Multiple Commands on a Single Line May Not Run When You Use the && Command Separator (279253)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
- Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition 4.0
This article was previously published under Q279253 SYMPTOMS
The double ampersand ( &&) command separator may not run the commands to the right of && command.
For example, when you run the following command, the pause command does not run when a floppy disk is not in drive A, and you receive a "The device is not ready" message:
CAUSE
This behavior occurs because the && command separator performs error checking. If the command to the left of the && command does not return the expected results, the commands to the right of the && command do not run.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, use the single & command separator. When you use a single & command, error checking is not performed and all commands run.
The following sample command displays a list of files in the current folder, and then runs the pause command even if the dir a: command does not work:
The following samples provide more examples of the && command separator.
Note that in these examples, a, b, and c represent commands. Example 1
If command a does not run, then commands b and command c do not run. If command b does not run, then command c does not run. Example 2
In this example, commands a, b, and c always run.
STATUS
This behavior is by design.
| Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 6/25/2004 |
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| Keywords: | kbenv kbprb KB279253 |
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