[arthur2e5]

> lurking in the kernel. That way, Windows lies.

Windows implements many overrides (e.g. "My Documents") as NTFS junctions with some hidden (+ system?) property set. (Sometimes you will find a proper hidden property handy, like in this case.)

Stuff like CON, NUL in non-UNC paths do hurt, though. Device files from an age without directories....

[yrro]

Don't get me started on Windows' bizarre, barely-documented behaviour. Magical filenames pointing to devices and file virtualization are bad enough... just try to decipher whether a given registry path is what it appears, or is redirected through yet more hidden virtualization magic some time. And we haven't even come to the truly wondrous series of overrides that occur when looking up names in the NT object namespace...