Problem Permission denied cp -r

Hi
I am administrator in unix
I want make backup folder and file in root directory
I use instruction Cp -r , But the system pear problem

cp: cannot create regular file : Permission denied

Can someone explain me what am I doing wrong??? please...

find other instruction backup folder and file in root directory or what ?

Thank you.....

"Permission denied" is not a "bug". It doesn't mean you're doing something "wrong". It means exactly what it says, no more, no less -- you do really, genuinely, do not have permission to create files there.

Most things do not, cannot, and should not create files inside root. I doubt your backup system is an exception.

What user are you running this under?