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Windows won't startup. [load needed DLLs for kernel]

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by supafry, 2005/07/31.

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  1. 2005/07/31
    supafry

    supafry Inactive Thread Starter

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    Current Problem:

    Whenever I boot my computer up, it gives the following error message:

    Windows could not start becuase of error in the software.
    Please report this problem as :
    load needed DLLs for kernel.
    Please contact your support system to report this problem


    Although through search I have found the suggestion of reinstalling windows withe the bootable CD (the repair install). But.. the problem is, is that I don't have that option to repair a partition; just to resetup Windows on it (and thus erasing everything I have installed or put on my computer)

    History:

    Before the above error message I have gotten two other ones, I don't recall the exact names, but they were the missing hal.dll message, and the missing ntosknrl.exe message. Those were both rectified by using the system recovery console (through the windows XP boot CD) by placing those two files on a CD and copying them from the CD to my computer.

    The cause of my problem is unknown, although right before I rebooted and got the messages, I uninstalled a program that didn't have a very sufficient uninstall utility, and I clicked delete all when it prompted me on how to uninstall the program... so I'm assuming for now that it deleted my hal.dll, ntoskrnl.exe, and other DLLs crucial for kernel.

    Previous Fixes:

    I've tried using bootcfg /rebuild commands and rebuild my boot.ini, but if that's what you think the problem is, suggest it; I've probably haven't tried it.

    Also tried chkdsk for errors, but nothing has came up.

    Goal:

    I want to get back to windows with minimal damage to my files, with little to no damage or loss to my computer. Best case would not reset my system restore points becuase when I get back to windows I want to rollback to a later time before my uninstallation began. (I didn't want to uninstall the program in the first place, it's a long story.)

    So, rectifing the "load needed DLLs for kernel" problem would be one solution, and/or getting the repair option on the Windows XP Setup so I can preform an in-place upgrade (reinstalltion) of Windows XP.

    Any suggestions?
    Thanks. :)
    Josh Fry
     
  2. 2005/08/01
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    supafry - Welcome to the Board :)
    From that I gather that you have a Recovery CD and not a full install CD - is that correct? That makes recovery much more difficult.

    If you are able to start the computer in Safe Mode with a command prompt - I am doubtful you can do this - you would be in a position to run System Restore ....

    How to start the System Restore tool at a command prompt in Windows XP

    If that fails you are rapidly running out of options, especially if you do not have backups of your data. If the drive is partitioned - or even if it is not, installing the drive in another PC as slave should enable you to recover your data, but not installed programs.

    First point to establish is what type of XP CD do you have?
     

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  4. 2005/08/01
    supafry

    supafry Inactive Thread Starter

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    Thanks for the warm welcome :D

    Actually I have the full install CD... I think. The CD doesn't say Recovery on it any where, it just says Microsoft Windows XP Professional and it's system requirements.

    But actually reading that brings me to another problem... I actually have XP Home Edition, and I'm using the XP Professional Edition CD. Does that mean anything?

    I tried and it gave me the smae error message with regular boot up, just with a few extra strings at the top naming some DLLs I'm missing I guess. Although I can start the Windows XP Home Edition Recovery Console... is that the same as a command prompt?
     
  5. 2005/08/01
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Basically means that you cannot run a repair of Home - for that you will need a Home CD - AFAIK

    Recovery Console is not the same as a Command Prompt ....

    Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console

    It would help matters if you posted the list of missing dll's.
     
  6. 2005/08/01
    supafry

    supafry Inactive Thread Starter

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    When I try to start in safe mode I get:

    multi(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
    multi(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\windows\system32\hal.dll
    multi(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\windows\system32\KDCOM.DLL
    multi(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\windows\system32\BOOTVID.dll


    So I assume I might need KDCOM.DLL and BOOTVID.dll, but I've already fixed and got the ntoskrnl.exe and hal.dll.
     
  7. 2005/08/01
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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  8. 2005/08/01
    supafry

    supafry Inactive Thread Starter

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    I found the Windows XP Home Edition install CD, used it, and was able to make an repair installation. But during setup it began installing my devices. it went normal untill it tried to install my keyboard and it might not be campatible with Windows XP (although it's the keyboard I've always been using). So it gives me a choice to install it any way, although for some really odd reason I can't use the keyboard or the mouse, and consequently I'm stuck there! I try restarting my computer and going through the setup again... but it keeps getting me stuck there. I've tried other keyboards and mouses but they all don't work. Any suggestions?

