Revert "still not working, next try: remove symlinks first"

This reverts commit 62c5f949dc1e13ee0c2151f5ff98054a4bdcf767.
Revert "force symlinks to be created"

This reverts commit a6cc450077b663ced516a6530123cc6fbd95596c.
Revert "Revert "force symlinks to be created""

This reverts commit d3982b1c3b0d2beab0193a4ea5f4095bdae55c98.
Revert "Revert "still not working, next try: remove symlinks first""

This reverts commit ae40b54df23991fee86fe3d56a9e29209d02100f.
Revert "still not working, next try: remove symlinks first"

This reverts commit 62c5f949dc1e13ee0c2151f5ff98054a4bdcf767.
some reverts