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“SystemRoot_System32_hal.dll is missing or corrupt” Received During Installation of Windows XP

If you are receiving this message other than when installing Windows XP, please refer to the following article: Message "Windows Could not Start Because the Following File is Missing or Corrupt" (NTOSKRNL.EXE or HAL.DLL).

The Windows XP setup program will reorder the MBR by the physical order of the partitions on the disk and BOOT.INI will still point to the partitions as they were when setup began. This means that if you had two partitions in the MBR where the first partition is farther into the drive, you will receive a <SystemRoot>\System32\hal.dll is missing or corrupt message when setup reboots.

To correct this problem, use one of the following methods:

  • Use the BootIt BM installation media to reactivate BootIt BM, then boot from the boot item used to start the Windows XP installation.

    -- Or --

  • In BootIt BM, go to Maintenance, Partition Work, View MBR and then reorder the partitions as they should be. Then, click Apply, Close, and Reboot.

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