DOCUMENT:Q67758  06-MAY-2001  [masm]
TITLE   :PRB: MASM Err Msg: Unable to Open Input File: options.asm
PRODUCT :Microsoft Macro Assembler
PROD/VER::5.1,5.1a
OPER/SYS:
KEYWORDS:

======================================================================
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Macro Assembler (MASM), versions 5.1, 5.1a 
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SYMPTOMS
========

When running MASM.EXE, the following fatal error occurs:

   Unable to open input file: options.asm

CAUSE
=====

The MASM environment variable "MASM" is set to "options".

RESOLUTION
==========

To work around this problem, the environment variable needs to be cleared. This
can be done as follows at the DOS command prompt:

      SET MASM=<ret>

MORE INFORMATION
================

When the RUNME program is executed to install MASM, it tells you to set your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file as follows:

   MOUSE                 (load mouse driver if you have a mouse)
   SET PATH=c:\masm...   (directory containing MASM and utilities)
   SET INCLUDE=c:\masm...(directory containing include files)
   SET LIB=d:\masm....   (directory containing library & object files)
   SET MASM=options      (standard assembly options)
   SET LINK=options      (standard link options)
   SET TMP=tempDir       (LINK work directory - use RAM disk if
                          available)

People often set their AUTOEXEC.BAT files literally as the program shows. The
intent is to show that if you always want to assemble with options /Zi and /Mx
and link with option /CO, you could use

      SET MASM=/Zi /Mx
      SET LINK=/CO

to achieve this. When "MASM" is set to "options", the driver is passed "options"
and it is treated as a source file name, rather than an option, since it does
not begin with a backslash (\).

Additional query words: 5.10 5.10a

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Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbMASMsearch kbAudDeveloper kbMASM510 kbMASM510a
Version           : :5.1,5.1a

=============================================================================

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