How to remove a file named `con`?

Question

I have a file named con.php. I tried to remove it through the Windows command line but it returns an error:

Syntax for filename, directory name, or volume label is incorrect.

msdos? Do you mean cmd.exe? If so try powershell and / or try cmd again with the filename quoted. — Tyson, Oct 20 '18 at 01:48
no powershell also did not work, return: `del: Can not remove item C: \ admin \ admin \ config \ con.php: Path access 'con.php' has been denied.` — sNniffer, Oct 20 '18 at 01:56
there's no DOS in Windows 10, and [the Windows cmd is **not** DOS](https://superuser.com/q/451432/241386) — phuclv, Oct 20 '18 at 05:31
[How to Delete a File that Contains the "CON" Substring?](https://superuser.com/q/1275452/241386), [How do I remove a file named "NUL" on Windows?](https://superuser.com/q/282194/241386), [Can't delete a folder win 10](https://superuser.com/q/1069857/241386) — phuclv, Oct 20 '18 at 05:45

score 8 · Answer 1 · edited Oct 20 '18 at 02:43

Assuming the full path is c:\foo\bar\con.php, then

del \\?\c:\foo\bar\con.php

Due to ancient MS-DOS "compatibility" concerns, con is the console, yes even with an extension. This is in a layer above the file system.

The \\?\ prefix suspends DOS-compatible parsing and hands the rest of the spec directly to the file system.

1 Answers1