Windows will not name a folder "con"...Why not?

I just learned of this anomaly in Microsoft Windows and wonder if there is a logical reason behind it.
Apparently you cannot name a folder "con" in any version of Windows. I just tried it in Windows 7 and sure enough I get the following message:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b3fef3b417fe.jpg[/atsimg]

It looks like "con" has something to do with the way Windows classifies devices.

reply to post by WhatTheory


wiki.answers.com...

In MS-DOS, several special "device files" were available to aid in performing certain tasks, such as clearing the screen or deleting extraneous output from a program. In order to maintain backwards-compatibility, all versions of Windows up to and including Windows Vista will refuse to allow you to create a file with these "reserved" device file names. The following file names are reserved:

CON, incidentally, was a device file used to capture whatever was printed onscreen.[ex/]

edit on 19-11-2010 by whoshotJR because: (no reason given)

reply to post by whoshotJR


OR typed directly onto the screen from a command prompt.

If you go to a command prompt and type:

copy con test.bat (press enter)
dir \windows /s > windir.txt (press enter)
^Z (press CTRL+Z)

then you've just created a batch file (or script) that when executed, will read the contents of your windows folder and output it to a file called windir.txt

That's one usage.

Originally posted by whoshotJR
reply to post by WhatTheory

 

wiki.answers.com...

In MS-DOS, several special "device files" were available to aid in performing certain tasks, such as clearing the screen or deleting extraneous output from a program. In order to maintain backwards-compatibility, all versions of Windows up to and including Windows Vista will refuse to allow you to create a file with these "reserved" device file names. The following file names are reserved:

CON, incidentally, was a device file used to capture whatever was printed onscreen.[ex/]

edit on 19-11-2010 by whoshotJR because: (no reason given)

Ah....I see. Thanks for the reply.

I wonder how long Microsoft will continue the backwards compatability to DOS?
Seems like a lot of trouble and excess code to continue to support DOS.

"prn" doesn't work either.

It seems these and others are reserved names by the OS.

Ahhh windows 7..

A 64 bit implementation of a 32 Bit patch to a 16 bit graphical interface based on a 8 bit operating system originaly encoded for a 4 bit processor writen by a 2 bit company that cant stand 1 bit of competition.

And I prefer dos really, in terms of use... I dont need a magician to turn a light on in dos..

reply to post by badw0lf


Heh, yep. Not just windows, though. An age old (what 30 years?) tradition in the software industry of reusing old code rather than reinventing the wheel.

anyway, to add another source to the mix...

It is in fact perfectly true that you cannot create a folder named "CON", nor can you rename an existing folder to "CON". However, there is no mystery surrounding this restriction whatsoever. The "team" at Microsoft, and a great many others besides, know perfectly well why you cannot name a folder "CON". "CON" and a number of other character strings are in fact reserved names that go back to the days of DOS and cannot be used to name folders or files. Other reserved names are:
PRN
AUX
NUL
LPT1
COM1
Potential drive letter - A: to Z:
A number of others

www.hoax-slayer.com...

Reserved file names have been a fact of life long before DOS. The same file names were reserved in CPM too. And several other OS.

Pretty sure UNIX based OS's, including Linux have reserved file names too, eg mnt or whatever.

Hehe, good one never tried con.

Yep, con is shorthand for console or your screen, monitor or display.

As others have pointed out, when you go to the command line you can use copy con file.nam (copy to display) as a built in text editor when no other is available. the (CTRL - Z) saves & exits the file that you built on the console.

Originally posted by badw0lf
Ahhh windows 7..

A 64 bit implementation of a 32 Bit patch to a 16 bit graphical interface based on a 8 bit operating system originaly encoded for a 4 bit processor writen by a 2 bit company that cant stand 1 bit of competition.

And I prefer dos really, in terms of use... I dont need a magician to turn a light on in dos..

That is pretty funny.

I must say that I am very happy with Windows 7. It makes my new & very old laptop run very smooth and snappy. I have used all versions of Windows including the disaster called Vista but I must say that Windows 7 is so far the best Windows OS I have used to date.

reply to post by WhatTheory


Im running W7 on both my quad core and my old p4 !

It lags like a drunk on the p4. but far less than xp ever did, and 98 just cant support the intermediate (too old for the new, not quite new enough for the old) hardware!

I do like 7. I just hate m$

if 90% of the things I do could run on linux, I'd be there for the p4. But no matter that I try, I just keep encountering dramas, and not the easily fixed sort - I wish I'd used nix from the dot, then Id be able to work magic on those things.. sadly Im a dos puppy... I wish I could get a dos implementation of w32 calls properly.. all the things that say they can, are ... fake.. :/

firefox, dosbox and a basic email, I'd be so rapped in a dos environment for that... Cant believe there is no real working options.

Oh well, hehe, it still works a treat as a media box, even if it is cumbersome...

reply to post by badw0lf


Firefox and Thunderbird run on Linux. There are many other Linux compatible browsers and email clients too. OpenOffice gives you all the power of M$ Office and compatibility.

Lots of stuff for windows can run under WINE. Not 100%, but lots.

Not sure what you are doing that REQUIRES Windose, but most every Windose app has a Linux compatible open source analogue. You just have to find the set that suits you. You do have to learn new approaches to install stuff, no question.

Having said that, I don't have a Linux box anymore. W7 is just too good.