diff --git a/src/operations_posix_windows.cpp b/src/operations_posix_windows.cpp
index 15cb3be..2c6e220 100644
--- a/src/operations_posix_windows.cpp
+++ b/src/operations_posix_windows.cpp
@@ -321,10 +321,12 @@ namespace boost
 #   else
       if(::GetFileAttributesA( ph.string().c_str() ) == 0xFFFFFFFF)
       {
-         if((::GetLastError() == ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND) || (::GetLastError() == ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND))
+         UINT err = ::GetLastError();
+         if((err == ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND) || (err == ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND) || (err == ERROR_INVALID_NAME))
             return false; // GetFileAttributes failed because the path does not exist
          // for any other error we assume the file does exist and fall through,
          // this may not be the best policy though...  (JM 20040330)
+         return true;
       }
       return true;
 #   endif