1

I am forced to re-install ubuntu because upgrading from 14.04 to 16.04 gave me problems.

However, I would like to save my files in my home directory first before proceeding with re-install.

using "Try ubuntu", I do not see my files unlike the suggestions made by many here. I was able to download nautilus, etc but I cannot find home/my_name.

Any suggestions? I am a bit desperate, it's been a long day.

Edit: I was able to access gparted. I found my home directory. Can I just connect a hard drive and copy this directory into that hard drive so I can save my home files? Will that override all my files in my external hard drive?

user1237300
  • 237

1 Answers1

0

If you can find your /home partition, you can try mounting it:

sudo mkdir /rescue    
sudo mount /dev/sdax/ /rescue

Replace sdax with your /home partition. If you run into permission problems, you can try giving yourself full permissions with:

sudo chmod -R 766 /rescue

Please keep in mind that this will give all group and non-group members full permissions (except execute) as well. You should change these after your rescue is done.

If you can't access /home through your file manager or you can't change the permissions, you can try using chroot to get into the damaged system. Boot up a live disk, then run the following:

sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
sudo chroot /mnt

Replace sda1 with your root partition.

This should give you command line access to the damaged install, and you should be able to access your /home directory.

circo
  • 116