Debug the skipping of .bashrc when bang out from vim PC version

[AndyHancock]

It is often more covenient to use the Windows install of gvim than to
fire up Cygwin's X-windows to run the Cygwin version of gvim. In
order to be able to bang out to run bash commands, I have this in my
vimrc:

shell=c:\cygwin\bin\bash.exe\ -i

This allows me to do things like

!!ls

or

:w !cat

However, this only works when I launch the Windows version of gvim
from my Administrator account. When I try those commands from a non-
administrator account, I get:

shell return 127 bash: ls: command not found

or

shell return 127 bash: cat: command not found

It actually took a while to recognize this pattern with the
administrator account. I thought it would be simple to track down the
cause after finding this. I thought I could simply set

shell=c:\cygwin\bin\bash.exe\ -i\ -v

Then I could do echo the results of the shell-outs to register a and
paste them somewhere:

:redir @a !!ls :w !cat :redir END

I confirmed that

c:\cygwin\bin\bash.exe -i -v

actually echos every gruesome detail by issuing it from the command
line. However, setting vim's "shell" option to include the -v option
*doesn't* seem to echo all the gruesome details regardless of whether
I use an administrator or non-administrator account.

1. Can anyone suggest a cause and/or solution to the inability of the
non-administrator to shell out?

2. What about why the -v option doesn't seem to work when included in
vim's shell option?

3. Can anyone suggest another way to troubleshoot the inability of the
non-administrator account to shell out?

Thanks!

[AndyHancock]

Sorry, typo corrected below.

AndyMHancock wrote:
> It is often more covenient to use the Windows install of gvim than
> to fire up Cygwin's X-windows to run the Cygwin version of gvim. In
> order to be able to bang out to run bash commands, I have this in my
> vimrc:
>
> shell=c:\cygwin\bin\bash.exe\ -i
>
> This allows me to do things like
>
> !!ls
>
> or
>
> :w !cat
>
> However, this only works when I launch the Windows version of gvim
> from my Administrator account. When I try those commands from a

> non-administrator account, I get:

>
> shell return 127 bash: ls: command not found
>
> or
>
> shell return 127 bash: cat: command not found
>
> It actually took a while to recognize this pattern with the
> administrator account. I thought it would be simple to track down
> the cause after finding this. I thought I could simply set
>
> shell=c:\cygwin\bin\bash.exe\ -i\ -v
>
> Then I could do echo the results of the shell-outs to register a and
> paste them somewhere:
>
> :redir @a !!ls :w !cat :redir END

This should have been written:

[AndyHancock]

> I confirmed that
>
> c:\cygwin\bin\bash.exe -i -v
>
> actually echos every gruesome detail by issuing it from the command
> line. However, setting vim's "shell" option to include the -v
> option *doesn't* seem to echo all the gruesome details regardless of
> whether I use an administrator or non-administrator account.
>
> 1. Can anyone suggest a cause and/or solution to the inability of
> the non-administrator to shell out?
>
> 2. What about why the -v option doesn't seem to work when included
> in vim's shell option?
>
> 3. Can anyone suggest another way to troubleshoot the inability of
> the non-administrator account to shell out?

Here's some more information. Both accounts have the same .bashrc,
which sets the $PATH. I rely on the -i option supplied to the bash
command to force the execution of .bashrc. I was hoping that the -v
command would show me that .bashrc was running by echoing the
statements, but it doesn't. I even put in

echo Running bashrc

in the .bashrc, but no message shows (and no such text is sent to vim
register a). Another confirmation that .bashrc is not being executed
is that I shell out with

!!echo $PATH

and the path is the same as "echo %PATH%" issued from a DOS prompt.

Here is another test that I tried. Logged in under the
non-administrator account, I ran the PC-based gvim as LocalAdmin.
That alone does not allow shelling out, even though I am prompted for
LocalAdmin's password when launching gvim. I had to run gvim with
elevated privileges before I could shell out. This entails running as
Administrator (not as LocalAdmin, though the process still invokes an
authentication window for LocalAdmin's password). Only then would

!!echo $PATH

give the path set by bashrc. Otherwise, it gives a path that is
identical to %PATH% in a DOS shell.