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Re: how can I stop Windows setting HOME?


Adam Thompson wrote:
2008/6/6 Adam Thompson <adwulf@gmail.com>:
2008/6/6 anadem <anadem@gmail.com>:
Is there any way to permanently unset the HOME env-var in Windows? I could
run a batch file at startup but afaik that would not be a systemwide removal
of HOME.

I do not think this is a Windows issue.


Further to this, a quick google reveals:


"The HOME environment variable is used by UNIX shells to determine the
location of your home directory. This environment variable is
converted from the Microsoft Windows format (that is, C:\home\bob) to
UNIX format (that is, /home/bob) when a Cygwin process first starts.
To prevent confusion, ensure that HOME and /etc/passwd agree on your
home directory."

http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/gnupro/GNUPro-Toolkit-03r1/gnupro_8.html

So, it would seem that Cygwin takes the value of (correct me here):

%HOMEDRIVE% + %HOMEPATH%

or more likely (and reliably - remember %HOMESHARE%):

%USERPROFILE%

And imports it to $HOME

Depending on how you launch cygwin, you may be able to start it with a
script or .pif that sets these variables to what you require.

See: http://www.cygwin.com/faq/faq.setup.html#faq.setup.home - which
suggests that HOMEDRIVE and HOMEPATH are used instead of USERPROFILE.


Generally speaking, you're right that Windows doesn't set HOME but rather HOMEDRIVE and HOMEPATH. If HOME is getting set in the Windows environment, something else that's installed is setting it and Cygwin is just going along with it because it's set in the environment. If it is not possible to figure out what is setting HOME for Windows, you can unset it in cygwin.bat, or whatever mechanism Cygwin is started with, as you noted. But it would be better to find the source and squash it. And although you pointed at the right FAQ entry describing the hierarchy of rules used for setting HOME within Cygwin's environment, your interpretation is a bit off. As the FAQ states, HOME is determined by one of the following in order of decreasing priority:

   1. HOME from the Windows environment, translated to POSIX form.
   2. The entry in /etc/passwd
   3. HOMEDRIVE and HOMEPATH from the Windows environment
   4. /

Once one of these rules is fulfilled, the remainder are skipped.  So
if HOME is set in the Windows environment, Cygwin will use that (converted
to POSIX form).  If it's not and there's an '/etc/passwd' file with an entry
for the current user, the home path specified there will be used. Otherwise,
HOMEDRIVE and HOMEPATH will be used to define HOME in CYGWIN (again,
converted to POSIX form).  And, if for some reason none of these other
rules fire, HOME is set to '/'.

It is highly recommended that one let rule #2 fire, since '/etc/passwd' is
the source of the home path used by Cygwin's telnet, ssh, etc.  Consistency
between these utilities and your default Cygwin shell/environment is
very likely to eliminate future brain strains. ;-)


-- Larry Hall http://www.rfk.com RFK Partners, Inc. (508) 893-9779 - RFK Office 216 Dalton Rd. (508) 893-9889 - FAX Holliston, MA 01746

_____________________________________________________________________

A: Yes.
> Q: Are you sure?
>> A: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation.
>>> Q: Why is top posting annoying in email?

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