
                                Dos Fix V1.1

                              by John Augustine

          DF (Dos Fix) was written in Assembly for MS Dos systems.

  A "bug" in MS-Dos's "COMMAND.COM" prevents you from searching hidden
directories for a file/s.  Example: If you use the command (without quotes)
"DIR/S *.INI" to locate all ".INI" files in the current directory, including
"all" sub-directories to the current directory (directory you are in), if
there is a hidden sub-directory/s, it/they will be bypassed.  Note: Hidden
sub-directories are common in the "WINDOWS" (95/98) directory.

  The directory "search" bug involves not setting the proper attribute to
include hidden directories!  It is possible that this "bug" was intentional,
allowing users to hide files in a hidden directory?

  IMPORTANT NOTE:

  You MUST "fix" every "COMMAND.COM" in the hard drive/disk, otherwise, it is
possible to get a system halt with the "invalid command.com" message.  All the
"COMMAND.COM" files must match.  Sometimes, when you exit certain
applications, the checksum of the "transient" portion of Command.com (the part
of Command.com that was relocated in high memory) will not match because the
application used that upper memory.  Therefore, "COMMAND.COM" must be
reloaded.  If the checksum still doesn't match, then the system halt occurs
and the error message appears.  The checksum is created during startup of the
computer and remains unmodified.  Another way of looking at it, the first
"COMMAND.COM" installed when the computer is turned on, becomes the
"reference".

  BEFORE AND AFTER TEST, FIRST BEFORE:

  In the root directory, type (without quotes) "DIR/S/A *.*" and press Enter.
When finished, write down the total number of files found.

  GETTING READY:

  If you are a very cautious person (I don't blame you), create an emergency
"Startup" disk ("FORMAT A: /S"), which will contain the original
"COMMAND.COM".

  In the hard drive/disk, you must be in the directory where "COMMAND.COM" is
located.  There is a minimum of two "COMMAND.COM" files.  One is always in the
root directory and one is in the "Windows" (95)(98?) or "DOS" directory on PCs
with Windows 3.1 or Dos only systems.

  TIP: I recommend you start at the root directory and type (without quotes)
"DIR/S/P COMMAND.COM" ("/P" will pause when the screen is full) in order to
see which directories have "COMMAND.COM".  Make a note of those directories.

  FIXING "COMMAND.COM":

 1. Starting at the Root directory, simply execute (without quotes) "DOS-FIX"
and press Enter.  If "DOS-FIX.EXE" is in a different directory, which does not
have a preset path ("DOS" or "COMMAND" directories), use a path.  Example: If
DF is in the "UTYS" directory, type (without quotes) "\UTYS\DOS-FIX".

 2. Enter every directory with "COMMAND.COM" and repeat the "DOS-FIX".  NOTE:
The original "COMMAND.COM" will be renamed to "COMMAND.BAK".

  If you want to verify that the "bug" is fixed, run DF the second time in the
same directory and you will see a message that the bug pattern was not found.
NOTE:  If the "bug pattern not found" message occurs the first time you
execute DF, then it may be a Dos version with a different pattern or maybe,
without the bug!

 3. Restart your computer after you have fixed all the "COMMAND.COM" files.

  AFTER TEST:

  Go to the root directory and again type (without quotes) "DIR/S/A *.*" and
see what the total number of files are.  Compare that total to what you wrote
down.  If you have a PC with Windows 95/98, you will see a noticeable
difference.  If you don't see any difference, then your disk (hard drive) does
not have any hidden directories or does not have any files in them.  Note:
"/A" specifies All files including hidden and system files.

  DIRECTORY WITH THE "SYSTEM" ATTRIBUTE SET:

  The fixed "COMMAND.COM" will also "Search" a Directory with the System
attribute set.  There is one sub-directory in the "Windows" (95) directory
with such a setting.

  NOTE:

  I have fixed "COMMAND.COM" on five computers.  Note: Four have Dos 6.2, two
are Dos only PCs, two have Windows 3.1, and one has Dos 7.1 with Windows 95.
If you are using an older or newer version of Dos, I don't know if the bug
pattern is the same.  If DF doesn't find the bug pattern, it will let you
know.

  FINAL COMMENT:

  DF is FREE.  Comments or complaints are welcomed.  If you use "Snail Mail"
and expect a reply, please include a S.A.S.E.

            E-Mail:  jaugust@bellatlantic.net

                     John Augustine N3AOF
                     3129 Earl St.
                     Laureldale, Pa 19605
                     (610) 929-8850
