Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!aplcen!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!hp-pcd!hplsla!davidr From: davidr@hplsla.HP.COM (David M. Reed) Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms Subject: Re: Windows 3.0 Protected mode problem Message-ID: <3130004@hplsla.HP.COM> Date: 11 Jun 90 21:08:23 GMT References: Organization: HP Lake Stevens, WA Lines: 20 I have seen this error (Invalid COMMAND.COM; Halted) many times. In fact, I am trying to trace down why it is happening periodically on 3 different systems here (one an 8 MHz '286, one a 20MHz '386, and a 25MHz '386), each running different main applications (GRAPHICS GALLERY on one, VENTURA PUBLISHER on another, and a custom application on the 3rd). COMMAND.COM has a transient portion that occasionally gets overwritten (usually by a large application), and that is why there is a COMSPEC variable, so that COMMAND.COM, upon determination that its transient portion is corrupt (= Invalid COMMAND.COM) can reload itself. However, if the COMSPEC variable disappears, for is in any way unable to reference the real COMMAND.COM, then the system HALTS (it is unable to continue). I have been unable to determine exactly what is happening to the COMSPEC variable (or something related to it, such as the code of COMMAND.COM that stays resident to reload itself) so that it can not find and reload its transient code. In other words, I generally know what is probably happening, and why it is probably happening, but am unable to determin the other details in order to fix it. Does anyone else have a method for trapping this?