Command Prompt Error 'C:\Program' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file

Question

I am trying to run the following batch command. The command has been extracted from the IDE so is confirmed working. Getting the error mentioned below.

I have tried a few variations with double quotes but they haven't worked. Even on powershell it has the same message.

C:\Program Files\IAR Systems\Embedded Workbench 7.0\430\bin\icc430.exe F:\CP001\source\Meter\Main.c -D Hardware_P20E -D Calibration_code -D _Optical -D _Configuration_TS0382 -o F:\CP001\Temp\C20EO\Obj\ --no_cse --no_unroll --no_inline --no_code_motion --no_tbaa --debug -D__MSP430F425 -e --double=32 --dlib_config C:\Program Files\IAR Systems\Embedded Workbench 7.0\430\lib\dlib\dl430fn.h -Ol --multiplier=16 --segment __data16=DATA16 --segment __data20=DATA20

Command Prompt

Update:

Trying the solution with quotes confuses the compiler in some way

enter image description here

You need to put the command in double quotes `"`, or the command prompt will think `C:\Program` is the program to run and the rest are arguments to it. — Some programmer dude, Jul 23 '14 at 08:05

score 57 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 23 '14 at 08:06

57

If a directory has spaces in, put quotes around it. This includes the program you're calling, not just the arguments

"C:\Program Files\IAR Systems\Embedded Workbench 7.0\430\bin\icc430.exe" "F:\CP001\source\Meter\Main.c" -D Hardware_P20E -D Calibration_code -D _Optical -D _Configuration_TS0382 -o "F:\CP001\Temp\C20EO\Obj\" --no_cse --no_unroll --no_inline --no_code_motion --no_tbaa --debug -D__MSP430F425 -e --double=32 --dlib_config "C:\Program Files\IAR Systems\Embedded Workbench 7.0\430\lib\dlib\dl430fn.h" -Ol --multiplier=16 --segment __data16=DATA16 --segment __data20=DATA20

answered Jul 23 '14 at 08:06

James Hunt

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+1 yes and also parameters with spaces must be quoted (like argument for --dlib_config). – Adriano Repetti Jul 23 '14 at 08:08
I tried your solutions. It confuses the compiler somehow. I have posted the new message above. – Rohan Sharma Jul 28 '14 at 09:56

score 26 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 04 '18 at 13:40

26

You just need to keep Program Files in double quote & rest of the command don't need any quote.

C:\"Program Files"\IAR Systems\Embedded Workbench 7.0\430\bin\icc430.exe F:\CP00 .....

edited Apr 04 '18 at 13:40

msc

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answered Jan 10 '15 at 09:38

DheerajS

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bad practice. What's with the spaces in `Embedded Workbench 7.0`? – Stephan Jan 10 '15 at 09:46
@dheerajS I did try that – Rohan Sharma Jan 12 '15 at 14:14
Sadly this was the only thing that worked for me when trying to create commands within npm's package.json for scripts – CTS_AE Oct 23 '17 at 05:03
Double quote the full path won't work for me. I am using MSSQL to execute a command, EXEC xp_cmdshell 'C:\"Program Files"\7-Zip\7z.exe a "C:..... – YHTAN Mar 24 '20 at 09:22

score 21 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 08 '15 at 15:39

21

This seems to happen from time to time with programs that are very sensitive to command lines, but one option is to just use the DOS path instead of the Windows path. This means that C:\Program Files\ would resolve to C:\PROGRA~1\ and generally avoid any issues with spacing.

To get the short path you can create a quick Batch file that echos the short path:

@ECHO OFF
echo %~s1

Which is then called as follows:

C:\>shortPath.bat "C:\Program Files"
C:\PROGRA~1

answered Dec 08 '15 at 15:39

rjzii

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I tried setting my PATH variable to use `%ProgramFiles(x86)%` with no luck as I guess it resolved still to the path with spaces - but your solution worked, ended up using "PROGRA~2", thank you so much – joshcomley Nov 26 '16 at 14:09
@joshcomley, yes, for `Program Files(x86)` see https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/setting-the-java_home-variable-in-windows-8895.html: `Progra~1 = 'Program Files'`, `Progra~2 = 'Program Files(x86)'`. – CoolMind Jul 27 '21 at 08:13

score 2 · Answer 4 · edited Dec 25 '22 at 06:27

2

Try putting cd before the file path.

