WinToFlash Missing or Corrupt: hal.dll bootsect.dos

 I/O Error accessing boot sector file multi(0)disk(0)partition(1)\bootsect.dos
 "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \system32\hal.dll"


Are you having a missing hal.dll error after installing xp from a USB flash drive made by WinToFlash??? The solutions I found didn't work or were too complicated. If you get the error below, all you need to do is boot from the same USB flash drive again. When the splash screen appears, just select the option below the DEBUG option (DEBUG is the third option, so select the fourth). No need to edit the boot.ini for now, you could do it later when you can use windows already.

NOTE: If the fourth option doesn't work, try the other options BUT remember their partition number. The partition number is the number enclosed by parenthesis after the word partition in the option label.


NEXT STEP:  editing boot.ini

How to edit the Boot.ini file in Windows XP