LaTeX can't find main.tex file in certain directories

Question

After doing an update of MiKTeX all my latex documents don't work anymore! I also get strange results with this minimal example:

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
test
\end{document}

running this from a existing path of a not working LaTeX project I get this error:

This is XeTeX, Version 3.14159265-2.6-0.99996 (MiKTeX 2.9.6210 64-bit)
entering extended mode
! I can't find file `Minimal.tex'.
<*> Minimal.tex

If I run it from a new path it works fine.
If I then copy the files of an existing LaTeX project into this new path, I get the error again. If I copy any not working LaTeX project from the server to my local disk it works!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

PS: the server is a local network (at work). Here is an example:

Command Line:   xelatex.exe --interaction=errorstopmode --include-directory="\\SERVER\Laufend\LAUFENDE PROJEKTE\2015\15-025 B-Plan Strausberg Garzauer Straße 55\Bericht_Nachtrag_II" --synctex=-1 "Minimal.tex"
Startup Folder: \\SERVER\Laufend\LAUFENDE PROJEKTE\2015\15-025 B-Plan Strausberg Garzauer Straße 55\Bericht_Nachtrag_II\TeXAux

If I copy the project to a local directory everything works fine.

Command Line:   xelatex.exe --interaction=errorstopmode --include-directory="C:\Users\micha.KSZ\Documents\LATEX\Bericht_Nachtrag_II" --synctex=-1 "Minimal.tex"
Startup Folder: C:\Users\micha.KSZ\Documents\LATEX\Bericht_Nachtrag_II\TeXAux

But it's not the server path in general that does not work! The minimal example runs for instance fine from here:

Command Line:   xelatex.exe --interaction=errorstopmode --synctex=-1 "Minimal.tex"
Startup Folder: \\SERVER\Laufend\LAUFENDE PROJEKTE\2015\15-025 B-Plan Strausberg Garzauer Straße 55\Test

PPS: now it gets interesting. If I create a network drive it works also.

Command Line:   xelatex.exe --interaction=errorstopmode --include-directory="L:\LAUFENDE PROJEKTE\2015\15-025 B-Plan Strausberg Garzauer Straße 55\Bericht_Nachtrag_II" --synctex=-1 "Bericht_B-Plan_Garzauer_Str.tex"
Startup Folder: L:\LAUFENDE PROJEKTE\2015\15-025 B-Plan Strausberg Garzauer Straße 55\Bericht_Nachtrag_II\TeXAux

Answer 1

I don't think this has something to do with your MiKTeX update...

The fact is that you are using redirection of auxiliary files to the directory TeXAux in WinEdt, and this doesn't work with UNC paths (like \\SERVER).

That's the reason why all your examples don't fail but the first one.

Excerpt from the latest WinEdt documentation:

Known limitations: The implementation of this feature does not work with UNC directories because TeX currently does not allow such specifications in its TEXINPUTS or BIBINPUTS search path directives (perhaps for good reasons).

If you want it to work simply delete the directory TeXAux in the path

\\SERVER\Laufend\LAUFENDE PROJEKTE\2015\15-025 B-Plan Strausberg Garzauer Straße 55\Bericht_Nachtrag_II

or create a network drive (as you did already) from which you can launch XeLaTeX.