HAL.dll missing during WDS install

[pinkpanther56]

Hi all

We are using WDS to deploy XP clients but have just come across an odd issue.

We have 50 PC's with Intel D945GCCR mainboards and these all build perfectly, one of them recently failed and had a slightly newer mainboard installed D945GCNL. This board has slightly different drivers so we added them to the image but each time i build the box after copying the files from the network it reboots to start the Windows install and errors saying (File corrupt or missing \system32\hal.dll). To get around this i have to disable the “Core Multiplexing Technology” option in the BIOS and boot the PC, this install then completes with all of the correct drivers i can then enable CMT and the system seems fine.

We have an XP SP2 and SP3 image and they both do the same, the images are flat file images so essentially just a network copy of the windows CD they are not hardware specific RiPrep images and work on a range of our clients but this is the only PC that shows this issue.

We have tried a different hard disk, memory and CPU from an identical system and it’s the same so we’re pretty sure it’s the slightly different mainboard.

Has anyone come across this issue?

Cheers.

 

[pinkpanther56]

I've managed to narrow the problem down to a very odd hard drive issue, the drive checks out ok and in another PC it works fine but in the PC with the D945GCNL mobo it still generates the error. I've swapped hard disks between machines and they're both ok now. I didn't suspect the HD as i had tried 2 and got the same result it must be an incompatibility between that type of disk and the mobo.

Odd odd odd.

 

[BadBigBen]

yep that is odd, could you post what drive that was, so that others who may run into that problem could avoid this in the future...

thanx...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[pinkpanther56]

Samsung HD160HJ, it seems to of been replaced by the HD161HJ as i can only find the 160 in the download and support section.

http://www.samsung.com/global/busin...=72&type=61&subtype=65&model_cd=283&ppmi=1157

 

[BadBigBen]

Thanks for the follow up...

the HD160HJ is from the Spinpoint T series, where as the HD161HJ is from the Spinpoint S series...

my notion, the 161 proved more reliable, and thus was continued... but that is just speculation...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."