Empty DOS Files In Windows Drive Root Folder C:\

[Guest]

I have always wondered why Windows XP installs the familiar Microsoft DOS
files in the Drive C:\ root folder during a clean installation

The specific files I am referring to are:
(1) COMMAND.COM
(2) MSDOS.SYS
(3) IO.SYS
(4) CONFIG.SYS
(5) AUTOEXEC.BAT

The above files are always empty (zero file saize) after a clean install

Questions:

(1) What purpose do they serve ??

(2) What can you do with them ??

Thank you in advance for your replys

 

[Steve Shattuck]

I have always wondered why Windows XP installs the familiar Microsoft DOS

files in the Drive C:\ root folder during a clean installation

The specific files I am referring to are:
(1) COMMAND.COM
(2) MSDOS.SYS
(3) IO.SYS
(4) CONFIG.SYS
(5) AUTOEXEC.BAT

The above files are always empty (zero file saize) after a clean install

Questions:

(1) What purpose do they serve ??

Some idiots that write DOS programs check to see if these files exist before
starting.

(2) What can you do with them ??

Nothing, just there so that the programs referred to above don't crash. If
a qualified DOS programer actually reads the files, XP substitutes
appropriate XP files (Autoexec.nt, Config.nt, etc.)

 

[Wesley Vogel]

(1) COMMAND.COM
Start | Run | Type: command | Click OK |
COMMAND.COM should open.

command.com should be in C:\WINDOWS\system32 and 49.4 KB, not C:\ and 0
bytes. command.com is the MS-DOS command interpreter.

(2) MSDOS.SYS
(3) IO.SYS
(4) CONFIG.SYS

XP uses config.nt.

(5) AUTOEXEC.BAT

XP uses Autoexec.nt, but when XP boots it will read the lines that begin
with SET or PATH in the AUTOEXEC.BAT.

They are all included for backward compatibility for using 16-bit programs.

Just look at some of the posts asking why some ancient MS-DOS programs
don't work correctly on XP. Some do, some so not.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

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