Why can't we create folder named 'con' on desktop

ish_nalini

ish_nalini

@ish-nalini-lT8U2a Oct 26, 2024
Try it to believe it! This is something pretty cool...and unbelievable. .. At
Microsoft the whole Team, including Bill Gates, couldn't answer why
this happened! So Try it now , YOU CANNOT CREATE a folder by name" CON " or Try To rename the New Folder as CON Or con in a windows environment...It will not
Accept ... TRY IT AND REPLY IF ITS DONE

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  • Pranny

    Pranny

    @pranny-yzubkU Dec 13, 2006

    Not only CON, there are quite a many other name like LPT13, etc ehich cannot be used for folder name, and not only in desktop, they cannot be created anywhere.
    Yet there is a way out, i am not sure if it works, but try it and reply here. Type CON in any text editor, copy it and then paste it to the name of the folder. I think this creates a folder named CON.....
  • Jerry

    Jerry

    @jerry-5wPKU7 Dec 14, 2006

    Good to know that. Nice observation, ish_nalini 😀 ! I searched the internet and came to know that a folder with name 'PRN' cannot be created anywhere inside windows.

    I guess the reason is that those are standard device names. Is that ture?

    Jerry
  • ish_nalini

    ish_nalini

    @ish-nalini-lT8U2a Dec 14, 2006

    Jerry
    Good to know that. Nice observation, ish_nalini 😀 ! I searched the internet and came to know that a folder with name 'PRN' cannot be created anywhere inside windows.

    I guess the reason is that those are standard device names. Is that ture?

    Jerry
    Really i dont know jerry , if any one found the reason for that they will be appointed in billy's company(bill gates).........
  • Anil Jain

    Anil Jain

    @CrazyBoy Dec 14, 2006

    ish_nalini
    Really i dont know jerry , if any one found the reason for that they will be appointed in billy's company(bill gates).........

    There is nothing great in this..
    There must be some function named as CON in folder creation library of windows. When we try to execute the command named as "CreateFolderName=CON" it get clashed with the config (function). so it changes it to by default new folder name, i.e. New Folder.

    There are tons of bugs logged for WIndows, like:- some text is not displaying the NotePad or folder name.. Etc.

    Even you can log a bug against this and help windows to resolve this.

    This is just a Prognosis, Not very sure.. whats the reason is.

    --Crazy
  • Neha

    Neha

    @neha-3vibjn Dec 15, 2006

    hey, thats amazing!! I never tried it out..good work ish_nalini!!
    Keep the good work up!!
  • aashima

    aashima

    @aashima-eO93l9 Dec 15, 2006

    Yes. CON cannot be named as a folder and alss there is a similar problem as in we cannot rename the recycle bin. Does anybody has any idea of the reason behind?
  • Prasad Ajinkya

    Prasad Ajinkya

    @prasad-aSUfhP Dec 15, 2006

    CON, PRN, LPT13 are standard strings reserved by windows, hence you cant use them as folder names because had you created them, then the OS would be klueless as to wat to do .. execute the internal command (CON, PRN, et al) or open the folder :-D

    As for renaming Recycle Bin, you can do that by editing the windows registry.
  • instruite

    instruite

    @instruite-3JCI35 Dec 18, 2006

    "con" was basically use in old DOS versions for "Console"

    there are other reserved name too like
    lpt1, lpt2, nul, com1, com2, com3, com4, clcok$, prn and may be many more
  • akravikanth

    akravikanth

    @akravikanth-Q0lSIW Jan 4, 2007

    It's Just like keywords in any programming language, for example you cant use if, else as variable names in C , java, etc.

    CON,COM,LPT are just reserved strings, its similar to /dev/null in unix environment.
  • SudhaKar Arjunan

    SudhaKar Arjunan

    @sudhakar-iXoJlR Jan 4, 2007

    I came to known that we can able to keep folder names such as ,

    Con, LPT1,LPT2, etc.

    Like we can keep 26 names to folders.

    Thats been hidden by developers , so some purpose.

