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Q90344: NDOS Can Cause Windows to Exit Unexpectedly

Article: Q90344
Product(s): Microsoft Windows 3.x Retail Product
Version(s): WINDOWS:3.1,3.11
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 14-OCT-1999

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows for Workgroups versions 3.1, 3.11 
- Microsoft Windows versions 3.1, 3.11 
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The following article contains information on the use of Windows for
Workgroups with third-party products or configurations that have not
been tested and are not supported by Microsoft.

If the steps or procedures described in this article do not function
properly, contact the manufacturer of the third-party product for more
information or use a supported configuration.

SUMMARY
=======

If you run Symantec's Norton Utilities NDOS as your command interpreter in
MS-DOS, you must modify the DOSPRMPT.PIF file to point to NDOS.COM instead of
COMMAND.COM.

By default, Windows sets up an MS-DOS Prompt icon in the Main group of Program
Manager that invokes COMMAND.COM. Attempting to use this icon to start MS-DOS
Prompt can result in Windows exiting unexpectedly at some point. It doesn't
always happen immediately, but usually you eventually run into this problem
while running MS-DOS programs or utilities.

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

If a replacement command interpreter is in use, there will be a SHELL= line in
the CONFIG.SYS file specifying the full path (for example
shell=c:\norton\ndos.com). If you use a replacement command interpreter, you
should use the PIF Editor to modify the DOSPRMPT.PIF file to run the replacement
interpreter instead of COMMAND.COM.

To modify DOSPRMPT.PIF:

1. Start PIF Editor.

2. Open DOSPRMPT.PIF.

3. Replace COMMAND.COM in the Program Filename field with the name of the
  replacement command interpreter.

4. Save the File.

Additional query words: 3.10 3.11 3rdparty

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Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbAudDeveloper kbWin3xSearch kbWFWSearch kbZNotKeyword3 kbWin310 kbWin311 kbWFW310 kbWFW311
Version           : WINDOWS:3.1,3.11

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