[...] >Best to always use -xdev and -depth on find for a cpio. The -xdev keeps it >from crossing devices, and -depth goes down directories before the >directory itself. This prevents a problem with directories that can't be >written to. > >Also, _never_ use the -a option to cpio. It resets the access time on the >file, at the expense of making the ctime on the file the current time. >This makes any decent backup program treat the files as new. By not >specifying the -a option, you lose one small piece of information, but you >get to keep something much more useful.
Personally, I use cd /source tar clf - . | (cd /dest; tar xvf -) It's slower than cpio, but I actually understand it. (cpio gives me the screaming heebie-jeebies.) The l option in the first tar is the equivalent of -xdev. You should only do this with GNU tar as non-GNU tars have nasty filename length problems. Alternatively: cp -av /source /dest ...does a reasonable job but it doesn't preserve *all* attributes of the files. I've yet to work out exactly what it does and doesn't do. -- +- David Given ---------------McQ-+ "There does not now, nor will there ever, | Work: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | exist a programming language in which it is | Play: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | the least bit hard to write bad programs." +- http://wired.st-and.ac.uk/~dg -+ --- Flon's Axiom