Second Life Forums Archive - <windows root>\system32\hal.dll

Loki Pico

Registered User

Join date: 20 Jun 2003

Posts: 1,938

03-24-2004 09:52

I logged on to SL this morning and was met with terrible frame rate. About 1 frame every 20 seconds or so, it was really messed up. I waited and waited for it to get to normal, but it never did, so I shut down my system.

When it was coming back up, it failed to reboot because <windows root>\system32\hal.dll was missing or corrupt. I called tech support and went around and around trying to solve the problem. I finally had to reformat my system. Been doing that all morning.

Im not sure if this problem was SL related, but I cant think of anything else I may have got into to cause it. Just wanted to pass this info along. Anyone know what hal.dll is and how it might have got messed up?

On the good side of it, nice to have a nice fresh and clean hard drive again. Bad side is I lost all my SL pics, 8gb and nearly a year's worth of SL history

Kex Godel

Master Slacker

Join date: 14 Nov 2003

Posts: 869

03-24-2004 11:24

nooooooo =(

Sorry Loki. Sounds like maybe you got a virus?

Jellin Pico

Grumpy Oldbie

Join date: 3 Aug 2003

Posts: 1,037

03-24-2004 11:40

This is a great site to find those missing or corrupt dll files.

http://www.dll-files.com/

Carnildo Greenacre

Flight Engineer

Join date: 15 Nov 2003

Posts: 1,044

03-24-2004 14:29

I don't know how the file got messed up, but "hal.dll" is the "hardware abstraction layer" of DirectX. It's responsible for making all the different types of graphics cards look the same to programs using DirectX or OpenGL under Windows. With it broken, I suspect SecondLife was using the DirectX "hardware emulation layer" rendering system, which does *all* the rendering calculations on the CPU, and uses the graphics card for only displaying the finished product -- a very slow process.

_____________________

perl -le '$_ = 1; (1 x $_) !~ /^(11+)\1+$/ && print while $_++;'

Selador Cellardoor

Registered User

Join date: 16 Nov 2003

Posts: 3,082

03-24-2004 15:16

I had exactly the same problem. It wasn't SL, it was Windows being - well, Windows. I had to solve the problem in the end by means of a complete reinstall. I hope you find a better way.

Ezhar Fairlight

professional slacker

Join date: 30 Jun 2003

Posts: 310

03-25-2004 06:00

Did you maybe use BlackICE or other ISS products?

Charlie Omega

Registered User

Join date: 2 Dec 2002

Posts: 755

03-25-2004 17:01

Also a good place to find any type of missing files or if you know a file you want but can't search engine it or whatnot.

www.filemirrors.com

_____________________

From: 5oClock Lach

With a game based on acquiring money, sex, and material goods, SL has effectively recreated all the negative aspects of the real world.

Mega Prim issues and resolution ideas....
http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/10/04/second-life-havok4-beta-preview-temporarily-offline/

Loki Pico

Registered User

Join date: 20 Jun 2003

Posts: 1,938

03-25-2004 18:49

UPDATE

Well, I mentioned I reformatted my system and all seemed good to go. Getting everything tweaked and software reinstalled and such. Still mourning the loss of all my SL pics, but optimistic about having a fresh install.

So, fast forward 24 hours and Im playing Far Cry Demo and getting my butt kicked. I shut that down and go to open Outlook Express to see if I have any mail. Well, OE does not open up, just hangs up. I go to restart the system and when booting up, I get another error! This time it cant boot because the ole32.dll is corrupt or missing. Crap!

Having just reformatted the system, I go in and try to repair the problem from my WinXP disk. The repair seems to be going fine, but hangs up because it could not copy the same problem file, ole32.dll. Ugh.

I get tech support on the phone and we go through the paces again. This time we run a series of tests on the system and we determine that my hard drive has failed! "Sometimes they just break" says the tech. So, ending a long story, I am getting a new hard drive on Monday.

Im at a friends house right now. It is so weird to not have a PC at home, I dont know if Im going to make it. I am out of commission over the weekend, so I will see you guys next week.

