WinXP problem hal.dll after install using nLight.

[LandShark-Simba]

Anyone had similar issues as this?

Read a review of a nice looking product called nLight, which happens also to be free. (Apologies for teaching those who know of it to suck eggs!) It is an app to slipstream installations of Windows XP/2000 or the server variants thereof inc' 2003 to include not just service packs and hotfixes, but also drivers and to eliminate extra unnecessary default items such as MS Messenger, Outlook etc. Had great reviews in a couple of mags so have downloaded to try. Seems to work nice. Copy my XP CD to hard drive, point nLight to the location, point it to SP2, hotfixes, drivers, tell it what items I don't want that are safe to remove, and it re-compiles the XP copy on your hard drive accordingly. You can also do this to run unattended if you wish by setting up which languages you want, entering your serial key etc. Creates an ISO too to burn to CD and so off I went.

Go to install, boy does it seem good, I mean we are talking maybe 1/3rd the time for a standard install off the XP CD. Up and running all is fine until I go to install my WHQL nF4 chipset drivers from nVidia (board is DFI). First time, installs ok, tells me to re-boot and I have a problem, no re-boot.

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: <Windows root> \system32\hal.dll. Please re-install a copy of the above file.

Get the machine into recovery console via my XP cd, won't let me replace the file as it is still protected in this mode. Still, only just built XP and it was fast to do so I think s*d it, I'll re-install.

This time re-install with newly created and formatted partitions. Chipset driver installs fine, this time I use the DFI-supplied driver. However, get a message telling me some Windows files have been changed or ar not as expected, please enter the WinXP cd and press return. Do so, message goes away doesn't come back. Re-start. Fine.

Install DX9.0c ...fine also. Re-start problem all over again ...same message about hal.dll. As I recall, this is something like Hardware Abstraction Layer ...and is linked to the NTFS file system hence probably why I can't access it.

Any ideas? If I have to I'll just run the install off the main CD ...but having seen how fast it can be ...it breaks my heart to think of it ...that and the fact that I have 2 unused copies ...1* SP1 with SP2 disk and 1* with SP2 rolled-up, which I've lost my key for ...so I'll have to use the SP1 disk and then go through updgrading the O/S after install. Depressing

Thanks.

[LandShark-Simba]

Still not luck.

Tried Safe boot again,
No Modes will boot
Bootable from CD but Repair console would not work:

FixMBR - nope
Bootcfg /list, bootcfg /rebuild - nope
Fixboot - nope