    I looked through the paralell installation, and if the above doesn't work I'll do it.


    Thanks for the help. :D
     
  9. 2005/08/01
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    No immediate suggestions - you're a bit stumped without a keyboard and mouse :(

    Late here now, but I'll call up some cavalry for a fresh look at this.
     
  10. 2005/08/01
    jaylach

    jaylach Inactive

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    Are the keyboard USB or PS2?

    Are you sucessfully getting a windows boot but no mouse/keyboard or is the install totally failing at that point?

    Were the mouse and keyboard initially with the computer or were they added later? Read that as do you have install CDs for the mouse/keyboard?

    Does the mouse function durring the install of windows? I assume the keyboard does or you wouldn't be able to press F8 to accept agreement.

    If mouse and keyboard worked durring the install and you said yes to the prompt "install anyway" I would suspect that faulty or incompatable drivers were installed.

    Things to do:

    If USB and in windows, unplug the mouse and keyboard. (ONLY DO THAT IF THEY ARE USB!!! ). Plug the mouse back in and see if hardware wizard comes up. If it does you are stuck on this idea as you don't have mouse/keyboard to navigate the wizard.

    If mouse/keyboard don't work durring setup (I have a hunch they do) check in your bios to be sure that USB didn't get disabled if they are USB. Also, if the keyboard is NOT USB make sure that the bios setting for USB keyboard support is disabled if it's there. Also make sure any comm settings in the bios are enabled.

    See if you can extract the other missing .dll files from the win CD and mouse/keyboard install CD if available.
     
  11. 2005/08/01
    jaylach

    jaylach Inactive

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    Another thing that MIGHT let you get in with a mouse but not a keyboard... at least you'll be able to navigate to troubleshoot further... ;)

    From the quote above I take it that the install didn't actually say anything about the mouse, just the keyboard??? If so, go to your bios and look for a setting "Halt on..." You will have selections such as all, none, all but keyboard, etc.. Set it at none or all but keyboard, save and exit bios. Power down and unplug the keyboard. Try booting. You MAY get a message that there isn't a keyboard but you should be able to continue. This MIGHT give you a mouse.

    What we are trying to do is get to device manager any way we can.
     
  12. 2005/08/01
    supafry

    supafry Inactive Thread Starter

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    Sorry.. I should've gaven more detail :)

    I've got and tried both a USB mouse and a PS2 one, and I only have PS2 keyboards.

    The repair install is failling when the message comes up becuase my keyboard and mouse are unresponsive.

    Yeah, they are "disabled" right before I get the Windows XP loading screen, but I can use them before hand.

    Correct, it didn't actually say anything about the mouse, just the keyboard being uncampatible (although it might say it in the next error message if I get that far :( )

    The REALLY weird thing is that, I got a new drive a today and installed it, and resumed to put Windows XP Professional on it, hoping my mouse and keyboard wouldn't lock up like in the Windows XP Home Edition repair install. And to my suprise it worked, and I was able to use my mouse. It's the same blue screen with the windows logo on top with the radial buttons on the side, and the changing white text in the background... So I don't know what's up...

    I'll try the suggestions above once I'm done installing windows on my new drive.
     
  13. 2005/08/01
    jaylach

    jaylach Inactive

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    I have a feeling and was going to touch on it if none of the other things didn't do anything... Quite possible that when you tried to initially repair the home install with pro you ended up with mixed drivers. On the new drive you're clean.
     
  14. 2005/08/01
    supafry

    supafry Inactive Thread Starter

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    I didn't initially repair XP Home with my Professional CD. I didn't get the option to do it, that was my problem.

    But since I have another fully working hard drive with windows, is there anything I can do from there to help my problem?
     
  15. 2005/08/01
    jaylach

    jaylach Inactive

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    I think I missed something here... Is your mouse and keyboard working? If so, put the other drive on the system as a slave and pull anything you need off of it... Or, I supose, that you could put it on as a slave and copy the .dll files that are missing from it, put it back to master and unplug the new one and see what happens...
     
  16. 2005/08/01
    supafry

    supafry Inactive Thread Starter

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    My mouse and keyboard only does not work when I'm doing a repair install of windows (oddly enough). Every place else it works.

