Symptoms — Is This Article for You?

• Some or all of your automated tasks are suddenly failing when connecting to network paths (e.g., //servername/share/folder).
• Tasks fail even though you have not changed any passwords or permissions.
• Failures started after you removed UNC Share hosts and switched tasks to use a Local File System host instead.

• The user name or password is incorrect. (error code 2234) — even though credentials have not changed.
• Could not access filesystem //[servername]/[share]/[path] on try 6 of 6: Cannot access //[servername]/[share]/[path] (error code 200)
• //[servername]/[sharename] is not available: The user name or password is incorrect

• Multiple tasks are failing at once — especially tasks pointing to UNC/network paths (e.g., //servername/... or \\servername\...).
• Daily batch processes, vendor automation, or ACH/financial transfers are affected.

ℹ️ Note: The "username or password is incorrect" error in this context is not a real credential failure. It is a host-type misconfiguration symptom. MOVEit Automation's Local File System host cannot authenticate to network shares — only to local paths on the Automation server itself.

Important — Before You Begin

• Identify which host type is in use: In the MOVEit Automation Web Admin, go to Hosts and check the type column for the hosts your failing tasks use. If it shows "Local File System" and the path begins with // or \\, this article applies. If the host type already shows "UNC Share," see Related Articles below.
• Confirm the service account (moveitsvc) has permissions on the target UNC Share: This matters before you create the new UNC Share host. Open the share in Windows Explorer using the moveitsvc credentials — if access is denied, fix permissions on the share before proceeding (see Step 4).
• Know your UNC path: Have the full //servername/sharename path ready before you create the new host. If you are unsure, confirm with your network or storage team.
• Check your license host count: Switching from one Local File System host to individual UNC Share hosts may consume additional host license slots. Contact your Account Representative before making changes if you are near your host limit.

1. "I can use a Local File System host to point to a network share to save license slots." — This does not work. Local File System host type can only access paths that are local to the Automation server. UNC paths (//server/share) require the UNC Share host type, regardless of host count.
2. "The 'username or password is incorrect' error means someone changed a password." — In this context, the error is generated by the host-type mismatch. MOVEit Automation cannot authenticate to a network path via a Local File System host, so Windows returns an auth error even when credentials are correct.
3. "I rebooted the server and it still fails, so it's not a configuration issue." — A reboot alone does not fix a host-type misconfiguration. The host must be reconfigured and the tasks must be updated to use the new UNC Share host.

MOVEit Automation's Local File System host type can only access paths that are physically local to the Automation server. When it is pointed at a UNC/network path (e.g., //servername/share), Windows cannot authenticate the connection through this host type and returns a misleading "username or password is incorrect" error. The correct host type for any network share is UNC Share.

Resolution Steps

⚠️ These steps require access to the MOVEit Automation web UI and sufficient permissions to create and modify hosts and tasks. Complete all steps — partially migrated tasks will continue to fail.

1. Create a new UNC Share host for each network share path. In MOVEit Automation, go to Hosts > New Host and select UNC Share as the host type. Enter the UNC path (e.g., //servername/sharename) and the credentials for the service account (moveitsvc or equivalent). Save the host, then use Browse to verify it can access the share before continuing.

   ℹ️ If browsing the new host returns "Access is denied," the service account does not have sufficient permissions on the share. Proceed to Step 4 before updating tasks.

2. Update all affected tasks to use the new UNC Share host. For each failing task, open the task configuration and change the Source and/or Destination host from the old Local File System host to the newly created UNC Share host. Update the folder path if needed. Save each task.

   ⚠️ Check all tasks — not just the ones currently showing failures. Any task with a Local File System host pointing to a network path is at risk.

3. Restart the MOVEit Automation server (if the UNC Share host still fails to browse after Step 1). After restarting, return to Hosts, open the new UNC Share host, and browse to a folder to confirm it connects successfully before running tasks.
4. Fix "Access is denied" errors on the UNC Share (if applicable). If the service account (moveitsvc) cannot browse the UNC Share: On the Windows file server hosting the share, update the share and/or NTFS permissions to grant the moveitsvc account Read and Write access to the required folders. Re-test host browsing from the MOVEit Automation UI after updating permissions.
5. Run a test task and verify the task log. Trigger one affected task manually and confirm it completes successfully. In Task Logs, look for a successful transfer (not "No Xfers" or a connection error). If the task still fails, check the task log for a specific error and compare it to the Troubleshooting table below.

 

 

How to fix the error 'Multiple connections to a server or shared resource by the same user, using more than one user name, are not allowed' in MOVEit Automation? (KB 000190624) — Use this if switching to UNC Share hosts causes a multiple-credentials conflict error when tasks connect to the same file server.UNC Share Host Intermittently Fails with "Could Not Access Filesystem" / "Cannot Access" Error — Use this if your UNC Share host type is already configured correctly but still fails intermittently on browse or task execution.