    Regards,
    A.Sk...
  • rahul dev choud

    rahul dev choud

    @rahul-dev-choud-qQtOsv Jan 15, 2007

    I can make folder in all these names.......con ,lpt1, lpt2..etc named folder.

    just follow these steps...

    click on rename press alt+255
    then u can able to make folder of these names..
  • sandman

    sandman

    @sandman-5qmaXf Feb 20, 2007

    Actually you ll have to press the numbers of the number pad or else it wont work. That is, create a new folder, rename it CON but dont press enter yet. Hold down Alt and type 255 on the number pad and then press enter. (for laptop users, fress fn key and press the letter keys k-i-i to make use of the numberpad).

    Well ALT+255 stands for a blank character in ASCII so it allows you to use this folder name. Well I consider this part "cheating" but there is one more technique which we can use.

    Go to command prompt in your computer and type md\\.\\c:\\con [Note: you can give whtever path you want in place of c:] . Voila the folder is created. Now to delete it, it can done only thru the command prompt. Type rd\\.\\c:\con.

    There you go.
  • DEP

    DEP

    @dep-Xne9ZU Feb 24, 2007

    rahul dev choud
    I can make folder in all these names.......con ,lpt1, lpt2..etc named folder.

    just follow these steps...

    click on rename press alt+255
    then u can able to make folder of these names..

    i tried create folders with all these names by doing this but it didnt work.
    please tell if there is any other way out??
  • crazy

    crazy

    @crazy-N4TlOE Mar 2, 2007

    DEP
    i tried create folders with all these names by doing this but it didnt work.
    please tell if there is any other way out??

    just go to rename and press alt key plus 255...
    that is the way to make folder like con, etc
  • DEP

    DEP

    @dep-Xne9ZU Mar 3, 2007

    crazy
    just go to rename and press alt key plus 255...
    that is the way to make folder like con, etc

    thanks crazy, finally i can create a folder with name CON
  • DEP

    DEP

    @dep-Xne9ZU Mar 7, 2007

    hey everyone,

    you guys told us two methods for the creation of the folders namely "con","prn1" etc.

    1. using alt+255
    2. command prompt

    i have observed a something. when you create the folder using "alt+255" technique,the folder is created with the namr "con " i.e the name con followed by a "space" while no such thing happens when you create it on the command prompt.

    is my observation right???
    ANYONE???
  • Satyajit

    Satyajit

    @satyajit-nC3BSF Mar 16, 2007

    Hi! YA IT's TRUE that we can't creat a folder named "CON" but in my computer i have created A floder name "LPT13" on desktop.
    &* also one thing by using alt+255 i m not able to creat any folder with name"con","lpt13"etc....😕 confused
  • xheavenlyx

    xheavenlyx

    @xheavenlyx-CbvN62 Oct 22, 2007

    bump****

    TRY THIS: : :

    create a new notepad file, empty.
    just write "bush hid the facts" without quotes and save it, dont press enter.

    see what happens 😁 😁 😁

    again its just bush hid the facts

    EDIT: Works only on XP. Not on Vista (IMO)
  • zeem_710

    zeem_710

    @zeem-710-ulO3qD Nov 5, 2007

    😁I can create a folder named "con" in windows.

    Yes, :sshhh:that's true.

    To create a folder with name con in C: drive type the following line in command prompt.

    😎mkdir \\.\c:\con😎
  • mahul

    mahul

    @mahul-ZxpiLA Nov 19, 2007

    all this indicates that explorer.exe might be using the keyword "con" and is not able 2 create it. on the other hand we donot have such a problem with cmd prompt and can thus create a folder named "con". any comments on this any1??
  • Pegasus

    Pegasus

    @pegasus-cLXZ1J Jan 7, 2008

    aashima
    Yes. CON cannot be named as a folder and alss there is a similar problem as in we cannot rename the recycle bin. Does anybody has any idea of the reason behind?
    We can rename the recycle bin folder.For this purpose you need to do some kind of modifications in registry.
  • vikrant thorat

    vikrant thorat

    @vikrant-thorat-We8Fbx Jan 8, 2008

    it is amazing it dosen't work. may be it is because of comp have no information about these words.
  • MaRo

