diff -uNr rsnapshot-1.4.3/rsnapshot-program.pl rsnapshot-1.4.3.mod/rsnapshot-program.pl
--- rsnapshot-1.4.3/rsnapshot-program.pl	2019-11-17 03:57:50.000000000 +0200
+++ rsnapshot-1.4.3.mod/rsnapshot-program.pl	2020-01-04 15:09:32.625965909 +0200
@@ -2618,7 +2618,7 @@
 
 	# same as $interval_max, except for the previous interval.
 	# this is used to determine which of the previous snapshots to pull from
-	# e.g., cp -al alpha.$prev_interval_max/ beta.0/
+	# e.g., cp -a alpha.$prev_interval_max/ beta.0/
 	my $prev_interval_max;
 
 	# FIGURE OUT WHICH INTERVAL WE'RE RUNNING, AND HOW IT RELATES TO THE OTHERS
@@ -3347,7 +3347,7 @@
 # operates on directories in the given interval (it should be the lowest one)
 # deletes the highest numbered directory in the interval, and rotates the ones below it
 # if link_dest is enabled, .0 gets moved to .1
-# otherwise, we do cp -al .0 .1
+# otherwise, we do cp -a .0 .1
 #
 # if we encounter an error, this script will terminate the program with an error condition
 #
@@ -3492,7 +3492,7 @@
 		# otherwise, we hard link (except for directories, symlinks, and special files) sync to .0
 		else {
 
-			# cp -al .sync .0
+			# cp -a .sync .0
 
 			if (-d "$config_vars{'snapshot_root'}/.sync/") {
 				display_cp_al("$config_vars{'snapshot_root'}/.sync/", "$config_vars{'snapshot_root'}/$interval.0/");
@@ -4773,7 +4773,7 @@
 }
 
 # accepts src, dest
-# prints out the cp -al command that would be run, based on config file data
+# prints out the cp -a command that would be run, based on config file data
 sub display_cp_al {
 	my $src  = shift(@_);
 	my $dest = shift(@_);
@@ -4786,10 +4786,10 @@
 	if (!defined($dest)) { bail('dest not defined in display_cp_al()'); }
 
 	if (defined($config_vars{'cmd_cp'})) {
-		print_cmd("$config_vars{'cmd_cp'} -al $src $dest");
+		print_cmd("$config_vars{'cmd_cp'} -a $src $dest");
 	}
 	else {
-		print_cmd("native_cp_al(\"$src\", \"$dest\")");
+		print_cmd("cp -a $src $dest");
 	}
 }
 
@@ -4802,31 +4802,14 @@
 	my $dest   = shift(@_);
 	my $result = 0;
 
-	# use gnu cp if we have it
-	if (defined($config_vars{'cmd_cp'})) {
-		$result = gnu_cp_al("$src", "$dest");
-
-	}
-
-	# fall back to the built-in native perl replacement, followed by an rsync clean-up step
-	else {
-
-		# native cp -al
-		$result = native_cp_al("$src", "$dest");
-		if (1 != $result) {
-			return ($result);
-		}
-
-		# rsync clean-up
-		$result = rsync_cleanup_after_native_cp_al("$src", "$dest");
-	}
+	$result = gnu_cp_al("$src", "$dest");
 
 	return ($result);
 }
 
-# This is to test whether cp -al seems to work in a simple case
-# return 0  if cp -al succeeds
-# return 1  if cp -al fails
+# This is to test whether cp -a seems to work in a simple case
+# return 0  if cp -a succeeds
+# return 1  if cp -a fails
 # return -1 if something else failed - test inconclusive
 sub test_cp_al {
 	my $s = "$config_vars{'snapshot_root'}/cp_al1";
@@ -4836,7 +4819,7 @@
 	-d $s || mkdir($s) || return (-1);
 	open(TT1, ">>$s/tt1") || return (-1);
 	close(TT1) || return (-1);
-	$result = system($config_vars{'cmd_cp'}, '-al', "$s", "$d");
+	$result = system($config_vars{'cmd_cp'}, '-a', "$s", "$d");
 	if ($result != 0) {
 		return (1);
 	}
@@ -4870,12 +4853,17 @@
 	}
 
 	# make the system call to GNU cp
-	$result = system($config_vars{'cmd_cp'}, '-al', "$src", "$dest");
+	if (defined($config_vars{'cmd_cp'})) {
+		$result = system($config_vars{'cmd_cp'}, '-a', "$src", "$dest");
+	} else {
+		$result = system('cp', '-a', "$src", "$dest");
+	}
+
 	if ($result != 0) {
 		$status = $result >> 8;
-		print_err("$config_vars{'cmd_cp'} -al $src $dest failed (result $result, exit status $status).", 2);
+		print_err("$config_vars{'cmd_cp'} -a $src $dest failed (result $result, exit status $status).", 2);
 		if (test_cp_al() > 0) {
-			print_err("Perhaps your cp does not support -al options?", 2);
+			print_err("Perhaps your cp does not support -a option?", 2);
 		}
 		return (0);
 	}
@@ -4883,7 +4871,7 @@
 	return (1);
 }
 
-# This is a purpose built, native perl replacement for GNU "cp -al".
+# This is a purpose built, native perl replacement for GNU "cp -a".
 # However, it is not quite as good. it does not copy "special" files:
 # block, char, fifo, or sockets.
 # Never the less, it does do regular files, directories, and symlinks
@@ -6645,9 +6633,7 @@
 
 B<rsnapshot> saves much more disk space than you might imagine. The amount
 of space required is roughly the size of one full backup, plus a copy
-of each additional file that is changed. B<rsnapshot> makes extensive
-use of hard links, so if the file doesn't change, the next snapshot is
-simply a hard link to the exact same file.
+of each additional file that is changed.
 
 B<rsnapshot> will typically be invoked as root by a cron job, or series
 of cron jobs. It is possible, however, to run as any arbitrary user
@@ -6806,8 +6792,7 @@
 
 <snapshot_root>/alpha.{1,2,3,4} will all be rotated +1, if they exist.
 
-<snapshot_root>/alpha.0/ will be copied to <snapshot_root>/alpha.1/
-using hard links.
+<snapshot_root>/alpha.0/ will be copied to <snapshot_root>/alpha.1/.
 
 Each backup point (explained below) will then be rsynced to the
 corresponding directories in <snapshot_root>/alpha.0/
@@ -7204,9 +7189,7 @@
 rsnapshot will take the generated "mydatabase.sql" file and move it into the
 <snapshot_root>/<retain>.0/db_backup/ directory. On subsequent runs,
 rsnapshot checks the differences between the files created against the
-previous files. If the backup script generates the same output on the next
-run, the files will be hard linked against the previous ones, and no
-additional disk space will be taken up.
+previous files.
 
 =back
 
@@ -7389,7 +7372,7 @@
 =back
 
 This will call the rsnapshot-diff program, which will scan both directories
-looking for differences (based on hard links).
+looking for differences.
 
 B<rsnapshot sync>
 
