diff --git a/cyg_portable.sh b/cyg_portable.sh
index 75715aa..fdd9ab6 100644
--- a/cyg_portable.sh
+++ b/cyg_portable.sh
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ RELEASE=$(printf "$RELEASE"|tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
 if [ "$RELEASE" = "y" ]; then
 
   printf "Copying files to dsd-fme-portable folder and making zip file. Please wait!\n"
-  cd $cdir
+  cd ~
 
   #create a dsd-fme-portable folder and copy all the needed items for a portable release version
   mkdir dsd-fme-portable
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ if [ "$RELEASE" = "y" ]; then
   mkdir share
   cd share
   mkdir terminfo
-  cd $cdir
+  cd ~
 
   #start copying things
 
@@ -71,6 +71,9 @@ if [ "$RELEASE" = "y" ]; then
   mv dsd-fme-portable/dsd-fme/examples/cygwin_bat/*.bat dsd-fme-portable/
   rm -rf dsd-fme-portable/dsd-fme/examples/cygwin_bat
 
+  #change .bat files permissions to be read/write/executable by all users (for some reason, this is not preserved)
+  chmod 777 dsd-fme-portable/*.bat
+
   #copy the license, copyright, source code, and things that should be included in all portable releases
   cp dsd-fme/COPYRIGHT dsd-fme-portable/sourcecode/
   cp dsd-fme/DSD_Author.pgp dsd-fme-portable/sourcecode/
diff --git a/download-and-install-cygwin.sh b/download-and-install-cygwin.sh
index 184e6db..3c61587 100644
--- a/download-and-install-cygwin.sh
+++ b/download-and-install-cygwin.sh
@@ -145,6 +145,9 @@ if [ "$ANSWER" = "y" ]; then
     mv dsd-fme-portable/dsd-fme/examples/cygwin_bat/*.bat dsd-fme-portable/
     rm -rf dsd-fme-portable/dsd-fme/examples/cygwin_bat
 
+    #change .bat files permissions to be read/write/executable by all users (for some reason, this is not preserved)
+    chmod 777 dsd-fme-portable/*.bat
+
     #copy the license, copyright, source code, and things that should be included in all portable releases
     cp dsd-fme/COPYRIGHT dsd-fme-portable/sourcecode/
     cp dsd-fme/DSD_Author.pgp dsd-fme-portable/sourcecode/