_DEFAULT.BAT Does Not Exist in Windows NT

SUMMARY

In Windows NT, when a user starts an MS-DOS application, the _DEFAULT.PIF file is called to create the virtual machine environment for the MS-DOS application. The program filename that _DEFAULT.PIF calls is _DEFAULT.BAT. _DEFAULT.BAT does not exist as a physical file. It is a dummy variable used as a placeholder to allow _DEFAULT.PIF to be saved. The MS-DOS executable file is substituted for _DEFAULT.BAT by the operating system.

_DEFAULT.PIF should not be manually executed from anywhere inside Windows NT. The _DEFAULT.PIF file will be automatically used for MS-DOS applications that do not have a specific PIF file. If _DEFAULT.PIF is executed from File Manager, the following error message appears: If changes are made to _DEFAULT.PIF, they will be used when MS-DOS applications without PIFs are started under Windows NT.