Example:

C:\Users\user>cd C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\4.4\bin

edited Dec 25 '22 at 06:27

TheGoldenTree

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answered Nov 29 '20 at 16:51

user14730417

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score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 10 '21 at 15:41

If a directory has spaces in, put quotes around it. This includes the program you're calling, not just the arguments

"C:\Program Files\IAR Systems\Embedded Workbench 7.0\430\bin\icc430.exe"

Also - SPACES in your "${workspaceFolder}" (dir to your project) can confuse the compiler!

At least mine was throwing various errors (like that above, but I had fixed the compiler path), I finally noticed it compiled on PC 1 (dir without spaces) and would NOT compile PC 2 (dir with spaces).

Actually don't know where to put quotes ("") to make this work because ${workspaceFolder} or ${fileDirname} are a predefined variable reference in VSC...

If you have a new question, please ask it by clicking the [Ask Question](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/ask) button. Include a link to this question if it helps provide context. - [From Review](/review/late-answers/30557264) — Compo, Dec 14 '21 at 16:49

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Jul 10 '19 at 10:07

I encountered a similar problem using windows command line for R script, Rscript.exe, which is very sensitive to spaces in the path. The solution was to create a virtual path to the binary folder using the windows subst command.

The following fails: "C:\Program Files\R\R-3.4.0\bin\Rscript.exe"

Doing following succeeds:

subst Z: "C:\Program Files\R\R-3.4.0"
Z:\bin\Rscript.exe

The reason the above-proposed solutions didn't work, evidently, has to do with the Rscript.exe executable's own internal path resolution from its working directory (which has a space in it) rather the windows command line being confused with the space. So using ~ or " to resolve the issue at the command line is moot. The executable must be called within a path lacking spaces.

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 30 '20 at 08:19

Most of the times, the issue is with the paths you have mentioned for 'java home' and 'javac' tags in settings.xml which is present in your .m2 repository and the issue is not with your path variable or Java_Home variable. If you check and correct the same, you should be able to execute your commands successfully. - Jaihind

score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Jan 05 '21 at 05:12

0

Just go to the folder path and type cmd on it. Then press ENTER enter image description here

answered Jan 05 '21 at 05:12

user14942174

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score 0 · Answer 9 · edited Mar 29 '22 at 05:38

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You can go to folder by doing on first line and next line call exe like below.

cd 'c:\program files\....'
.\abc.exe --install service

edited Mar 29 '22 at 05:38

nKognito

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answered Mar 28 '22 at 14:36

Ganesh

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score -1 · Answer 10 · answered Jan 30 '15 at 10:09

-1

I believe James Hunt's answer will solve the problem.

@user3731784: In your new message, the compiler seems to be confused because of the "C:\Program Files\IAR systems\Embedded Workbench 7.0\430\lib\dlib\d1430fn.h" argument. Why are you giving this header file at the middle of other compiler switches? Please correct this and try again. Also, it probably is a good idea to give the source file name after all the compiler switches and not at the beginning.

answered Jan 30 '15 at 10:09

HelloWorld101

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The command has been picked up from the original IDE. All the switches in it have to be used. Can't ignore anything. Only problem is -O switch because it doesn't have a space after it. Rest works – Rohan Sharma Jan 30 '15 at 10:16

score -2 · Answer 11 · answered Dec 24 '15 at 10:36

-2

Go to Start and search for cmd. Right click on it, properties then set the Target path in quotes. This worked fine for me.

answered Dec 24 '15 at 10:36

n1kkou

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Command Prompt Error 'C:\Program' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file

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