    MaRo

    @maro-Ce3knx Jan 10, 2008

    At last it's Microsoft's software they're free to do what tehy want and you don't have the right to ask why.
  • raknahs2

    raknahs2

    @raknahs2-CtoW8u Jan 10, 2008

    This is very blunt.
    Please check the link #-Link-Snipped-#

    CON and few more names are reserved device names in Windows.
  • AnoopKumar

    AnoopKumar

    @anoopkumar-RkKnyv Apr 18, 2008

    while we r adding con folder through command prompt....we cant able to save anything to this folder.... actually wht we done here is open one of the system folder named con....and that is not a new folder
  • tild

    tild

    @tild-rcTopS Apr 25, 2008

    rahul dev choud
    I can make folder in all these names.......con ,lpt1, lpt2..etc named folder.

    just follow these steps...

    click on rename press alt+255
    then u can able to make folder of these names..


    Hey dude.....U have given the wrong solution...
    alt+255 is the Way of represention the SpaceBar..
    so the name will become SpaceBar + Con and con....


    But Actually we can give the name to any folder as con or lp1,pl2 & blah blah.......

    Just u have to Use the Unlocker software...
    Unlocker Sodtware is used to delete/move/rename the folder(s) or file(s)....

    Here is the link....
    Download:
    #-Link-Snipped-#


    Enjoy....😁
  • Ashraf HZ

    Ashraf HZ

    @Ash Apr 25, 2008

    Ok.. what IS the obsession of trying to add the folder con anyway? *sigh* engineers...
  • Kaustubh Katdare

    Kaustubh Katdare

    @thebigk Apr 25, 2008

    Yeah, I've been wondering about this too. Looks like suddenly everyone wants to create 'CON' on their desktop 😉 . Btw, the title gets us some good traffic!
  • xheavenlyx

    xheavenlyx

    @xheavenlyx-CbvN62 Apr 27, 2008

    Haha, nice! I think we crazy eng, are curious to know.
  • archit_p_v

    archit_p_v

    @archit-p-v-5rPVBn Nov 22, 2009

    there r so many different folders which can be created by a small change in registery.
  • Pensu

    Pensu

    @pensu-8tNeGU Nov 22, 2009

    Nice observation.....well i think the reason behind is as we can't use keywords as variable names in languages same is in the case of windows.
  • Manish Goyal

    Manish Goyal

    @manish-r2Hoep Nov 23, 2009

    com,con,lpt are name of built in dos drivers
    you can't use it...

    of which 'com' is used of serial port
    lpt is for printer.
    correct me if i am wrong?
  • pratik.itworld

    pratik.itworld

    @pratikitworld-csphsm Dec 24, 2009

    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
    • PRN
    • AUX
    • NUL
    • COM1
    • COM2
    • COM3
    • COM4
    • COM5
    • COM6
    • COM7
    • COM8
    • COM9
    • LPT1
    • LPT2
    • LPT3
    • LPT4
    • LPT5
    • LPT6
    • LPT7
    • LPT8
    • LPT9
    CON, incidentally, was a device file used to capture whatever was printed onscreen.
  • saurabh2486

    saurabh2486

    @saurabh2486-Tr6NOC Dec 27, 2009

    nice work keep it up

    great
  • Chaitali Sumita

    Chaitali Sumita

    @chaitali-sumita-Bn5O8f Feb 24, 2010

    xheavenlyx
    TRY THIS: : :

    create a new notepad file, empty.
    just write "bush hid the facts" without quotes and save it, dont press enter.

    see what happens 😁 😁 😁

    now you try this....when you are using the word bush...then you are getting 9 boxes according to your procedure......but you now try the same using any other name having even no of letters and make it sure that its more than 4 letters.....each time you increase two letters.. 1 box is increased....hence bush is not mandatory ...it can be any name.....and i dont think that this is possible for any name containing odd no of letters.............

    if you know the answer then please do share it soon.........

