diff --git a/Directory.cxx b/Directory.cxx
index 3fb4d6d6d06865da0059203700286d23a74db4f8..72b4e354fb3fd4d2e88a5f8936c251b4440d767e 100644
--- a/Directory.cxx
+++ b/Directory.cxx
@@ -199,6 +199,11 @@ namespace KWSYS_NAMESPACE
 bool Directory::Load(const char* name)
 {
   this->Clear();
+   
+  if (!name)
+    {
+    return 0;
+    }
   DIR* dir = opendir(name);
 
   if (!dir)