Ok folks let me walk you through what I've got.
Windows 7 32 bit OS
HP C61 Laptop
Halo CE 1.09 and Halo 1.09
I ran the Direct X Update. Thanks because I didn't know mine was already outdated but it didn't fix my issue.
This is my laptop. I have the only administrator/owner account and my mother has the regular admin account (which can be overridden by me, of course)
When I run the msxlmemu.exe file in C/Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Halo Custom Edition\redist, the following window pops up: "Welcome to the MSXML 4.0 SP2 Parser and SDK Setup Wizard".
I click next and then three buttons: "Modify" "Repair" and "Remove". I have done both Repair and Modify.
I finish the wizard and open Halo CE and still nothing.