How to copy a directory from one hard drive to another with every single file?

Question

I have a folder I just luckily recovered sitting on:

/media/sdc1/Pictures

with a BUNCH of subdirectories and files that I need.

I want to copy these to a folder on:

/media/sdb1/Pictures

What command do I have to use in the terminal to make sure this happens? I know there is the cp command. But is that the best choice? And if so what options should I use to ensure I get every single directory and file?

amc · Accepted Answer · 2013-06-01T18:09:33.357

28

I would use rsync for this so that if there is an error (or you need to stop copying) partway through you can easily resume later, without having to recopy everything.

rsync -av /media/sdc1/Pictures/ /media/sdb1/Pictures/

edited Jun 01 '13 at 18:09

answered Jun 01 '13 at 01:21

amc

7,292

score 12 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 01 '13 at 01:00

cp -r /media/sdc1/Pictures/* /media/sdb1/Pictures/some_dir

The -r is recursive, ^{read the man page...}
With /media/sdc1/Pictures/* the asterisk is to copy all the contents of /media/sdc1/Pictures/, but not the parent directory itself.
The some_dir of /media/sdb1/Pictures/some_dir is where you want to put it.

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited Jun 01 '13 at 18:41

0

If you need an exact image, use the command dd if=(path) of=(path)

edited Jun 01 '13 at 18:41

Kevin Bowen

20,055
57
82
84

answered Jun 01 '13 at 18:12

RGS

156

How to copy a directory from one hard drive to another with every single file?

3 Answers3