Path statements

[yawningdog]

At my 9-5, I use a lot of diagnostic software, one of which we can only get to run in DOS. I have to re-boot to DOS, cd gl5pro~1, VALDEBUG, and the program runs. I understand that a path statement in my Autoexec.bat will make it possible to run VALDEBUG without having to cd. Is this the case and if so, how is it accomplished? This seems like a long run for a short slide, I know, but the question is as much for knowledge's sake as actual application.

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Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler.

[Vic 970]

I have some programs which run in DOS. in particular I have a tidal calculator set up in a DOS directory called SHM. the program file is SHM.exe also I needed several copies of the prog to incorporate many ports, so I put 4 progs on floppy (each containing 20 ports)then copied the floppy several times (changing the ports on each)

It's a while now since I set it up, but I did it through a shortcut on the desktop (which allows me to select a floppy for a given area, then subdivide by 4 (smaller area) then select a port from 20. all with just a couple of mouse clicks)

The command line is A:\TIDECAL\SHM\SHM.EXE

Try putting up a shortcut first then play about with the command line, thats how I got there.

Good Luck.

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Regards..,
Vic.

[BigBlue66]

Hi,

Try typing the following in your autoexec.bat file:

path=c:\gl5pro~1

This is assuming that the subfolder "gl5pro~1" is on your C: drive. Now you should be able to boot to the standard DOS C:\ prompt and type the command line.

Cheers,

Big Blue 66


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The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability that you'll get it wrong.

[yawningdog]

One of us is really confused. When you say desktop, I think windows environment. I have VALDEBUG on my desktop, but it won't run even if I open a dosprompt window. I have to leave windows and boot to DOS and no further in order to run the app. When you say ports, I think parallel and/or serial, and then I think "HUH!?!"

The thrust of my question also has to do with path statements in Autoexec.bat, mainly because I'm told that it's covered on the A+ exam. I'd like to learn how they work.

Thanks BigBlue66, I'll give it a shot on monday. Your response was posted even as I was responding to Vic970, which is why I still sound confusedin the above text

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Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

[This message has been edited by yawningdog (edited 05-25-2001).]

[Paleo Pete]

PATH=C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS

That's what your path statement would look like for win3.11, win 95 & 98 do not use the autoexec.bat file. To create a path statement for the program you referred to it would be similar to that,

PATH=C:\GL5PRO~1
VALDEBUG

would be the path statement for a win 95=98 machine with no existing path statement, assuming the folder is in the root of C drive. The second line is the command that executes the program. It must be on a separate line in autoexec.bat.

The problem you might run across is that this program will try to execute every time you boot, and if you want to boot into windows it might cause trouble, the program will be trying to run while Windows is trying to load. A better way to go might be to create an autoexec.bat file on a bootable floppy and boot to that floppy when you want to run the program, letting the machine boot into Windows for normal usage.

If you only put the path statement in autoexec.bat, without the executable command, you should be able to run the program from DOS by just typing the name of the executable, since the path statement tells the machine where to look for the command. If DOS is also installed on the machine you should already have something similar to the top line in this post, add

;C:\GL5PRO~1

to the existing line, or create one as described above. Make sure you have no spaces in the line. If the target folder is in another folder it would look like this:

PATH=C:\DOS;C:\FOLDER\FOLDER

Using the proper foldernames. Computer Hope (http://www.computerhope.com/ac.htm) has some pretty good info on using autoexec.bat and config.sys files. Smart Computing (http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2Farchive%2Fr0401%2F2 0r01%2F20r01%2Easp) has some goo dinfo, and a description of the path statement. If you look you might find some info on the PC Guide (http://www.pcguide.com/topic.html) too.

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[yawningdog]

Superb!! Exactly what I was after Paleo Pete http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/cool.gif

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Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler.