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Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:53:02 -0400
From: "Larry Hall (Cygwin)" <reply-to-list-only-lh AT cygwin DOT com>
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Subject: Re: how can I stop Windows setting HOME?
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anadem wrote:
> 
> Larry Hall (Cygwin) wrote:
>> Adam Thompson wrote:
>>> 2008/6/6 Adam Thompson <adwulf AT gmail DOT com>:
>>>> 2008/6/6 anadem <anadem AT gmail DOT com>:
>>>>> Is there any way to permanently unset the HOME env-var in Windows? I
>>>>> could
>>>>> run a batch file at startup but afaik that would not be a systemwide
>>>>> removal
>>>>> of HOME.
>>>>>
>>>> I do not think this is a Windows issue.
>>>>
>> Generally speaking, you're right that Windows doesn't set HOME but
>> rather HOMEDRIVE and HOMEPATH.  If HOME is getting set in the Windows
>> environment, something else that's installed is setting it and Cygwin
>> is just going along with it because it's set in the environment.  If
>> it is not possible to figure out what is setting HOME for Windows, you
>> can unset it in cygwin.bat, or whatever mechanism Cygwin is started
>> with, as you noted.  But it would be better to find the source and
>> squash it.  And although you pointed at the right FAQ entry describing
>> the hierarchy of rules used for setting HOME within Cygwin's environment,
>> your interpretation is a bit off.  As the FAQ states, HOME is determined
>> by one of the following in order of decreasing priority:
>>
>>     1. HOME from the Windows environment, translated to POSIX form.
>>     2. The entry in /etc/passwd
>>     3. HOMEDRIVE and HOMEPATH from the Windows environment
>>     4. /
>>
>> Once one of these rules is fulfilled, the remainder are skipped.  So
>> if HOME is set in the Windows environment, Cygwin will use that (converted
>> to POSIX form).  If it's not and there's an '/etc/passwd' file with an
>> entry
>> for the current user, the home path specified there will be used.
>> Otherwise,
>> HOMEDRIVE and HOMEPATH will be used to define HOME in CYGWIN (again,
>> converted to POSIX form).  And, if for some reason none of these other
>> rules fire, HOME is set to '/'.
>>
>> It is highly recommended that one let rule #2 fire, since '/etc/passwd' is
>> the source of the home path used by Cygwin's telnet, ssh, etc. 
>> Consistency
>> between these utilities and your default Cygwin shell/environment is
>> very likely to eliminate future brain strains. ;-)
>>
> 
> Ah, yes, thanks all, it's possibly MKS Toolset. Now if only I can figure out
> HOW it's doing it. 
> There's no autoexec and nothing in Startup. Maybe I'll just adjust
> cygwin.bat (plus warn co-workers to unset $HOME before installing cygwin,
> and give my strained brain a warm bath.) 

On machines I have access to running MKS, I see HOME set to
%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%.  It also sets other environment variables
like SHELL, TERM, TERMCAP, TERMINFO, etc.  I find these in under
System->Advanced->Environment Variables.  Looking at two different
machines, at least one of which I didn't customize at all, shows
me these variables defined here.  I'm not sure why you wouldn't
see them on your end.  But MKS is definitely one source of these
variables.

-- 
Larry Hall                              http://www.rfk.com
RFK Partners, Inc.                      (508) 893-9779 - RFK Office
216 Dalton Rd.                          (508) 893-9889 - FAX
Holliston, MA 01746

_____________________________________________________________________

A: Yes.
 > Q: Are you sure?
 >> A: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation.
 >>> Q: Why is top posting annoying in email?

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