How To Fix “The System Cannot Find The Path Specified” Error

There are quite a lot of us who love to play around using Command Prompt and changing directories is one such function. But, what if while trying to change the directory for a particular program, you receive the “system cannot find the path specified” error?  That’s what this blog’s for. Read on as we discuss some of the most effective ways to deal with the issue.

Possible Reasons Behind The System Cannot Find The Path Specified”

-Path not correctly specified
-Incorrect user-profile
-Invalid path in environment variable
-System issues
-AutoRun key in the registry
-Virus in computer

How To Fix “The System Cannot Find The Path Specified” Error

Fix 1: Verify Your Files Path

The first step you can take to resolve the “system cannot find the path specified” error, is to check if you have entered the correct path. This should be done especially if you are getting the error at hand in the command prompt. That’s because any mistake in the command would fail to execute it.

Fix 2: Check If There Is a Malicious Threat In Your Computer

The “system cannot find the path specified” error may have surfaced on your Windows 11/10 PC because of an impending virus or malware. As a vigilant user, you should run a virus scan instantly so that the threat can be identified and removed in real-time. If you are looking to start somewhere with your Antivirus searching expedition, this post could come in handy.

And, since we are dealing with Windows operating system, you can try Systweak Antivirus which is one of the best Antivirus tools for Windows. Here are some of its best features –

• Real-time Protection –  This feature puts Systweak Antivirus on guard every time you use your computer. This means there is no way any malware will be able to sneak into your computer because it will be tracked and removed in real-time.
• Exploit Protection –  As the name suggests, Systweak Antivirus thwarts an attacker’s intention of exploiting vulnerabilities in your operating system. For example, the zero-day attacks when a vulnerability is exposed to hackers and protection is yet to be ascertained. Systweak Antivirus can come to your operating system’s defense at that time.
• Web Protection – You can now surf the web without having to think about which websites to visit and which to not because the Antivirus will do that job for you. The moment it will come across a suspicious website or one that has malware, it will prompt you there and then.
• Firewall Protection – With the help of this feature you can control which applications and browsers have online access.
• Schedule Scans – You can choose to conduct scans at any desired time so that your day-to-day activities don’t get hampered.

For more details, you can check out this post, where we have talked about the various features of Systweak Antivirus and features.

How To Use Systweak Antivirus?

1. Download, run and install Systweak Antivirus

   

2. Click on the magnifying from the left-hand side of the screen and choose the mode of scan
3. Click on Scan Now

If there are any threats, Systweak Antivirus will find them and kill them.

Fix 3: Identify and Delete Invalid Paths In Environment variable

If you are trying to run a program from the command line, environment variables play an important role. In case the program you are trying to run is located in a different directory then your system will search all the directories located in the path variable. If the program is found in any of these directories, it will run without a hitch else it will return the error “system cannot find the path specified”. In such an event, you can remove invalid paths in the environment variable, and here are the steps for the same –

1. Open File Explorer
2. Locate This PC, right-click on it and select Properties
3. Select Advanced system settings from the right-hand side
   
4. Click on Advanced tab and click on Environment Variables
5. Locate your path variable under the User Variable for section
6. Click on it and then further click on Edit from the bottom of the interface
7. Next, we’ll check if the path is working correctly. For this, copy this path and paste it in your File Explorer’s address bar and press Enter. If your File Explorer finds the path well and good else you will have to either Delete or Edit this path
8. Once you have done that,press OK
9. Now, head to the System Variables section, click on the Path variable and press Edit
10. Repeat the steps above to check if the paths mentioned are working or not

Once you have done that, now check if you are encountering the issue or not.  

Fix 4: Create A Second Account

Sometimes the “system cannot find the path specified” error may surface when you install certain software. You might be wondering if the software alone would initiate this issue. Something that could trigger this issue is a wrong or faulty user profile. To resolve this issue, you can create a second Windows account. If you are unaware about how to do that, refer to this blog.

Fix 5: Check Your Registry

Did you ever change the AutoRun keys in your registry? The function of these keys is to execute a command automatically every time the Command Prompt is opened. In this step, we’ll check and make sure that the key’s data is correct so that the “system cannot find the path specified” error can be prevented. But, before we get down on how to delete or modify the AutoRun key in the registry editor, we urge you to take a backup of your existing registry since even a small mistake here can turn your Windows inoperable. Here is how you can backup and restore Windows registry.

1. Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog box
2. When the dialog box appears type regedit and press Enter
3. After the Registry Editor pops up, navigate to the below-mentioned path –

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor

4. If you find that there is a key named AutoRun, either Delete it or Modify it

Since we are talking about taking a registry backup, you can also take the help of a third-party tool as well. For instance, Advanced System Optimizer doesn’t just let you take a backup of your complete Windows registry but even lets you optimize the computer for best performance. However, since we are talking of registry backup, here is how you can take a backup of your registry using Advanced System Optimizer –

1. Download, run and install Advanced System Optimizer

   

2. Once installed select Registry Optimisers from the left-hand side
3. Click on Registry Cleaner
4. When the Registry Cleaner window opens, click on Undo Changes from the top
5. From the left-hand side,click on Full Backups and then click on Take Full Registry Backup from the bottom-left corner of the interface as shown below

Now, check if the “system cannot find the path specified” error persists or not.

Fix 6: System Restore Could Help Fix The Issue

Even if after trying all the above steps and everything in your capacity, you are still facing the “system cannot find the path specified” error, you can perform a System Restore. However, this step can only be performed if you have already created System restore points before.

Wrapping Up

Do let us know if you were able to fix the “system cannot find the path specified” error using the fixes mentioned above. For more such content, keep reading WeTheGeek.

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