Ok. I have some programming experience but it's all in the R language. I'm trying to self teach myself C++ here and I have been messing around with Linux here for an hour. That is my experience. lol. But yea I know this is a very simple question but I just have no idea what I am doing wrong.

When I use either cp (copy) or mv (move) to try and move a specific file from one directory to another I just get a message that says cp: or mv: cannot create/move regular file 'x': permission denied.

Why won't it let me move it?

Thx!

Can you post the full command that you typed? It could be just a syntax error - it might be that you don't have permission to write to the destination (or to remove the source).

Linux has an elaborate security system. Your computer is actually set up as a network of users. Each directory and file has ownership and permissions fields. Whether you are allowed to read, write, or execute a file depends on the ownership and permissions of that file. Use the ls command to display the ownership and permissions of the file(s) that you are not allowed to modify. For example:

ls -l /boot/grub/menu.lst

ls -l

ls -l /home/(your username)/*

man ls

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Steve Stites

You're probably not going to have privileges above read, for anything outside of /home/yourname. If you need to move a file/folder someplace else, you'll need to use sudo. Ex:

Or if you're still having problems, and really need it moved, use su, I'm assuming you have root access. Ex:

Then you'll have access to anything, and everything. So once you move your folder, be sure to switch back to your normal permissions! To do so, just type exit, and hit enter.

you dont have permission to do that to that particular file, BUT you can by using chmod


http://catcode.com/teachmod/

http://www.ss64.com/bash/chmod.html

these links may help explain this for you...
chmod allows you to change the permissions, but beware, if you move a critical file, then bye bye install...
have fun...