Microsoft KB Archive/65470

Cannot Delete MP.EXE from Multiplan Directory PSS ID Number: Q65470 Article last modified on 09-24-1990 PSS database name: D_MPlan

4.20

MS-DOS

Question:

I just installed Multiplan version 4.20 into a subdirectory called MP42. Now I want to delete my old Multiplan version 1.00 from the subdirectory MP. When I try to delete the file “MP.EXE”, I get the error message “access denied”. I am currently using DOS version 2.11.

Response:

In most cases, you can use the DOS ATTRIB command “attrib -r .” and set all the files in the MP subdirectory to read/write; however, in this case, DOS version 2.11 does not contain the ATTRIB command.

In this case, use the DOS DEBUG command and change the attrib byte on the MP.EXE file to read/write. Perform the following with the DEBUG command from the MP subdirectory:

  Type “debug” (without the quotation marks) at the command prompt. The DEBUG prompt is a hyphen (-). Note: You will see “mp.exe” on the first line only. This is the name of the file that you are un-attribing. The name of the file MUST be in quotation marks. When you see , press the ENTER key. -e 200 “mp.exe” 00  -r dx  DX 0000 :200  -r ax  AX 0000 :4301  -a 100  315E:0100 int 21  315E:0102  -g = 100 102  After pressing ENTER on the above line you will see a list of registers displayed. This list shows you what you have changed. Now type the following: -q  You should now be able to delete your MP.EXE file. 

For more information on the DEBUG utility, consult your DOS manual.

You may also use utility programs such as Norton Utilities, Xtree, or PcTools to change the attrib byte of a file. For more information on using one of the above mentioned utilities, consult the user’s manual for that utility.

Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1990.