Mail Archives: opendos/1997/04/20/18:14:30
At 16:00 1997/04/20 CDT, Kenton E. Sinner wrote:
>After installing with the default configuration (Lite version),
>and rebooting the computer, I get the following message (from my memory):
>"Bad or missing command interpreter". I get past this by typing:
>"C:\COMMAND.COM". Also, the PATH variable is empty. When I look in
>my 4dos directory, 4dos.exe is missing.
I think you've answered your own question. I assume that you've installed
4DOS into the CONFIG.SYS such that it gets started up automatically on
boot-up (You have SHELL=C:\...\4DOS.COM ... in your CONFIG.SYS).
Somehow, your 4DOS.COM (It's .COM, not .EXE) has been deleted or corrupted.
When it boots, it tries to start up 4DOS, but can't. Hence, the "Bad or
missing command interpreter" message. When you type COMMAND.COM, you are
starting it in place of 4DOS. When you start the command interpreter in
this way, it doesn't execute the AUTOEXEC.BAT. Hence, your empty PATH.
Reinstall 4DOS, and your problem should be solved.
Or, if you can't re-install 4DOS, then you should change the "SHELL=" line
in your CONFIG.SYS to read "SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM", which will get OpenDOS
to start up the command interpreter that actually exists. This will solve
your problems, too, if you can stand using COMMAND.COM. ;-)
Also, I'd suggest doing a CHKDSK on your C: drive (or was there some
Caldera equivalent to MS SCANDISK? Norton's NDD will work, too). If your
4DOS.COM was corrupted somehow, it's possible other files got corrupted,
too; corrupted DOS filesystems should be fixed ASAP.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Takashi Toyooka <ttoyooka AT pobox DOT com> Verisim, Inc.
http://www.magi.com/~ttoyooka/ http://www.verisim.com/
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