my $pid=open(READ,"\\\\.\\c:");

While i'm not sure what you are trying to do here, you seem to be opening a file named \.\c: and storing the status code of the open call in $pid

If you are trying to read a directory named C:/, use something like:

opendir DIR,"C:/" or die "Cannot read from dir C:/ $!";
for (readdir(DIR)) {
  # do something...
}
closedir DIR;
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There are some differences in file (and directory) naming between cygwin perl and activestate perl on windows, but I think (though I cannot test it right now) that C:/ should work for both. You might want to experiment with the filename and/or read the docs regarding that subject.

If I misinterpreted your intentions, please explain what you are trying to achieve here.

-- 
Joost       downtime n. The period during which a system
            is error-free and immune from user input.
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