Could I have a virus in my bios?

S

stevecaz

New Member
I am having hard drive problems with my Dell XPS 410 computer. I turned on my computer one day and during the boot up process, I got the error:

“Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: <windows root> \sytem32\hal.dll. Please re-install a copy of the above file.
After some research on the Internet on fixing this problem, I find that I need to use the windows XP repair to solve the problem, but during the CD install process, I get this “blue screen of death”:


“A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.
If this is the first time you’ve seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:
Check for viruses on your computer. Remove any newly installed hard drive or hard drive controllers. Check your hard drive to make sure it’s properly configured and terminated. Run CHKDSK/F to check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer.
Technical information:
*** STOP: 0X0000007B (0XF78E2524, 0XC0000034, 0X00000000, 0X00000000)”


And I’m unable to do a CHKDSK/F, because of the missing DL error (unable to get to the C: prompt). Just great! So with this problem, and previous problems indicating that my hard drive is going bad, have lead me to the conclusion to replace the hard drive. Which I did, but my problem is that when I install the new hard drive, and install the windows XP CD, I still get the same “problem has been detected on your computer…” error message.

Could I have a virus in my bios, and how do I get rid of it. I never have seen this before!

Your help is appreciated!
Thanks,

Steve caz
 
hal.dll has something to do with hardware... if you've moved any system files this could be a result... best bet is to reload windows.
 
I wish I could. When I try to reload windows, I get the second error message:


“A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.
If this is the first time you’ve seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:
Check for viruses on your computer. Remove any newly installed hard drive or hard drive controllers. Check your hard drive to make sure it’s properly configured and terminated. Run CHKDSK/F to check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer.
Technical information:
*** STOP: 0X0000007B (0XF78E2524, 0XC0000034, 0X00000000, 0X00000000)”
 
What type of cd are you using? Is is a recovery cd? Or is it a an official XP install cd? I do believe with the XPS 410 you need the sata controller driver at the beginning of windows installation if you are using a genuine microsoft install cd and not a recovery cd.
 
johnb35 said:
What type of cd are you using? Is is a recovery cd? Or is it a an official XP install cd? I do believe with the XPS 410 you need the sata controller driver at the beginning of windows installation if you are using a genuine microsoft install cd and not a recovery cd.
Click to expand...

What he said. Also, make sure the CD is in good condition and not absolutely destroyed, since that has caused a wide range of problems for me installing new OSes.
 
It s the reinstallation CD from Dell. And I tried another reinstallation CD, still in the un-opened package, and it worked!! Thanks guys!! I did not think the first CD was bad. So, instead of trying to fix my missing DLL problem on my old hard drive (which I did try last night with no luck), I'm going to re-install the new hard drive and start fresh.

Thanks again for the help!!
 
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