Strange symbols while executing win command file

Question

Every time I create .cmd file and execute it windows finds strange symbols at start of file: ie:

REM ping
ping localhost

leads to

C:\>я╗┐REM ping
'я╗┐' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
...

I've checked encoding of .cmd file and it seems to be fine. Even HEX editor didn't show any strange in file.

Answer 1

It looks like a BOM, a Byte Order Mark, although I do not recognize for which encoding. Make sure you save the file with ASCII or ANSI encoding.

If it's not a BOM (because it should normally show up in a hex editor), maybe it's a problem with the Command Prompt. Have you tried using .bat instead of .cmd ?