UNC Paths are not supported

Question

I am trying to copy a file to a folder using the following batch script

echo xcopy \\path1\file.txt \\path2\backup

However, I get the following error:

UNC paths are not supported. Defaulting to the windows directory.

Is there a simple solution for this?

Try mounting the unc path to a network drive using net use: `net use x: \\path1` and `net use y: \\path2\backup` and then run `xcopy x:\file.txt y:\ ` — Erez Ben Harush, May 22 '19 at 13:19
The message isn't due to the source or destination paths, it is due to running the batch file from a UNC path. Check out [How to run batch file from network share without “UNC path are not supported” message?](https://stackoverflow.com/q/9013941/2441). — aphoria, May 22 '19 at 13:47

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered May 22 '19 at 13:35

For Single file copying, simply use copy

copy /Y \\path1\file.txt \\path2\backup

Other ways to create a network share:

for /f "tokens=2" %i in ('net use * \\server1\folder\') do set src=%%i & goto :continue
:continue
for /f "tokens=2" %i in ('net use * \\server2\backup\') do set dest=%%i & goto :cp
:cp
copy %src%\file.txt %dest% /Y
net use /d %src%
net use /d %dest%

The above will only work if you have credentials setup already.. if not, you can do it as:

net use \\server1\IPC$ /user:username password

UNC Paths are not supported

1 Answers1