hal.dll message after xp pro install on reformatted RAID 0

[mabcc]

I am trying to perform a fresh install of XP Pro on a completely reformatted RAID 0 array ("striping") composed of two identical 160gb EIDE HD's. I have gone through the following steps a couple of times: (1) ran setup from the XP disc, loading the RAID files when prompted, (2) deleted the existing partition, (3) requested a new install, which setup informed me would require the entire disk to be reformatted (I didn't create a new partition, on purpose). I noticed that the install program would not allow me to reformat 8MB of disk space, which it apparently reserves for installation files. The formatting took >24 hrs so I was never around to see what happened after it finished, but what I did see (in a DOS-like screen, white on black) was a "HAL.DLL is missing/corrupt" message.

Since then I have gone into the XP install disc's recovery console and tried re-installing XP over the existing (incomplete) install, ignoring the warning that that wasn't a good idea. Same 'hal.dll' message appeared after the XP files are copied onto the HD and the system reboots. I also deleted and then rebuilt the boot.ini file. Also attempted to copy hal.dll from the install disk's i386 folder but recovery console doesn't see my cd-rom drive. Anyway, I can see via the recovery console that hal.dll is there, and I'd be surprised if it was corrupt since this is a fresh install. I'm using the original disc from Microsoft, btw, not a copy.

The original configuration of the computer was RAID 1 ("mirroring") and dual-boot (XP and Win 2K Server, which was what I used primarily), and the computer worked fine until I tried to change the RAID configuration from "mirrored" to "spanned". When I did that, the machine took a LONG time to boot. I restored it to "mirrored" and performance went back to normal. But I didn't need the redundant storage nor the dual boot configuration since I only needed XP Pro, so I decided to set up RAID for "striping" and reinstall XP as my ONLY OS. And that's how I got to where I am.

I am running chkdsk /r right now.

Would appreciate any help. Thanks.

Martin

Can't access system info but here's what I can tell you about the setup

ASUS mobo
Pentium
1g ram
2 Maxtor 160g hd's
Promise TX2000 RAID card

 

[rvnguy]

You can not just copy the hal.dll, as it stands for Hardware Abstraction Layer and is built through an install and contains the hardware specifics of your system. MS's anti piracy scheme.

You did not specifically state that you provided the install the SATA drivers, you did state RAID drivers, I think you need both.

Also, prior to starting the install, you should be prompted upon boot the press some key to enter the RAID controller BIOS, do this and setup your RAID 1 array there, after this proceed with the XP install and you should be good to go.

btw once the array is setup & formatted through the RAID bios, do not accept the drive formatting options in XP setup.

rvnguy
"I know everything..I just can't remember it all

 

[mabcc]

<You can not just copy the hal.dll> Just as well, I say. I doubt the issue is a corrupt file.

<You did not specifically state...> These are PATA drives; do I need drivers for them?

I have been in the RAID controller BIOS a few times but didn't notice an option to format there - interesting. If it IS an option then I'll try it. Thank you!

 

[rvnguy]

You should also read this link, I may have spoke out of turn an the Hal.dll, it does need to exist first for it to be built with the correct hardware config.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=314477

Hope this helps get you sorted out

rvnguy
"I know everything..I just can't remember it all

 

[mabcc]

yeah i saw that. followed methods 1 and 2. Under method 3, it tells you to reinstall ntoskrnl.dll. i tried what they suggested from within the recovery console but couldn't get the recov console to see my cd-rom (f drive. know how i can deal with that? anyway, i skipped to method 4 (run chkdsk /r) and will see what that reveals.

 

[linney]

24 hours to format seems a bit strange and not quite right?

HOW TO SET UP A RAID ARRAY

http://www.pctechguide.com/tutorials/RAID.htm

RAID Tutorial

http://decentdownloads.x-istence.com/Forum/lofiversion/index.php/t21.html

 

[jhutz42]

i was just getting this message this morning after making a new install.

not sure if this will help or not but its definently worth a shot.
pop in your windows xp disc, and get into the recovery console from there.
select your install from the list and login, when you see a command prompt type:
x:\i386\hal.dl_ c:\windows\system32

x = drive # of your bootable cd-rom

this will copy a fresh hal.dll file from the xp disk to the directory and hopefully will fix it

 

[mabcc]

Good news! I was able to get past the error message and install XP. Bad news: I had to revert to RAID 1 (mirroring) configuration to do it. That's how the machine was originally set up. So I guess changing from RAID 1 to RAID 0 involves more than just going into the RAID BIOS, deleting the existing array and then creating a new one. Any idea what additional steps I should have taken?

 

[linney]

RAID 1 to RAID 0"

http://www.google.com/search?source...48,GGLG:en&q="changing+from+RAID+1+to+RAID+0"

http://groups.google.com/groups/search?ie=UTF-8&q="RAID+1+to+RAID+0"&qt_s=Search