I dunno... the cmd.exe and command.com are different, by the way.
Running cmd.exe directly makes the use of the console much easier and faster; for example, you can use spaces and long dir/file names with no problem; you can use tab key to shuffle through files and directories in the working directory, and of course shuffling previous commands with up/down keys also works. And you don't need to use quote marks when you ar eusing paths, even if they contain spaces.
If you run "command.com" or just "command", the DOS prompt is different. It doesn't understand spaces in dirs; what more, it only accepts 8 character dir names, and stuff like that.
For example, if you're on C:\ and you type dir. It does show you the proper names of every file and directory in C:\, BUT if you want to actually go to, say, C:\Documents and Settings\, you would have to type
cd Docume~1
and that throws you into Documents and Settings directory. The difference
So, if you have to use command prompt in WinXP, for the mercy of Spaghetti Monster don't type "command" on the Run dialog... type "cmd" instead. Of course this could be something PC-specific, but somehow I don't think so. I think it's somehow related to the fact that NT based Windows systems don't have actual, real DOS running anywhere in them, the cmd.exe is just a feeble attempt to emulate dos...
--> GOES TO TEST LAUNCHER WITH SPACES IN PATH
<---BACK
...okay, this is getting more weird now.
I just put a space into my mediavp368zeta folder; I renamed it to "mediavp368 zeta". I could select the directory without any problems whatsoever in the MOD page of the Launcher. The game run perfectly with mediaVP mod properly activated.
After this surprising result, I also put a space elsewhere in the path; namely I renamed my entire FS2 folder from "Freespace2_SCP" to "Freespace2 SCP".
Same thing; the game runs fine, the Launcher is not nagging about spaces and the mod is activated normally.
It would seem to me that whatever has been causing problems with spaces in mod names is gone. Though I don't remember seeing any announcement clearing this... Is this one of the changes that have been applied to Launcher 5.4 RC builds?