i get an error that says that the following file is missing or corrupt
<windows root>/system32/hal.dll and to reinstall it or something.

i think it was along those lines. thanks for any help

When exactly is it saying this? How far do you get after you hit enter to boot windows?

nivek7 try this....

If you have a bootable CD, boot off it and run the setup in repair mode(windows will ask you to choose). its called the recovery console. here u'll have to select the partition on which windows is installed and provide your administrator password.

once you get the prompt. run a chkdsk against your disk first.

eg: chkdsk c:

let it complete. now locate hal.dll in your CD. it will mostly be in the i386 folder. install a fresh copy of it using the "extract"/"expand" (i am not completely sure.... or just type help at the prompt and u'll get a list of commands). This should atleast fix the hal.dll file.

reboot and see if alls well. if chkdsk had reported errors, then there could be other broken files.

Hope this helps.....

DaVenom
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"Excellence is never an accident"