Autochk troubleshooting broke my computer.

I fell victim to the Autochk loop when launching parallels from my iMac a few months back but was hoping an easier solution than http://kb.parallels.com/en/5447 would come along. I had the day off from work today and decided to finally bite the bullet and follow that guide.

I went through all of the steps, got to the very last step:
10. Navigate to Configuration Editor -> Hard disk 1 -> Advanced and click 'Clear' to remove Parallels Desktop information from Boot Camp.
And there was nothing to clear. No clear button, just a drop down with options like IOC 1.0, or IOE 1.0, something like that.

I was following a thread where the moderator posted:
Please perform steps from http://kb.parallels.com/en/5447
on Windows side and delete VM folder in Documents/Parallels, start Parallels Desktop it will create new Boot Camp VM, after all operations

So I decided to try booting up in Windows to delete that folder, but now windows is locked up/always boots to the following error message:

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
<Windows root>/system32/hal.dll.
Please re-install a copy of the above file.

Needless to say I'm irate after spending all afternoon making the boot cd, downloading service packs, bootcamp updates, Nero only to find my iMac now unusable.

Is there anyone out there who can first help me get a stable boot up, correct this major issue, and then help me troubleshoot what went wrong with my original project of getting parallels to actually work? I guess I have a working XP boot disc, but I have no idea how to force my iMac to eject the leopard disc in my drive.

-About to pull all my hair out.

 

try using this article:
http://kb.parallels.com/en/4867

 

How do I boot from a CD? I'm not in a virtual machine (VM = Parallels from OSX, right?), my system is trying to boot right into windows.

When I turn the power on it boots right to that error, there's nothing I can do. Even trying to boot from safe mode locks up when I get to the "Windows Advanced Options Menu".

 

1. Open the virtual machine configuration.
2. Click the CD/DVD-ROM option to open its settings.
3. Make sure that "Emulation" is set to "Use CD/DVD-ROM".
4. Click the "Options" menu on the left side of Configuration Editor.
5. Choose the "Booting" tab and set "Boot Sequence" to "CD-ROM, Hard Disk, Floppy".
6. Click "OK" to close Configuration Editor.
7. Insert Windows XP installation disk into your Mac CD/DVD drive.
8. Start the virtual machine.

 

I'm sorry, but I can't open anything. I'll walk you through my problem.

1. I turn the computer's power on
2. I get a black screen that reads:

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
<Windows root>/system32/hal.dll.
Please re-install a copy of the above file.

There's nothing else I can do.

EDIT: Trying to spam F8 or DEL when the computer boots up just leads to a freeze/lock up on the their respective screens. Why do I have the feeling I'm taking this computer to Apple to have them wipe my drive.... nothing like going to apple during the holiday shopping season......

 

First of all, if you hold down the Option key while your Mac boots up you will be given the choice between booting into Boot Camp or into Mac - this will at the very least return you the use of your Mac system. As for the hal.dll error, these are generally treated with Windows repair - here's how you repair your Boot Camp partition:

-Launch Macintosh HD - Applications - Utilities - Boot Camp Assistant.

-Choose to "Start Windows Installation".

-Insert Windows Installation Disk into your Mac CD/DVD Drive and restart the Mac.

-When prompted press any key to boot from the Windows CD.

-Windows Setup should start loading, wait till it loads completely then press Enter (Return) key.

-Press F8 to accept Windows License Agreement.

-Now Windows should scan your VM for the existing Windows installation - wait for it to finish and choose to repair existing installation.

-Wait till the repair operation finishes.

-Start Windows in the Virtual Machine in order to re-install Parallels Tools.

Alternatively you may check out the solution in the following KB article: http://kb.parallels.com/en/4867

 

I really appreciate the "Hold Option while booting" help, at least now I can launch OSX.

Unfortunately when I follow the next steps it inevitably leads to the hal.dll error.

I get to the point where I'm asked to press any key to boot from the CD but nothing happens. The dots keep coming like this ....... It's like my computer isn't recognizing the keyboard. Instead of booting from the CD my computer goes to a another screen for a split second that gives me two choices of how I want to boot up (Windows or OSX I believe) and then it jumps to the hal.dll error screen.

 

Try using Send keys in case if keyboard's not functioning -- click Virtual machine -> Send Keys -> Enter for example

 

What are send keys? I'm not in a virtual machine, I'm holding down option, booting to the XP disc I have.
A black screen with only the words "Press any key to boot from CD...." appears and I can not do anything, keyboard/mouse are unresponsive and after a few seconds I get the lock on hal.dll

 

While you are not in the virtual machine you should hold "Option"key right after you turn your computer on.
You should see the choice between three options: Mac OS, Windows XP, Windows XP CD.
You should select Windows XP CD and press any key when got prompted like this: 'Press any key to boot from CD ...."
Once booted from CD you may try two options:
A. Recover HAL.DLL with recovery console:
1. On the first blue screen you will see the choice:
- Install Windows (Enter)
- Repair Windows with recovery console (R)
- Quit (F3)
2. hit R and wait until you see the message like:
Type the number of Windows installation you want to log in (or press ENTER to quit):
3. You should enter 1 and hit enter [this is valid only if you have the only Windows installed into Boot Camp]
4. Enter your administrator's password (or just hit Enter if you have no one)
5. You will see something like:

C:\WINDOWS>

6. Type in 'D:' and hit Enter, you should see then:

D:\>

7. Type 'cd I386' and hit Enter, the result should be:

D:\I386\

8. Type in 'expand HAL.DL_ C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\' and hit Enter, if you see the following:

hal.dll was successfully expanded

you have done everything right and now you need just to boot into Boot Camp partition after restart.

If you saw any error message on any stage from the above, try the second option:
B. Repair Windows Installation like in http://kb.parallels.com/en/5138
1. On the first blue screen you will see the choice:
- Install Windows (Enter)
- Repair Windows with recovery console (R)
- Quit (F3)
2. Hit Enter and wait for the "License Agreement", once you have seen this, hit F8 (or Command-F8, or FN-F8 or Option-F8)
and wait until Windows finds exiting installation.
3. You should see at least one Windows installation between "Unpartitioned" sections, like:

C:\Windows

4. You should navigate selection to it by using arrow keys, and at the bottom of the screen you should see three options:

Repair (R) Install (Enter) Quit (F3).

5. Hit R and follow the wizard.

Important note: if you see the choice of 5 (or less) elements saying about formatting, you should better quit (F3) and create a ticket in our queue and get through it being guided by our engineer, as you can erase all you data if have chosen incorrect option.

 

Thank you, but, for the 4th time, nothing happens with I press a key at that prompt. I can't boot from the CD, because the computer doesn't recognize me hitting the keyboard.