directory change during bootup

[frankr2994]

so fresh install of 98se and using the unofficial sp3. my boot takes longer now and in the middle of it I get a dos prompt screen that says

C:\>SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WBEM;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND

Is this something I can somehow permanently change so it's not delaying the bootup?  

[LoneCrusader]

That's the DOS PATH variable being set; it's necessary and it probably takes a fraction of a second. Something else may be slowing down the bootup process, but that's not the cause.

If you have installed a network card, and it is set to use DHCP to obtain an IP address, and you do not have an Ethernet cable connected (to a working DHCP server obviously) then Windows 9x will sit and spend a long time waiting for a DHCP response that never comes before booting. But when this is happening the LOGO screen is usually displayed, not the DOS screen. Check for this; but it may not be your issue.

[frankr2994]

ok well I manually gave it an ip address. took it out of automatic. I didn't really notice a boot difference. And I guess I really shouldn't be complaining about this. the boot is really not all that long. I just thought I could get it down a little bit if there was a problem. And you would be correct. network card was configured but I'm not going to hook this up to the internet. Its actually funny I don't have any ethernet up in my office where I do all my computer work lol.  

[Wunderbar98]

Hi frankr2994.

Default paths on a base system are:
PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND

My base system also does not have the WBEM directory, so PATH=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WBEM is likely set by something you've installed, query Unofficial SP3.

How slow? Depending on hardware Windows 98 boots quite quickly.

As LoneCrusader mentioned network connections can cause hang-ups and delay. If not going online recommend disabling ethernet hardware altogether. Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager tab -> Network Adapters section. For every network adapater listed, right-click, select properties, check 'Disable in this hardware profile'.

Personally i would also remove all Control Panel -> Network -> Configuration tab -> Network Components and ensure File and Print Sharing is disabled. It will lean out these system components.

Reboot and see if boot time improves.

If there's still a problem, back up and modify C:\MSDOS.SYS. It's a hidden file, ensure Windows Explorer's View -> Folder Options -> View tab -> Hidden files section is set to 'Show all files'.
BootMenu=1
Logo=0

Reboot and at the boot menu select 'Step-by-step confirmation'. Press 'y' at every prompt and see if you can determine a hang-up.

Otherwise review C:\BOOTLOG.TXT

Boot analyzer software is available, never needed it.

[cc333]

Here's a suggestion to hide that line:

In your  C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file, add "@ECHO OFF" (without the quotes) to the top line, before any other text.

c

[Dave-H]

Or if you want to hide just that line, but still display the others, add ">nul" at the end of the line, with a space before it.

[jaclaz]

4 hours ago, Dave-H said:

Or if you want to hide just that line, but still display the others, add ">nul" at the end of the line, with a space before it.

Not really.

You shouldn't redirect to NUL when you can "hide" that output by simply adding a "@" before that line.

jaclaz

[Dave-H]

Oh right, thanks Jaclaz.
I've always used the ">nul" trick which I read about donkey's years ago.
I always assumed that putting anything at the beginning of the line would possibly actually disable it, like putting "REM" or ";".
I'll give that a try as it would look a bit more elegant.
What's actually the downside of redirecting to NUL, does it waste memory or something?

[jaclaz]

Well, redirection is for the output of a command, not for the command itself.

Try running this:

@SETLOCAL

SET MyNum1=1
SET MyNum2=2 >NUL
SET MyNum
SET MyNum>NUL
@ECHO.
@ECHO Here start the @
@SET MyNum1=1
@SET MyNum2=2
@SET MyNum
@SET MyNum>NUL

jaclaz

[Dave-H]

D-oh! Yes of course!
The only lines I actually have ">nul" at the end of are -

MODE CON CODEPAGE PREPARE=((850) C:\WIN-98\COMMAND\EGA.CPI) >nul
MODE CON CODEPAGE SELECT=850 >nul

IIRC that's to stop them printing the output to the screen, but of course they are still active.

[jumper]

Redirection applies only to standard output, not to error output.

 

[jaclaz]

2 minutes ago, jumper said:

Redirection applies only to standard output, not to error output.

 

Noone said the contrary of that.

Just in case:

https://www.robvanderwoude.com/redirection.php

jaclaz