UNIX users have long used symbolic or hard links to create a new reference to an existing file. Windows XP has a new function called fsutil which, among other interesting filesystem utilities, allows the creation of hard links on an NTFS volume. The referenced file behaves exactly like the original file.
To create a hard link of the file OLD.TXT in the current working directory to a new file called \TEMP\NEW.TXT, use the following command:
fsutil hardlink create \TEMP\NEW.TXT OLD.TXT
Note: the syntax is opposite that of the UNIX ln command.
Both OLD.TXT and NEW.TXT are references to the actual file on disk. Deleting the hard link (NEW.TXT) will only delete the link, not the original file. Deleting the original file (OLD.TXT) also will not delete the actual file as long as another hard link to the file exists.
