diff --git a/test/test_ctatools.sh b/test/test_ctatools.sh
index edee9f8..acebe64 100755
--- a/test/test_ctatools.sh
+++ b/test/test_ctatools.sh
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ rm -rf *.fits *.log *.xml
 # Creates pfiles directory
 # ========================
 mkdir -p pfiles
-cp -r ../src/*/*.par pfiles/
+cp -ru ../src/*/*.par pfiles/
 export PFILES=pfiles
 
 #
diff --git a/test/test_python.py b/test/test_python.py
index 240ef36..bf4a70f 100755
--- a/test/test_python.py
+++ b/test/test_python.py
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
 		os.mkdir("pfiles")
 	except:
 		pass
-	os.system("cp -r ../src/*/*.par pfiles/")
+	os.system("cp -ru ../src/*/*.par pfiles/")
 	os.environ['PFILES'] = "pfiles"
 	
 	# Remove any existing result files