o man...if i'd encounter this problem,..i'd choose to do a fresh install. but since you dont want to loose data... i dunno..but this is worth a try...i got this from a discussion forum..but man,this is so complicated!
When trying to boot from a cloned XP drive you get a message that includes the phrase
“did not generate ARC name for HAL”.
Original boot.ini file on cloned disc will look something like this (depending configuration):
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=signature(2a6e2a6e)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
signature(2a6e2a6e)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional"
/fastdetect
The two sections identifying the signature, “signature(2a6e2a6e)”, refer to an identifier
associated with the original boot drive by Windows XP. When trying to boot from a
different drive, Windows XP will notice that the new drive has a different identifier
than the one included in the boot.ini file from the original drive.
You can boot to the new drive by copying the following three files from the original
XP drive onto a blank floppy disk:
NTDETECT.COM
ntldr
boot.ini
Open the boot.ini file on the floppy in a text editor (like Notepad), remove the
“signature(2a6e2a6e)” sections, and replace them with “multi(0)” as shown below.
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional"
/fastdetect
Install the cloned drive as the Master drive and boot from the floppy. This should
allow you to log onto the computer using the Operating System files from the cloned
drive.
You can also make the changes shown above to the boot.ini file on the cloned drive
and this should allow you to boot to the new drive without using the floppy disc.
dang , i hope this works..gudluck buddy!
