Another couple of thoughts.
On my system, I have three copies of COMMAND.COM located in
C:\ C:\WINDOWS and C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\EBD. The last one is
used for making Emergency Boot Disks; hence the EBD. Does
all your COMMAND.COM give the same results?
Do you get the same results if you remove CONFIG.SYS and
AUTOEXEC.BAT?
Does your DOS prompt work in Windows Safe Mode?
Could you paste the contents of CONFIG.SYS, MSDOS.SYS and
AUTOEXEC.BAT?
It would help to know what the blank screen is. I
originally thought it could be DOS defaulting to a graphics
mode instead of a text mode. I'm not sure anymore. I'd
like to know if a DOS program works. A little test...
Create a .BAT file that does some work you can detect
without screen display, such as format a floppy. Right
click the icon, select properties, and put this batch file
into the Batch File box under Program tab. Click Apply.
When you click the icon, the floppy should begin to format,
make some noise, and illuminate the activity light. If
this happens, you now that DOS is working, but working
kinda quirky.
I'll paste the choices I've made for DOS Properties...
{Note: I use a file PMSWEXEC.BAT but you may leave this blank}
MS-DOS Prompt
General {Tab}
[ ] Read-only
[ ] Hidden
[v] Archive
[ ] System {Unchecked and Unavailable}
Program {Tab}
[MS-DOS Prompt]
Cmd line [C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND.COM]
Working [D:\JIC]
Batch [D:\SYSTEM\PMSWEXEC.BAT]
Shortcut [None]
Run [Normal window]
[v] Close on exit
Advanced {Button}
[v] Suggest MS-DOS mode as necessary
Font {Tab}
(O) TrueType only
Font size
[Auto]
Memory {Tab}
Total
[Auto]
Initial environment
[Auto]
Expanded memory not configured
Details {Button}
{Not supported}
Extended XMS memory
[Auto]
[v] Uses HMA
MS-DOS protected-mode memory
Total
[Auto]
Screen {Tab}
Usage
(O) Window
Initial size
[Default]
Window
[ ] Display toolbar {Unchecked}
[v] Restore settings on startup
Performance
[v] Fast ROM emulation
[v] Dynamic memory allocation
Misc {Tab}
Foreground
[v] Allow screen saver
Background
[ ] Always suspend {Unchecked}
Mouse
[ ] Quick Edit {Unchecked}
[ ] Exclusive mode {Unchecked}
Termination
[v] Warn if still active
Other
[v] Fast pasting
Windows shortcut keys
{All checked}
And one last question ...
What happens when you have the blank screen and you type
Alt-Enter, the Windows' command for switching from full
screen DOS to DOS window?
Cheers, PW.
P.S.
You could also try un-checking the Performance stuff,
Fast ROM emulation, and Dynamic Memory Allocation. |
