>> I've been given a dead laptop. Only thing is, I can't figure out why
>> it's dead.
>>
>> When you switch it on, the BIOS runs, and then nothing happens. In other
>> words, the OS does not boot.
>
> OK, so I took a disk image and put it onto a virtual machine. Now the
> retarded Windows setup CD can actually access the drive. (The imaging
> tool notes that the filesystem appears not to have been unmounted
> cleanly. Oh goodie.)
>
> Well, it turns out that if you fire up the recovery console and do
> "fixmbr", then when you reboot you get the Windows loading screen...
> followed by STOP 0x0000007B and a reboot before you can read the bloody
> message. Fortunately, this is a /virtual/ machine. I just have to stab
> the Print Screen button at the right moment. ;-)
>
> (The "fixboot" option appears to have no effect at all. Only "fixmbr"
> does anything. And it complains about a corrupted or non-standard MBR.
> [It would be /really/ useful if it could decide which of those it is!]
> The laptop does have two partitions, for reasons unknown. A giant NTFS
> partition with the OS on it, and a tiny FAT32 partition also with some
> kind of Windows-like files on it...)

Probably a recovery partition.  Make that one active and try booting off 
of it.  You will probably be able to reformat and reinstall XP to its 
original state (including out of date bloatware).  You may even be able 
to back some of the data from the NTFS partition.

> Next plan: Install a new copy of Windows, in a few folder on the
> existing Windows partition. When I do this, Windows becomes able to
> boot. The old copy of Windows still shows in the boot menu, but
> selecting it immediately provokes the message "cannot load
> %systemroot%\system32\hal.dll - file is missing or corrupt". Which is
> kinda serious. Again, it would be /really/ useful to know which it is -
> whether it's actually gone, or just corrupted.

hal.dll?

The 9000 series is the most reliable computer ever made.  No 9000 has 
ever made a mistake or distorted information.  We are in fact fool-proof 
and incapabable of error.

>
> I swear to God that Windows NT had an option to replace core OS files
> with the copies from the CD if they didn't match... I cannot find this
> option anywhere in XP. *sigh*

Because copying an 8 year old file over a system that has probably been 
patched every tuesday since then can not result in other problems 
elsewhere...

You have access to the directory when you boot from this new copy of 
Windows?  try and locate a new copy of this dll in the KB* or DLLCACHE 
directories.
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