'.symfix+' is not recognized on cmd terminal - windows

I am trying to follow this WinDBG tutorial, and at some point, it requires the Microsoft public symbol server to be set up. I ran the command:
set _NT_SYMBOL_PATH=srv*DownstreamStore*https://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols
followed by
.symfix+ C:\MySymbols
but I get the infamous error message
'.symfix+' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.
My environment, running the command systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version" is:
OS Name: Microsoft Windows 10 Home
OS Version: 10.0.19041 N/A Build 19041
I would appreciate it if you could help me know what is the problem and how I can solve it.

The command
set _NT_SYMBOL_PATH=...
sets an environment variable that attempts to tell all debugging programs where to download symbols. This affects WinDbg, Visual Studio, Process Explorer and others.
The command
.symfix
is WinDbg specific and is an equivalent to the above. Setting both is not necessary.
Please note that you should not enter this part
srv*DownstreamStore*https://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols
literally. You should replace the part DownstreamStore by a place where you want the downloaded symbols to be stored on your hard disk. So in your case, this should be C:\MySymbols.
The command .symfix just takes DownstreamStore as an argument and puts srv* before and *https://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols after that argument. So using
.symfix C:\MySymbols
is equivalent to
.sympath srv*C:\MySymbols*https://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols
but much easier to type.
The + in these commands (.sympath+ or .symfix+) will append another symbol path, assuming that you already had one set up before.
Neither set _NT_SYMBOL_PATH nor .symfix nor .sympath will actually download symbols. The symbols will be downloaded on demand. Use ld*; reload /f when being attached to a process for downloading symbols.
Or, as mentioned by yourself, use the command line tool symchk.

As mentioned in the comment above, the .symfix command is a WinDbg one, which needs to be entered at the software's command line, not the Windows terminal cmd!
However, there are certain command-line tools that can do the job, partly! The complete "WinDbg Command-Line Options" documentation can be seen here. Also, there is the symchk tool coming with the "Windows Driver Kit (WDK)". One can download the "Microsoft's public symbol" database using the command:
symchk "path\to\binary" /s srv*DownstreamStore*https://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols
P.S. Usefull common WinDbg commands

