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I have a "setup" script which I run in the morning which starts all the programs that I need. Now some of those need additional setup of the environment, so I need to wrap them in small BAT scripts.
How do I run such a script on Windows XP in the background?
CALL env-script.bat runs it synchronously, i.e. the setup script can continue only after the command in the env-script has terminated.
START/B env-script.bat runs another instance of CMD.exe in the same command prompt, leaving it in a really messy state (I see the output of the nested CMD.exe, keyboard is dead for a while, script is not executed).
START/B CMD env-script.bat yields the same result. None of the flags in CMD seem to match my bill.
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If you want to run additional commands while a previous command runs, you can run a command in the background. If you know you want to run a command in the background, type an ampersand (&) after the command as shown in the following example. The number that follows is the process id.
Run batch file minimized from Windows Task Scheduler But if you want to run it minimized, then you have to make adjustments in the Actions tab. “^& exit” at the end is necessary to close the CMD window after the batch file is executed.
@echo off prevents the prompt and contents of the batch file from being displayed, so that only the output is visible. The @ makes the output of the echo off command hidden as well.
Two years old, but for completeness...
Standard, inline approach: (i.e. behaviour you'd get when using & in Linux)
START /B CMD /C CALL "foo.bat" [args [...]] Notes: 1. CALL is paired with the .bat file because that where it usually goes.. (i.e. This is just an extension to the CMD /C CALL "foo.bat" form to make it asynchronous. Usually, it's required to correctly get exit codes, but that's a non-issue here.); 2. Double quotes around the .bat file is only needed if the name contains spaces. (The name could be a path in which case there's more likelihood of that.).
If you don't want the output:
START /B CMD /C CALL "foo.bat" [args [...]] >NUL 2>&1 If you want the bat to be run on an independent console: (i.e. another window)
START CMD /C CALL "foo.bat" [args [...]] If you want the other window to hang around afterwards:
START CMD /K CALL "foo.bat" [args [...]] Note: This is actually poor form unless you have users that specifically want to use the opened window as a normal console. If you just want the window to stick around in order to see the output, it's better off putting a PAUSE at the end of the bat file. Or even yet, add ^& PAUSE after the command line:
START CMD /C CALL "foo.bat" [args [...]] ^& PAUSE If you love us? You can donate to us via Paypal or buy me a coffee so we can maintain and grow! Thank you!
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