Actually, I would use: $ set default sys$system $ mcr sysgen use current set startup_p1 "" write current exit $ reboot The original poster said it boots to a minimal DCL shell. That sounds like a $ prompt to me. You get left at a $ prompt when SET /STARTUP has been set to OPA0:. You don't get a $ prompt when STARTUP_P1 is set to "MIN" - you have to log in as usual. He also stated that entering @SYS$SYSTEM:STARTUP manually fixed the problem. If STARTUP_P1 was set to "MIN" then entering @SYS$SYSTEM:STARTUP would not undo its effects and he would be left back where he started. It looks more likely to me that SET /STARTUP is the setting that has been modified not the STARTUP_P1 parameter. Rather than do a conversational boot, he could do: $ mcr sysgen use current set /startup sys$system:startup.com write current exit $ reboot For some reason, that method did not occur to me earlier. Regards, Peter Coghlan.