HAL is complaining. Try resetting your CMOS (jumper on the motherboard).

 

I would only try resetting the BIOS as an absolute last resort. That can cause other problems and the user may not have a record of any custom settings.

----

ThatDude,

Can you list the partitions on the drive in their physical order?

Is there a partition before the Windows partition?

Checking the Partition Table Slot for the Windows partition should show it is in Slot 2 since that's what TI set the boot.ini file values at.

When you restored the Windows partition, did you select to restore it as an Active partition?

 

So, after some kind of miracle or something, I finally got the laptop to boot up. I think that the problem was with the MBR or with the disk ID, because I used the tool Brian K supplied me in his first post. After that, I booted into the Windows XP Recovery Console and used the fixmbr command and then the bootcfg /rebuild command.

Unfortunately, it boots up in Full Shadow Mode (I have PowerShadow - virtualization software). When I use the PsRecuer.exe provided by PowerShadow to boot into Normal Mode after a restart, I once again recieve the hal.dll error. Doing the steps I did in the Windows XP Recovery Console allows me to boot again, but into Full Shadow Mode.

My Disk 0 (my only hard disk) is partitioned into C: and then ACRONIS SZ.

When the computer boots into Normal Mode, the entry on the boot.ini file is C:\PSALDR and the entry for Full Shadow Mode is multi(0)disk(0)partition(1)\windows. It's a PowerShadow created thing (the C:\PSALDR).

Any ideas?

Edit:
Also, when I tried using Snap Restore I was told something along the lines that my image was not bootable.

 

Ok, so I got an idea, but I need someone to help me figure out a way to put it into action. I need to be able to uninstall a driver (C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\snpshot). This is the driver for PowerShadow. If I uninstall it or prevent it from loading during boot, my problem might be fixed. Any ideas on how to disable/uninstall the driver before Windows boots?

 

You have run fixmbr so the xfdisk MBR has been removed. Now you have further boot.ini issues. I suggest using different boot.ini edits to see if WinXP boots. EditBINI is an easy way to do this.

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/downloads-free-software.htm

 

The driver might appear in the /run key in registry, if so, then -

START\RUN type in "msconfig" (without the quotes).

Click on the startup tab, run down the list until you find the snpshot path entry, untick, close MSCONFIG, either restart now when it asks or later. After a reboot you will get a warning message pop up, pointing out a change has been made to the configuration - tick the box if you don't want this happening every time you log on to Windows.

Then sort out your boot.ini etc.

If your system will allow it, boot into XP safe mode and edit MSCONFIG there - in theory the driver shouldn't be running in this mode and be easier to uninstall or disbable

Colin

 

Perhaps in this case the OP has "bigger fish to fry", but I otherwise disagree w/your comment: resetting BIOS restores Factory settings. Any user smart enough about BIOS knows what he's done to change the settings, or otherwise can tweak them again as needed.

 

Factory settings will usually work. However, some people make changes to their computer (or have other people make changes). They change their memory, CPU, drive setup, etc. True, these people usually know what changes they made to the BIOS settings (or they should). In some cases, changes to BIOS settings have to be made as the other hardware changes are made and if you reset back to factory settings, the computer will have a problem. If you're using RAID, then you may have to reconfigure that too.

Also, some people are not comfortable poking around inside their computer to reset the BIOS. Sometimes it's a little jumper on the motherboard and sometimes you have to move a jumper and remove the battery. Most have an option in the BIOS menu to reset values, but I've seen that not do a complete reset too many times to count on that method.

In most cases, if the BIOS settings get corrupted or hardware is detected differently and the computer will still boot, it will display a message stating the fact.

 

Hello ThatDude,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

We are sorry for delayed response.

We recommend you to submit a request for technical support. Attach all information (including the lack of floppy drive) to your request along with the step-by-step description of the actions taken before the problem appears and the link to this thread. We will do our best to investigate the problem and try to provide you with a solution.

Thank you.
--
Marat Setdikov

 

We also had the hal.dll error.

Nothing helped, boot into restore mode from the XP installation CD and FIXMBR...Restore another image...nothing.

It seemed the Disk of the Pc had a Windows XP Dynamic disk before restore.
The image was based on the WinXP basic disk format.

We did boot with XP installation CD and a reformat of the disk and installed WinXP on the Pc forced to be not a dynamic but basic disk..

After WinXP was installed the Pc did boot without the hal.dll error.

Now restored the image to this system and viola...it worked!

Its a workaround you could try......