diff --git a/install.ps1 b/install.ps1
index 2165680f..5ba1d7ae 100644
--- a/install.ps1
+++ b/install.ps1
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 
     $ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
     $defaultInstallUrl = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Abdess/retrobios/main/install.py"
-    $defaultInstallSha256 = "007fffece97716aa9e1ed0606a8453f2da8a1262711aa68ca910673956b2b341"
+    $defaultInstallSha256 = "df46e48289c89c5c542095b01c16208ef54696df472685c99327e5022fcd7ab8"
     $maximumInstallerBytes = 2MB
     $installerExit = 0
     $installer = if ($PSScriptRoot) { Join-Path $PSScriptRoot "install.py" } else { $null }
diff --git a/install.py b/install.py
index 406d7f8d..cba224d1 100644
--- a/install.py
+++ b/install.py
@@ -3538,7 +3538,9 @@ def do_standalone_copies(
 
     Returns (copied, skipped, failed): skipped is a target directory that
     does not exist, failed a copy the system refused (permission, disk
-    full, read-only mount), which used to be counted as "dir not found".
+    full, read-only mount) or a name leading out of the folder, which used
+    to be counted as "dir not found". A link already at a file's name is
+    replaced by the file, never written through.
     Each failure is also appended to failures, by absolute path, for the
     summary to name.
     """
@@ -3603,14 +3605,23 @@ def do_standalone_copies(
             resolved_dir = target_dir.resolve()
             for src in sources:
                 dest = target_dir / src.name
-                # A symlink already sitting at the destination would redirect
-                # the write outside the directory the user opted into, and a
-                # crafted source name would climb out of it.
-                if dest.is_symlink() or not _within(dest, resolved_dir):
-                    skipped += 1
+                linked = dest.is_symlink()
+                # A crafted source name would climb out of the directory.
+                if not linked and not _within(dest, resolved_dir):
+                    print(f"  ERROR: {dest}: {OUTSIDE_TARGET}")
+                    failed += 1
+                    if failures is not None:
+                        failures.append((str(dest), OUTSIDE_TARGET))
                     continue
                 try:
-                    shutil.copy2(src, dest)
+                    if linked:
+                        # Writing through a link already at the name would
+                        # leave the folder the user opted into. The link
+                        # itself gives way to the file.
+                        _replace_with_copy(src, dest)
+                        print(f"  {dest}: link replaced by the file")
+                    else:
+                        shutil.copy2(src, dest)
                     copied += 1
                 except OSError as exc:
                     print(f"  ERROR: {dest}: {exc.strerror or exc}")
@@ -3623,6 +3634,22 @@ def do_standalone_copies(
     return copied, skipped, failed
 
 
+OUTSIDE_TARGET = "name leads outside the emulator folder"
+
+
+def _replace_with_copy(src: Path, dest: Path) -> None:
+    """Put a copy of src at dest's name without following what is there."""
+    fd, scratch = tempfile.mkstemp(dir=dest.parent, prefix=f".{dest.name}.", suffix=".part")
+    os.close(fd)
+    try:
+        shutil.copy2(src, scratch)
+        os.replace(scratch, dest)
+    except OSError:
+        if os.path.lexists(scratch):
+            os.unlink(scratch)
+        raise
+
+
 def format_size(n: int) -> str:
     """Human-readable file size."""
     if n < 1024:
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index 00463b67..de28778f 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ esac
 TEMP_INSTALLER=""
 TEMP_DIRECTORY=""
 DEFAULT_INSTALL_URL="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Abdess/retrobios/main/install.py"
-DEFAULT_INSTALL_SHA256="007fffece97716aa9e1ed0606a8453f2da8a1262711aa68ca910673956b2b341"
+DEFAULT_INSTALL_SHA256="df46e48289c89c5c542095b01c16208ef54696df472685c99327e5022fcd7ab8"
 MAX_INSTALLER_BYTES=2097152
 
 cleanup() {
diff --git a/tests/test_install.py b/tests/test_install.py
index a70ef8da..c1753935 100644
--- a/tests/test_install.py
+++ b/tests/test_install.py
@@ -1608,6 +1608,9 @@ class TestStandaloneCopyTargetsAreUntrusted(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertIsInstance(install._validate_manifest(manifest, "retroarch"), dict)
 
     def test_symlinked_destination_is_not_written_through(self):
+        """A link at the name was skipped in silence and counted as "dir
+        not found" while the folder existed: the emulator kept whatever the
+        link pointed at. The link now gives way to the file."""
         bios = Path(_tempdir(self))
         (bios / "boot.bin").write_text("rom")
         target = Path(_tempdir(self))
@@ -1615,12 +1618,17 @@ class TestStandaloneCopyTargetsAreUntrusted(unittest.TestCase):
         outside.write_text("untouched")
         (target / "boot.bin").symlink_to(outside)
 
-        copied, skipped, _ = install.do_standalone_copies(
-            self._manifest(str(target)), bios, "linux"
-        )
-        self.assertEqual(copied, 0)
-        self.assertEqual(skipped, 1)
+        out = io.StringIO()
+        with contextlib.redirect_stdout(out):
+            copied, skipped, failed = install.do_standalone_copies(
+                self._manifest(str(target)), bios, "linux"
+            )
+        self.assertEqual((copied, skipped, failed), (1, 0, 0))
         self.assertEqual(outside.read_text(), "untouched")
+        self.assertFalse((target / "boot.bin").is_symlink())
+        self.assertEqual((target / "boot.bin").read_text(), "rom")
+        self.assertIn("link replaced", out.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual(sorted(p.name for p in target.iterdir()), ["boot.bin"])
 
 
 @unittest.skipUnless(shutil.which("pwsh"), "pwsh not available")
diff --git a/wiki/installer.md b/wiki/installer.md
index d736822d..862571ed 100644
--- a/wiki/installer.md
+++ b/wiki/installer.md
@@ -404,9 +404,10 @@ run rather than a file to copy.
 
 Targets are per OS, WSL falling back to the Linux ones. A directory that does
 not exist is skipped rather than created, so nothing is copied for an emulator
-that is not installed. A destination that is already a symbolic link is skipped
-too: the copy leaves the tree the user opted into, and a link there would
-redirect the write somewhere else again.
+that is not installed. A destination that is already a symbolic link is
+replaced by the file rather than written through: a write through the link
+would land outside the folder the user opted into. The summary counts each
+copy as copied, skipped (folder absent) or failed, and names every failure.
 
 ## Android
 
@@ -478,8 +479,8 @@ user's own layout, and EmuDeck links `bios/shadps4/sys_modules` into shadPS4's
 data directory where the emulator actually reads it. The boundary is lexical,
 not a resolved-path comparison, which is what keeps that case working.
 Standalone copies are stricter, since they write outside the tree the user
-selected: a symlink already sitting at the destination is skipped rather than
-followed.
+selected: a symlink already sitting at the destination is replaced by the
+file rather than followed.
 
 ## Changing the installer