Related

how do I run an msi with SEE_MASK_NOZONECHECKS without restart

I'm trying to install a driver with a remote framework that lets me run shell commands spawned as children of the remoting/monitoring app on the remote machine, run as cmd /c "command". But the driver refuses to install due to a security feature which thinks the driver may be unsafe.
The driver also has quotes(spaces in path) so its something like
Dim command: command = "\\\\server\\driver\\folder\\Autorun.exe" /passive /norestart";
Set retVal = remote.Shell(command)
which runs
cmd /c " "\\server\driver\folder\Autorun.exe" /passive /norestart"
on the remote machine
I've tried and have had trouble using setx SEE_MASK_NOZONECHECKS 1 /m in a previous statement, I'm guessing that the subprocess don't see new global enviromental variables that weren't around when it's parent started, and won't work without a restart. I'd like to avoid a restart.
I tried running
cmd /c " set SEE_MASK_NOZONECHECKS=1 & "\\server\driver\folder\Autorun.exe" /passive /norestart"
but it doesn't seem to work. Any ideas?
You got a bit lost on the way SEE_MASK_NOZONECHECKS is used. It is not an environment variable and cannot be tinkered with from the command prompt, it is an option for ShellExecuteEx(). A winapi function that you indeed use to start programs. It isn't very clear what programming tools you have access to, using it in a batch file or VBScript isn't going to work. You'd need at least, say, VB.NET and pinvoke the function. You can get the required declarations from the pinvoke.net web site.
Let's talk about what's really going on, you might find a simpler solution. When you download a file from an Internet web site, Windows adds an extra stream to the file that indicates where the file came from. Which basically states "this file did not come from a safe place" and makes the driver installer balky. Which is rather an important feature if you think about it, your user is going to install software that can do a lot, you pretty much have free reign of the machine if you can get a driver installed.
If you right-click the file in Explorer and click Properties then you'll see this at the bottom of the window:
All that's needed is to click that Unblock button. So this is a simple way for your user to solve the problem. You could document the extra step in the install instructions. Also with the advantage that it is now the user that took responsibility of allowing potentially unsafe code to be installed.
Other ways to get the file unblocked is with PowerShell's Unblock-File command and the SysInterals' streams utility, -d option.
And you probably ought to consider the option of writing your own installer. Which will keep the driver packaged in the setup file so it won't be tinkered with by Windows. And the user gets the warning when he starts the installer instead. And it can be signed so the user has some confidence in where the file came from and that it didn't get messed with on its way to his machine. There are many utilities that help you write an installer, like InstallAware, InstallShield, NSIS, etcetera.
I beg to differ to Hans' answer:
Of course, SEE_MASK_NOZONECHECKS is as well a predefined environment variable. Changing it in a process and then starting a child process (e.g. msiexec.exe) which by defaults inherits the environment, has just the same result as using ShellExecuteEx() and providing SEE_MASK_NOZONECHECKS as a parameter to the SHELLEXECUTEINFO structure. The first method is preferred by admins or quick hacks, e.g. if you work with batch or script files which set the environment variable- or when the final call to the .msi file lying on the unsafe network drive is not done by your own code.
For example:
#echo off
set SEE_MASK_NOZONECHECKS=1
call msiexec.exe /i "\\MY_UNC_DRIVE\installs\mysetup.msi /qb /L*v "c:\logs\mysetup.log"
call "\\MY_UNC_DRIVE\installs\Just_another_setup.exe"
If you already use a ShellExecuteEx() in your code, then of course, go with the parameter as Hans mentioned, because this implementation it is more closed. (If you use CreateProcess(), think about using ShellExecuteEx() instead.
Getting back to the environment variable(s). Generally you cannot influence the environment of already started processes. You can set the default environment used by NEW processes by the "setx" command used in the question. But with "setx" you don't change the environment for your current process.This was the problem in question. For this you have to use "set" as shown. So either use both commands after each other or don't use setx at all because for running a setup on foreign machines, it is not clean to make permanent security changes without asking.
For more details on permanent changes/admin point of view, see:
https://superuser.com/questions/595211/removing-the-open-file-security-warning-in-windows-8/934283#934283
Important: As mentioned, there is no general way in Windows to influence processes which already run (only own-defined inter-process-communication maybe), so it is important to set the environment variable before starting the setup to be influenced.
One more thing: Some people think, one must use "SETLOCAL" in a batch file. Normally this is not necessary. Environment changes with "set" are not permanent, and do not incluence "other" processes- they are only inherited to subprocesses and, partly, to superprocesses. But, when the caller on first level ends, the environment is reverted to original state again.
I ended up setting "Launch applications and unsafe files" to enabled for Internet zone in Internet Explorer options under security(custom level) and then exporting the changes from HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\3 to a registry file and adding it with regedit /s.
After that I can run the installer of the shared drive.
One of these days I'll pare the registry file down to the minimum I guess.
P.S. I believe this causes IE to default to a warning page on startup.
I believe you need to put everything within the same quotation:
cmd /c "set SEE_MASK_NOZONECHECKS=1 & \\server\driver\folder\Autorun.exe /passive /norestart"
You can try these and see the difference in the output:
cmd /c "echo foo & echo bar"
cmd /c "echo foo" & "echo bar"

