How do you change hal.dll on a current Windows XP SP2 system

I changed the motherboard to a ECS 828P-A ver. 2.0 with a pentium 4 2.8 GHz 800Mhz with ht. When I bootup Windows XP did not change hal.dll from up to mp. I tried to update driver for acpi via device manager, but there are only two options acpi and standard. On a new installation there are four. I know this because I installed a new system on this pc and it show four which includes acpi mp, acpi up, standard, and acpi. It set it up with two cpu's in the task manager, so I know it is working properly.
Does anyone know how to change it.
Thanks.
Manny

 

Here is the description of a switch that can be added to your boot.ini file that may accomplish your goal. First check that you have the halmps.dll that is referenced. If so, then edit the boot.ini file and add the switch at the end of the operating system command string.

/HAL=filename
Allows you to define the actual hardware abstraction layer (HAL) to be
loaded at startup. This switch is useful in trying out a different HAL
before renaming it to hal.dll. This switch is also useful when you want
to try booting between multiprocessor and single processor mode when
used in conjunction with the /KERNEL switch. For example,
/HAL=halmps.dll. This will load Halmps.dll from the System32 directory.

It it produces the desired result, you will have the option of renaming the file so as to replace your existing, after having renamed it to hal.old of course. As an alternate, you could place another operating system command string in the boot.ini file and leave the original so that the system will allow you to choose either HAL file at boot time.

Please see other boot.ini switches.

 

Sorta off topic but, does anyone know any good sources for info re: hal.dll & system crashes? It happened to me last summer, & the only relevant info I've come across (that I understand, anyway) has merely been that it sometimes happens w/XP (not much help). I'm hoping I can learn enough to (hopefully) prevent it from possibly happening again. Thanx (& sorry for the interruption).

 

If you press F5 (when prompted to press F6) during a repair installation, you will get these options:

ACPI Multiprocessor PC
Applies to a multiple-processor ACPI computer.
• ACPI Uniprocessor PC
Applies to an ACPI multiple-processor board but with a single processor installed.
• Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC
Applies to a single processor motherboard with single processor.
• Compaq SystemPro Multiprocessor or 100% Compatible
Applies to a Compaq SystemPro computer.
• MPS Uniprocessor PC
Applies to non-ACPI computers dual processor motherboard with a single processor installed.
• MPS Multiprocessor PC
Applies to non-ACPI computers with a dual processor running.
• Standard PC
Applies to any Standard PC, non-ACPI, or non-MPS. The CPU may be a 386, a 486, a Pentium, a Pentium II, or a Pentium III.
• Standard PC with C-Step i486
• Other

I think that the only reliable way to change will be to do a re-installation since XP will only allow changes to a "reliable" HAL.

 

-User-, I think the hal.dll related crashes tend to be sort of one-off occurrences or at least based on a particular PC problem. If you get one then you should have a dump file (if you are set to generate a dump in the event of a crash). In that case, check out Joe Hobart's sticky thread in general discussions and download the dump analysis tool from the link there and post the file so someone can figure out the cause of that particular crash.

There may be some sort of generic approach but I haven't run across it.

 

Thanx Newt, but my crash was total. I had to re-install my OS - even my OEM's Recovery Partition was shot. I probably should consider turning my dump files back on, tho ... I never knew what to make of them but if someone is actually willing to look them over ...