Is autoexec.bat an important file in Windows XP Pro SP2?

Question

what does it do and what happens to my system if I deleted the file?

Answer 1

Autoexec.bat is not used at all in Windows Me, 2000, and XP
and can be safely deleted.

Answer 2

Not really - you should be fine - it was important in the days of DOS and Windows 9x. But XP doesn't use it. It's mostly there in case some OLD program wants to find it for some reason. It's a text file anyway, so it's not hard to recreate or copy from another system if you do end up with a stray application that wants it.

In the old days, it just started programs automatically and setup a few important variables - but XP handles that very differently.

When you open a command prompt, config.nt and autoexec.nt are read from the c:\windows\system32 folder.

Config.DOS and Autoexec.DOS are not used and don't exist in XP by default.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Yes it is important. I don't know what will happen if you delete it, but you might not get a boot or something won't work. That file name has been in every version of Windows since 95. If I wanted to see, I would delete it then reboot. That's why they invented "System Restore". I use it frequently.

Answer 5

I would not delete it if I were you.

I know there are many files that one sees when we open up WIndows and the temptation to clean them up is very intense.

Hold back that intense urge to do house , I mean window (s) cleaning.
Murphys law- Anything that can go wrong, will. --- may be applicable here.

Answer 6

You might be able to get it back if you perform a System Restore.

Click on 'Start', 'Control Panel'..

If you're using the "Classic View", switch to "Category View", Click on 'Performance and Maintenance' and click on 'System Restore' (upper left).

Click on 'Restore My Computer to an earlier time' and click 'Next'

Select a date closest to, but before, you lost the AutoExec.bat file. and complete the instructions given in the Restore wizard.

System Restore restores the registry and system files to what they were on the date selected, but shouldn't change or delete any saved data or document files.

Good Luck!

Answer 7

no
config.sys and autoexec.bat are not used by windows xp
the only time they are used ( and it will be config.dos and autoexec.dos ) is when rebooting to dos mode
you can safely delete
open up in notepad
and see what commands are given

Answer 8

you could use it for very important tasks if you want to, but then i see that you don't really need it.
why don't you open it in notepad to see what's in there? maybe a program you have installed is listed there.
if you delete it, perhaps some old style application won't find a driver, but your system itself will have no problem.

Answer 9

Don't worry about it just don't delete it. I'll see after you reload.