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General discussion

Autoexec.bat set up.

Mar 1, 2004 9:12AM PST

Can someone please comment on autoexec.bat file(s). How many do I need? I have one in C:, one in C:\windows\command\EBD, and one in C:\FAILSAFE.DRV.
How many setpath commands etc. should there be. In the autoexec Files=40, in the config.sys Files=20. What is this?

Discussion is locked

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Re:Autoexec.bat set up.
Mar 1, 2004 12:03PM PST

Windows 98 doesn't require ANY autoexec.bat. It's an old holdout item which for the most part I can put what I need in other places.

For best speed, I delete both config.sys and autoexec.bat

Bob

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Re:Autoexec.bat set up.
Mar 1, 2004 3:52PM PST

AUTOEXEC stands for AUTOmatically EXECute.
The CONFIG.SYS file is primarily hardware related.

AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS are configuration files that DOS automatically runs every time you turn on or reboot your computer. These files determine what programs are automatically started, where DOS looks for programs, how your computer's memory is managed, and how much of your computer's resources are reserved for use by different DOS functions.

CONFIG.SYS primarily loads device drivers, programs that control your hardware and memory. AUTOEXEC.BAT is mainly used to give instructions about how you want to interact with DOS.

On most computers, you do not need a CONFIG.SYS file when using Windows operating systems. Windows automatically configure memory management and your environment for you.

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''Do you need one''? Only you should know untill we're aware of system requirements.
Mar 1, 2004 9:51PM PST

Depending on the version of Windows used, Setup will place an EBD sub folder to the Windows\Command folder and consists of approximately twenty-+ files, including both files mentioned. However, you'll find these two files are usually quite different that those found in the boot-root when viewing their content in any text editor. There are usually two ways from a computer to create a Startup disk:

a. click Start, Settings, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Startup Disk, Create Disk... and follow the instructions.

b. boot the system to the MS-DOS command prompt, insert a floppy disk into drive A, and then type the following commands, pressing Enter upon completion of each line. Case is irrelevant:

Note: Line #2 is not required for the actual creation of the Startup disk itself and may be left off since it is used only to speed the creation of the startup disk, which doesn't take that long.

cd windows\command
smartdrv.exe
bootdisk a:


Bill Gaston

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Re:Autoexec.bat set up.
Mar 2, 2004 1:55AM PST

The C:; C:\Windows\Command\EBD, sound like basic path or setpath command strings, which basically tells windows during boot up where to find boot files if the root path does not contain them. Usually you can go into folder options choose show all files, and when you open C: in my computer, you can see the files contained in the root directory and see that (Command.com, MSDOS.sys, IO.sys, as well as config.sys, and autoexec.bat are present in the root directory, and basically make the drive bootable). EBD= is just the abbreviation for Emergency Boot Disk, and used for creating boot floppies to start up the computer system, by providing a boot path (usually an A Prompt).