No need to fatal () on startup if $PWD doesn't exist; chdir to "/" instead. src/ChangeLog addition: 2009-11-08 Aidan Kehoe <kehoea@parhasard.net> * sysfile.h (DEFAULT_DIRECTORY_FALLBACK): New #define, "/" on Unix and "C:\\" on Win32 native, a directory that should "always" be available. * fileio.c (Fexpand_file_name): Use DEFAULT_DIRECTORY_FALLBACK here, instead of conditionalising on WIN32_NATIVE. * editfns.c (get_home_directory): Use DEFAULT_DIRECTORY_FALLBACK if looking up the home directory fails, on both Windows and Unix. * buffer.c (init_initial_directory): Don't give a fatal error if the current directory doesn't exist, chdir to DEFAULT_DIRECTORY_FALLBACK instead.

--- a/src/sysfile.h	Mon Nov 02 14:00:49 2009 +0900
+++ b/src/sysfile.h	Sun Nov 08 17:27:26 2009 +0000
@@ -490,6 +490,8 @@
 /* The above Lisp variables are not available to make-docfile, etc. */
 #define DIRECTORY_SEP DEFAULT_DIRECTORY_SEP
 
+#define DEFAULT_DIRECTORY_FALLBACK ((Ibyte *)"C:\\")
+
 #endif /* emacs */
 
 #else /* not WIN32_NATIVE */
@@ -497,6 +499,7 @@
 #define SEPCHAR ':'
 #define DEFAULT_DIRECTORY_SEP '/'
 #define DIRECTORY_SEP '/'
+#define DEFAULT_DIRECTORY_FALLBACK ((Ibyte *)"/")
 
 #endif /* WIN32_NATIVE */