Quote - (4) I am running the batch file from within a cmd box invoked from the command line in Win XP.

What's the exact command you're using to run the batch file? Are you selecting the command interpreter from the accessories menu, or are you starting it from the "Run" dialog?

I found out that Windows XP has both COMMAND.COM (the old DOS shell) as well as CMD.EXE (the interpreter originally invented for NT).

I can't find any kind of line length limitation for CMD.EXE, so I'm not sure that's it. I'd also be interested to know if any lines which are longer (and contain spaces in the file names) in the batch file are executing successfully.

Any chance you could post a screen shot of the command window showing the error?