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Executing Assembly Location is Unknown

TL;DR
Why
System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location
returns "<Unknown>"?
The whole story:
When I run my console application manually, everything goes well. When I set Task Scheduler to run my app, there is a problem: my app can't find some dependent files.
These files are written in the .config file like this:
<add key="SomeFile" value="SomeFolder\SomeFile.xml"/>, I need only relative pathes.
When I run my app manually, 'current folder' = 'application folder', but when I run with Task Scheduler, 'current folder' = C:\Windows\system32, because with Task Scheduler my app runs under taskeng.exe which lies in system32.
So to find assembly path I want to use this code:
System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location);
from this answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/16102640/6184866.
But it doesn't work.

After native compilation, the assembly no longer exists on the file system.
A more recent way to pull the current directory is:
AppContext.BaseDirectory
This works in .net6

I had this same issue also with a console application.
I only received this error when:
The assembly is built as release with optimisations on
The program is run outside of Visual Studio and then the process is attached to
The command Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location is executed via the Immediate Window.
It can be replicated with the following code. The sleep in a loop is just to give me time to attach the debugger.
static void Main(string[] args)
{
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
Console.WriteLine(10 - i);
Thread.Sleep(1000);
}
Console.WriteLine(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location);
Console.WriteLine(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory());
Console.ReadLine();
}
Breakpointing this code (when the above constraints are true) and from the Immediate Window executing the command Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location returns <Unknown>. Executing Directory.GetCurrentDirectory() returns Cannot evaluate expression because the code of the current method is optimized.
However, both commands execute and print the expected correct values to the console.

Unable to run .vbs script from my C# program: "The system cannot find the file specified."

I'm trying to run a easy .vbs script from my C# program, but I keep getting this error.
I'm 100% sure my path is correct! Does anybody know anything about this problem?
my run.vbs alone runs fine (also the system_logged.bat runs fine)
Inside the .vbs I call a batch file and dump the error logs, nothing more.
run.vbs:
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
obj = WshShell.Run("system_logged.bat", 0)
set WshShell = Nothing
system_logged.bat:
adb shell "su -c 'dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p23 of=/storage/sdcard1/system.img bs=4096'" > "output.txt" 2>&1

Since your error message reports that the error is coming from this line:
obj = WshShell.Run("system_logged.bat", 0)
my assumption is that the script cannot locate system_logged.bat. Try supplying the full path to the bat file in your script. If there are spaces in the path, you'll need to enclose it in quotes. In VBScript, you'll need to escape any quotes in string literals by doubling them:
obj = WshShell.Run("""c:\path with spaces\system_logged.bat""", 0)
The reason it may work when running it on its own could be because of the execution context in which it's run. When launched from your c# app, the default working directory could be different than what WScript uses when launched on its own.

C# run batch file, command not recognised

I have implemeneted a method into my c# program to run a batch file, which runs a virus scan on any files uploaded;
public static Int32 ExecuteCommand(String filePath, Int32 Timeout){
Int32 ExitCode;
ProcessStartInfo ProcessInfo = new ProcessStartInfo();
ProcessInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
ProcessInfo.UseShellExecute = true;
ProcessInfo.FileName = filePath;
Process proc = Process.Start(ProcessInfo);
proc.WaitForExit(Timeout);
ExitCode = proc.ExitCode;
proc.Close();
return ExitCode;
}
Ok now my batch file;
#ECHO OFF
c:
cd "..\AVG\AVG9\"
avgscana.exe /SCAN="..\learninglounge.com.solar.quarantine\" /REPORT="..\learninglounge.com.solar.antivirus\virusReports\report.txt"
EDIT : I do have fully qualified link to avg exe and directories but have replaced here with .. for purposes of posting to stackoverflow. Sorry if this caused confusion.
So my problem is the reporting side of my batch file. I can double click the batch file and it scans and creates the report no problem. When i run it through my c# i get an exit code of 2; command not recognised. It's fine if i remove the report part of my batch file. Now obviously this points to write permissions but I have checked that and the impersonated user has write access on the directory. Is there anything Im missing?
Thanks all

The error states that avgscana.exe isn't located in directory which is set as "current" when you execute command. When you click on your bat file in Windows Explorer current directory is set to directory where bat file is located. Probably your avgscana.exe is located in the same folder so it works fine.
When you execute the command from .Net application current directory remains the same (if you haven't changed it then it will be a folder where .Net app is located). If your .Net app is located not in the same folder as bat file then you will get an error which you're actually getting. You should either specify a full path in your bat file or set Environment.CurrentDirectory in .Net app before launching bat.

HAve You checked that all enviromental variables are set exactly the same as You run the batch file from cmd line. I am pretty sure that there might be some differences. Also what kind of operating system is it. If this requires elevation (vista windows 7) You might actually need to impersonate appropriate user in code.
luke

Ok well ive done a work around, id rather have saved the report there and then but instead i just catch the standard output from the process and then save to a file + any processing.
Weird one this.

In your batch file, you have:
c:
cd "..\AVG\AVG9\"
avgscana.exe
/SCAN="..\learninglounge.com.solar.quarantine\"
/REPORT="..\learninglounge.com.solar.antivirus\virusReports\report.txt"
When the command is executed, the 'current' directory on drive C: is ambiguous. You just move up the directory tree. Same with the avgscana.exe command, you make relative references instead of absolute.
Are you certain that the CD command has brought you to the correct directory? Change the CD command to an absolute reference ( cd "c:\wherever\avg\avg9\" ), and that way you can be sure your avgscana command's relative references are found.
Your CD command may be failing silently but your avgscana.exe may be in your path, so it does get executed, but since the relative /scan and /report locations are not found, it fails with a code 2.
Good luck!

How to execute a batch file from C#?

