WIN.COM
| Developer(s) | Microsoft Corporation |
|---|---|
| Operating system | DOS, Microsoft Windows (Windows 1.0 - Windows Me) |
| Platform | x86 |
| Type | Operating System Loader |
| License | Proprietary |
WIN.COM is the executable file used to load versions of Windows that run from DOS. In Windows 3.1 and its predecessors, it is executed either manually from the DOS prompt or as a line in AUTOEXEC.BAT. In Windows 95 and onward it is automatically invoked by IO.SYS after AUTOEXEC.BAT is processed. The file is present in the SYSTEM32 directory of some NT-based versions of Windows (such as Windows 2000, XP and Vista) for backwards compatibility purposes.
Usage
WIN.COM has several parameters that facilitate system recovery and diagnostics. These parameters are listed on this Microsoft support page: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/142544.
Issues
Corruption or deletion of WIN.COM caused many issues for users of Windows 1.0, Windows 2.0, Windows 3.0 and 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows ME and some early Windows viruses targeted WIN.COM. Corruption of WIN.COM would cause an error, and a Microsoft support page is still available showing information about WIN.COM errors.