Problems Installing PostgreSQL 9.2

I've been trying to install the 64bit version of PostgreSQL 9.2 for Windows on my machine (Windows 7 64bit) and get this error:
The environment variable COMPSPEC does not seem to point to the cmd.exe or there is a trailing semi colon present.
I've installed it as Administrator.
I disabled the antivirus (Microsoft Security Essentials) and the firewall.
Running:
"%COMSPEC%" /C "echo test ok"
returned test ok
I've checked my System Environment Variables for trailing semi colon and I couldn't find any.
I then installed the 32bit version and managed to get to the end of the install with a different error message stating: Problem running post-install step. Installation may not complete correctly Error reading the C:\Program Files (x86)\PostgreSQL\9.2\data\postgresql.conf but there is no postgresql.conf file in that directory. It did install the application and when I try to connect the server with the red X on it it says fail at the bottom and it won't connect after I type in my password.
How can I connect to this server connection?
ComSpec is a generic error message for any installation failure.
Identifying the problem
Navigate to below path
c:\Users\XXXXXX\AppData\Local\Temp
Open 'bitrock_installer_XXXX.log'
Check, if you are getting below error:
Script stderr:
'"C:\Users\XXXXX\AppData\Local\Temp\POSTGR~1\TEMP_C~1.BAT"' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.
Error running
C:\Users\XXXXX\AppData\Local\Temp/postgresql_installer_47b21c4ea1/temp_check_comspec.bat :
'"C:\Users\XXXXX\AppData\Local\Temp\POSTGR~1\TEMP_C~1.BAT"' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
This is a problem with '8.3 file names and directories' (e.g. '\Postgres Install' -> '\POSTGR~1')
Microsoft article on disabling 8.3 file names and directories: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/kb/121007
Solution:
Open command prompt in admin mode
Execute following command to change the format based on your drive or all drives
Sample commands:
fsutil 8dot3name set 1" - disable 8dot3 name creation on all volumes
fsutil 8dot3name set C: 1" - disable 8dot3 name creation on c:
Execute the installation as a user having admin privileges
After install, consider resetting the 8dot3name setting to default (2) to avoid unintended consequences
Hope it solves the problem!
Very easy fix:
Just open Advanced System Settings in Control Panel and create a new System Variable( in the System Variable instead of User Variable section).
In the variable name, enter ComSpec and then in the variable value , enter C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe.
Alternative fix:
If you have already the ComSpec variable in the System Variable section, remove the ;at the end of it this should fix it.
It's not COMPSPEC it's just COMSPEC. Please show the output of:
echo %COMSPEC%
Note that COMSPEC could be set to something different in the Administrator account you're running the installer as. I'm not sure how to find that out, but it might appear in the PostgreSQL installer log, so please upload that and link to it in your post. See Reporting an installation error for info on where to get the installer log.
See the PostgreSQL for Windows FAQ entry Check the COMSPEC environment variable.
Here's a report I made suggesting that the installer should test for this explicitly and here's my blog post on the topic.
I got the same problem, and i found in the log:
Script stderr:
'C:\Users\S300' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
Error running C:\Users\S300 (i5)\AppData\Local\Temp/postgresql_installer_56caeadbd6/temp_check_comspec.bat : 'C:\Users\S300' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
I change in User Variables TEMP to D:\TEMP and TMP to D:\TEMP.
And Solved My Problem.
In my case , the Installer was in %USERPROFILE%\DownloadsP{ Windows download folder}, I moved the installer to desktop and ran again. weird it worked lol.
I had a similar problem. After installation, the data folder contained no postgres.conf file. It only contained a single folder named "pg_log".
I described the solution that I used here: Postgres Installation Error reading file postgresql.conf
Basically, it would be helpful to check if the user has full permissions for the postgres folder, and run "init_db" and "pg_ctl start" commands again. If the path contains a space character, try using a relative path for the pg_ctl data folder argument.
I'm running Windows Server 2003 R2, and I have been unable to resolve this problem with the installer, so I resorted to using the binary PostgreSQL package. Hopefully this will be an alternative for others who do not want to perform an OS reinstall.
First, some background (hopefully useful to the developers)
It started out with the postgres service failing to start (the server had been running reliably for over a year). I assumed it was a corrupted PostgreSQL installation, so I uninstalled and attempted to reinstall. I encountered the following error:
There has been an error.
The environment variable COMSPEC does not seem to point to the cmd.exe or there is a trailing semicolon present.
Please fix this variable and restart installation.
However, the COMSPEC variable is set properly, verified with:
echo %COMSPEC%
C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe
and:
"%COMSPEC%" /C "echo test ok"
test ok
Since this is Windows Server 2003, there is no UCA wrapper around the Administrator account, so that is not causing the problem.
Manual Installation
NET USER postgres /ADD
C:\pgsql\bin\initdb.exe -U postgres -A password -E utf8 -W -D C:\pgsql\data
runas /user:postgres "C:\pgsql\bin\pg_ctl -D C:/pgsql/data -l C:/pgsql/logfile.txt start"
just do it run as administrator and change the environment system variable
like create a new variable 'ComSpec' and value type 'C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe'.
If the installer exe is on a network share that mapped drive might actually not be accessible to the installer as it runs as administrator. This can often happen in some virtual machine arrangements such as running windows in a parallels VM. Copy the installer to a local drive first and you won't have a problem.
What worked for me after trying to enter the commandline given her in cmd.exe
I found it was named cmd1.exe in system32.. so i copied the file and renamed it as cmd.exe and installation finished
Open Environment Variables, you can do this on Windows 7 by typing environment variables in the Search program and files bar when pressing the start button at the bottom left of the desktop. And create a new System Variable(in the 'System Variable' instead of 'User Variable' section).
In the variable name, enter ComSpec and then in the variable value , enter C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe.
That's all. Hope it works!
Alternative fix:
If you already got the ComSpec variable in the System Variable section, remove the ; at the end of it this should fix it.
First find the path to cmd.exe(mostly it is C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe).
Go to the enviornment variable and add this path to system variable path.And also create new variable in user variable called ComSpec and add this path as value. And you are ready to go.

