DOCUMENT:Q97020  19-NOV-1999  [msdos]
TITLE   :OS_VERSION Points to Incorrect COMMAND.COM on Novell
PRODUCT :Microsoft Disk Operating System
PROD/VER:MS-DOS:6.0,6.2,6.21,6.22
OPER/SYS:
KEYWORDS:msdos

======================================================================
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft MS-DOS operating system versions 6.0, 6.2, 6.21, 6.22 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SYMPTOMS
========

If you are using MS-DOS 6.0 or 6.2 with a Novell network, you may receive the
following error message or your system may stop responding (hang).

   Bad or missing Command Interpreter

CAUSE
=====

Because the Novell NET.COM file requires that you use SETVER (set for MS-DOS
version 5.0 by default), the OS_VERSION environment variable is set to the
current version as follows:

   OS_VERSION=V5.00

Many Novell system login scripts map the COMSPEC environment variable to the
OS_VERSION variable. (This is not an MS-DOS environment variable.) Under this
configuration, when MS-DOS needs to find the transient portion of COMMAND.COM,
it looks in the V5.00 directory on the network and may lock the computer or
generate the error message above.

WORKAROUND
==========

To temporarily work around this problem, do the following:

1. Create a directory for the MS-DOS files called V4.60 on the network.

2. Copy the MS-DOS 6.0 files to the V4.60 directory.

3. Modify the SETVER.EXE table by typing the following at the MS-DOS command
   prompt:

   " setver netx.com 4.60 " (without the quotation marks)

4. Restart your computer by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL.


NOTE: This procedure requires that you use a directory name with a version number
earlier than 5.0 (4.40, 4.50, and so forth). The actual directory name doesn't
matter since NETX depends on the major version number only.

MORE INFORMATION
================

The new Novell shell (version 3.32) is compatible with MS-DOS 6.0. The new shell
is available for download from the NOVFILES area on CompuServe in the file
DOSUP7.EXE.

NOTE: To make this version work correctly, you must remove the SETVER entry for
NETX.EXE, BNETX.EXE, EMSNETX.EXE, or XMSNETX.EXE. For example, type "setver
netx.exe /d" (without the quotation marks) at the MS-DOS command prompt and then
press ENTER.

If you are using MS-DOS 6.2 with the Novell 3.32 shell, you still need to use a
directory called V6.00 if you want to use %OS_VERSION. This information may
change when Novell releases an MS-DOS 6.2-compatible version of its shell.

Additional query words: 6.22 6.00 6.20 %osver% os_ver os ver netware osver invalid OS_VER=DOS5.00

======================================================================
Keywords          : msdos 
Technology        : kbMSDOSSearch kbMSDOS621 kbMSDOS622 kbMSDOS620 kbMSDOS600
Version           : MS-DOS:6.0,6.2,6.21,6.22

=============================================================================

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