Are you using cp -ax *? Are you using the bash shell?
If so then hidden files, those starting with a dot, are not normally included when bash expands a pattern. You can turn this on and off by setting bash's 'dotglob' variable. Using the shopt command.
Instead of setting 'dotglob', because mostly you want it off, just include dot.files explicitly. cp .* should work.
Also, you say you are trying to copy over a partiition. Don't you want cp to recurse into directories? If so use the -r option. Also, you might find rsync better at doing this.
|