Technical reasons why cannot use con, aux to name a folder in windows
Have you tried using con or aux to name a folder in Windows. Well if you haven’t, stop here and try it before reading this article.
These are reserved device names that are used by the operating system to access devices such as the console, auxiliary port, and printer. So, if you try to create a folder with one of these names, Windows will give you an error message.
This restriction dates back when we started using MS-DOS. For example, if you opened a command window and typed COPY CON CONSOLE.TXT, Windows would create a new file called CONSOLE.TXT in the current directory and then allow you to type text into it. When you pressed Ctrl+Z to signal the end of the file, Windows would close the file and save it.
Here are some of the restricted names. They are CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, LPT1, LPT2 and LPT3
If you were allowed to create folders with these reserved device names, Windows could get confused about which device to access when you tried to access a file or folder with the same name. For example, if you had a folder called CON, Windows wouldn’t know whether you were trying to access the console or the folder.
To avoid this confusion, Windows prevents you from creating folders with reserved device names. It is generally best to avoid using reserved device names for folders, as this can lead to confusion and problems.
If you must create a folder with any of the names that is similar to one of these reserved device names, you can mix it up by adding space and other text words to it. For example, you could create a folder by naming it as CON-FILES or LPT1 – FILES
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