Bash syntax error when `cd`ing into directory

Question

**So, after doing a little digging, I got it to work. You do get far enough in the install using WINE for this to work properly. Here are the steps:

1. Open the shell, and type in cd .wine
2. cd drive_c
3. cd Program\ Files\ (x86)/
4. cd NETGEAR
5. cd A6200
6. cd Drivers
7. sudo diswrapper -i nameoffile .inf
8. sudo modprobe diswrapper
9. sudo ndiswrapper -m

And that got it to work. Note: The adapter did NOT work until after the command sudo modprobe diswrapper

– thechemEnt May 3 '14 at 22:52**

The text above is concerning a netgear wifi USB adapter I am trying to get functioning on Linux Mint 17.4.

I am using the cd change directory command and entering the appropriate directory he is stating in sequence (I have the exact directories available on my install) as he states it. When I get to the Program Files (x86) folder I get an error:

bash: syntax error near unexpected token '(' 

I can't, rather, I have no idea how to get to the next folder because of this error. What is causing this? What syntax do I need to use to get into that folder so I can dig deeper as required to get to the driver.

Answer 1

You need to quote the directory name

"Program Files (x86)" 

or

'Program Files (x86)' 

or escape the spaces AND parentheses using backslashes

Program\ Files\ \(x86\) 

Steps 1 to 6 can also be done in one, as you can directly go into the subdirectories with cd:

cd .wine/drive_c/Program\ Files\ \(x86\)/NETGEAR/A6200/Drivers #or cd .wine/drive_c/"Program Files (x86)"/NETGEAR/A6200/Drivers 

Answer 2

You can type:

cd 

Then, the first character of the directory name and hit TAB key. The shell interpreter (like bash shell) will complete the path in the current directory. Hit TAB to show all options which start with the character.

cd "Program Files (x86)" 

You can also change dir (cd) to other paths:

cd ~/ 

Then, hit TAB key to see all your home directories.