CALL command vs. START with /WAIT option

Question

How is the START command with a WAIT option

START /wait notepad.exe 
START /wait  notepad.exe 

...any different from using a CALL command?

Answer 1

I think that they should perform generally the same, but there are some differences. START is generally used to start applications or to start the default application for a given file type. That way if you START http://mywebsite.com it doesn't do START iexplore.exe http://mywebsite.com.

START myworddoc.docx would start Microsoft Word and open myworddoc.docx.CALL myworddoc.docx does the same thing... however START provides more options for the window state and things of that nature. It also allows process priority and affinity to be set.

In short, given the additional options provided by start, it should be your tool of choice.

START ["title"] [/D path] [/I] [/MIN] [/MAX] [/SEPARATE | /SHARED]
  [/LOW | /NORMAL | /HIGH | /REALTIME | /ABOVENORMAL | /BELOWNORMAL]
  [/NODE ] [/AFFINITY ] [/WAIT] [/B]
  [command/program] [parameters]

"title"     Title to display in window title bar.
path        Starting directory.
B           Start application without creating a new window. The
            application has ^C handling ignored. Unless the application
            enables ^C processing, ^Break is the only way to interrupt
            the application.
I           The new environment will be the original environment passed
            to the cmd.exe and not the current environment.
MIN         Start window minimized.
MAX         Start window maximized.
SEPARATE    Start 16-bit Windows program in separate memory space.
SHARED      Start 16-bit Windows program in shared memory space.
LOW         Start application in the IDLE priority class.
NORMAL      Start application in the NORMAL priority class.
HIGH        Start application in the HIGH priority class.
REALTIME    Start application in the REALTIME priority class.
ABOVENORMAL Start application in the ABOVENORMAL priority class.
BELOWNORMAL Start application in the BELOWNORMAL priority class.
NODE        Specifies the preferred Non-Uniform Memory Architecture (NUMA)
            node as a decimal integer.
AFFINITY    Specifies the processor affinity mask as a hexadecimal number.
            The process is restricted to running on these processors.

            The affinity mask is interpreted differently when /AFFINITY and
            /NODE are combined.  Specify the affinity mask as if the NUMA
            node's processor mask is right shifted to begin at bit zero.
            The process is restricted to running on those processors in
            common between the specified affinity mask and the NUMA node.
            If no processors are in common, the process is restricted to
            running on the specified NUMA node.
WAIT        Start application and wait for it to terminate.