Ubuntu

Backing up data from a command line.

Asked by John Hulse

Hello,
 I am very new to Ubunto. I am ell versed in Windows 98-Windows 8. I forgot my password for Ubunto 8.04. It no longer boots to the Ubunto graphical log in for user name and password it boots to a command line asking for the user name and password. When I tried to boot into the recovery console I get an error message " MKDIR: cannot create directory /tmp. .x11-unix : to many links". Then it goes to the command prompt root@carlyn:~#. I basically need to copy my pictures and documents from this command line etc. to my external USB drive so I can reinstall and move on.
Thanks,
John

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

Why don't you have a backup? You pictures and documents are important....right? What if the drive IDE fails or similar and the drive fails to detecylt in BIOS, where is your data?

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John Hulse (traumajohn) said : 		#2

a little to little to late. I know that now and all my other pc's are backed up. Thanks for the reply.
John

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José Antonio Rey (jose) said : 		#3

Also, 8.04 is not supported anymore.

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John Hulse (traumajohn) said : 		#4

shouldn't the commands be the same for most versions?

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#5

Boot liveCD, mount partitions and copy data off. I suggest you reasses your backups. They are clearly not fit for purpose.

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John Hulse (traumajohn) said : 		#6

Thank you. Now I am real new to Ubunto. What is the command to use when I boot to liveCD to mount the partition and copy the data off?
John

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#7

The OS is call ed Ubuntu, not Ubunto.

The partition will be visible in Nautilus (the file manager). If you click it, it will mount

Again, get a better backup.

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John Hulse (traumajohn) said : 		#9

Ok I figured something out. It is probably harder then using commands. I installed a new version of Ubunto alongside the original installation. I went into do a back up and chose some folders while in that window I actually saw the data I needed, copied and pasted it Into my usb device. Case closed by my self