AUTOEXEC.BAT is specific to the virtual DOS machine environment and has no effect on the OS/2 Version 2.0 operating system. The AUTOEXEC.BAT file starts memory-resident programs, such as network programs, and sets up environment variables. In addition, the AUTOEXEC.BAT file may also define the command prompt.
The default AUTOEXEC.BAT file for all VDMs in OS/2 Version 2.0 is shown in Figure "Default AUTOEXEC.BAT File".
In the above AUTOEXEC.BAT file, the LOADHIGH command loads the APPEND TSR into the High Memory Area, thus making available more memory to all DOS applications running in every VDM. This example assumes that the function performed by the SET COMSPEC command, which is often found in AUTOEXEC.BAT, has been moved to CONFIG.SYS.
Note: In order to maximize the amount of base memory available to applications, any unnecessary commands should be removed from AUTOEXEC.BAT. Commands should only be included in AUTOEXEC.BAT if they are required for every VDM. Commands which are required only for a specific DOS application to be run in a VDM should be placed into a batch file. This batch file should be explicitly entered into the path and file name field of the "parameters field" in the DOS Settings notebook on the "program page" for that specific application.