    PROUD TO BE AN CEAN
  • shruti palod

    shruti palod

    @shruti-palod-Sarni8 Feb 24, 2010

    Hi
    yes we cant create folder named con or con1 , lpt1,con2........etc coz I think this is ms-dos stuff.But it can be created through command prompt.
    but I dnt know the exact reason behind this.😁
  • Chaitali Sumita

    Chaitali Sumita

    @chaitali-sumita-Bn5O8f Mar 1, 2010

    xheavenlyx
    bump****

    TRY THIS: : :

    create a new notepad file, empty.
    just write "bush hid the facts" without quotes and save it, dont press enter.

    see what happens 😁 😁 😁

    again its just bush hid the facts

    hiii.......can you please tell me the reason, why we cannot apply it in microsoft word???why it is only applicable to notepad??

    eagerly waiting for your answers...

    proud to be a CEAN
  • Amitrockstar

    Amitrockstar

    @amitrockstar-abRamQ Jun 11, 2010

    i an make a folder name con
    it is used by dos
  • ankesh.cs2007

    ankesh.cs2007

    @ankeshcs2007-GnaFEW Jun 14, 2010

    yes we can create con named folder on to our desktop by renaming it with con and followed by alt+255.
    and here it is con named folder....
    these settings can be applied to other names also....
  • Rahul74

    Rahul74

    @rahul74-4Uv2cQ Jun 15, 2010

    we can't create a folder by a name CON as in DOS we are using console based system which doesn't allow to create such type of folder.
    another reason is that, due to the name of Control Panel, whose starting words are CON in which Window dosen't allow to name a folder as CON............

    think about it..... u all....
  • sasikala gandhi

    sasikala gandhi

    @sasikala-gandhi-n4H29P Apr 23, 2011

    Just create a new folder and go to rename type con and hold alt and type 0160. You can create folder named con.
  • neeleshjsingh

    neeleshjsingh

    @neeleshjsingh-JUvhGt May 28, 2011

    you can create LPT as a folder in W7 and rename recyle bin as a CON it works
  • PraveenKumar Purushothaman

    PraveenKumar Purushothaman

    @praveenkumar-66Ze92 May 28, 2011

    CON, LPT, COMx are all reserved names of Microsoft Operating System...
  • synergynext

    synergynext

    @synergynext-FdHLd3 May 29, 2011

    very old topic. Still, if anyone is still struggling to create a CON folder in C drive, try creating a batch file with following entry:

    @echo off
    mkdir c:\con\

    run this bat file and refresh. CON folder gets created!
    If you want to delete this folder, change the bat file entry:


    @echo off
    rmdir c:\con\
  • yoginavale

    yoginavale

    @yoginavale-Cdh1HS May 29, 2011

    In Windows, Con must be a library function which won't allow other stuff to be named similar.
  • PraveenKumar Purushothaman

    PraveenKumar Purushothaman

    @praveenkumar-66Ze92 May 29, 2011

    You won't be able to delete the file by hand... 😀
    If you want to delete, you need to do so only by rmdir! 😲
  • yoginavale

    yoginavale

    @yoginavale-Cdh1HS May 29, 2011

    Yaa i know the code , that is rmdir c:/con/
    Right naa ?
  • Mr.Don

    Mr.Don

    @mrdon-92OwlG May 29, 2011

    Nice Topic. Didn't know till now 😛
  • abhimanyu sareen

    abhimanyu sareen

    @abhimanyu-sareen-0km7D4 Jul 19, 2011

    i can name folder con....ask me how,,at my email id <removed>
  • abhimanyu sareen

    abhimanyu sareen

    @abhimanyu-sareen-0km7D4 Jul 19, 2011

    its not impossible.....i have made it possible..yes only pressing 4 keys u can name folder con
  • theinam

    theinam

    @theinam-h5R7nK Jul 20, 2011

    CON

    PRN

    AUX

    CLOCK$

    NUL

    COM1

    COM2

    COM3

    COM4

    COM5

    COM6

    COM7

    these are also not accepted by any folder at any where 😀😀
  • Kaustubh Katdare

    Kaustubh Katdare

    @thebigk Jul 20, 2011

    Closing the thread.