Microsoft KB Archive/80301

= How to Change the MS-DOS Cursor =

Article ID: 80301

Article Last Modified on 11/25/2003

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft MS-DOS 2.11 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 3.1
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 3.2 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 3.21 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 3.3 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 3.3a
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 4.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 4.01 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q80301



SUMMARY
There is no way to change the appearance of the command line cursor in MS-DOS with any MS-DOS command. The cursor is a function of the BIOS and can only be modified through a ROM BIOS call. There are third party applications that facilitate this, such as Norton Utilities and PC Tools. You can also access the BIOS and modify the cursor by using the MS-DOS Debug utility.



MORE INFORMATION
You can write a short program to modify the MS-DOS cursor. One way to do this is by creating and executing a short Debug script. The changes made are temporary in memory. Therefore, if the goal is to have the cursor altered at all times, it will be necessary to insert a line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file to call the cursor program on boot.

To change the appearance of the MS-DOS cursor, enter the following at the command prompt: Command Prompt         Enter This --         --

C:\>                   debug  -                      a100  287E:0100              mov ah,01  287E:0102              mov cx,010n   (n range=1-4) 287E:0105              int 10  287E:0107              int 20  287E:0109               -                      n C:\cursor.com  -                      rcx  CX 0000
 * 9 

-                      w  Writing 00009 bytes -                      q 

C:\> Changing the value of n (1-4) will result in different appearances for the cursor, where n=4 is a large cursor.

Insert the following line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file to have the cursor loaded upon booting the machine:

c:\cursor.com

Note: This procedure relies on standard IBM ROM BIOS services and therefore cannot be guaranteed to work on all systems. This information is only provided as a possible solution.

The products included here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability

Reference(s):

&quot;The NEW Peter Norton Programmer's Guide to the IBM PC & PS/2,&quot; Microsoft Press, 1988

Additional query words: 3.3 3.3a 3.30 3.30a 4.0 4.0a 4.00 4.00a 4.01 4.01a 5.00 noupd

Keywords: KB80301

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