Support for LINK.EXE Shipped with MS-DOS (72489)

SUMMARY

LINK.EXE will combine compiled programs with the .OBJ extension and produce an executable (.EXE) file. However, the linker that came with your language package should always be used first. The LINK.EXE file that shipped with MS-DOS will not recognize any specific concerns for the language you are using and may fail.

LINK may or may not work in any given situation. Determining the reasons for a LINK failure is virtually impossible, and therefore, Microsoft does not provide technical support for this portion of the MS-DOS environment.

This information does not directly apply to Microsoft MS-DOS version 5.0, because LINK was not included. However, it is possible that you may have difficulty linking your programs after installing MS-DOS 5.0.

During the installation process, MS-DOS 5.0 leaves LINK or any other linking programs in the DOS subdirectory. (It does not delete any files that it doesn't need to copy to the hard drive.) It also adds C:\DOS to the beginning of the PATH statement.

An earlier DOS LINK utility or even a linker from another language could end up first in the searchlist. When you attempt to link files, you may get strange new errors or may not even be able to start the linker. If this happens, delete the undesired linking program and make sure the PATH includes the subdirectory containing the linker you are using.