Paul Quinn wrote to Ken Hrynchuk on 02-11-03 15:41:
 
 PQ> Hi! Ken,
 
 PQ> On Sat, 08 Feb 03, you wrote to me:
 
 KH>> "Your pop-up program is ready to run. When you have finished
 KH>> using
 KH>>  it, press Ctrl+C to close this window and return to Windows."
 KH>> I've tried everything I can think of (.PIF settings, .BAT
 KH>> tricks) to prevent the above from occurring; does anyone know
 KH>> how to stop it?
 PQ>> Geeze, I haven't seen that message in years.  :)
 KH> Great! Now, all we have to do is rediscover what it was that you did,
 KH> back then. :)
 
 PQ> Oooh, I'm talkin' about Win 3.0/3.1 - about 10 years ago.  :)  We
 PQ> ran an IBM 3270 teminal emulator that gave us that "error" message.
 PQ>  I recall now... we used a DOS printer spooler, to capture output
 PQ> from the mainframe to a disk file, which ran as a TSR.
 
The TSR was the culprit, right?
 
 PQ> If it were me, I'd start checking the versions of COMMAND.COM
 PQ> you've got lying about.  Particularly if you've done any
 PQ> updates/patches (the Y2K update springs to mind).  The version
 PQ> Windows uses to re-load may differ from the version in your batch's
 PQ> PATH; remember, there is a resident part of COMMAND.COM that stays
 PQ> while the 'transient' portion is cleared while executing an
 PQ> external command, even another COMMAND [/C] invocation.
 
Good thought, Paul; I just checked, and both Win95 versions (virgin Win
4.00.950) are identical. Since this is one of those 'upgrade from Win
3.1' systems, I also have a CC (MS-DOS 6.20) in C:\DOS (which isn't on
the PATH, in this config). To double check, I renamed the C:\DOS
version, and it didn't make a difference. FWIW, the problem also occurs,
intermittently, on my Win98SE system.
 
 PQ> FWIW, I have _never_ used "EXIT" in any batch file.
 
If you've got the time (and the inclination to run DOS AV programs),
maybe you can solve this, Paul. Here's the heart of VS.BAT:
 
c:\fprot\f-prot.exe %1 /archive /beep /collect /dumb /packed %2 %3 %4 %5 %6
if errorlevel 1 pause
c:\sc\scanpm %1 /all /allole /analyze /beep /mime /sub /unzip %2 %3 %4 %5 %6
if errorlevel 1 pause
 
I'd like to be able to run it from the command line, without terminating
the DOS session. I also want be able to execute it from a GUI right-
click, via a registry association for 'Folder' (with termination);
here's what I'm using for that: "C:\UTIL\Virus Scan.pif" win %1 (I named
the action &Virus Scan).
 
You'll notice that the association is running a .PIF, which is executing
the .BAT. I'd prefer to keep it that way, so I can retain control over
screen, resources, etc., but I'd be tempted to cut out the 'middle-man',
if the price was right. :) I'm using the 'win' parameter to allow VS.BAT
to distinguish between the two methods of execution; you may want to come
up with something better.
 
I have it all working, but it took Charles Jennings' suggestion to use
KPUSH 3 CR 3 to ensure termination. Prior to that, I discovered that
right-click-running it on a 'system' folder ('Printers', etc.) was a
better test than doing the same on a 'real' folder'; YMMV.
 
Here's where the plot thickens. I made a temporary VS.BAT, for testing
purposes, that ran MEM/D/P, then DEBUG; and it wouldn't terminate,
either (?). MEM's output did contain something interesting, though:
 
00600                 96    (0K)  COMMAND      Data
00606                272    (0K)  MEM          Environment
00617             90,400   (88K)  MEM          Program
 
Here's what a 'normal' DOS window looks like, on this machine:
 
00600                304    (0K)  MEM          Environment
00613             90,400   (88K)  MEM          Program
 
Aside from a few bytes less for the prompt, (I add to mine, usually)
I also discovered that "windir" wasn't being set, in VS.BAT's
environment. I tried setting it explicitly, in the .BAT, but it didn't
help. Is it possible that "Data" (which doesn't exist, in a 'normal' DOS
window) is being overwritten, but only intermittently? The above would
also appear to confirm that the problem, in this case, is not being
caused by the execution of Protected Mode software.
 
   Ken
 
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