If the code in your original post is accurate, then you have several unquoted arguments, and I get a syntax error, even on Unix, so I'm surprised if it really does work. Fixing it comes down to passing system() a string, which means you have to escape each argument correctly for the shell (and deal with OS quoting), or passing system() an array, which means you don't have to escape any arguments. It's usually better to pass an array, when possible.