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Get the fix for the error <strong>HAL.dll is missing or corrupt</strong> on <strong>Windows XP,</strong> <strong>Windows Vista </strong>and<strong> Windows 7</strong>.
<h2>About "HAL.dll is missing or corrupt"</h2>
[kbintro]
<h3><span id="Description_and_Symptoms">Description and Symptoms</span></h3>
The error messages, alerts, warnings, and symptoms below are tied to this error.
<h3>Symptom 1: "HAL is missing, or corrupt" error screen on startup</h3>
The HAL(Hardware Abstraction Layer) serves as an interface between a system's hardware and software, providing a consistent hardware platform on which to run applications. When a HAL is employed, applications do not access hardware directly but access the abstract layer provided by the HAL. For example, responding to an interrupt is quite different on a machine with an Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller (APIC) than on one without. The HAL provides a single function for this purpose that works with all kinds of interrupts by various chipsets, so that other components need not be concerned with the differences. In Windows, HAL is implemented in hal.dll, and when this file is either missing on corrupt, the boot process halts, and a error screen is displayed.

Here is an example of "HAL is missing or corrupt" error screen for Windows XP:

<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/Hal-dll-missing-corrupt-windows-xp.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-4198 size-full" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/Hal-dll-missing-corrupt-windows-xp.png" alt="Hal.dll Win XP error screen" width="720" height="400" /></a>
<pre>Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
&lt;Windows root&gt;\system32\hal.dll.
Please re-install a copy of the above file.</pre>
And here is an example of "HAL is missing or corrupt" error screen for Windows Vista and Windows 7:

<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/h1.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-4207 size-large" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/h1-1024x768.png" alt="Hal.dll Win Vista+ error screen" width="980" height="735" /></a>
<pre>Windows Boot Manager

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the 
cause. To fix the problem:

1. Insert your Windows installation disc and restart your computer.
   2. Choose your language settings, and then click "Next."
   3. Click "Repair your computer."

If you do not have this disc, contact your system administrator or computer 
manufacturer for assistance

File: \Windows\system32\hal.dll
     Status: 0xc0000221
     Info: Windows failed to load because the HAL is missing, or corrupt.</pre>
The "Status" 0x code and the "Info" text may differ, but the file in question is always \Windows\system32\hal.dll
<h2>Causes of this Error</h2>
This error has been known to occur as a result of one of the following causes:
<h3>Cause 1: Invalid BOOT.INI file configuration</h3>
On Windows XP and other operating systems using the NTLDR bootloader, the boot.ini file configuration could be either changed or become incorrect. This consequently means the ARC paths in the <code>[operating systems]</code> section or the <code>default</code> entry in BOOT.INI are incorrect. This can happen if boot.ini is modified (inadvertently or maliciously), if the BIOS settings have changed, or if hardware (especially IDE, SATA, or SCSI disk drives) have been added or removed.
<h3>Cause 2: BCD configuration is incorrect</h3>
Invalid data in BOOTMGR's boot configuration data file (BCD) can cause this error to be present on Windows Vista and Windows 7. Hal.dll is required for the Windows kernel to communicate with the underlying hardware in a platform-agnostic fashion. Incorrect data in the BCD will cause BOOTMGR to load Windows with the wrong system root set, and hal.dll will not be found. This will cause the "HAL is missing or corrupt" error to appear.
<h3>Cause 3: The hal.dll file is in fact corrupted or missing</h3>
Failed Windows Updates or Automatic Updates to Windows that involve an upgrade of critical system files (especially service pack installations) that update hal.dll may result in this error. If hal.dll is not written to the disk correctly, or an incompatible version of hal.dll is used, then "HAL is missing or corrupt" error may appear.
<h3>Cause 4: File system integrity compromised</h3>
The hard drive's file system may become damaged because of disk write errors, power outages or virus attacks. If that's the case, the operating system cannot find hal.dll to boot properly and the loading process is halted.
<h2><span id="Fixing_8220Fatal_INT18_Boot_failure8221_on_Windows">Fixing “Hal.dll is missing or corrupt” on Windows</span></h2>
[setupcd]
<h3>Fix #1: Rebuild boot.ini or BCD with Easy Recovery Essentials</h3>
<span class="message_body">Easy Recovery Essentials’ one-click automated system repair corrects issues caused by missing or misconfigured boot.ini and BCD by recreating them from scratch on the active bootable partition for Windows. This is done automatically as part of the automated repair process, and requires no manual action or user intervention.</span>

[easyre guaranteed="true" error="Hal.dll is missing or corrupt" bootscreen="xp-vista-7"]
<h3>Fix #2: Manually attempt rebuild of boot.ini</h3>
[partial name="partial_bootini"]

