diff --git a/pycodestyle.py b/pycodestyle.py
index 70263968..75c9469e 100755
--- a/pycodestyle.py
+++ b/pycodestyle.py
@@ -1317,9 +1317,9 @@ def normalize_paths(value, parent=os.curdir):
     paths = []
     for path in value.split(','):
         path = path.strip()
-        if '/' in path:
+        if os.path.sep in path:
             path = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(parent, path))
-        paths.append(path.rstrip('/'))
+        paths.append(path.rstrip(os.path.sep))
     return paths
 
 
diff --git a/testsuite/test_shell.py b/testsuite/test_shell.py
index 760c2284..c6d00490 100644
--- a/testsuite/test_shell.py
+++ b/testsuite/test_shell.py
@@ -7,6 +7,46 @@
 from testsuite.support import ROOT_DIR, PseudoFile
 
 
+def safe_line_split(line):
+    r"""Parses output lines of the form
+
+    [location & file]:[row]:[column]:[message]
+
+    and returns a tuple of the form
+
+    (path, row, column, message)
+
+    This function handles the OS-issues related to a ":" appearing in some
+    Windows paths.
+
+    In Windows, the location is usually denoted as "[DriveLetter]:[location]".
+    On all other platforms, there is no colon in the location.
+
+    The majority of time on windows, the line will look like:
+    C:\projects\pycodestyle\testsuite\E11.py:3:3: E111 indentation is ...
+
+    Or if somebody is using a networked location
+    \\projects\pycodestyle\testsuite\E11.py:3:3: E111 indentation is ...
+
+    On non-windows, the same line would looke like:
+    /home/projects/pycodestyle/testsuite/E11.py:3:3: E111 indentation is ...
+    """
+
+    split = line.split(':')
+
+    if sys.platform == 'win32':  # Note, even 64 bit platforms return 'win32'
+        if len(split) == 5:      # This will be the most common
+            drive, path, x, y, msg = split
+            path = drive + ':' + path
+        elif len(split) == 4:    # If the location is a network share
+            path, x, y, msg = split
+        else:
+            raise Exception("Unhandled edge case parsing message: " + line)
+    else:
+        path, x, y, msg = split
+    return path, x, y, msg
+
+
 class ShellTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
     """Test the usual CLI options and output."""
 
@@ -77,7 +117,7 @@ def test_check_simple(self):
         self.assertFalse(stderr)
         self.assertEqual(len(stdout), 17)
         for line, num, col in zip(stdout, (3, 6, 9, 12), (3, 6, 1, 5)):
-            path, x, y, msg = line.split(':')
+            path, x, y, msg = safe_line_split(line)
             self.assertTrue(path.endswith(E11))
             self.assertEqual(x, str(num))
             self.assertEqual(y, str(col))
@@ -141,7 +181,7 @@ def test_check_diff(self):
         self.assertEqual(errcode, 1)
         self.assertFalse(stderr)
         for line, num, col in zip(stdout, (3, 6), (3, 6)):
-            path, x, y, msg = line.split(':')
+            path, x, y, msg = safe_line_split(line)
             self.assertEqual(x, str(num))
             self.assertEqual(y, str(col))
             self.assertTrue(msg.startswith(' E11'))
@@ -154,7 +194,7 @@ def test_check_diff(self):
         self.assertEqual(errcode, 1)
         self.assertFalse(stderr)
         for line, num, col in zip(stdout, (3, 6), (3, 6)):
-            path, x, y, msg = line.split(':')
+            path, x, y, msg = safe_line_split(line)
             self.assertEqual(x, str(num))
             self.assertEqual(y, str(col))
             self.assertTrue(msg.startswith(' E11'))
diff --git a/testsuite/test_util.py b/testsuite/test_util.py
index 8eaba7ef..12f67dd9 100644
--- a/testsuite/test_util.py
+++ b/testsuite/test_util.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 import os
 import unittest
-
+import sys
 from pycodestyle import normalize_paths
 
 
@@ -17,7 +17,13 @@ def test_normalize_paths(self):
         self.assertEqual(normalize_paths('foo'), ['foo'])
         self.assertEqual(normalize_paths('foo,bar'), ['foo', 'bar'])
         self.assertEqual(normalize_paths('foo,  bar  '), ['foo', 'bar'])
-        self.assertEqual(normalize_paths('/foo/bar,baz/../bat'),
-                         ['/foo/bar', cwd + '/bat'])
-        self.assertEqual(normalize_paths(".pyc,\n   build/*"),
-                         ['.pyc', cwd + '/build/*'])
+
+        if 'win' in sys.platform:
+            self.assertEqual(normalize_paths(r'C:\foo\bar,baz\..\bat'),
+                             [r'C:\foo\bar', cwd + r'\bat'])
+            self.assertEqual(normalize_paths(".pyc"), ['.pyc'])
+        else:
+            self.assertEqual(normalize_paths('/foo/bar,baz/../bat'),
+                             ['/foo/bar', cwd + '/bat'])
+            self.assertEqual(normalize_paths(".pyc,\n   build/*"),
+                             ['.pyc', cwd + '/build/*'])