Missing HAL.DLL or Invalid Boot.ini

After messin around with uTorrent a little too much I received the following error message on boot in Vista 64 bit...

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\system32\hal.dll.

Please re-install a copy of the above file.

After searching the internet a bit (on my Mac) I found these tidbits of information and thought I would share them...

If you are using Vista you can boot to the CD and choose "repair your system" and then "startup repair". Thats it, vista should auto repair your boot up problem.

Windows XP:

Boot from your XP Setup CD and enter the Recovery Console Run "Attrib -H -R -S C:\Boot.ini" Delete the C:\Boot.ini file Run "Bootcfg /Rebuild" Run "Fixboot"

Hope this saves someone else some time :)