Updating the Environment Variables on Windows

  1. General instructions:
    1. Clear your display to see the desktop.
    2. Hold the flag key down (the Microsoft logo in the bottom left of the keyboard) while you hit the "M" key.
    3. Right mouse click on the "My Computer Icon" and select properties. Then select user profiles. Under windows 2000, you might have to go to advanced and then user profiles).
    4. Select the environment variables tab.
    5. Policy on system v. Administrator

      Generally we only want to make changes to the system environment variables so it will have effect on all the accounts, including the IIS account (the web server runs under it's own account). 

      Only if you have something to change that will be specific to an account will you change the account environment variables. To change the account environment variables you will have to log in as that account. Since we mostly use the system account, you will have the option of changing the Administrator account or the all the accounts (with the System).

    6. Under Administrator (assuming you are logged in under administrator) select the variable you want to update, or type in the variable name you want to create. Under windows 2000, you have to click the edit button or the new button.
    7. Type in the value for it.
    8. It might be necessary to log out for it to take effect.
    9. An example from the bash installation is given here. This is a typical scenerio where we have a bat file that we are supposed to run every time we boot. It is more efficient instead to put this in the list of environment variables. 
      SET MAKE_MODE=UNIX
      1. Type MAKE_MODE in the space for the variable.
      2. Type UNIX in the space for the value.
      3. Click set.
      4. Click OK if you are done modifying variables for now.
  2. Special instructions for modifying the path variable.
    1. The path variable is special: it is a list of directories separated by a semicolon.
    2. Scroll down the variables for Administrator and hi-lite "path" with a left mouse click.
    3. Click in the edit box for value. (Under windows 2000, hit the edit button). Hit the "end" key (a single key on the left portion of the keyboard). This will position the insertion point at the end of the path variable.
    4. Type ";"
    5. Type in the new path variable.
    6. Click set and OK.
  3. See also
    1. See also environment variables for Sun's java.
    2. See also environment variables for Visual Studio.
 

 

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