The first thing I found was that after getting to the Recovery Console I couldn’t get the cd-rom to come up.  Discovery # 1 the map command.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/termsm/p/map.htm

Map Command Examples:

map

In the above example, typing the map command will display a list of all drive partitions and corresponding drive letters, file systems, and physical locations.

The output might look like this:

C:\WINDOWS>map

C: NTFS 120254MB \Device\Harddisk0\Partition1
D: \Device\CdRom0

This allowed me to finally figure out that his Dell threw the cd-rom all the way to the H drive.  Lovely!

So from the command prompt I copied the 2 files I needed over to the c:\ partition.

copy h:\i386\ntldr c:\

copy h:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\

If you get an “access denied” error that means you are trying to copy the files to a directory other than c:\.

After rebooting I was presented with another error.

hal.dll is missing or corrupt

This one I actually found on the Dell.com website. (which shocked the heck out of me!)

1. Insert the Windows XP CD into the CD drive and restart the computer.
2. Press the <Spacebar> when prompted Press any key to boot from CD.
3. At the Welcome to Setup screen press <R> to start the Recovery Console.
4. If prompted, select the number corresponding to the Windows installation you want to log into (usually C:\WINDOWS) and press <Enter>.
5. Enter the Administrator password, if any, and press <Enter>.
6. At the C:\WINDOWS> prompt, type cd \ and press <Enter>.
   There is one space between cd and \ (the backslash).
7. Type bootcfg /rebuild and press <Enter>.
   There is one space between bootcfg and / (the slash) and no space between / and rebuild.
8. When prompted Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All), type y, and press <Enter>.
9. When Enter Load Identifier appears, type one of the following that best describes your operating system and press <Enter>:
   • Windows XP Home Edition for Windows XP Home Edition
   • Windows XP Professional for Windows XP Professional
   • Windows XP Media Center for Windows XP Media Center
10. When Enter OS Load Options appears, type /NoExecute=OptIn /fastdetect and press <Enter>.
11. Remove the Windows XP CD from the CD drive.
12. Type Exit, and press <Enter> to reboot into Windows XP.

(On step Number 10 you type exactly as you would like it to appear on the OS choice menu.  If you wanted you could get inventive and call it something else)

This command rebuilds the Windows OS choice menu.

Voila!

Rebooted and back to working Windows XP box.

In case you need any further info here is a link to the Recovery Console page at Microsoft

KB 314058

Having spent the last week in training for Uverse (new att video, voice etc service) I more than ever hate people. Theres always that one person in any corporate training class that knows more than the trainer, has seen more things than anyone in the class and has to have a point of view or input on ever single point brought up.

It’s enuf to make you wan’t to throw em off an overpass!

More later when I can add some media links. Otherwise this is gonna be one boring ass blog!