Cannot Quit MS-DOS Mode

 Last reviewed: January 9, 1997
Article ID: Q130448
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

An MS-DOS-based program that you were running in MS-DOS mode starts every time you restart your computer.

CAUSE

The MS-DOS-based program was terminated abnormally. For example, the computer restarted while the program was running.

RESOLUTION

Quit the MS-DOS-based program properly. Windows 95 should then start automatically. If Windows 95 does not start automatically, use the following steps to work around this problem:

  1. Press the F8 key when you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, and then choose Safe Mode Command Prompt Only from the menu that appears.

  2. Type "win /wx" (without quotation marks) at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.

MORE INFORMATION

When you set up a program information file (PIF) to run an MS-DOS-based program in MS-DOS mode, you can select the "Specify a new MS-DOS configuration" option. If you select this option, you can specify a CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT file to be used when you run the MS-DOS-based program.

When you run a program in this manner in Windows 95, the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files in the root directory of the boot drive are renamed to CONFIG.WOS and AUTOEXEC.WOS, and the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files specified in the PIF are copied to the root directory. Also, the entry "DOS=SINGLE" is added to the CONFIG.SYS file specified by the PIF to cause Windows 95 to start in MS-DOS mode.

If you turn your computer off or restart it while it is running in MS-DOS mode, the PIF-specific CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files are retained in the root directory, and the computer restarts in MS-DOS mode.

When you quit the MS-DOS-based program properly, the PIF-specific CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files in the root directory are replaced by the original files.

Note that PIF-specific CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files are created only if you select the "Specify a new MS-DOS configuration" check box for an MS-DOS-based program that will run in MS-DOS mode.

For additional information about the process that occurs when you restart your computer in MS-DOS mode, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q138996
   TITLE     : Description of Restarting Computer in MS-DOS Mode

KBCategory: kbusage kbenv
KBSubcategory: wpp95 win95 diskmem winboot
Additional reference words: 95 msdos ms dos loop

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Last reviewed: January 9, 1997
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