These executables were compiled using MINGW, a minimalist port of the GNU utilities to a Windows environment. Using these executables requires a working knowledge of the Windows command prompt. The command prompt is a Windows utility that allows you to execute software with a text based interface, such as Merlin.

In general, you should unpack the merlin download and place the executable (.EXE) files in a subdirectory of the Program Files directory. For convenience, you can add this directory to your path statement. For example, if you install the merlin executable files in the directory C:\Program Files\Merlin you might add the following line to your autoexec.bat file:

@set path=c:\Program Files\Merlin;%path%

After rebooting your computer you should be able to start a command prompt by selecting Run.. from the Start menu and entering CMD (in Windows XP) or COMMAND (in some older versions of Windows) in the dialog box. If everything is working, you should be able to execute MERLIN by typing MERLIN at the prompt.