Use of "&" Symbol in Server Names Causes Logon Scripts to Fail

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This article was previously published under Q142691

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SYMPTOMS

When you install a Domain Controller with the ampersand character (&) in the server name, Microsoft Windows NT clients cannot process logon scripts. You may see a command shell opened with an error message that the specified file was not found.

Additional symptoms include the inability to map network drives from a command prompt. For example, net view \\server&name will fail with the following errors:

System error 53 has occurred. The network path was not found.

-and-

The name specified is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

If, however, you encapsulate the \\server&name in quotes, the command will process correctly.

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CAUSE

The ampersand is a logical continuation operator within the Windows NT default command interpreter, Cmd.exe. This is why the second error message is generated in the above example of the net view \\server&name.

For example, type "notepad&write" or "notepad&wordpad" at a Cmd.exe shell under Windows NT, and Windows NT will open Notepad; when it closes, Windows NT will open Write or WordPad.

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