Making Sure the Correct HAL is Installed

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Answer:

The HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) is a set of drivers, upon which the Windows NT kernel is based. If the installed HAL is incorrect, you may have a problem ranging from certain settings not working (such as APM) to Windows not starting at all. Note that the concept of a HAL doesn't apply to Windows 95, 98, and Me.
To see which HAL is currently installed, open Device Manager, and expand the Computer branch. The entry that appears in this branch corresponds to the currently installed HAL.

Although Windows will allow you to specify a new HAL here by double-clicking, selecting the Driver tab, and clicking Update Driver, DON'T DO IT. Instead, to install a new HAL, you need to reinstall Windows:

Boot off your Windows 2000 or XP CD.
When asked if you want to install or repair your current installation, choose Install.
Then, follow the steps to upgrade Windows (even though you're not technically upgrading, you are updating your HAL).
That should do it!