virtualbox.org

Sorry if this is a FAQ but I can't find the answer.

in Settings|Shared Folders the Path begins with \\?\ followed by the windows path.

Can someone explain what \\?\ means?

Thanks!

That is a Windows question, not a VirtualBox question.

That prefix is how Windows indicates that the path refers to a device rather than a disk file.

I wish you'd provided a usable reference to whatever document you're looking at, but if you are looking at how to set up a raw disk then don't bother unless you have an excellent reason - of which there are few. It will be slower than a VDI, not faster. Plus it's an experts only feature: so if you need to ask what "\\?\" means then you probably need to steer well clear.