Why can’t we create a folder named CON in Windows???

Nobody can create a FOLDER anywhere on the computer which can be named as “CON”.
This is something pretty cool…and unbelievable… At Microsoft the whole Team, including Bill Gates, couldn’t answer why this happened at first!

TRY IT NOW !!
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 7 will refuse to allow you to create a file with these “reserved” device file names. The following file names are reserved:

CON
CON, incidentally, was a device file used to capture whatever was printed onscreen.

let me tell you a small secret you can’t even create a folder named PRN, AUX, NUL and many others like..

PRN
AUX
NUL
COM1
COM2
COM3
COM4
COM5
COM6
COM7
COM8
COM9
LPT1
LPT2
LPT3
LPT4
LPT5
LPT6
LPT7
LPT8
LPT9

If you try creating a folder with any of these names, the name automatically changes back to the default “New Folder”. And this is what has caused the confusion. Instead of automatically renaming the folder, had an explanatory warning message popped up.

You can actually create a folder named CON !!
There is actually a way to create a folder named CON, or any other name from the above list of reserved keywords. This can be done through command prompt. But it is advisable not to do so, as it might result in your system becoming unstable.

20 thoughts on “Why can’t we create a folder named CON in Windows???

Add yours

  1. create folder with name con:-
    1st right click on desktop then chose new folder write name con .
    then hold ‘alt’ and press 0160 then enter
    then you create folder with name con successfully..

  2. @Rajesh Kumar Sharma.. yeah exactly that is the only way to create those folders as it bypass the security loop hole.. i was going to update that info but you already did it.. anyway thanks for it!!

  3. You can’t make folders on the desktop that have “System Action” or “Device” references such
    as con, nul and prn. Solution is to use another name or use 0 instead of o,O for C0n.
    Here are others :
    CON, PRN, AUX, CLOCK$, NUL, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9,
    LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, LPT9

  4. We can use alt 255 (255 on num pad) (num lock) after writing the same.But i advice u to not do the same becoz it may hang (may corrupt) your windows (actually i am a class 10 stud. and i did it in my school comp lab)

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