Another set of questions for Ted or anyone

[FlameOut]

1. I have a Gateway that had Windows XP Home Edition pre installed and therefore I have no Windows XP disc.
2. Recently I've been getting hangups with FSX and FS9 in where that I have to hold down the "On/Off" button or just unplug the power cable in order to restart FSX and FS9 ( the only games on my P.C. ). I know that is a bad move to do such a thing! :banghead: I do defrag often and run AVG, Ad-Aware, and the like frequently.
3. I've also been getting errors such as
a. read disk error
b. <Windows root>\system32\hal.dll... is missing or corrupt
c. NTLDR... is missing
I've read a little on the possible causes for these errors and frankly am just plain ol' chicken of going into the registry or doing any of those "DOS" commands to fix or repair those "ini." files. :redf:
"Da BOSS" around here tells me that my hard drive is in imminent danger of failing, and she says to get a new hard drive!
So here are my questions....
1. We all have to move forward or be left behind so I was going out today to purchase Windows Vista since these errors above are tied to the OS of the P.C. ( I assume ) do I need a new hard drive ? I've got 250 GB with well over a 100 + GB free space. Will Vista fix these problems ?
2. Does the full version of Windows Vista install over XP or do I have to uninstall it (XP)?
3. Do I have to re- "partition" the old or new hard drive... something I've never done. Will Windows Vista do that for me?

My P.C. is a Gateway 702GE P4 HT 3.2 mHz, 800mHz FSB, 2 gig PC 3200 DDR ram, 250 GB H.D. 7200 rpm, XP Home, EVGA 8800GT Superclocked ( thanks for recommending that one Ted!) PCI Epressx16, 400W power

I know that to build your own is best but I'll have to let that go until FS 11 comes out.
Thanks for any replies or recommendations. :wavey:

[txnetcop]

1. I have a Gateway that had Windows XP Home Edition pre installed and therefore I have no Windows XP disc.
2. Recently I've been getting hangups with FSX and FS9 in where that I have to hold down the "On/Off" button or just unplug the power cable in order to restart FSX and FS9 ( the only games on my P.C. ). I know that is a bad move to do such a thing! :banghead: I do defrag often and run AVG, Ad-Aware, and the like frequently.
3. I've also been getting errors such as
a. read disk error
b. <Windows root>\system32\hal.dll... is missing or corrupt
c. NTLDR... is missing
I've read a little on the possible causes for these errors and frankly am just plain ol' chicken of going into the registry or doing any of those "DOS" commands to fix or repair those "ini." files. :redf:
"Da BOSS" around here tells me that my hard drive is in imminent danger of failing, and she says to get a new hard drive!
So here are my questions....
1. We all have to move forward or be left behind so I was going out today to purchase Windows Vista since these errors above are tied to the OS of the P.C. ( I assume ) do I need a new hard drive ? I've got 250 GB with well over a 100 + GB free space. Will Vista fix these problems ?
2. Does the full version of Windows Vista install over XP or do I have to uninstall it (XP)?
3. Do I have to re- "partition" the old or new hard drive... something I've never done. Will Windows Vista do that for me?

My P.C. is a Gateway 702GE P4 HT 3.2 mHz, 800mHz FSB, 2 gig PC 3200 DDR ram, 250 GB H.D. 7200 rpm, XP Home, EVGA 8800GT Superclocked ( thanks for recommending that one Ted!) PCI Epressx16, 400W power

I know that to build your own is best but I'll have to let that go until FS 11 comes out.
Thanks for any replies or recommendations. :wavey:

Here are several possible fixes:
Resolution

Restart the PC. The hal.dll error could be a fluke.
Run Windows XP System Restore from a command prompt (http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/ht/systemrestorecp.htm). If this doesn't work or you're receiving the hal.dll error message before you're able to complete this process, move on to Step 3.
Repair or replace the boot.ini file (http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/ht/repairbootini.htm). This will work if the cause of the problem is actually Windows XP's boot.ini file and not the hal.dll file, which is often times the case.
Write a new partition boot sector to the Windows XP system partition (http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/ht/newbootsector.htm). If the partition boot sector has become corrupt or isn't properly configured, you may receive the hal.dll error.
Restore the hal.dll file from the Windows XP CD (http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/ht/restorehaldll.htm). If the hal.dll file is truly the cause of the problem, restoring it from the original Windows XP CD may do the trick.
Perform a repair installation of Windows XP (http://pcsupport.about.com/od/operatingsystems/ss/instxprepair1.htm). This type of installation should replace any missing or corrupt files. Continue troubleshooting if this does not resolve the issue.
Perform a clean installation of Windows XP (http://pcsupport.about.com/od/operatingsystems/ss/instxpclean1.htm). This type of installation will completely remove Windows XP from your PC and install it again from scratch. While this will almost certainly resolve any hal.dll errors, it is a time consuming process due to the fact that all of your data must be backed up and then later restored.

If you can't gain access to your files to back them up, understand that you will lose them all if you continue with a clean installation of Windows XP.
Finally, if all else has failed, including the clean installation from the last step, you're most likely facing a hardware issue with your hard drive. Replace the hard drive and then perform a new installation of Windows XP (http://pcsupport.about.com/od/operatingsystems/ss/installxpnew1.htm).This ought to do ya
Ted

OOPS
Best bet is to install Vista first. If you need dual boot instruction let me know.

[Snuffy]

Having bought a gateway, your first order or priority should be to go buy a real licensed copy of your operating system, as any computer manufacturers OEM version is going to be porked with crap you're not going to want on your computer, but you're stuck with.

Once you buy a real OS, low level format your harddrive and reinstall the OS, then reinstall all your applications. (toss the cd that came with the system. Here's why, refreshing your OS with the system restore disc you got from gateway will reinstall all the pork overhead once again on your system whether you want it or not.)

Warning! Before doing the low level format, back up any important stuff you have and want to keep!

I apologise, I am not a fan of any brand store bought computer.