When would the Windows environment variable be HOMEPATH=\

Question

set HOME
HOMEDRIVE=C:
HOMEPATH=\
USERDOMAIN=user01
USERNAME=user01
USERPROFILE=C:\Documents and Settings\user01

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]

On the Windows boxes I've tested until now, USERPROFILE=%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%

When I originallydecided to go with HOMEDRIVE/HOMEPATH, I read an article that said it was the safest way to go.

What would be causing HOMEPATH to be /?

If commands are needed to be executed on this machine, please put them in the form of a batch file. Thank you.

Answer 1

HOMEPATH can be set to an equivalent of either %USERPROFILE% or the root of %HOMEDRIVE%. For scripts that you're writing on DOS/CMD on modern versions of windows (XP/Vista), you should use %USERPROFILE%.

That said, if you're writing an application (or vbs, etc), get the shell folders list from windows, as it is (generally) more accurate/reliable than %userprofile%.