“start %comspec% /c script.cmd” vs “start cmd /C s

Question

What is the difference between following commands:

start %comspec% /c script.cmd
start cmd /C script.cmd

I need that cmd window for script.cmd should close automatically when script.cmd is finished.

Answer 1

%comspec% just points to cmd.exe, so both commands will do the same thing. Other than that /C is correct, this will close the command prompt after execution

Answer 2

For a not admin user on WindowsXP-SP2.

• %comspec% starts in %WINDIR%\System32.
• 'cmd' starts in user's home e.g. C:\Document And Settings\USER1.