Why we cannot create folder “con” in windows

Nobody can create a folder with name “con” anywhere on the PC. This was pretty cool and mysterious things, which led to creating stories behind the name “CON”. most common  story behind the name was that it was Bill Gates’s nick name and he hated it so much, he prohibited using it in all versions of windows. unbelievable… At Microsoft the complete Team, as well as big boss, couldn’t answer why this happened!

Why is it not possible to create a folder named CON?

Before we proceed let me tell you a tiny secret, you can’t even create a folder named “prn”, AUX, NUL and many, many of others. The reason you can’t create a folder with these names is that they are reserved keywords that are utilized by DOS. The below screen-shot taken from Microsoft’s web site shows a listing of reserved keywords in DOS. If you are attempting making a folder with any of those names, the name mechanically changes back to the default “New Folder” and this is often what has caused the confusion.

There is one way how the folder can be created and named as CON, or any other names from the mentioned list of reserved keywords. this could be done through command prompt (cmd). however it’s best not to do so as eventually it might result your operating system to become unstable and crash.

To create a folder named CON, head to prompt and type “MD \.D:CON” (without quotes). this will create a folder named CON on D:

You cannot delete this folder by normal delete command. To delete the folder, head to prompt and enter “RD \.D:CON” (without quotes).

Again, i recommend not to do that on your system, because it would possibly become unstable. just in case you can’t stop yourself, don’t create it on a drive where Windows is installed on the C: drive .

List of names that can not be used as folder names: 

CON  – keyboard and display

PRN – system list device, usually parallel port

AUX – auxiliary device, usually serial port

CLOCK$ (NT and older) – system real-time clock

NUL – bit-bucket device

COM1 to 9 – first serial communications port

LPT1 – first parallel printer port

LPT2- second parallel printer port (and etc)

COM2- second serial communication port (and etc)