diff --git a/src/dorkbox/util/FileUtil.java b/src/dorkbox/util/FileUtil.java
index dc34b81..f37a6e2 100644
--- a/src/dorkbox/util/FileUtil.java
+++ b/src/dorkbox/util/FileUtil.java
@@ -212,8 +212,8 @@ class FileUtil {
         }
 
 
-        String normalizedIn = normalize(in.getAbsolutePath());
-        String normalizedout = normalize(out.getAbsolutePath());
+        String normalizedIn = normalize(in).getAbsolutePath();
+        String normalizedout = normalize(out).getAbsolutePath();
 
         if (normalizedIn.equalsIgnoreCase(normalizedout)) {
             logger.warn("Source equals destination! " + normalizedIn);
@@ -277,8 +277,8 @@ class FileUtil {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("two cannot be null.");
         }
 
-        String normalizedOne = normalize(one.getAbsolutePath());
-        String normalizedTwo = normalize(two.getAbsolutePath());
+        String normalizedOne = normalize(one).getAbsolutePath();
+        String normalizedTwo = normalize(two).getAbsolutePath();
 
         Logger logger2 = logger;
         if (logger2.isTraceEnabled()) {
@@ -511,7 +511,7 @@ class FileUtil {
                     boolean delete = true;
                     final File file2 = files[i];
                     String name2 = file2.getName();
-                    String name2Full = normalize(file2.getAbsolutePath());
+                    String name2Full = normalize(file2).getAbsolutePath();
 
                     if (file2.isDirectory()) {
                         for (String name : namesToIgnore) {
@@ -1175,6 +1175,7 @@ class FileUtil {
 
 
     //-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
     /*
      * FilenameUtils.java (normalize + dependencies) - Apache 2.0 License
      *   http://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-io/
@@ -1187,6 +1188,8 @@ class FileUtil {
     /**
      * Normalizes a path, removing double and single dot path steps.
      * <p/>
+     * THIS IS DIFFERENT in that it might not be a path that resolves to anything
+     * <p/>
      * This method normalizes a path to a standard format.
      * The input may contain separators in either Unix or Windows format.
      * The output will contain separators in the format of the system.
@@ -1222,10 +1225,11 @@ class FileUtil {
      * (Note the file separator returned will be correct for Windows/Unix)
      *
      * @param filename the filename to normalize, null returns null
+     *
      * @return the normalized filename, or null if invalid
      */
     public static
-    String normalize(String filename) {
+    String normalizeRaw(String filename) {
         return doNormalize(filename, SYSTEM_SEPARATOR, true);
     }
 
@@ -1275,12 +1279,21 @@ class FileUtil {
      * </pre>
      * (Note the file separator returned will be correct for Windows/Unix)
      *
-     * @param filename the filename to normalize, null returns null
-     * @return the normalized filename, or null if invalid
+     * @param file the file to normalize, null returns null
+     * @return the normalized file, or null if invalid
      */
     public static
-    String normalizeAsFile(String filename) {
-        return doNormalize(new File(filename).getAbsolutePath(), SYSTEM_SEPARATOR, true);
+    File normalize(String filename) {
+        if (filename == null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        String asString = doNormalize(new File(filename).getAbsolutePath(), SYSTEM_SEPARATOR, true);
+        if (asString == null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        return new File(asString);
     }
 
     /*
diff --git a/src/dorkbox/util/process/JavaProcessBuilder.java b/src/dorkbox/util/process/JavaProcessBuilder.java
index c03d28f..33e54f6 100644
--- a/src/dorkbox/util/process/JavaProcessBuilder.java
+++ b/src/dorkbox/util/process/JavaProcessBuilder.java
@@ -15,15 +15,15 @@
  */
 package dorkbox.util.process;
 
-import dorkbox.util.FileUtil;
-import dorkbox.util.OS;
-
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.InputStream;
 import java.io.PrintStream;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import dorkbox.util.FileUtil;
+import dorkbox.util.OS;
+
 /**
  * This will FORK the java process initially used to start the currently running JVM. Changing the java executable will change this behaviors
  */
@@ -61,8 +61,8 @@ class JavaProcessBuilder extends ShellProcessBuilder {
         // even though the former is a symlink to the latter! To work around this, see if the
         // desired jvm is in fact pointed to by /usr/bin/java and, if so, use that instead.
         if (OS.isMacOsX()) {
-            String localVM = FileUtil.normalize(new File("/usr/bin/java").getAbsolutePath());
-            String vmCheck = FileUtil.normalize(new File(vmpath).getAbsolutePath());
+            String localVM = FileUtil.normalize("/usr/bin/java").getAbsolutePath();
+            String vmCheck = FileUtil.normalize(vmpath).getAbsolutePath();
             if (localVM.equals(vmCheck)) {
                 vmpath = "/usr/bin/java";
             }
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ class JavaProcessBuilder extends ShellProcessBuilder {
         for (String classpathEntry : this.classpathEntries) {
             try {
                 // make sure the classpath is ABSOLUTE pathname
-                classpathEntry = FileUtil.normalize(new File(classpathEntry).getAbsolutePath());
+                classpathEntry = FileUtil.normalize(classpathEntry).getAbsolutePath();
 
                 // fix a nasty problem when spaces aren't properly escaped!
                 classpathEntry = classpathEntry.replaceAll(" ", "\\ ");