Windows NT 4.0's AT Command Handles Quotation Marks Differently Than Windows NT 3.51

ID: Q177651

The information in this article applies to:
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information on how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" online Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" online Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

You used batch files in Windows NT 3.51 to schedule jobs with the AT command. With Windows NT 4.0, jobs surrounded with quotation marks are not run.


CAUSE

The parsing algorithm of the AT command was changed in Windows NT 4.0 to better handle Long File Names (LFN). Here are examples of the syntax for the AT command for each operating system. 


   AT 10:15 "notepad c:\config.sys" (Windows NT 3.51)
   AT 10:15 notepad "c:\config.sys" (Windows NT 4.0)


RESOLUTION

The AT command in Windows NT 4.0 can be forced to use the same parsing algorithm as Windows NT 3.51 by adding a parameter to the registry.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" online Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) and select the following key:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Schedule


  2. On the Edit menu, click Add Key to create the following entry:

    Key Name: Parameters
    Class: <blank>


  3. Open the Parameters key that you created in step 2.


  4. On the Edit menu, click Add Value to create the following entry:

    Value Name: UseOldParsing
    Data Type : REG_DWORD
    String : 1


NOTE: This parameter is deleted by the Scheduler service on startup. To avoid the parameter being deleted, apply the fix mentioned below.

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT 4.0 or Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q152734 How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT 4.0 and Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. This problem was first corrected in Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4.0 and Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 4.

Additional query words: atsvc schedular 


Keywords          : NT4SP4Fix kbbug4.00 kbfix4.00.sp4 NTSrvWkst 
Version           : WinNT:4.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: April 10, 1999