cmd.exe only works for internal commands, not external commands.

I'm using XP Pro and spend a lot of time in cmd.exe running many dos programs -- until recently when I downloaded nero 9 to burn CD's. I have since removed it, but when I go to cmd.exe I can run all of the internal commands like DIR, CD, TYPE, PRINT etc., but when I try to run an external program or batch file that has always worked before nero 9 the response is just a carriage return. No error message and no response to keyboard input. I can only terminate cmd.exe with close-tab and end-now. I would greatly appreciate any help you can provide.

Marvin Good

Have you tried a System Restore back to a date before you installed Nero 9?

Thank you for your reply.
Yes, I did. I installed and uninstalled nero 9 the same day, and the next day I did a System Restore to an auto-saved the day before the install/uninstall.
Since posting this I have found that ntvdm.exe does not start when I run cmd.exe. I can execute all of the internal dos commands at that time. ntvdm.exe does start when I try to run one of my programs and that's when it hangs.
I also found that when I run command.com ntvdm.exe does start immediately and I get a dos window with a blinking cursor, but no prompt, and it hangs too.
Thanks again for your response.

Hello and welcome to windrivers mvgood. In my experience Nero has always left something to be desired, either it will mess with audio encoding for no reason, disable the ability to read some file types, or in your case interfere with the cmd.exe file. There are several ways you can attempt to counteract a Nero issue even if it's an uninstalled one. One is possibly re-installing Nero and trying to uninstall it again in the hopes that the latest uninstall will not have issues, or you can try using this utility the Nero General Clean Tool http://www.nero.com/enu/tools-utilities.html by nero. One final thing to try is finding the registry key that was affected by this uninstall however I would not even suggest that if you are not an advanced level computer tech.

I think that this problem isn't connected with the program that you have installed. It seems that some problem connected with system drivers appeared.

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Originally Posted by jake21

I think that this problem isn't connected with the program that you have installed. It seems that some problem connected with system drivers appeared.

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Drivers to run the CMD or a batch file? Is that like downloading more RAM? Or buying more Ghz to install on your processor?

The command prompt and functions of programs are more likely affected by file structure changes, file association changes, or the registry and less likely by drivers unless the batch is calling on a process that specifically uses the drivers, additionally you don't need drivers to use the CMD.

Thanks for your comment jake21, but Bravo to Niclo! Good sense of humor too.
The batch files I referred to are very simpleminded -- they just change to a different directory and run a .exe program. It was quicker than changing the path at the time.
There are some strange things in the registry, like "inst imposta ayarla felrak eviewset", but I'm hesitant to change anything until I fully understand what I'm changing. I've changed things in the registry with good results before, but not without fully researching and understanding what I was doing.

The problem seems to be with ntvdm.exe, and I'm thinking that nero installed a modified version of it as I know they use a lot of system calls to burn CD's. The internal cmd.exe command work in cmd.exe because ntvdm.exe does not load when cmd.exe loads. Ntvdm.exe is only loaded by cmd.exe when you try to run an external program and that's when it hangs. When I run command.com instead of cmd.exe, ntvdm.exe loads with command.com and it hangs too. A blinking cursor only, no prompt, and it's hung too.

I ran sfc.exe /scannow and after several seconds of scanning it asked for the original CD, so I presume it found something wrong. I don't have the original CD but I do have the Product Key, thanks to Belarc Advisor, so I'm going to find an xp pro sp3 CD and run the Recovery Console to see if that fixes the problem. A new adventure.

Thanks for everyones help.

http://www.northernaurora.com/page/a...le-checker-r38

You may also want to look at a tool called ERUNT to back up your registry before you make any changes in the registry. You can use ERUNT to restore the registry easily if something goes wrong.

http://larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/