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Q76803: Novell Causes "Cannot Load COMMAND.COM" After Upgrading MS-DOS

Article: Q76803
Product(s): Microsoft Disk Operating System
Version(s): MS-DOS:5.x,6.0,6.2,6.21,6.22
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 17-DEC-2000

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system versions 5.0, 5.0a, 6.0, 6.2, 6.21, 6.22 
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SYMPTOMS
========

After you upgrade a Novell workstation to a later version of MS-DOS, the
following error message may be displayed after you start or exit an
application:

  Cannot Load COMMAND.COM

WORKAROUND
==========

To work around this problem, do one of the following:

- Verify that the SHELL statement is present in the CONFIG.SYS file and remove
  the Novell COMSPEC definition (the COMMAND.COM location) from the personal
  login script.

  NOTE: You need supervisor privileges to modify the COMSPEC setting in the
  system login script.

-or-

- If COMSPEC is set in the system login script, you can change your personal
  login script to set COMSPEC to the new COMMAND.COM. For example:

  comspec=c:\dos\

-or-

- Copy the COMMAND.COM file from the root directory to the Windows directory.
  (This is a temporary workaround only and should not be used as a final
  solution.)

MORE INFORMATION
================

The Novell COMSPEC variable is contained in the network login script and can be
defined by a two-line entry similar the following:

  MAP S2:=SYS:PUBLIC\%MACHINE_TYPE\%OS\%OS_VERSION
  COMSPEC=S2:COMMAND.COM

In this example, the %MACHINE_TYPE variable is set by the SHELL.CFG file and the
%OS_VERSION and %OS variables are set by the Novell Shell (based on the version
of MS-DOS used to boot the workstation). A search drive (which is the same as
having it in the path) then maps to this directory. If a workstation is booted
from an MS-DOS 5.0 workstation, the mapping may look like this:

  SEARCH DRIVE S2=Y:\PUBLIC\IBM_PC\MSDOS\V5.00

In this case, using the SET command at the MS-DOS command prompt would result in
the following:

  COMSPEC=Y:\COMMAND.COM

The "Cannot Load COMMAND.COM" error message occurs when you exit an application
as control is returned to MS-DOS and the COMMAND.COM file cannot be located.

To correct the problem, make sure that the CONFIG.SYS file contains the following
line

  shell=<drive>\<dir>\command.com <drive>\<dir>\ /p

where <drive> is the drive that contains the MS-DOS directory and files or
the drive that contains COMMAND.COM and <dir> is the appropriate MS-DOS
directory that contains COMMAND.COM.

Remove the three COMSPEC-related entries from the login script, reboot the
computer, and log back on to the network. For the procedure to modify the Novell
login script, consult your Novell documentation, the network administrator, or
Novell Technical Support.

The products included here are manufactured by Novell, Inc., a vendor independent
of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these
products' performance or reliability.

Additional query words: 6.22 5.00 5.00a 6.00 6.20 3rdparty login

======================================================================
Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbMSDOSSearch kbMSDOS621 kbMSDOS622 kbMSDOS620 kbMSDOS600 kbMSDOS500 kbMSDOS500a
Version           : MS-DOS:5.x,6.0,6.2,6.21,6.22

=============================================================================

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