Lale Pico

Neo Maxi Zoom Dweebie

Join date: 21 Jul 2003

Posts: 72

03-26-2004 01:46

I hope you get your system up and running soon Loki. You will be missed this weekend!!! Who's gonna be there to take pictures of what everyone is doing w/ you gone????

_____________________

Karma Satyr

Little Tea Pot

Join date: 8 Jan 2004

Posts: 88

03-26-2004 05:23

dude, not good, whatever will i do without my sailing companion. oh my god the insantity!

_____________________

Short and Stout!
Actually i'm more like a coffee plunger.

Max Mandala

Member

Join date: 31 Oct 2003

Posts: 19

03-27-2004 05:19

From: someone

Originally posted by Carnildo Greenacre
...but "hal.dll" is the "hardware abstraction layer" of DirectX...

Actually hal.dll is the hardware abstraction layer of the entire operating system, not just DirectX.

*shrugs*

Selador Cellardoor

Registered User

Join date: 16 Nov 2003

Posts: 3,082

03-27-2004 08:34

Loki,

I would get your hard drive checked before discarding it.

James Miller

Village Idiot

Join date: 9 Jan 2003

Posts: 1,500

03-27-2004 09:05

There are some very good data recovery people out there. A few months ago, my portable 80 gig HDD that I use for work broke. Basically, my ENTIRE business was on there. I went online, found someone in my area who does data recovery, and they were able to get everything off of it, and onto a brand new portable HDD. (This was after weeks of talking with the company, and sending the HDD to them twice -- they couldn't even fix it!)

They might be able to get everything off your HDD.

_____________________

George W. Bush hates America.

Carnildo Greenacre

Flight Engineer

Join date: 15 Nov 2003

Posts: 1,044

03-28-2004 00:53

How much did the data recovery cost? The price I see quoted most often is $1000 to recover a hard drive.

_____________________

perl -le '$_ = 1; (1 x $_) !~ /^(11+)\1+$/ && print while $_++;'

<windows root>\system32\hal.dll
Loki Pico Registered User Join date: 20 Jun 2003 Posts: 1,938	03-24-2004 09:52 I logged on to SL this morning and was met with terrible frame rate. About 1 frame every 20 seconds or so, it was really messed up. I waited and waited for it to get to normal, but it never did, so I shut down my system. When it was coming back up, it failed to reboot because <windows root>\system32\hal.dll was missing or corrupt. I called tech support and went around and around trying to solve the problem. I finally had to reformat my system. Been doing that all morning. Im not sure if this problem was SL related, but I cant think of anything else I may have got into to cause it. Just wanted to pass this info along. Anyone know what hal.dll is and how it might have got messed up? On the good side of it, nice to have a nice fresh and clean hard drive again. Bad side is I lost all my SL pics, 8gb and nearly a year's worth of SL history
Kex Godel Master Slacker Join date: 14 Nov 2003 Posts: 869	03-24-2004 11:24 nooooooo =( Sorry Loki. Sounds like maybe you got a virus?
Jellin Pico Grumpy Oldbie Join date: 3 Aug 2003 Posts: 1,037	03-24-2004 11:40 This is a great site to find those missing or corrupt dll files. http://www.dll-files.com/
Carnildo Greenacre Flight Engineer Join date: 15 Nov 2003 Posts: 1,044	03-24-2004 14:29 I don't know how the file got messed up, but "hal.dll" is the "hardware abstraction layer" of DirectX. It's responsible for making all the different types of graphics cards look the same to programs using DirectX or OpenGL under Windows. With it broken, I suspect SecondLife was using the DirectX "hardware emulation layer" rendering system, which does all the rendering calculations on the CPU, and uses the graphics card for only displaying the finished product -- a very slow process. _____________________ perl -le '$_ = 1; (1 x $_) !~ /^(11+)\1+$/ && print while $_++;'
Selador Cellardoor Registered User Join date: 16 Nov 2003 Posts: 3,082	03-24-2004 15:16 I had exactly the same problem. It wasn't SL, it was Windows being - well, Windows. I had to solve the problem in the end by means of a complete reinstall. I hope you find a better way.
Ezhar Fairlight professional slacker Join date: 30 Jun 2003 Posts: 310	03-25-2004 06:00 Did you maybe use BlackICE or other ISS products?
Charlie Omega Registered User Join date: 2 Dec 2002 Posts: 755	03-25-2004 17:01 Also a good place to find any type of missing files or if you know a file you want but can't search engine it or whatnot. www.filemirrors.com _____________________ From: 5oClock Lach With a game based on acquiring money, sex, and material goods, SL has effectively recreated all the negative aspects of the real world. Mega Prim issues and resolution ideas.... http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/10/04/second-life-havok4-beta-preview-temporarily-offline/
Loki Pico Registered User Join date: 20 Jun 2003 Posts: 1,938	03-25-2004 18:49 UPDATE Well, I mentioned I reformatted my system and all seemed good to go. Getting everything tweaked and software reinstalled and such. Still mourning the loss of all my SL pics, but optimistic about having a fresh install. So, fast forward 24 hours and Im playing Far Cry Demo and getting my butt kicked. I shut that down and go to open Outlook Express to see if I have any mail. Well, OE does not open up, just hangs up. I go to restart the system and when booting up, I get another error! This time it cant boot because the ole32.dll is corrupt or missing. Crap! Having just reformatted the system, I go in and try to repair the problem from my WinXP disk. The repair seems to be going fine, but hangs up because it could not copy the same problem file, ole32.dll. Ugh. I get tech support on the phone and we go through the paces again. This time we run a series of tests on the system and we determine that my hard drive has failed! "Sometimes they just break" says the tech. So, ending a long story, I am getting a new hard drive on Monday. Im at a friends house right now. It is so weird to not have a PC at home, I dont know if Im going to make it. I am out of commission over the weekend, so I will see you guys next week.
Lale Pico Neo Maxi Zoom Dweebie Join date: 21 Jul 2003 Posts: 72	03-26-2004 01:46 I hope you get your system up and running soon Loki. You will be missed this weekend!!! Who's gonna be there to take pictures of what everyone is doing w/ you gone???? _____________________
Karma Satyr Little Tea Pot Join date: 8 Jan 2004 Posts: 88	03-26-2004 05:23 dude, not good, whatever will i do without my sailing companion. oh my god the insantity! _____________________ Short and Stout! Actually i'm more like a coffee plunger.
Max Mandala Member Join date: 31 Oct 2003 Posts: 19	03-27-2004 05:19 From: someone Originally posted by Carnildo Greenacre ...but "hal.dll" is the "hardware abstraction layer" of DirectX... Actually hal.dll is the hardware abstraction layer of the entire operating system, not just DirectX. shrugs
Selador Cellardoor Registered User Join date: 16 Nov 2003 Posts: 3,082	03-27-2004 08:34 Loki, I would get your hard drive checked before discarding it.
James Miller Village Idiot Join date: 9 Jan 2003 Posts: 1,500	03-27-2004 09:05 There are some very good data recovery people out there. A few months ago, my portable 80 gig HDD that I use for work broke. Basically, my ENTIRE business was on there. I went online, found someone in my area who does data recovery, and they were able to get everything off of it, and onto a brand new portable HDD. (This was after weeks of talking with the company, and sending the HDD to them twice -- they couldn't even fix it!) They might be able to get everything off your HDD. _____________________ George W. Bush hates America.
Carnildo Greenacre Flight Engineer Join date: 15 Nov 2003 Posts: 1,044	03-28-2004 00:53 How much did the data recovery cost? The price I see quoted most often is $1000 to recover a hard drive. _____________________ perl -le '$_ = 1; (1 x $_) !~ /^(11+)\1+$/ && print while $_++;'

Welcome to the Second Life Forums Archive

<windows root>\system32\hal.dll