Computer or Workgroup Name Not Set Properly Using Msbatch.inf

• Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to use an Msbatch.inf file to set the computer name or workgroup name during a batch installation of Windows 95 and you specify the name using a variable, the name may be set to the variable itself instead of the value the variable is intended to represent.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because the values assigned to the ComputerName and WorkGroup parameters in the Msbatch.inf file do not need to be enclosed in quotation marks and because the percent character (%) is a valid character in workgroup and computer names in Windows 95. Therefore, when you use an Msbatch.inf file to set the computer name or workgroup name, the Windows 95 Setup program cannot distinguish between percent characters used to enclose variable names and percent characters intended to be included in the computer name or workgroup name.

MORE INFORMATION

When you use an Msbatch.inf file to set the computer name or workgroup name, the name must be unique for each computer on the network and should be no more than 15 characters in length. It cannot contain spaces, but it can contain the following characters:

   ! @ # $ % ^ & ( ) - _ ' { } . ~

   [Network]
   ComputerName=%cname%

   [Strings]
   cname="MyComputerName"

REFERENCES

For additional information about using an Msbatch.inf file for batch installations of Windows 95, see Appendix D in the Microsoft Windows 95 Resource Kit.