Missing hal.dll

Unit won’t boot; error=[ Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \system32\hal.dll ]
Upon attempting to do “expand” from “hal.dl_” file on XP cd, unit reports back “Access denied”.
Also noticed, unitreports “Access denied” when attempting to change to any subdirectory. Finally, when CD is used to boot into install, it does NOT recognize that a version of Windows is installed; asking for other OS cd to prove validity of “upgrade”. Does anyone know of a workaround, or are we forced to format/reinstall OS?