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I'm get the following error when I type edit command on DOS prompt:

edit is not recognized as external or internal command, operable program or batch file

But a few days ago it was working all okay. What happened?

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migrated from stackoverflow.com Jan 10 '10 at 22:33

This question came from our site for professional and enthusiast programmers.

closed as off topic by random, Ivo Flipse Jan 20 '10 at 10:53


This belongs in Server Fault or Super User. –  Mike DeSimone Jan 10 '10 at 5:30
You need to mention which version of Windows you are running. –  ThatGraemeGuy Jan 15 '10 at 10:17

3 Answers 3

If this is truly MS-DOS then you've either deleted edit.com or it's not in your path. If you're talking about one of the other DOS clones, edit may be called something else (example, PC-DOS shipped IBM's E editor called, funnily enough, e.com).

If you're just talking about the "DOS" window in Windows (and that hasn't really been MS-DOS for a long time), just use Notepad.

However, if you're hell-bent on using edit even under Windows where much better options are available, you need to ensure that c:\windows\system32 is in your path and that the file c:\windows\system32\edit.com still exists. That's where it's supposed to be, at least under XP SP3.

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The error message "'X' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file." sounds like what the command prompt from the Windows NT-line of operating systems outputs. If I recall correctly, "real" DOS said something to the effect of "Bad command or file name." –  coobird Jan 10 '10 at 5:34
@coobird, I don't know whether to praise you or fear you. Even my impressive memory couldn't dredge up the error message from a product that long defunct. –  paxdiablo Jan 10 '10 at 5:55

Most likely your Path variable is incorrect. Otherwise it has actually been deleted or moved.

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Check your PATH environment variable. In DOS prompt, check the output of


for the Windows folder. Otherwise, DOS will not know where the executable is located.

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