Re: (cp) How to copy a file to an external HDD?
On Fri, 12 Aug 2022 11:49:39 -0400
Amn <amnojeeuw@gmail.com> wrote:
> In learning how to create shell script files, I have come across the
> need to move/copy files from one HDD to an external HDD. In MS I
> would just "copy c:*.doc b:alldocs", but in Linux is a bit different.
> How do I do that in Linux?
> Any help would be most appreciated.
First off, as you have probably realized, Unix (and Linux) has no drive
letters (A:, C:, etc.). In your example, you copy to B:, which is
almost always the second of two floppy drives. My advice will be more
generic, though.
First, in order to access any partition or a floppy drive, Unix must
mount it. This can be done automatically (e.g. a minimal system mounted
during the boot process) or manually. Or it may be done automatically
upon insertion of a device (USB, CD-ROM, etc.).
So the first question is, where is your external device mounted? In
Debian, it would typically be mounted under /media, with some sort of
descriptive name, e.g. /media/disk, /media/floppy, etc.
The second question is, has the user got the necessary permissions to
write to the target device?
Your sample command assumes that the current working directory for
both drives is set appropriately. That doesn't work in Unix. You have
one current working directory, and that's it. For that and other
reasons, you should probably use absolute paths (specified from the root
directory down, e.g. /home/amn/, /media/disk/).
Once you get all that sorted out, and possibly automated, it is a
matter of using cp to make the copy. Or something else, depending on
what you have in mind.
This sounds suspiciously like a backup script, to be run from time to
time. Do, by all means, get it working with cp. But then look at using
rsync to eliminate redundant copies.
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