diff --git a/stim/parser/filename.h b/stim/parser/filename.h
index 7baf900..0188f92 100644
--- a/stim/parser/filename.h
+++ b/stim/parser/filename.h
@@ -110,12 +110,17 @@ protected:
 			unix_dir = unix_dir.substr(2, unix_dir.length()-2);	//extract the directory structure
 		}
 
-		if(unix_dir[0] == '/'){						//if there is a leading slash
-			relative = false;								//the path is not relative
-			unix_dir = unix_dir.substr(1, unix_dir.length() - 1);	//remove the slash
+		if(drive.size() != 0){
+			relative = false;
+		}
+		if(unix_dir.size() > 0){										//if there is a directory specified, remove surrounding slashes
+			if(unix_dir[0] == '/'){						//if there is a leading slash
+				relative = false;								//the path is not relative
+				unix_dir = unix_dir.substr(1, unix_dir.length() - 1);	//remove the slash
+			}
+			if(unix_dir[unix_dir.size()-1] == '/')
+				unix_dir = unix_dir.substr(0, unix_dir.length() - 1);
 		}
-		if(unix_dir[unix_dir.size()-1] == '/')
-			unix_dir = unix_dir.substr(0, unix_dir.length() - 1);
 
 		path = stim::parser::split(unix_dir, '/');					//split up the directory structure
 		
--
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