diff --git a/src/Pack.cpp b/src/Pack.cpp
index 746f996..fecf01e 100644
--- a/src/Pack.cpp
+++ b/src/Pack.cpp
@@ -224,6 +224,14 @@ Pack::~Pack() {
 }
 
 Result<std::shared_ptr<Pack>> Pack::from(std::filesystem::path const& dir) {
+    #ifdef GEODE_IS_WINDOWS
+    try {
+        auto test = dir.filename().string();
+    } catch(const std::exception& e) {
+        return Err("Invalid path");
+    }
+    #endif
+
     if (!std::filesystem::exists(dir)) {
         return Err("Path does not exist");
     }
diff --git a/src/PackManager.cpp b/src/PackManager.cpp
index 729a935..092a9f4 100644
--- a/src/PackManager.cpp
+++ b/src/PackManager.cpp
@@ -58,7 +58,12 @@ size_t PackManager::loadPacks() {
     for (auto& dir : std::filesystem::directory_iterator(packDir)) {
         auto packRes = Pack::from(dir);
         if (!packRes) {
-            log::warn("Unable to load pack {}: {}", dir, packRes.unwrapErr());
+            // calling dir can throw an exception on windows if it contains invalid characters
+            #ifdef GEODE_IS_WINDOWS
+                log::warn("Unable to load pack {}: {}", string::wideToUtf8(dir.path().wstring()), packRes.unwrapErr());
+            #else
+                log::warn("Unable to load pack {}: {}", dir, packRes.unwrapErr());
+            #endif
         } else {
             found.push_back(packRes.unwrap());
             loaded++;