Microsoft KB Archive/68869

Maximum Length of Group Names in DOSSHELL PSS ID Number: Q68869 Article last modified on 02-05-1993 PSS database name: O_MSDOS

4.00, 4.01, 4.01a

MS-DOS

Summary:

When adding a new group to the MS-DOS Shell program, page 87 of the “Microsoft MS-DOS Shell User’s Guide” warns you to “Give your title no more than thirty-seven characters, including blank spaces.” Accordingly, the program will not allow you user to create a group with a name longer than 37 characters, generating a bell tone when you attempt to go beyond the constraint.

When you save the group, DOSSHELL adds three periods to the group name to differentiate it from a program item, giving the group name a total length of your input plus three characters. For example, if a group “Word Processing” is added, it will appear on the Start Programs screen as “Word Processing…”, and will contain a total of 18 characters rather than the 15 you entered. A program item, on the other hand, will be displayed as entered.

When you modify the name of an existing group, DOSSHELL will allow you to enter a new name of up to 40 characters, exceeding the original 37 character limit by up to 3 characters. If the new name does exceed 37 characters, the Start Programs screen will not show three periods after the name; rather, there will be 40, minus the length of name; that is, if the name is 38 characters, two periods will be shown, etc.

When you try to invoke the new group name, DOSSHELL will display an error stating “Program Startup Command exceeds buffer size,” and you will have no access to the group. Upon exiting the Shell program, the following error message will be displayed and you will have to reboot the system.

Memory Allocation error Cannot load COMMAND, system halted

On subsequent invocation of the DOSSHELL program, you will not be allowed to delete or modify the group. A bell tone will be generated when you attempt these actions. To remove these groups, you must replace the file that contains the group information, typically SHELL.MEU, with an earlier, working version. Often the only backup of this file is the version on the original Shell disks. Replacing this file will alleviate the error, but will leave you with only the groups that are provided by Microsoft.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem with the MS-DOS Shell Version 4.0. We are researching this problem and will post new information as it becomes available.

Additional reference words: 4.00, 4.01, 4.01a noupd

Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1993.