Knowledge Base

PRB: Cmdlines.txt Does Not Recognize Parameters Surrounded by Quotes

Article ID: 167211

Article Last Modified on 10/31/2006

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition

This article was previously published under Q167211

SYMPTOMS

During an unattended setup, some entries in the Cmdlines.txt file do not execute.

CAUSE

The entries in Cmdlines.txt that are not executing may contain entries that contain parameters between quotation marks, as in the following example:

   Cmdlines.txt
      [Commands]
      ".\at 04:00 /interactive cmd.exe /c "c:\batch\runme.bat"

Cmdlines.txt treats the first quotation mark in the parameter as the end of the command line.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, create a batch file containing the same command line with quotation marks, and run that batch file from the Cmdlines.txt text file. For the previous example, the resolution would be:

   CMDLINES.TXT
      [Commands]
      ".\mybatch.bat"

   Mybatch.bat
      AT 04:00 /interactive cmd.exe /c "c:\batch\runme.bat"

MORE INFORMATION

The Unattend.txt setup script must include "OEMPreinstall=Yes in the [Unattended] section, to enable the Cmdlines.txt file. This file must also reside in the $OEM$ directory of your Windows NT distribution share.

Additional query words: prodnt Unattended Setup

Keywords: kbprb kbsbk kbsetup KB167211