    Right now I'm in a VERY peculiar situation. Even if I did copy all my missing DLLs from my working partition, I still wouldn't be able to test if it worked becuase on that drive I'm in a loop hole. Since I have to turn off my computer during the repair installation of windows (becuase I have no working mouse or keyboard..), each time I get on that drive, instead of showing me the error message like it usually does, it goes right ahead and leaves where I left off with the repair installation (with still no mouse and keyboard). I have no way to abort the installation (no mouse or keyboard..)so I have to reboot, and when I do, it does it all over again untill I change which drive to boot.


    EDIT: My mouse is one of those laser ones, and it will light up when ever it's on or working, but when I'm in the repair installation setup the red light's not on.

    And on my keyboard.. the numlock light is on, but whenever I press the Num Lock key, the light doesn't turn off.. and vice versa for the caps lock and scroll lock.

    EDIT2: I looked around from my new drive at my windows\system32\restore folder, and nothing is there. So I guess this means I can't do a system restore..
     
    Last edited: 2005/08/01
  17. 2005/08/02
    mattman

    mattman Inactive Alumni

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    Hi,
    Getting a keyboard and mouse to run should be reasonably easy for Win XP :rolleyes: . It looks like the CD versions have been mixed up and the wrong version of Windows is trying to do the repair. It is probably trying to access the drivers the wrong way.

    I would say that you will need to run the exact same version of Windows as was originally installed to have any chance of succeeding. Files may now have been overwritten and that is why you are having the mouse/keyboard problems. It may be too late for Recovery Consoles or Repair Installs or Restores if the files have been overwritten.

    I think you will need to use exactly the same version disk/CD as was originally installed (even a disk that has SP1 or SP2 already incorperated may not work :confused: ).
    If the disk you are using may not be the original, you may be able to reinstall Windows over itself and if the registry can survive you may be lucky (install to the C:/Windows folder, with the old harddrive as master).

    I don't know a lot about Win XP Recovery Consoles or Repair Installs, but it looks like your drivers are "stuck ". With a lot of work you may get the keyboard and mouse working, only to find all the other drivers are unworkable.

    I hope I am wrong and you come across a quick solution.

    You are lucky that you now have another drive. If you don't have success with the repair/reinstall, extract what you want from the old drive as you need it. It can happen the same way if the Boot Sector of a drive gets corrupted.

    Matt
     
  18. 2005/08/02
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    That should contain the System Restore executable and 3 or 4 other files, including a .dat file. They have gone missing for some reason and your assumption is correct - unless someone has a better answer.
     
  19. 2005/08/02
    supafry

    supafry Inactive Thread Starter

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    As it seems with this information, I'm going to have to get all the files I need from my original drive and do a clean install of windows.

    I think my problem was, I did the repair installation with a XP Home Edition CD that came with an older Dell computer, and not with the origanal CD that came with my PC.


    But... not to my suprise I have another problem :eek:. On my new drive I stupidly disabled my monitor, it was the defualt one (not my HP flat screen...) and was displaying at a very bad 800x600 resolution. So in hopes to fix that problem, I pressed apply and my computer restarted. But now.. I whenever I boot up, I get the Windows XP loading screen with the green bars, but after that it goes to a blank screen and stays there...

    I can't start windows in safe mode with Command Prompt in hopes to run system resotore... it just freezes up after the loading bar on the bottom of the screen finish. Likewise with the other safe modes.
     
  20. 2005/08/02
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Yes, but why bother with the install when you have (had) the install on the other drive?
    More than likely, but maybe not in the light of what follows ....
    That figures.
    That doesn't figure. I've no idea what you have managed to do, but a repair of this new install may solve the monitor problem - if not make a clean install following these guidelines - from my notes ....

    .

    When you have the OS up and running leave well alone - please :)

    BTW - did you load the motherboard drivers to the new drive? - if you did not that is one very likely reason why your monitor is not working correctly.
     
  21. 2005/08/02
    sparrow

    sparrow Inactive

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    I'm obviously way too late for this thread, but would have suggested removing the HDD to a second computer running XP and backing up data files there; then replacing it, repartitioning it, formating it and doing a clean install. If that doesn't work, there's a hardware problem.

    Guess that's where you are now, eh, Pete!
     
    Last edited: 2005/08/02
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