(See end for solution)
I didn't think this was going to be hard. I have a commmand file, d:\a.cmd which contains:
copy /b d:\7zS.sfx + d:\config.txt + d:\files.7z d:\setup.exe
But these lines of C# won't execute it:
Process.Start("d:\\a.cmd");
Process.Start("cmd", "/c d:\\a.cmd");
Throws Win32Exception: "%1 is not a valid Win32 application."
Process.Start opens .pdf files...why not execute command files?
This works if I type it in a cmd window:
cmd /c d:\a.cmd
Windows XP, MS Visual Studio 2008.
Thanks in advance,
Jim
SOLUTION
I'm only SLIGHTLY embarrassed :( There was a file named cmd.exe, size zero in my app's dir. I have no idea how it got there but it is now toast and both of the above C# statements now work. I'm off to find a Harry Potter book so I can get some self-punishment ideas from Dobby...

I've got four things for you that you can try out:
(1) Try providing the full path for cmd.exe (e.g. on my machine: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CMD.EXE).
(2) Try adding call to the command to be executed:
Process.Start(#"C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CMD.EXE", #"/c call D:\a.cmd");
(3) Besides that, I can only guess where the %1 in the Win32Exception is coming from. Maybe your file associations are set-up incorrectly.
If you type the following on the command-line:
> assoc .cmd
You will likely get a mention of cmdfile. If you then look up this token with:
> ftype cmdfile
You might get an answer along the lines of:
cmdfile="%1" %*
Those settings are stored in the registry, and this is how the command-line interpreter knows how to execute files with custom extensions. (You can find out how a PDF document is started by executing the above two statements for the .pdf extension.)
(4) If you start to suspect that your machine might be mis-configured, start regedit (the registry editor) and locate the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Command Processor.
On my Windows XP machine (and your Process.Start example works on my machine, with different filenames though), I've got the following values stored in there:
// Name Type Value
// -----------------------------------------------
// (standard) REG_SZ (not set)
// AutoRun REG_SZ
// CompletionChar REG_DWORD 0x00000040 (64)
// DefaultColor REG_DWORD 0x00000000 (0)
// EnableExtensions REG_DWORD 0x00000001 (1)
// PathCompletionChar REG_DWORD 0x00000040 (64)
Of those, the AutoRun value might be of some interest. I think it corresponds to the /d command-line switch of cmd.exe, which controls whether cmd.exe attempts to start files with custom extensions. Usually, this is enabled. Maybe, on your machine, it isn't?

Or you can do a .bat file, then call this file through System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(). It won't redirect output to Console Application, but it would certainly execute the commands inside.

You need to specify the process full name (cmd.exe).
You should try
Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.System) + "cmd.exe"
So you can be sure to execute the right file even if a cmd.exe is in your applications directory.

It looks like something wrong with your computer. Try running this on another machine. This should work. Process.Start(string) uses ShellExecuteEx to launch the file, so it's pretty much the same thing as double-clicking the file in Explorer, as you supposed.
A simple test worked for me.
B:\foo.cmd:
#echo Hello from foo.cmd!
#pause
Program.cs:
class Program{
static void Main(){
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("B:\\foo.cmd");
}
}
This works as expected.
Your error message is suspicious, "%1 is not a valid Win32 application." The value in my registry at HKCR\cmdfile\shell\open\command is
"%1" %*
The %1 gets replaced by the file name, and the %* can be ignored here (it indicates that any further command-line arguments should be passed along, but we're not concerned with that right now).
The fact that the file itself is launched to handle this type of file indicates that Windows itself knows how to launch this type of file. On a normal installation of Windows, the following extensions should be set up similarly:
.exe Windows and DOS executable files
.com DOS "command" files
.bat Windows and DOS batch files
.cmd Windows NT batch files
.pif Windows shortcuts to DOS executable files
If you go to HKCR\.xxx (where xxx is any of the above), the "(Default)" value should be xxxfile. If you then go to HKCR\xxxfile\shell\open\command, the "(Default)" value should be "%1" %*. Also the "(Default)" value of HKCR\xxxfile\shell should be either not set or open.
If you have anything else in any of these values, then some program has attempted to insert itself into the execution process. Viruses sometimes do this (Sircam, for example).

Have you tried executing cmd.exe, and passing the .cmd file to it as an argument?

hmm try:
System.Diagnostics.Process myproc = new System.Diagnostics.Process();
myproc.EnableRaisingEvents=false;
myproc.StartInfo.FileName="d:\\a.cmd";
myproc.Start();
MessageBox.Show("did the command");

Have you tested your batch file in the directory, context it's going to run? The error message with %1 looks like the problem may be in there?

The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect, c#

i've written a console application deploy.exe which runs a batch script.
Process p1 = new Process();
p1.StartInfo.FileName = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory + "installer.bat";
p1.StartInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Normal;
p1.Start();
p1.WaitForExit();
p1.Close();
the installer.bat conatins the following command.
\shared1\lists\list1.cmd
If i run the executable byitself it runs successfully.
However i needed it to run in a windows installer project. So i made a setup and deployment project and added the deploy.exe successfully as custom action upon install.
It runs fine but when it starts to execute the command i get this error
"The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect".
any help?

Try printing out what the value of AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory is. It may not be where installer.bat is when you are installing it.
Also, you tried adding the bat file to a custom action (if that is even possible)?
And, would it possible to move what is in the bat to the exe?

Is it a problem in your batch file?
Check this:
\\shared1\\lists\\list1.cmd
should probably be
\\shared1\lists\list1.cmd
Note the extra \ chars in your original command. That would cause the batch file to give that error.

the error seems to be inside the script which was being executed. It contained environment variables %kind%, which were not acceptable by the installer for some reason. So it was working properly outside the installer and not properly when the installer was calling it.