Here is an example of what the PC's console output should look like once the boot.ini file is properly restored:

[caption id="attachment_3905" align="alignnone" width="720"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/Bootcfg_rebuild.png"><img class="wp-image-3905 size-full" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/Bootcfg_rebuild.png" alt="Fixing Boot.ini file" width="720" height="396" /></a> Fixing Boot.ini file[/caption]
<h3>Fix #3: Replace hal.dll</h3>
[setupcd]

[partial name="partial_restorefile_xp" file="hal.dll" command="expand D:\\i386\\hal.dl_ C:\\Windows\\system32\\"]

Here is an example of what the PC's console output should look like once the hal.dll file is properly restored:

[caption id="attachment_4202" align="alignnone" width="720"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/hal1.png"><img class="wp-image-4202 size-full" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/hal1.png" alt="Replacing the hal.dll file" width="720" height="396" /></a> Replacing the hal.dll file[/caption]
<h3>Fix #4: Use Startup Repair to attempt HAL replacement</h3>
On Windows Vista and Windows 7, Startup Repair can be used to scan the system for damaged or missing system files to replace the hal.dll file if it is corrupt or missing.

[setupcd]

[partial name="partial_startup_repair"]

Here is an example of what the PC's startup repair should look like once the hal.dll file is properly restored:

[caption id="attachment_4201" align="alignnone" width="800"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/hal.dll-corrupt-restored-win7.png"><img class="wp-image-4201 size-full" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/hal.dll-corrupt-restored-win7.png" alt="Hal.dll restored by Windows 7 Startup Repair" width="800" height="600" /></a> Hal.dll restored by Windows 7 Startup Repair[/caption]
<h3>Fix #5: Repair corrupted system files with the SFC command</h3>
On Windows Vista and Windows 7, it is possible to use the built-in Windows SFC(system file checker) tool to automatically scan a computer's system files and repair them if necessary.

Here are the steps to run SFC:
<ol>
 	<li>Boot from your Windows install disc</li>
 	<li>Click on <strong>Repair your co</strong><strong>mputer</strong> after selecting proper language, time and keyboard input.</li>
 	<li>Select the Windows installation drive, which is usually <code>C:\</code>, and click <strong>Next</strong></li>
 	<li>Choose Command Prompt when the System Recovery Options box appears</li>
 	<li>Write the following command and press <kbd>Enter</kbd> afterwards:
<pre>sfc /scannow /offbootdir=D:\ /offwindir=D:\Windows\</pre>
Replace D: with the letter of the driver where Windows is installed, and D:\Windows with the Windows folder location.</li>
</ol>
Here is an example of what the PC's console output should look like once the sfc.exe scan is complete and missing files are successfully restored:

[caption id="attachment_4233" align="alignnone" width="800"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/sfc_result.png"><img class="wp-image-4233 size-full" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/sfc_result.png" alt="Hal.dll restored by the SFC utility" width="800" height="600" /></a> Hal.dll restored by the SFC utility[/caption]
<h3>Fix #6: Check the hard drive with CHKDSK utility</h3>
If the hard drive has its file integrity compromised, it is possible to use built-in Windows CHKDSK utility to scan the disk and fix the file system errors.

Here are the steps to run CHKDSK:
<ol>
 	<li>Boot from your Windows install disc</li>
 	<li>Click on <strong>Repair your co</strong><strong>mputer</strong> after selecting proper language, time and keyboard input.</li>
 	<li>Select the Windows installation drive, which is usually <code>C:\</code>, and click <strong>Next</strong></li>
 	<li>Choose Command Prompt when the System Recovery Options box appears</li>
 	<li>Write the following command and press <kbd>Enter</kbd> afterwards:
<pre>chkdsk C: /f</pre>
Replace C: with the letter of the driver where Windows is installed.</li>
</ol>
Here is an example of what the PC's console output should look like once the chkdsk.exe is complete:

[caption id="attachment_3697" align="alignnone" width="800"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/04/VirtualBox_Win7_clean_21_04_2016_03_58_48.png"><img class="wp-image-3697 size-full" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/04/VirtualBox_Win7_clean_21_04_2016_03_58_48.png" alt="Chkdsk utility results screen" width="800" height="600" /></a> Chkdsk utility results screen[/caption]
<h2>More Information</h2>
<h3>Linked Entries</h3>
<ul>
 	<li><a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/bootcfg/">bootcfg</a></li>
</ul>
[partial name="partial_moreinfo" versions="xp,vista,7"]