files with \??\c:\Windows\... in CBS.log

[ANew]

Hi this is my first post.I have looked into CBS.log and found a lot of files which start with \??\c:\windows...What \??\c: stands for? I can not find this files anywhere on the disk.Thank you for your reply.


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[Andrew McLaren]

Hi this is my first post.I have looked into CBS.log and found a lot of files which start with \??\c:\windows...What \??\c: stands for? I can not find this files anywhere on the disk.Thank you for your reply.

You can ignore the initial "\\??\" part of the file name. Just look for
the "C:\<whatever>" portion.

Internally, Windows has a much larger hierarchy of objects than what you
normally see in the file system. The "normal" file system is just one
branch off this overall object namespace; and in the Windows kernel is
marked with the prefix \\??. Normally you don't need to worry about this
larger namespace, unless you are a programmer etc. But occasionally,
small glimpses of Windows' internal architecture peek through into the
normal user world (such as in system logs etc).

Hope this helps,

Andrew

 

[ANew]

Anonymous (10/23/2009)

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Post in reply to: ANewYou can ignore the initial "\\??\" part of the file name. Just look for the "C:\" portion.

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Hmmm,&nbsp;they&nbsp;are not consistent.For example, in CBS.log i see directory \\??\C:\Windows\MSN\and there is no directory c:\Windows\MSN when i look at explorer.There are number of other discrepancies between files listed in in logand files i see in c:\.Is there a way to see all files?


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