How Windows 95 Setup Handles SUBST, JOIN, APPEND, and ASSIGN

Last reviewed: November 14, 1996
Article ID: Q137380
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows 95

SUMMARY

Windows 95 Setup may not be able to finish successfully if any of the following commands are used in the Config.sys or Autoexec.bat file:

   SUBST
   JOIN
   APPEND
   ASSIGN

Setup attempts to continue when these commands are used. However, it may be necessary to remove them to install Windows 95 successfully.

MORE INFORMATION

Setup attempts to work with these MS-DOS-based terminate-and-stay-resident programs (TSRs) loaded. Although these TSRs may not cause problems, you may have to remove them.

APPEND and ASSIGN

Setup does not halt or remove these TSRs.

These programs are not provided in MS-DOS versions later than 5.0. You must expand these programs from your MS-DOS 5.0 disks to regain their functionality, and then run Setver.exe to set them to MS-DOS version 5.0.

The Append.exe file is also available on the Windows 95 CD-ROM in the <drive>:\other\oldmsdos directory.

NOTE: These commands can be run only in MS-DOS mode.

JOIN

If this TSR is detected, Setup halts and warns you that there are cross- linked files on the hard disk. Remove Join.exe from the Autoexec.bat file to finish Setup.

Using the JOIN command may cause additional problems. For example, running an MS-DOS session while Windows Explorer is open may result in the following error message:

   Cannot find command.com

SUBST

Setup does not halt or remove this TSR. Setup replaces any references to Subst.exe in the Autoexec.bat file with the location of the Windows 95 version of the file.

Using Setver.exe

You can use the SETVER command to enable programs and device drivers that require an earlier version of MS-DOS to run in Windows 95.

You must use the SETVER command to enable Assign.exe, Append.exe, and Join.exe to run in Windows 95.

For example, to add Append.exe to the version table, use the following command:

   setver c:\dos append.exe 5.00

REFERENCES

For information about using Setver.exe, type "Setver /?" at a command prompt, or see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q96767
   TITLE : Using the SETVER Command

For information about using the SUBST, JOIN, and APPEND commands, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q71667
   TITLE : SUBST, JOIN, and APPEND Commands with Windows


KBCategory: kbsetup kbenv
KBSubcategory: win95
Additional reference words: 95 substitute


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Last reviewed: November 14, 1996
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