Novell Err Msg: Invalid COMMAND.COM After Windows Exit

 Last reviewed: November 21, 1994
Article ID: Q81604
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows operating system versions 2.x, 3.0, 3.0a, 3.1, 3.11

SYMPTOMS

After exiting Microsoft Windows, you may receive one of the following error messages if you are using a Novell network: 

   Invalid COMMAND.COM

   -or-

   Cannot load COMMAND, System halted
NOTE: One of these error messages may occur with a run-time version of Windows or with MS-DOS-based applications.

CAUSE

The error occurs due to a problem with early releases of the Novell NETX.COM network shell program.

STATUS

Novell has corrected the problem in NETX.COM version 3.26 revision A included with Microsoft Windows 3.1.

WORKAROUND

In most cases, you can work around the problem by correctly setting the COMSPEC environment variable in the CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The following SHELL= line will load COMMAND.COM from the root directory of drive C. If you change your SHELL= statement to point to a new location, make sure COMMAND.COM is in the directory you are pointing to, or you may not be able to start your system. 

   SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /P
Note that COMMAND.COM is loaded from the root directory of drive C; not from the DOS directory. Certain versions of the Novell shell program may prevent the resident portion of COMMAND.COM from reloading the transient portion if the COMSPEC variable is set to the DOS directory. This causes the "Invalid COMMAND.COM" or "Cannot load COMMAND, System halted" error message to be displayed after you exit Windows.

If necessary, consult Novell technical support or Novell documentation for assistance in modifying your personal login script, and/or upgrade the Novell Shell. If you are using MS-DOS version 3.3 or earlier, you can work around the problem by modifying the Novell NetWare COMSPEC variable. For more detailed information on this subject, contact Novell Product Support.

MORE INFORMATION

Runtime Version of Excel

If this error message occurs when you are running the run-time version of Excel (with run-time Windows), configure Excel to look for COMMAND.COM in the root directory of the boot drive (usually drive C) or copy COMMAND.COM to the EXCEL directory. To configure Excel to point to the root directory of the boot drive:

  1. From the File menu, choose Open.

  2. In the Directories box, select the boot drive. For example: 

          [-C-]

  3. Choose Cancel.

The default directory for Excel is now the root directory of drive C, allowing Excel to locate COMMAND.COM.

NOTE: This message can also be caused by too little hard disk space. This can occur when exiting Windows or an application, such as Microsoft Excel. If you are using a permanent swap file, you need to have a minimum of 4 MB of available disk space; if you are using a temporary swap file, you need to have a minimum of 9 MB of available disk space. Also, be sure that you have a valid TEMP directory.

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

KBCategory: kbnetwork kb3rdparty
KBSubcategory: win30 win31
Additional reference words: wdnovell wderror 3.10 3.00 3.00a 3.1 3.0
3.0a 2.03 2.10 2.11 3.11

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Last reviewed: November 21, 1994
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