Windows 7 Cannot set PATH environment variable

[Peter Sellers]

Hello


An application I installed is not working and the product support dept for the application said the reason is that the path environment variable is not set correctly. In System/Advanced/System Settings/Envinonment Variables/Path is shows the following:


C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live;C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live;C:\Program Files (x86)\PC Connectivity Solution\;C:\Program Files (x86)\MiKTeX 2.8\miktex\bin;%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem;%SYSTEMROOT%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\;C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\syswow64;C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Roxio Shared\10.0\DLLShared\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\binn\;C:\Program Files (x86)\MKVtoolnix;C:\Program Files\Intel\WiFi\bin\;C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intel\WirelessCommon\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Shared;C:\Program Files (x86)\QuickTime\QTSystem\;c:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Tools\Binn\;c:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Tools\Binn\;c:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\DTS\Binn\;C:\Program Files\Mplus Demo\


However, when I type SET in a command prompt is shows
Path=C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live;C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live;C:\Program Files (x86)\PC Connectivity Solution\;C:\Program Files (x86)\MiKTeX 2.8\miktex\bin;C:\Windows\system32;C:\Windows;C:\Windows\System32\Wbem;C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\;C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\syswow64;C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Roxio Shared\10.0\DLLShared\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Roxio Shared\DLLShared\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\binn\;C:\Program Files (x86)\MKVtoolnix;C:\Program Files\Intel\WiFi\bin\;C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intel\WirelessCommon\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Shared;C:\Program Files (x86)\QuickTime\QTSystem\;c:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Tools\Binn\;c:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Tools\Binn\;c:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\DTS\Binn\

C:\Program Files\Mplus Demo\ is the path I am trying to add, which is shown in the dialog, as the last path, but not at all in SET

Can anyone advise ?

Thanks
PS

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like you're experiencing an issue where adding a specific path to the environment variable 'Path' is not reflecting correctly when you check it using the 'SET' command in the command prompt. Here are a few steps you can take to resolve this discrepancy: 1. Check for Duplicate Paths: - Verify that there are no duplicate paths in the 'Path' environment variable. Duplicate paths can sometimes cause conflicts. In your case, you have different paths for Roxio Shared in the System Settings and the SET command output. 2. Verify User vs. System Variable: - Ensure you are editing the correct environment variable. There are two types: user variables and system variables. Changes to the system variable 'Path' require administrative privileges. 3. Edit Environment Variables Directly: - Instead of relying on the GUI in System Settings, you can directly edit the 'Path' variable. Here's how you can do it: - Open Command Prompt as an administrator. - Use the command setx PATH "%PATH%;C:\Program Files\Mplus Demo\" to append the new path to the existing 'Path' variable. 4. Restart the Command Prompt: - After making changes to the environment variables, close and reopen the Command Prompt to ensure that the changes take effect. 5. Verify Path Update: - Once you've made the changes, use the echo %PATH% command in the Command Prompt to verify that the new path has been added successfully. By following these steps, you should be able to correctly add the path to the 'Path' environment variable and resolve the issue you're facing with the application not working due to incorrect path settings.