why can't i create a folder with "con" name?

why can't i create a folder with "con" name at desktop while i haven't another one at same place with it name?

but can u please explain me the reason?

Because CON is short for console which represents the input/output device(s) (e.g., the keyboard and monitor). The name CON is a virtual filename or device file that lets you access the hardware as though it were a file. There are other reserved filenames for other devices like PRN for the printer and CLOCK$ for the system clock.

They don't really apply to today's systems anymore, but the underlying architecture for today's systems still has a lot of the foundations from the old days (not to mention for backwards-compatibility), so it is still present.

why can't i create a folder with "con" name?

solution is here.....

first open is cmd and "type" md " con /.? "

and con folder is ready...............

my name is pathan rakib from kadi...........

contact number 9712387203

I don't know why you spammed this message a half-dozen time, especially since it is absurd… and wrong.

First of all, it does seem to work, until you notice that there is a leading space at the beginning o the filename. It does not create a folder named "con", it creates a folder named " con" (with a space), which is not the same thing. Moreover, the extra junk you put in the filename is completely useless; you could simply have said md " con".

I want to know which are the locations where we can create con, nul , prn like folders.

I have created one application connected to outlook, there I am able to create such kind of folder

but getting 404 error while opening the same in browser.

Here am I facing the problem because of same reason or something else?

They don’t have a location because they are not real, they are “virtual”. That is, they are not actual files or folders, they are device files which are like links or shortcuts to something else. For example, prn is not a real file or folder, but rather it is a way to access the printer like you would an ordinary file. Likewise, con is the console and allows you to access the input/ouput device (e.g., keyboard/monitor) like a file. (They do not all work like they did back in the old days when they were actually used; some of them are practically useless now.)

If you created a file or folder with a name like that, then you have to look for it in whatever location you created it, there is no “main” or “true/correct” location for them, you have to find it the way you would any other file or folder by any other name (e.g., use Windows Search).

(Yes, I know the OA asked that a while ago, but others might have done the same thing and find their way to this thread.)

Hi Sara Mirza,

As explained above about the use of ALT + 255 :

That does not create a folder named con. Instead it creates a folder named <back space>con

as ALT + 255 is a <back space>. So it looks like con yet isn't and can cause issues installing

programs, sharing data, and others when the <back space> is not used prior to the name.

Hope this helps.

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Rob Brown - Microsoft MVP <- profile - Windows Expert - Consumer : Bicycle <- Mark Twain said it right.

Close but not exactly right. You are quite correct that prepending 0x255 is only a kludge and does not actually create a folder named "con". However, you are incorrect about the backspace, which is 0x08. You are probably thinking of 0x127 which is delete, though it is rarely rendered as a control character, it often shown as a caret, colloquially called a “house” characterbecause of its shape.

Moreover, the character at codepoint 0x255 depends on the active codepage. In North America, most Windows systems these days will render it as a blank in some contexts, but as ÿ in most Unicode-aware contexts.