GiPo@MoveOnBoot

[HoppaLong]

I've kept a customized version of 98SE on an old

desktop for years. I purchased an IBM ThinkPad

(laptop) in excellent condition, so I could copy

that 98 system onto the laptop. Now, I can finally

junk this enormous desktop while saving the system

on the ThinkPad.

I used GiPo@MoveOnBoot to delete all the driver

files specific to the hardware on the desktop.

I could have created my own script, but MoveOnBoot

saved me several hours. It worked great! The image

backup file was restored to the laptop. All I had

to do was install the laptop drivers and the job

was complete.

I probably should have uninstalled MoveOnBoot before

creating the image file, because its causing a problem

on the ThinkPad.

During bootup the following error message appears:

C:\>

C:\>

C:\>rem ** This line will be processed by the GiPo@

MoveOnBoot tool. **

C:\>rem ** DO NOT EDIT **

C:\>C:\mboot.bat

Bad command or filename

C:\>

I thought I could eliminate this erroneous message

during bootup by deleting these lines from the

AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Something is still causing the

boot process to pause and display the following:

C:\>

C:\>

What is going on here? Why is the system displaying

these these two meaningless "C" prompts, when I deleted

all the MoveOnBoot lines from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file?

I thought the problem might go away if I uninstalled

GiPo@FileUtilities, including all the registry entries.

It didn't work.

Is there anything I can do to completely eliminate this

problem during the boot process?

[herbalist]

Remove the empty lines at the end of autoexec.bat. Every empty line after the last entry in autoexec.bat will cause the prompt to be displayed in an additional line.

[HoppaLong]

Thank you herbalist.

Years ago I was a heavy DOS user, like everyone else.

You had to have some command line expertise, or you

couldn't use a computer!

Believe it or not, I'm a little confused about your

reply. I apologize for my diminishing brain power.

The only lines in the autoexec.bat file related to

MoveOnBoot. Once those lines were removed the file

was empty.

How do I "remove the empty lines at the end of

autoexec.bat" when the file is empty?

If possible, show me what I should add or remove from

the autoexec.bat file to make those "C" prompts go away.

Edited March 8, 2010 by HoppaLong

[LoneCrusader]

Thank you herbalist.

Years ago I was a heavy DOS user, like everyone else.

You had to have some command line expertise, or you

couldn't use a computer!

Believe it or not, I'm a little confused about your

reply. I apologize for my diminishing brain power.

The only lines in the autoexec.bat file related to

MoveOnBoot. Once those lines were removed the file

was empty.

How do I "remove the empty lines at the end of

autoexec.bat" when the file is empty?

If possible, show me what I should add or remove from

the autoexec.bat file to make those "C" prompts go away.

He's talking about a blank new line, as in a carriage return, or "Enter".

DOS treats a blank new line as a carriage return, it's like pressing ENTER at a C:\> prompt without typing a command, you just get another C:\> prompt.

For example this empty blank line ^^ in my post would produce another C:\> prompt.

Check your AUTOEXEC.BAT in Notepad and Delete/Backspace out any blank lines. Or, since your AUTOEXEC.BAT is blank, click Edit > Select All and then press Delete. Once you have done this you should not be able to move the cursor from the upper left corner with the arrow keys.

[rloew]

If your AUTOEXEC.BAT File is empty, you can just delete it.

[HoppaLong]

OK rloew and LoneCrusader.

I finally remember some of the details about

autoexec.bat, now that you've jogged my memory.

When there was no GUI, I used DOS everyday.

The scripts I create these days are definitely

not traditional batch files. In fact, its been

years since I needed a DOS based batch file.

LoneCrusader, your clear explanation is terrific!

I suppose I could delete autoexec.bat, but I would

rather leave it alone as long as it doesn't cause

problems.

98SE was the system we used when I started a

business with several other guys. It's filled

with icons and logos all related to our business.

Preserving a copy of this system is important

to me. I guess I'm just a sentimental old fool!

I appreciate your replies. Thanks again.

[LoneCrusader]

...

LoneCrusader, your clear explanation is terrific!

I suppose I could delete autoexec.bat, but I would

rather leave it alone as long as it doesn't cause

problems.

...

Preserving a copy of this system is important

to me. I guess I'm just a sentimental old fool!

I appreciate your replies. Thanks again.

I think if you deleted AUTOEXEC.BAT then Windows would generate a new blank one (not sure about that). It's never foolish to be sentimental, haha, I still have the hard drives from my first Win95 computer, the partitions died on them, but I never formatted over them or used the disks again in the hope that one day I could resurrect them.

But anyhow, glad I was able to help you.

[submix8c]

Info/clarification only...

No new one would be generated. WinME might (don't remember off-the-top-of-head).

Generally, a minimum (not "required"; can be "null") file-content for any TXT-type file (including above) is CR/LF or more specifically "x0Ax0D" (ASCII), similar to manual typewriter "pushing the bar to the left right" placing the next "input" left and down. This "combination" is the "delimiter" used to detect (loosely) "end of input" (exception "null" which is ignored, i.e. "empty/0-length file" or "no input").

Every empty line after the last entry in autoexec.bat will cause the prompt to be displayed in an additional line.

True - EmptyLines=CR/LF=NothingToProcess (GoToNextInput). If you want to keep any lines (say, for posterity) just put ":: " at the beginning (same effect as "REM "). The same can be done in CONFIG.SYS (to "keep" old entries) by using either "; " or "REM " (?). Using the alternative-to "REM " makes it more readable (IMHO). Edited March 10, 2010 by submix8c

[LoneCrusader]

No new one would be generated.

Thanks for clarifying this, I wasn't sure about it.

[lightning slinger]

I suppose I could delete autoexec.bat, but I would

rather leave it alone as long as it doesn't cause

problems.

You could always remove the check from 'Process Autoexec.bat file' in 'Startup selection' under the 'General' tab of 'System Configuration Utility' and then you are not going to see it when the system boots.