SUBST, JOIN, and APPEND Commands with Windows

• Microsoft MS-DOS versions 3.x, 4.x, 5.0
• Microsoft Windows versions 3.0, 3.00a, 3.1, 3.11
• Microsoft Windows for Workgroups version 3.1, 3.11

SUMMARY

The MS-DOS commands APPEND, SUBST, and JOIN modify the way MS-DOS searches for files. This can cause problems with certain applications, including Microsoft Windows and Windows for Workgroups.

MORE INFORMATION

Windows 3.0

The README.TXT that comes with Microsoft Windows version 3.0 includes the following:

   Omit the APPEND, JOIN, and SUBST MS-DOS Utilities
   -------------------------------------------------

   The MS-DOS utilities APPEND, JOIN, and SUBST can cause problems
   when you are running Windows 3.0. If you included APPEND, JOIN,
   or SUBST in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, remove them and refrain from
   running them within Windows.

These commands can also cause intermittent UAEs if they are added after the installation of Windows. Therefore, customers who use Microsoft Windows 3.0 should be warned when these commands are added to the AUTOEXEC.BAT files.

Windows 3.1

The MS-DOS utilities APPEND, JOIN, and SUBST are listed in the [incompTSR2] section of the SETUP.INF file. If you are running these programs when you run Windows Setup, you receive the following message:

   SETUP has found the programs listed below on your system. When
   SETUP or Windows runs with some versions of these programs, your
   system may fail.  It is recommended that you quit Setup now and
   look in the file SETUP.TXT for information about using the programs
   with Setup or Windows. Then run Setup again.

   subst and path and msdos

   -or-

   subst and join and append