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Windows 7 reporting missing or corrupt hal.dll boot file

I have researched the issue and have found fixes for Windows XP, but none for Vista or 7.

The issue occured after a defragmentation using Piriform's Defraggler (good as Windows 7 is, its system tools are not quite up to standard and I use several third-party and modified tools such as these). I suspect that Defraggler may have attempted to defragment either HAL.dll or Boot.ini, thus causing the error.

I still have my Windows 7 installation disk to hand if that is needed, though I cannot copy the file over from another installation in Safe Mode since I only have one computer capable of running Windows 7.

Thanks for any help in advance.
Answer
Answer
The command 'sfc /scannow' will repair any damaged system file, but I doubt that is the issue. My first guess would be a partition set to 'nt52' (as in XP) instead of 'nt60' for Win 7. bootsect is the utility that changes that. 
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Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
Shall I put sfc /scannow into the command prompt just in case that's any good?

Also, does that mean that a full reinstall is my only other option? If it is, I'm going to send it to a local IT support company who I did my work experience with, they'll be able to Ghost my HD for me. I hope.

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Last updated April 25, 2020 Views 49,089 Applies to: