Update has removed all my documents - help!

I would try the following:

Click on the Home Folder, that should bring up the file manager.
Now, choose 'filesystem'
Now, choose 'home'
Now, look and see how many directories there are under /home

maybe there are duplicate entries here? Two directories?

If there is only one directory, then look in that one under 'Documents'. If there are two directories, look in both.

Good Luck,

I hope this helps.

p.s. there are other ways to retrieve your data if it has been lost, but I'm thinking that you are missing a link to it somehow.

Thanks Angus - did this, but there's nothing in any of the files! I am totally in a flat panic!

Do you have a number of partitions on your hard drive?

Where do you normally store your documents?

Hi there

Have just found another "home" folder...but I don't have permission to access this, apparently that's held by "root"? Sorry to be quite so blonde but I was using Ubuntu because I was told it was simple...and my head feels like it's spinning out of control now!

I don't have any partitions - I've been storing documents either on my hard drive in the documents and photographs folders, until I can take them off on a memory stick (which of course I didn't do on Friday because I was short of time) or on my desktop - again, didn't move them because I was short of time.

I've bought a separate hard drive "server" on which to store larger things, but haven't had a chance to get that installed yet

Can't bear the thought that I've lost everything that I was working on last month! Aaagh!

I presume that you've tried rebooting?

I guess that when you are logging in, the screen looks the same and that your desktop environment has not changed?

If you click on the 'home' button and view the folder, what drives do you see on the left hand side? Are any of them greyed out? If they are, try clicking on them one by one.

I would wait for someone more knowlegable to answer your query if none of the above works.

There are files stored in the 'lost+found' directory, perhaps, but you need root access to see what is in this folder, and you will probably have to use a terminal type environment to do further probing. I don't think you have lost your documents, there is hope.

Sorry I haven't able to help you further.

Why not just use your backups?

Try also running:

find $HOME | less

Do you see your files? (Use Q to exit the pager and cursor up and down to scroll)

Thanks so much for trying, Angus - unfortunately I haven't backed up for
two weeks, so am in a bit of a predicament (BIG understatement!).

The screen doesn't look the same - the update has removed all the icons
from my desktop, and the wallpaper behind it.

I hope you are right that the documents haven't gone...otherwise I don't
know WHAT I'm going to do!!!

On 28 August 2012 13:31, Angus Kerr <email address hidden>wrote:

> Your question #207032 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/207032
>
> Angus Kerr posted a new comment:
> I presume that you've tried rebooting?
>
> I guess that when you are logging in, the screen looks the same and that
> your desktop environment has not changed?
>
> If you click on the 'home' button and view the folder, what drives do
> you see on the left hand side? Are any of them greyed out? If they are,
> try clicking on them one by one.
>
> I would wait for someone more knowlegable to answer your query if none
> of the above works.
>
> There are files stored in the 'lost+found' directory, perhaps, but you
> need root access to see what is in this folder, and you will probably
> have to use a terminal type environment to do further probing. I don't
> think you have lost your documents, there is hope.
>
> Sorry I haven't able to help you further.
>
> --
> You received this question notification because you asked the question.
>

Open a terminal and type: sudo nautilus
You will then be able to explore your whole hard drive, but be careful as you now have privileges to mess up anything.

Because I don't have any for the past few weeks - have been flat out on an
Olympics project, working 18 hour days, and didn't do them...no excuses, I
know, but I really need the stuff I was working on last week!

On 28 August 2012 13:36, actionparsnip <<email address hidden>
> wrote:

> Your question #207032 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/207032
>
> Status: Open => Needs information
>
> actionparsnip requested more information:
> Why not just use your backups?
>
> --
> To answer this request for more information, you can either reply to
> this email or enter your reply at the following page:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/207032
>
> You received this question notification because you asked the question.
>

Also, in case of disaster, there is 'photorec' which can recover lost files.

Thanks so much for getting back to me.

Andrew, do you mean I should type Home into the box alongside Dash Home? This just takes me to the Home folders which are all empty - documents AND photographs.

Emmanuel, when you say "open a terminal", what do you mean? Sorry to be so dense, but I'm a PR consultant...this is new to me!

Does my command show the files?

Use gksudo for nautilus, not sudo

Ctrl Alt T should open a terminal

As Emmanuel says :)

I'm really sorry if I'm being dim, but no, Andrew - the command shows just the folders...without any files in them.

Can now open a terminal (thanks!) but not getting anywhere with a search....

Is there any way I can just "undo" the upgrades that I put in place last Friday?

You can see what upgrades you did by opening the 'Ubuntu Software Center' and looking for 'History'.

Also, have you tried to type: 'sudo nautilus' in a terminal?

Rona,

Listen to what Emmanuel is saying.

Just type Ctrl-Alt-T, all at once, and you should see a black text window pop up. That is the terminal.

When we talk about a command, we mean you type <whatever>, and then 'Enter', and then the computer will execute the command.

From what you are saying, it looks like another home folder has been created (maybe on another partition), and it's now default.

if you, from the terminal, enter 'sudo nautilus, and <Enter>', then you will get a browser screen pop up with root (i.e. super user) privileges, and you should then be able to view everything on your computer.

Thank you - I've done this and this is what I get back!

sudo: unable to change to sudoers gid: Operation not permitted
sudo: setresuid() [0, 0, 0] -> [119, -1, -1]: Operation not permitted

Is there no way I can just "restore" to a point before the changes were installed?

REALLY sorry to be a pain: I promise you I'm not a total techno-wasteland, just VERY frustrated!

If you boot to live CD, is the data readable

If you reboot, is there only one option on the startup screen? or is there a selection of previous kernels to use?

If there are a few, try to choose the one that was active before the upgrades.

Otherwise, a good suggestion is to boot from a live cd and try to then use that to browse the contents of your hard disk.

Also, running from a live cd (i.e. the install cd), you will be able to run 'sudo nautilus' in order to check out what's on your hard drive.

Could you try to go to 'Systems settings' -> 'UserAccounts' and tell us what you see there?

As others have rightly suggested, you should be able to access your data by booting from the install CD / DVD. You will have to choose the 'Try Ubuntu' option (NOT the 'install' one.) Then you will be able to copy all your data to your external drive before reinstalling.
And we can help you do that so let us know.

System settings "User Accounts" just has me as an administrator - I'll have to check with my husband as he's the person who set up the system to get the live CD so I can try the "boot from a live CD" option.

If I reboot the system, it just comes straight back to the login window for my account - no separate kernels or anything untoward, but once I log in, it's wiped everything off the screen that was there before.

Is there no "system restore" action possible on Ubuntu, as you have with Windows, where you can go back to a previous set of settings and restore the system so that you can find the files?

Just after you turn the computer on, do you not get a 'grub' menu?

Before it starts booting into Ubuntu.

No, there is no 'system restore' on Ubuntu.

It's strange that you can't use 'sudo' with an 'administrator' account so there must some configuration issues there. Anyways, when you'll have the live cd, you should be able to find and back up your data on your external drive.

Thanks so much guys - working with the live cd this morning I managed to find and backed up the data - you are superstars! I can breathe easily again!!! Many thanks.

Backup everything you hold dear once a week, or more if the data changes a lot. It will save your ass more than once

I usually do - it's typical that this was the one occasion when I hadn't! Thanks so much for your help yesterday.

You're welcome! ;)

I'm so glad you managed to find your data!