How to Create a script via batch file that will uninstall a program if it was installed on windows 7 64-bit or 32-bit

I am in a small bind. The program in question can be installed in the program files directory (64bit) or X86 path. The program is already installed in over 200 machines. I am fairly certain the default install path was X86 as that's the default. I am not certain and must cover both scenarios. The original sys admin that installed this didn't use an .msi so I'm left with what I've found as ""C:\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information{78AC336D-25F6-4916-A711-2EA2F69E0319}\setup.exe" as the command provided by one utility to remotely uninstall said application I found. Didn't work and I cannot attempt to push this out in hopes it'll work.
Given this problem, is there a way to uninstall this program via a script that would check both program files and X86 paths and uninstall depending on location? OR, is there a script that will just flat out uninstall the program regardless without the concern for the X86/program original install location. I just need to uninstall it period across all of these machines. The install .bat is good to go. What I cannot do is just get window to uninstall X application via a script for 32 or 64 bit machines.
I've tried MsiExec.exe /X{78AC336D-25F6-4916-A711-2EA2F69E0319} /quiet with no go. I can try to install the .msi this time around but am lost and my knowledge is limited with scripting or any uninstall scripts for telling "end users" without confusing them to just click here. I could tell them to go to control panel, etc..but they'll be lost....typical.
Any ideas on how to script this uninstall given it wasn't an original .msi and I am not sure how to get something working? I'm open to anything. I have two days to get this fixed and I'm in panic mode...
Any ideas or help on code would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Brian
wmic can call an uninstaller. I haven't tried this, but I think it might work.
wmic /node:computername /user:adminuser /password:password product where name="name of application" call uninstall
If you don't know exactly what the program calls itself, do
wmic product get name | sort
and look for it. You can also uninstall using SQL-ish wildcards.
wmic /node:computername /user:adminuser /password:password product where "name like '%j2se%'" call uninstall
... for example would perform a case-insensitive search for *j2se* and uninstall "J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 Update 12". (Note that in the example above, %j2se% is not an environment variable, but simply the word "j2se" with a SQL-ish wildcard on each end. If your search string could conflict with an environment or script variable, use double percents to specify literal percent signs, like %%j2se%%.)
If wmic prompts for y/n confirmation before completing the uninstall, try this:
echo y | wmic /node:computername /user:adminuser /password:password product where name="whatever" call uninstall
... to pass a y to it before it even asks.
I haven't tested this, but it's worth a shot anyway. If it works on one computer, then you can just loop through a text file containing all the computer names within your organization using a for loop, or put it in a domain policy logon script.
Further reading on wmic
More reading on wmic
Assuming you're dealing with Windows 7 x64 and something that was previously installed with some sort of an installer, you can open regedit and search the keys under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
(which references 32-bit programs) for part of the name of the program, or
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
(if it actually was a 64-bit program).
If you find something that matches your program in one of those, the contents of UninstallString in that key usually give you the exact command you are looking for (that you can run in a script).
If you don't find anything relevant in those registry locations, then it may have been "installed" by unzipping a file. Because you mentioned removing it by the Control Panel, I gather this likely isn't then case; if it's in the list of programs there, it should be in one of the registry keys I mentioned.
Then in a .bat script you can do
if exist "c:\program files\whatever\program.exe" (place UninstallString contents here)
if exist "c:\program files (x86)\whatever\program.exe" (place UninstallString contents here)
In my experience, to use wmic in a script, you need to get the nested quoting right:
wmic product where "name = 'Windows Azure Authoring Tools - v2.3'" call uninstall /nointeractive
quoting both the query and the name. But wmic will only uninstall things installed via windows installer.

