XP is not user friendly, this is frustrating

[nucleus]

a start, search for for "cookies" finds a cookie is there
at I:\Documents and Settings\Myname\Cookies

a search with start, programs, assessories, command prompt
using I:\Documents and Settings\Myname\Cookies also finds
the cookie is there

BUT IF I TRY TO DELETE IT in my autoexec.bat file at bootup,
with the statement
Del /q/s I:\Documents and Settings\Myname\Cookies\*.*
i get the message "The system cannot find the path specified."

the PATH i am using is: PATH I:\

what am i missing???

 

[JS]

At the very least the spaces in between the words 'Documents and Settings'
will cause fits.
From a command prompt try the following: CD I:\""documents and
settings""\Myname\Cookies
If the above works then you can try the delete command.
If there are spaces in your user name you will need the resolve this also.

JS

 

[Malke]

a start, search for for "cookies" finds a cookie is there
at I:\Documents and Settings\Myname\Cookies

a search with start, programs, assessories, command prompt
using I:\Documents and Settings\Myname\Cookies also finds
the cookie is there

BUT IF I TRY TO DELETE IT in my autoexec.bat file at bootup,
with the statement
Del /q/s I:\Documents and Settings\Myname\Cookies\*.*
i get the message "The system cannot find the path specified."

the PATH i am using is: PATH I:\

what am i missing???

You're missing that XP doesn't use autoexec.bat. The file is there only
for backwards compatibility with old programs.


Malke

 

[Shenan Stanley]

a start, search for for "cookies" finds a cookie is there
at I:\Documents and Settings\Myname\Cookies

a search with start, programs, assessories, command prompt
using I:\Documents and Settings\Myname\Cookies also finds
the cookie is there

BUT IF I TRY TO DELETE IT in my autoexec.bat file at bootup,
with the statement
Del /q/s I:\Documents and Settings\Myname\Cookies\*.*
i get the message "The system cannot find the path specified."

the PATH i am using is: PATH I:\

what am i missing???

Long file names and quotation marks at least.
Is your Windows XP configured to parse the autoexec at startup? It doesn't
*have* to be...

 

[nucleus]

thanks for the replies, everybody.

JS, the quotation marks did solve that one problem. what i do
not understand, is why XP sometimes requires quotation marks
on some delete commands in autoexec.bat and on other delete
commands in autoexec.bat, it works without quotation marks.
is there some link you could suggest for me to learn more
about the quotation marks in XP?

Malke, why do you say XP DOES NOT use autoexec.bat? it does
work on XP Pro at boot time. it does execute my delete commands.

Shenan, yes ParseAutoexec is set to 1. it was like that at XP
build time (i did not change that).

 

[Shenan Stanley]

a start, search for for "cookies" finds a cookie is there
at I:\Documents and Settings\Myname\Cookies

a search with start, programs, assessories, command prompt
using I:\Documents and Settings\Myname\Cookies also finds
the cookie is there

BUT IF I TRY TO DELETE IT in my autoexec.bat file at bootup,
with the statement
Del /q/s I:\Documents and Settings\Myname\Cookies\*.*
i get the message "The system cannot find the path specified."

the PATH i am using is: PATH I:\

what am i missing???

thanks for the replies, everybody.

JS, the quotation marks did solve that one problem. what i do
not understand, is why XP sometimes requires quotation marks
on some delete commands in autoexec.bat and on other delete
commands in autoexec.bat, it works without quotation marks.
is there some link you could suggest for me to learn more
about the quotation marks in XP?

Malke, why do you say XP DOES NOT use autoexec.bat? it does
work on XP Pro at boot time. it does execute my delete commands.

Shenan, yes ParseAutoexec is set to 1. it was like that at XP
build time (i did not change that).

If there is a space in the filename/directory to get to the file in
question - put quotes around it.
I would put quotes around it if anything is over 8 characters (between \'s)
as well...

Your line:
Del /q/s I:\Documents and Settings\Myname\Cookies\*.*

would be:
Del /q /s "I:\Documents and Settings\Myname\Cookies\*.*"


If you were deleting something simplistic, like C:\windows\filename.ext, you
wouldn't need the quotes.

 

[JS]

I looked but could not find a really good easy to understand and with the
detail you need.
I did find this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delimiter

Keep in mind that 'White Space' (a space separating two parts of command
that is syntactically correct) is valid for command line switches, pipes,
etc.

You can type the word 'help' (without the single quotes) at the command
prompt and get a list of commands and 'help del' will show more detail on
the DEL command.

JS