Missing file when computer is turned on

Re-run the recovery.

This is a common symptom when the recovery fails the final phase of the HP recovery.

Since you say you are getting hal.dll, this must be an XP PC and you need to shut down the PC, remove any third party video or add-on cards installed (added RAM or Hard Drives are OK to leave in) and disconnect any peripherals (printers, scanners, etc.).

Once you have confirmed ONLY the monitor, KB and mouse are connected (preferrably the ones that shipped with the PC), start the PC and press the F10 key at the Blue HP logo screen until you see the PC entering the "hp pc system recovery" progress bar at the bottom of the screen. When you see the Recovery Manager first screen, click on "Advanced Options" - this performs a destructive recovery of the PC versus the default path which just reloads the OS. Once you click on "Advanced Options" check the top of the next screen to make sure the green arrow is pointing to Destructive Recovery and NOT MS System Restore (some HP models have this option). Then follow the default keys "Next", Yes and Yes. The recovery should take about 20 minutes. Good luck.

Apex44

Hi, hal.dll file to communicate with your computer hardware. if you are able to goto command prompt then do the following :
ensert your cd into the cd drive asuming that d is your cd drive then do the following :

expand d:\i386\hal.dl_ c:\windows\system32\hal.dll
and press y when prompted.

alternate you have to reinstall the os.