Home folder empty and Login Screen loop

[Lite Potato]

After having rsync'd and deleted the original /home folder, I did not find the new copy. If Puppy Linux live CDs automatically mount fstab, this could have been the problem.

I am on the Linux Lite live DVD at the moment of posting this. Will its default settings work for copying over?

[LL-user]

Hi Lite Potato,

Welcome to the Forum!

Could you please explain a bit more detailed your situation/setup?

How I understand your post so far is that you booted up your computer with Puppy Linux and rsync'd your home folder. Where did you copy it to?

Now you've booted up the same computer with Linux Lite and want to rsync it back - although you can't find the copy?

If you provide more info it's easier to help

[Lite Potato]

I installed an ext3 partition for it on a separate HDD, and then I performed rsync while on LL, and, if I remember well, I booted Puppy and deleted only the contents of the OS partition's /home.

Here is the command used found at http://serverfault.com/a/505758:

Code:

rsync -avhW --no-compress --progress /src/ /dst/

[LL-user]

The rsync command is fine, copying the content of the folder src - not the folder itself due to the trailing / - to the folder dst.

The question is how and where was the separate HDD (portable?) installed/mounted?
Can you remember the actual command line you used (check history)?
Have there been any error messages while you run rsync?
Can you still see the ext3 partition? If yes, are there any files on there?
How did you search for the copy of your home folder?

Sorry to bombard you with all these questions. For me your description/ the situation is still quite vague. Still hard to come to any conclusion/ give any further advice.

[Lite Potato]

The question is how and where was the separate HDD (portable?) installed/mounted?

The device in question was an internal SATA HDD's logical sub-partition mounted as

Code:

/mnt/home2/

.

Can you remember the actual command line you used (check history)?

It might have been

Code:

rsync -avhW --no-compress --progress /home /mnt/home2

. About whether there were trailing slashes, I am uncertain.

Have there been any error messages while you run rsync?

No error messages appeared. Is there a chance of rsync having only simulated a transfer without my knowledge?

Can you still see the ext3 partition? If yes, are there any files on there?

The partition is existing, but empty (no hidden files either).

How did you search for the copy of your home folder?

I looked in the root of the new part, of course.

In Puppy, I also edited fstab and deleted the old home after, if that matters.

[LL-user]

Simulating the transfer via rsync is done by the flag -n or --dry-run.

Could you please post the output of

Code:

sudo parted --list
df -hT
cat /etc/fstab
mount | grep ^/dev

Am I correct assuming you are not having a backup? And that you didn't check for the transferred files before you deleted the original? Or did you see them at some stage?

Forgot to ask:
Was your home on a separate partition?
Is that the one you're referring to by editing fstab?
How exactly did you delete it?

[rokytnji]

Defaults for /home/username is usually in /etc/skel folder

Code:

harry@biker1:/etc/skel$ ls -a
.              .config    .gconf           .llupgradebackup  Templates
..             .dbus      .gimp-2.8        .local            .thumbnails
.adobe         Desktop    .gksu.lock       .macromedia       Videos
.asoundrc      .dmrc      .gstreamer-0.10  .mozilla          .Xauthority
.bash_history  Documents  .gtk-bookmarks   Music             .xscreensaver
.bashrc        Downloads  .gtkrc-2.0       Pictures          .xsession-errors
.cache         .fonts     .ICEauthority    Public

[Lite Potato]

Could you please post the output of

Code:

sudo parted --list
df -hT
cat /etc/fstab
mount | grep ^/dev

The lists:

Code:

Model: ATA ST380011A (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 80.0GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags:

Number  Start   End     Size    Type     File system  Flags
1      32.3kB  34.4GB  34.4GB  primary  ntfs
2      34.4GB  70.9GB  36.6GB  primary  ext3         boot
3      70.9GB  80.0GB  9081MB  primary  fat32        lba


Model: ATA WDC WD1200JD-00H (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 120GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags:

Number  Start   End     Size    Type      File system     Flags
1      2096kB  120GB   120GB   extended                  boot
5      2097kB  34.4GB  34.4GB  logical   linux-swap(v1)
6      34.4GB  120GB   85.7GB  logical   ntfs


