Windows & DOS: Issues & Discussions

A few hours ago, I installed Apache 2 for Windows. About 90 minutes ago, I started a terminal session, and discovered that my home folder had been changed from path "c:\cygwin\home\{myusername}" to path "c:\Documents and Settings\{myusername}". I did not make this change consciously, but I suspect that either Apache, or a subsequent half-hearted attempt to update <?!> OpenSSH for Windows may have done so without my knowing it.

In any case, where in the configuration files of any of the three forenamed packages (bundles, applications, utilities, whatever the right name for them is) is such a thing as a home folder defined? I've already taken a peek at c:\cygwin\etc\passwd and it shows my home folder path simply as "home/{myusername}". No help there.

Inevitably, this renders quite a few of my aliases in my previously known-good .bash_aliases file pretty much useless until and unless I edit them to reflect the change in starting places. I have done so, but I hope I don't have to keep them that way for long.

Also, I have an rxvt that I use outside of XWindows, and it has all of a sudden decided to call itself xterm (the return I got from an echo $TERM command). So there's more than just default home paths involved.

Hope someone out there can help me with this, or at least point me towards some help.

BZT

I don't think it is uncommon for conflicts on Windows software installations, especially when you are installing emulators for other operating systems.

Simply fix them and move on ....

BTW, I would never run an emulator like Cygwin on Windows. It is too easy to build a linux box and run the real thing !

Yes, very helpful.
Sometimes you don't have a choice of OS, and in those times, it's good to have Cygwin.
Personally, I couldn't survive my .NET job in an all Windows environment, if it wasn't for it.




If you're running Cygwin from a Windows shortcut, make sure the "Starting folder" field in its Properies points to the right place. That's the CWD when the session starts.

Hi Eagle Flying Free,

Can you please elaborate on exactly why you need a Linux emulator on Windows to work in .NET?

Thanks.

I don't strictly need it, but I use it to get all my favorite software, such as bash, vim, diffing tools, git, ruby, perl, etc.
Cygwin lets you bring some of the Unix culture, tools and productivity into your Windows job, and for those of us stuck in them for whatever reason, that's infinitely valuable.

I'm humbly suggesting that you shouldn't be so quick to shrug it off.


Also, it's actually Eagle Fly Free; it's a song by Helloween spelled just like that

Hmmm. Thanks.

Well, I shrug is off because I never use emulators and don't know anyone who does and have never seen anyone use one.

If I want to run Linux, I boot in Linux and when I type on my XP laptop, I don't see any need to emulate Linux and when I am on my OS X I don't need to emulate.

Likewise, I don't emulate Windows on Linux or OS X.

That's just me. On the other hand, I am not forced to work in .NET. I would never do that

Glad you find emulators useful.

PS: You still have not convinced me to install an emulator on my XP laptop :-) I am open... please convince me :-)

Actually, I wouldn't use Windows + Cygwin unless I could avoid it, which is not the case at work. It's somewhat notably slow.
I find Linux + Windows on Virtualbox more productive, and that's what I use on all my personal machines (but then I don't work in .NET outside work).

It's all about having access to your favorite tools no matter what platform you're running, and also in the most comfortable way.
If you miss any Unix utilities, and can't or don't want to replace Windows, then give Cygwin a try; it's very mature, stable and complete, albeit a bit slow.