What encoding/code page is cmd.exe using when it i

Question

A nearly identical question was asked before. A good explanation of code pages was given in the reply, but it did not answer the question in my mind: What controls the code page used when cmd.exe is started? On my system, it gets changed somehow. In the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Nls\CodePage, there is an item OEMCP that is set to 437. This seems to be the CP used by cmd.exe (as shown by chcp) after a fresh reboot, but something changes it later and it becomes 1252 in new cmd.exe windows. If I change it with chcp to 437, that only affects the current cmd.exe. When I exit and restart cmd.exe, chcp shows 1252 in the new window. What controls the default CP used when cmd.exe is started? How does it get changed from the value in the registry? How do I keep it from getting changed and/or change it back to 437 for new command windows?

Answer 1

The default code page in cmd.exe on my Windows syxtem is 437, which is the default OEM code page for most PC hardware sold in the United States (US) and Western Europe from what I've read. You can change this default by adding a string entry named AutoRun under one or both of the keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor

    and

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor

in the Windows registry, as documented on this MS Windows Server 2003 support page. It describes how you can add a REG_SZstring entry named AutoRun under one or both of these keys with a value containing commands you want run automatically when cmd.exe starts up.

For example, to make code page 1252 the default, create a new string value named AutoRun after navigating to one of these keys in the regedit.exe utility program and then set its value to the command chcp 1252 afterwards.

Although the MS article only indicates it applies to Windows Server 2003, the technique also worked on the Win XP system I tested it on, so will probably also work with Vista & Win 7.

Answer 2

If Win+R and running cmd.exe /D fixes it then the problem is in the cmd autorun value...