The information in this article applies to:
SYMPTOMS
When you restart your computer in MS-DOS mode, the MEM command may report
two or more copies of Command.com in memory.
CAUSE
This situation occurs for the following reasons:
- Command.com loads itself in multiple pieces, which may be reported
separately.
- When you restart your computer in MS-DOS mode, Windows 95 checks the
"Exit to DOS.pif" file. Or, when you run a program shortcut that
specifies MS-DOS mode, Windows 95 checks the program information file
(PIF) for the shortcut. In either case, Windows 95 uses that
information to build a batch file that describes how MS-DOS mode
should be configured. The batch file has the following structure:
rem This is the batch file for MS-DOS mode
<custom Autoexec.bat information>
<custom batch file information>
command.com
<restart the Windows 95 graphical user interface (GUI)>
After the Windows 95 GUI is shut down, Command.com runs the batch file.
Therefore, two copies of Command.com are resident in memory. The outer
copy runs the batch file and the inner copy processes your commands.
When you type "exit" in the inner copy of Command.com, control is
returned to the outer copy of Command.com, which restarts the Windows
95 GUI.
Note that two copies of Command.com require less than twice the amount of
memory as one copy because the second and any subsequent copies share
information with the first copy.
RESOLUTION
Instead of exiting to MS-DOS mode and then running the program manually,
create a shortcut for the program and configure the shortcut to use MS-DOS
mode. When you want to run the program, double-click the shortcut instead
of exiting to MS-DOS mode manually.
For information about MS-DOS mode settings, please see the following
article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q134400
TITLE : General Tips for Using MS-DOS Mode