[NTLUG:Discuss] Copy Files/Folders - Ignore Symbolic Links

[Patrick R. Michaud]

Perhaps the "--no-dereference" option to cp(1) is what you're looking for?  From "man cp":

       -P, --no-dereference
              never follow symbolic links in SOURCE

Pm


On Mon, Sep 21, 2015 at 06:04:02PM +0000, Jim Richardson wrote:
> Working on a Windows 7 computer with virus issues. I have booted the computer with a Ubuntu boot CD. I would like to copy the entire hard drive to a USB connected external drive before reinstalling the Windows 7 OS. It looks as though the drive has a lot of symbolic links and maybe a lot of unusual folder sub folders. Can I use a copy command in the terminal in Linux to copy the files/folders from the root of the drive but to ignore (don't copy) the symbolic links? Does this make sense?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Jim
> 
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