"Paul Randall" <paulr901@cableone.net> wrote in message
news:eHEtz%23TzHHA.1208@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>
> "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> wrote in message
> news:uEZJTtSzHHA.1188@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>>
>> "+Bob+" <uctraing@ultranet.com> wrote in message
>> news:7k89a35jgedhhc6dgm2khrauvh1c95r0ha@4ax.com...
>>> It's been a long time since I've done this and my memory grows foggy
>>>
>>> How do I feed a "y" response to a DOS command that wants to prompt me
>>> for a Y/N answer?
>>>
>>> How about if it prompts for two in a row?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>
>> As Ian suggested, piping Y into a command will do the trick,
>> e.g. like so:
>>
>> echo F | xcopy c:\*.* d:\Test
>>
>> Note that DOS is an operating system, same as Windows XP.
>> There is no DOS under Windows, only a Command Prompt.
>
> In Help 7 Support, search for Command-line reference A-Z, to learn all
> about "changes to the functionality of MS-DOS commands, new command-line
> tools, command shell functionality, configuring the command prompt, and
> automating commmand-line tasks". It may not be DOS, but Microsoft still
> refers to the commands as MS-DOS commands, so it is not totally
> unreasonable to refer to the window in which one uses the MS-DOS commands
> as a DOS window.
>
> The Cmd.exe window, displays something like this when you open it:
> Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
> (C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
>
> The Command.com window displays something like this when you open it:
> Microsoft(R) Windows DOS
> (C)Copyright Microsoft Corp 1990-2001.
> I kinda think that this really is running a version of DOS under Windows,
> but I could be wrong.
>
> Both windows can run batch files, but the CMD window is much more
> versatile. It has many more commands and more powerful batch capabilities
> than the Command.com window.
>
> WXP can format a disk creating an MS-DOS startup disk. I believe on
> bootup it would actually be DOS and have capabilities similar to the
> Command.com window.
>
> -Paul Randall
I'm quite aware of Microsoft programmers sometimes getting
confused themselves about their own operating system. It's kind
of hard to understand . . . Nevertheless, the distinction must be
made because without it people get confused. On countless
occasions have I seen posts in this group that referred to fdisk.exe
or to sys.com, both of which are fundamental components of DOS
but have no place in Windows. Some posters complain about
format.com not working under "DOS", meaning that format.com
may not work in the Command Prompt under WinXP. Some
ask how to boot their WinXP machine into DOS, which they
obviously can't because WinXP (as opposed to Win9x) is not
built on DOS.
Perhaps Microsoft has finally purged all references to DOS
from Vista.
About the command processor: Why would Ian suggest to
the OP to use a legacy Win9x processor when, as you say,
the real thing is so much more powerful and has full 32-bit
capability?
While WinXP may be able to format a DOS boot diskette,
the capabilities of this boot disk would be extremely limited
to the point of being almost useless. If you need a good boot
disk then you should look at a Bart PE boot CD or one of
its derivatives.