So far, I have lost some hair trying to get a MS-DOS 6.22 based computer to boot up and load a program automatically, and I have not been successful. I tried a bunch of command lines I thought would work, and on each boot-up attempt, the computer hurled an insult at me, or locked me out of the autoexec.bat file unless I edited through the DOS directory. The computer has no programs in it with the exception of DOS and the program I am trying to load at boot-up. The program I speak of is a DOS-based program, and it works perfectly when I load it manually.

Immediately after MS-DOS 6.22 is installed (no memmaker initiated), the Autoexec.bat file looks like this:

@ECHO OFF
C:\DOS\SMARTDRIV.EXE /X
PROMPT $p$g
PATH C:\DOS
SET TEMP: C:\DOS

Secondly, the program I want to load on bootup is called SETUPVRC which is the name of the directory. In this directory, there is a bat and a cfg file called KBRC.bat and KBRC.cfg

I want to insert a line in the Autoexec.bat file to load this program because this program is used to take transmitter parameter readings, log the file, and print it out on a printer. If there is a power outage, the computer will come back only on DOS prompt when the power is back on line and the program has to be initiated manually. Obviously, this is not satisfactory.

Third:

My question is, what is the command line I should insert in the Autoexec.bat file, and where should I insert it?

The Operations manual for the software says it can be done, but there is no suggestion as to what or where the command line sequence is supposed to be.

I contacted Gentner Electronics, and was told they signed over the software to another company. I called that company and they appear to have "Banker's Hours."

I sent them an email, and I suspect I won't get a reply fast enough to suit my needs.

Thanks for the suggestions, gentlemen. If you have a suggestion, please clue me in. Don't be concerned if your suggestion might fail. No matter how bad it lunches the program, I can get it running in less that 10 minutes. I have a spare computer to experiment with.

edit.com
edit.hlp
edit.pif
qbasic.exe
qbasic.hlp
qbasic.ini

I would suggest modifying the PATH command to:

PATH=C:\DOS;C:\SETUPVRC

As for the command you want to insert at the end of the autoexec.bat file to run the application, it's probably

c:\setupvrc\kbrc.bat

Only you might have to use a "call" in the command line, like:

call c:\setupvrc\kbrc.bat

Or as Daryl suggested, change the default directory first, then run the batch file:

cd c:\setupvrc
kbrc.bat

Hope this helps at least some.

OK, I'll try your suggestions when I get home to my experimental computer. Right now, I have a more serious problem. The RFPA's in the driver cabnet burned up the plate load choke. No parts to fix it.

Just happens I have a vacuum tube 10KW Collins that was made in 1964, and the RFPA's in the driver cabnet happens to be a pair of 4-400's in parallel running at Class "C" Bias. If I get a chance, I'll post a picture of it (or what's left of it) later. I suspect a "bottle" shorted out and blew the choke before it could blow itself off line, or I lost the bias.

As far as being "Locked out" of the MS-DOS editor, I had to log into the DOS directory and type "Edit c:\ autoexec.bat" in order to get back into it.

I'll post the results on the autoexec.bat file as soon as I try it.

Thanks, guys. Much appreciated.