Booted into DOS then bad command or file name

Thuleman

Supreme [H]ardness
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Apr 13, 2004
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I created a USB boot stick using these instructions:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/46707-ms-dos-bootable-flash-drive-create.html

That worked fine, I am able to boot from the stick.

I then added some Dell BIOS files to the stick which all end in *.exe which supposedly runs from DOS as per Dell's web site. When I try to run one of those files I get a "bad command or file name" message.

The file names all have 8 characters + extension. I am a bit stumped, this should just work, right?
 
Thanks for the suggestion, but it seems to look OK.

Once the system is done booting a C:\ prompt appears. If I do a 'dir' then the 7 *.exe files with the different bios versions show up. If I type the bios name either with or without extension I get the "bad command or file name".

It's almost as if the machine doesn't know what to do with an exe file.
 
I'm dredging the past here, but you may need XMS enabled. Try putting device=himem.sys and dos=high in config.sys
 
Bad command or file name means that the file doesn't exist in the path you're executing it, or a path specified in the %path% variable.

So -- either the file isn't in the directory you're trying to execute it from, or you are typing in the name wrong. Remember, if the file has spaces in the name, you'll have to put quotes around it. For example.

"My Bios File.exe"

I'm dredging the past here, but you may need XMS enabled. Try putting device=himem.sys and dos=high in config.sys

I don't think that is the issue. The executable isn't being run. If it needed himem, it it would throw a completely different error.
 
Here's what I see:

Arav0fyl.jpg


1qllUALl.jpg
 
You should type the file name correctly. The first character is O, not 0.

Oh my god .....

Sigh, I can't believe I didn't even think to try an O, makes total sense, it's an OptiPlex after all. Nevermind the little dot that indicates that a character is actually a numerical zero.

Thank you so much! It's so obvious yet I was pulling my hair out and just didn't see it. You rock!
 
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