diff -r 2b7b203e3909 Lib/distutils/tests/test_archive_util.py
--- a/Lib/distutils/tests/test_archive_util.py	Wed Jan 11 20:18:03 2017 +0200
+++ b/Lib/distutils/tests/test_archive_util.py	Thu Jan 12 13:05:20 2017 +0100
@@ -162,7 +162,9 @@
         # now create another tarball using `tar`
         tarball2 = os.path.join(tmpdir, 'archive2.tar.gz')
         tar_cmd = ['tar', '-cf', 'archive2.tar', 'dist']
-        gzip_cmd = ['gzip', '-f9', 'archive2.tar']
+        # Issue 29185: use separate command line options as gzip on Android
+        # API 24 understands '-f9' as the name of a file.
+        gzip_cmd = ['gzip', '-f', '-9', 'archive2.tar']
         old_dir = os.getcwd()
         os.chdir(tmpdir)
         try:
diff -r 2b7b203e3909 Lib/distutils/tests/test_file_util.py
--- a/Lib/distutils/tests/test_file_util.py	Wed Jan 11 20:18:03 2017 +0200
+++ b/Lib/distutils/tests/test_file_util.py	Thu Jan 12 13:05:20 2017 +0100
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 from distutils import log
 from distutils.tests import support
 from distutils.errors import DistutilsFileError
-from test.support import run_unittest
+from test.support import run_unittest, skip_unless_hardlink
 
 class FileUtilTestCase(support.TempdirManager, unittest.TestCase):
 
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@
                 fobj.write('spam eggs')
             move_file(self.source, self.target, verbose=0)
 
+    @skip_unless_hardlink
     def test_copy_file_hard_link(self):
         with open(self.source, 'w') as f:
             f.write('some content')
diff -r 2b7b203e3909 Lib/test/support/__init__.py
--- a/Lib/test/support/__init__.py	Wed Jan 11 20:18:03 2017 +0200
+++ b/Lib/test/support/__init__.py	Thu Jan 12 13:05:20 2017 +0100
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@
     "requires_IEEE_754", "skip_unless_xattr", "requires_zlib",
     "anticipate_failure", "load_package_tests", "detect_api_mismatch",
     "check__all__", "requires_android_level", "requires_multiprocessing_queue",
+    "skip_unless_hardlink",
     # sys
     "is_jython", "is_android", "check_impl_detail", "unix_shell",
     "setswitchinterval", "android_not_root",
@@ -2241,27 +2242,33 @@
         return result
 
 
-_can_symlink = None
-def can_symlink():
-    global _can_symlink
-    if _can_symlink is not None:
-        return _can_symlink
-    symlink_path = TESTFN + "can_symlink"
+_can_link = { os.symlink: None, os.link: None }
+def can_link(func):
+    if _can_link[func] is not None:
+        return _can_link[func]
+    link_path = TESTFN + "can_link"
     try:
-        os.symlink(TESTFN, symlink_path)
+        func(TESTFN, link_path)
         can = True
     except (OSError, NotImplementedError, AttributeError):
         can = False
     else:
-        os.remove(symlink_path)
-    _can_symlink = can
+        os.remove(link_path)
+    _can_link[func] = can
     return can
 
+def _skip_unless_link(test, func, type):
+    ok = can_link(func)
+    msg = "Requires functional %slink implementation" % type
+    return test if ok else unittest.skip(msg)(test)
+
 def skip_unless_symlink(test):
     """Skip decorator for tests that require functional symlink"""
-    ok = can_symlink()
-    msg = "Requires functional symlink implementation"
-    return test if ok else unittest.skip(msg)(test)
+    return _skip_unless_link(test, os.symlink, 'sym')
+
+def skip_unless_hardlink(test):
+    """Skip decorator for tests that require functional hard link"""
+    return _skip_unless_link(test, os.link, 'hard ')
 
 _can_xattr = None
 def can_xattr():