Basic windows commands (ping, ipconfig) need admin rights - looking for an option

On my main pc (Win 7 64bit) basic windows commands like ping and ipconfig suddenly need admin rights.
If I start a normal command-line window, these commands are not found anymore ("X is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.")
If I start the command-line window with "Run as Administrator" everything works as expected.
On my second PC (Win 7 32 bit) I do not need admin rights.
And I strongly believe that I did not need admin rights on my main pc a couple of weeks ago. Something must have changed, thus I think there must be some (registry) switch or something.
any ideas? thanks a lot
[edit]
I am still the admin user - just starting cmd normally, not with "run as admin"
[edit2]
It indeed was the PATH, variable. Problem was, that Path was saved as the wrong type of string in the registry
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment\Path
has to be a REG_EXPAND_SZ as explained in this thread. Path being of the wrong type of string made it unable to expand %SystemRoot%. Make sure that both your system PATH as well as your user PATH environment variables are of type REG_EXPAND_SZ.
In an effort to narrow down the issue try the following:
open command prompt
make sure you are on the C:\ directory
type this: windows\system32\ipconfig /all
That will point to the default location for the command... You can also follow the path out to see if the ipconfig.exe is there in the first place. If that doesn't work or the file is not there, it could be corrupt or you could possibly have a virus designed to disable these commands.
Srart normal cmd prompt and look at output of the following commands
set path
dir %windir%\system32\ping.exe
dir %windir%\syswow64\ping.exe
dir %windir%\sysnative\ping.exe
Thought, they will show you a problem. May be ping is not found by %path% or somehow...

ActivePerl Installation on Windows operating system

I have installed ActivePerl on my Windows OS. I have followed below URL
procedure to install
ActivePerl Installation
After having done that, I have tried to run "perl -v " on the command line. But it reports the following error.
The system cannot execute the
specified program
What do I need to do to solve these issues?
I was facing a similar issue... but the thing was that I could execute the file by right clicking the file and opening it with perl command line interpreter.... but still the perl-v command would give the error... all I had to do was execute this command
set PATH=C:\Perl\bin;%PATH%
This solved the issue...
You need to make sure the directory where the Perl executable lives (it might be C:\perl\bin, but basically wherever you told ActiveState Perl to be installed) is in your PATH environmental variable (you can find the variable value by typing set PATH command on command line prompt in Windows).
If you're not sure where you installed Perl to (and can't find it in the default C:\perl\bin), you can find the directory by going to Start menu, finding ActiveState Perl folder, and right-clicking on "Perl Package Manager" icon, then pick "Properties" from the right-click menu. Properties window (in the "Shortcut" tab) will have a "Target" line showing the directory.
I was getting a similar error after installing ActiveState Perl on Windows 8 x64 bit edition and trying to invoke 'perl' at the command line.
'perl' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable
program or batch file.
I remember selecting the option during installation to add the Perl directory to the system PATH environment, and after checking the system properties, it was indeed showing in the system PATH.
I tried installing 'Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 x86 and x64 redistributable setup' files as suggested by a few places but it still did not resolve the issue, until I tried some of the suggestions in this thread.
At the command prompt I entered:
set PATH
And surprisingly it did not list the Perl directories as being included in the PATH variables.
So to remedy that I entered this into the command prompt and hit enter:
set PATH=C:\Perl64\bin;C:\Perl64\site\bin;%PATH%
(The directory paths are for the 64 bit edition of Perl, adjust according to your installation) the %PATH% portion is important and ensures your existing settings are kept and not wiped out and overwritten when you set the PATH.
That fixed it and entering 'perl -v' into command prompt successfully replies your Perl version. If you had a PowerShell window open before setting the PATH variable, you will need to close it and re-open another instance of PowerShell.
I believe the original underlying issue was something to do with different PATH variables for 32-bit and 64-bit environments and possibly some internal Windows redirection that takes place automatically.
This doesn't sound like a problem with PATH - I would expect it to give the message 'perl' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.
I have not seen this error message, but http://nirlevy.blogspot.com/2008/03/system-cannot-execute-specified-program.html makes some suggestion for related programs.
Or maybe ask on an Active State forum.
I had the same error. I was able to solve it by changing the order of the Perl64 entries in the PATH variable in the Environment Variables. I moved the C:\Perl64\bin to be before C:\Perl64\site\bin and it worked.
I had a similar error which was solved by adding the .pl extension to the script name, which I had forgotten to do.
I could not get it to work otherwise even with my Perl's location (C:\Apps\Perl\bin) verified as in %PATH%.
The problem lies in the installation directory.
The Perl PATH variable will be set to C:\Program Files\perl (depends on 32 or 64 bit of course), BUT, the default installation directory is C:\perl. This is kind of sneaky actually as you would assume the installer would be more intelligent about this, but it sets the environment variable to that directory no matter WHERE you install the damned thing.

Resources