Copy hdd with symlinks , TC copies original files instead of symlinks

[IceLancer]

Hey there!
I have serious problem. I was making backup of my 3tb hdd which has a lot of symlinks in it. But Total cmd 9.51 ended up with backup hdd full at 70% of data copy.. at second time copy attempt i finally realized what is the problem of hdd full.. TC is not copying symlinks but real files instead!!
I need to fix this , my hdd is failing how do i tell him how to do this properly??


P.S
i just had to google and found out about "CopyLinks" , my TC doesn't have that switch in ini at all. Why is this turned on by default to copy original files instead of symlinks??

[norfie²]

2IceLancer

my TC doesn't have that switch in ini at all.

You have to insert this option in [Configuration] by yourself.

Why is this turned on by default to copy original files instead of symlinks??

I would suppose that is because TCmd is a file manager and not a hdd backup tool. If one do not copy all files of a computer then in all probability some files will be missed i.e. there are only useless symlinks without the files because the target of symlink was not copied too.

[IceLancer]

I would suppose that is because TCmd is a file manager and not a hdd backup tool.

That's quite weird statement if you ask me. Not a hdd backup tool? Its basic copy which should be handled properly and not like this. Copy entire original files? That's not how any file manager should behave.1tb in waiour symlinks gets copied entirely? wow

[Horst.Epp]

Please also check what setting you have for IgnoreLinks

[IceLancer]

Please also check what setting you have for IgnoreLinks

Nothing. Just as default tc.(but i don't have hardlinks, just symlinks)
Now that i think about it, the most basic function that should be implemented is TC to ask user what to do when symlink is encountered during copy if not stated in .ini already

[norfie²]

2IceLancer
One should first analyse the problem before crying.
What is the proper handling of copy symlinks?
There is not only the case of backup a hdd.
If one copy a folder which contains symlinks then the folder can contain the target of a symlink or not.
Targets can be a other folder on the same partition, the same folder on another partition, other folder on other partition. Partitions can be removable or not...

If the TCmd is not the right tool for a very special task then one should use another suitable tool. Only my 2 cents.

[IceLancer]

,,

ignored your 2 cents and reported for being an ass

[Dalai]

Now that i think about it, the most basic function that should be implemented is TC to ask user what to do when symlink is encountered during copy if not stated in .ini already

It has been suggested multiple times to offer an option in TC's copy dialog what to do with junctions and symlinks. So far Ghisler's answer has always been like "the copy dialog is already too crowded", which is true on the one hand but OTOH such an option is really necessary because CopyLinks option is too cumbersome to use since it has to be set manually, it's too easy to forget to reset/unset afterwards and so on.

ignored your 2 cents and reported for being an ass

You're free to ignore other people's posts, but I don't see anything to suggest that norfie² was being an ass. On the contrary, the points he brought up are valid. To add to that, Rsync doesn't copy symlinks and junctions by default and neither does Robocopy - all of them copy link targets unless told otherwise. So why should TC do it differently? Nonetheless, the situation could definitely improved.

Regards
Dalai

[norfie²]

2IceLancer
You are welcome.