Delay execution for a few seconds/minutes (for use within a batch file.)
Syntax
TIMEOUT delay
Key
delay Delay in seconds (between -1 and 100000) to wait before continuing.
The value -1 causes the computer to wait indefinitely for a keystroke
(like the PAUSE command)
Timeout will pause command execution for a number of seconds, after which it continues without requiring a user keystroke. If the user does press a key at any point, execution will resume immediately.
Alternative
A delay can also be produced by the PING command with a loopback address, in tests this consumes less processor time than Sleep.exe or Timeout.exe:
e.g. for a delay of 40 seconds:
PING -n 41 127.0.0.1>nul
See Clay Calvert's newsgroup posting for a full explanation of this technique.
“It is awful work this love and prevents all a mans projects of good or glory” - Lord Byron
Related:
PAUSE - Suspend processing of a batch file and display a message
SLEEP - Delay execution for a few seconds/minutes (for use within a batch file.)
WAITFOR - Wait for or send a signal.
Powershell: Start-Sleep - Suspend shell, script, or runspace activity (sleep)
