cmd error "The system cannot find the path specified."

command-line environment-variables cmd.exe

5,024

I told you that this would be quick once you asked the question properly.

You state that you are running

cd $TMP

in Microsoft's command interpreter, cmd.

That is not the syntax used for environment variable expansion in Microsoft's command interpreter. The syntax is

cd %TMP%

. Yes, the trailing percent sign is important.

5,024

dw19

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

dw19 over 1 year

I am getting this error when I am doing a cd into a directory I stored in environment variables.

But the thing is, when I cd into the same directory using the same ev using vim, I can successfully cd into that directory.

This is true for all the directories stored in ev, even the $HOME path.

Please help me out.

The environment variable is setup like this:

Name: dev Value: E:\Software Development

Command: cd $dev or cd $HOME or cd $TMP

Non of the commands are working. But in vim, :cd $dev does the job.

Image:
- Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 over 9 years
  
  Did you edit the path in the System- or User-level environment variables? Are you sure you're running in the same user scope for both the command-prompt as you are with Vim? IE: Does Vim run "as administrator" by any chance, and/or are you opening the command prompt "as administrator"?
- dw19 over 9 years
  
  I am running both without administrator privileges. I have added the custom path to user level, and I just tried the System-level $TMP and even it doesn't work (have tried both cmd and cmder), but again in vim $TMP and all other ev seem to work.
- Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 over 9 years
  
  How exactly are you modifying the environment variables?
- dw19 over 9 years
  
  Through Advanced System Setting dialog.
- Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 over 9 years
  
  Bizarre, well based on what you're provided it should just work. There must be a piece missing from your info someplace...
- dw19 over 9 years
  
  I hope there is not, I am extremely frustrated, have to write the full path all the time. Everything was working fine a week ago.
- dw19 over 9 years
  
  That is the last resort, I hope I can work it out without that, and I really thought it's a common problem :|
- JdeBP over 9 years
  
  If you show people the exact commands that you told the computer to run rather than expect them to guess, then you'll probably find this cleared up in short order.
- dw19 over 9 years
  
  Edited to add specific commands and link to image to show the problem.
Vitas over 9 years

It seems like user3224858 is confusing cmd with powershell but it is strange anyway :o