Win 7 Command prompt does't use PATH to find executables

The command prompt cannot find such common commands as ping, ipconfig etc until I navigate to system32. But the PATH variable contains %SystemRoot%\System32\.

What could be a problem?

Solution 1:

If you're sure that the contents of PATH variable are correct, then check the registry:

1. Open regedit.exe
2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment
3. What's the type of "Path" registry key? If it's not not REG_EXPAND_SZ then this could be the problem.

4. You can change it to REG_EXPAND_SZ by doing this:

     * Double Click “Path” and copy it’s Data Value “…%SystemRoot%system32;%SystemRoot%; …”
     * Delete the “Path”
     * Create New > Expandable String Value
     * Give “Path” as the name, double click it, and Paste the value copied in the previous step to the “Value Data” field
   

5. Close the Regedit window and restart