Windows – delete items from path environment variable

command lineenvironment-variablespathwindows

I have a question regarding editing the path environment variable on my windows 7 Machine. I have been editing my path using SystemPropertiesAdvanced.exe's dialog window, but the changes i make are not reflected when I type echo %PAtH% on the command line. It shows my additions of path variables, but does not remove the unwanted path variables I deleted. How do I get echo %PATH% and the advanced system properties to display the same path variables?

Thanks in advance,

dubbbdan

Best Answer

User environment variables

User environment variables can be viewed from Control Panel as well. The user may add, delete or modify the environment variables in the User Environment Variables for User field. These variables take precedence over system environment variables. The user path is appended to the system path.

Next commands could help to identify the problem (return system-level defined path and user-level defined path, respectively):

reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment" /v Path
reg query HKCU\Environment /v Path

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Windows – Why can’t Windows handle an environment variable in Path

Your path is the concatenation of the system path followed by the user path. Additionally, system environment variables may not contain references to user environment variables, and any such references will not be expanded. To get the desired result, insert the reference to %JAVA_HOME% in the user environment variable PATH, or create such a variable if it doesn't already exist.

Perhaps a simplified example will make this clearer. Suppose the SYSTEM environment is

ProgramFiles = C:\Program Files
SystemRoot = C:\WINDOWS
PATH = %SystemRoot%\SYSTEM32

and the User JSmith's environment is

JAVA_HOME = %ProgramFiles%\Java\bin
USERPROFILE = C:\USERS\JSmith
PATH = %JAVA_HOME%\bin;%USERPROFILE%\bin

then the resulting path would be

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32;C:\Program Files\Java\bin;C:\Users\JSmith\bin

as desired.

Windows – Lost Path environment variable, how to restore

You didn't lose the %PATH% variable; you lost the association for .exe files.

Go to a working Win7 computer, export HKCR\.exe and HKCR\exefile.
Then, either:

Press Windows+R, type command.com, type regedit, then import the files

If that doesn't work,

Go to the Windows Recovery Environment (from the installation CD) on the broken machine, run regedit, mount the key Windows\System32\Config\Software, and apply your exported keys to the mounted file.
(You'll need to replace HKCR in the exported files with whatever path you mounted the key as; you may find it easier to recreate the keys yourself)

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Windows – Why can’t Windows handle an environment variable in Path

Windows – Lost Path environment variable, how to restore

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