Model: ATA WDC WD2500AAKS-0 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdc: 250GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags:

Number  Start   End    Size    Type      File system  Flags
1      1080kB  250GB  250GB   extended               lba
6      1081kB  233GB  233GB   logical   ntfs
5      233GB   250GB  17.2GB  logical   ext3

Code:

Filesystem     Type      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
udev           devtmpfs  2.4G     0  2.4G   0% /dev
tmpfs          tmpfs     496M  7.8M  489M   2% /run
/dev/shm       tmpfs    1002M  955M   48M  96% /cdrom
/dev/loop0     squashfs  910M  910M     0 100% /rofs
/cow           overlay   2.5G  546M  1.9G  23% /
tmpfs          tmpfs     2.5G   31M  2.4G   2% /dev/shm
tmpfs          tmpfs     5.0M  4.0K  5.0M   1% /run/lock
tmpfs          tmpfs     2.5G     0  2.5G   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
tmpfs          tmpfs     2.5G   12K  2.5G   1% /tmp
cgmfs          tmpfs     100K     0  100K   0% /run/cgmanager/fs
tmpfs          tmpfs     496M   52K  496M   1% /run/user/999
/dev/sdc6      fuseblk   217G  210G  7.7G  97% /media/linux/Miscellaneous
/dev/sda2      ext3       34G   15G   17G  48% /media/linux/Linux_Lite
/dev/sdc5      ext3       16G   45M   15G   1% /media/linux/LinuxHomePart

Code:

#[Partition] [Mount Point] [File System Type ("auto" is recommended)] [Options] [Dump (zero is recommended)] [File System Check Order (Linux Part.->1; all other->2)]
#[Operating System Disk]
    #Windows XP
    LABEL=HP_PAVILION /mnt/WinXP ntfs defaults,x-gvfs-show,x-gvfs-name=Windows%20XP,windows_names 0 2
    #Linux Lite
    LABEL=Linux_Lite / ext3 errors=remount-ro,x-gvfs-show,x-gvfs-name=Linux%20Lite 0 1
    #Windows Recovery
    LABEL=HP_RECOVERY /mnt/Recovery vfat ro,comment=x-gvfs-show 0 2
#[Temporary Disk]
    #Linux Swap
    UUID=f1a0ed12-b1e3-4b34-926f-cf5ed281cab8 none swap sw,x-gvfs-show 0 2
    #Temp. 2
    UUID=5084FA3363A07CE2 /mnt/Temp2 ntfs defaults,x-gvfs-show,windows_names 0 2
#[Miscellaneous]
    #Home (change from "/home2" to "/home" after Ubuntu re-install; add "#nodev,nosuid" to options)
    #LABEL=LinuxHomePart /home ext3 defaults 0 2
    #Misc.
    LABEL=Miscellaneous /mnt/Misc ntfs defaults,x-gvfs-show,windows_names 0 2
#Clips and Games
    #part=[param] /mnt/C&G auto defaults,x-gvfs-show 0 2
#Network
    #Remote
    #//[Server IP address or NetBIOS name]/[share folder]

Am I correct assuming you are not having a backup? And that you didn't check for the transferred files before you deleted the original? Or did you see them at some stage?

Forgot to ask:
Was your home on a separate partition?
Is that the one you're referring to by editing fstab?
How exactly did you delete it?

The only backup I had was unintentionally deleted;
the original /home was on the same partition as the system folders, but the new one wws not;
Yes, fstab appears to have done something with that folder;
and when home was assumedly copied in LL to the new part, I deleted the old folder in Puppy. Shortly following, both folders were possibly deleted in one instance.

[LL-user]

Thanks for the listings. Will have a look and come back to you.
Fstab is by itself NOT changing any data. It "only" defines how disk partitions/filesystems are mounted into the OS filesystem

NOTE: In case you would consider data recovery if the need arises, please do not boot from the disk in question, especially don't change any data on there. Only mount it - as read only - within another OS running, like the Puppy LiveCD.

[LL-user]

Hi again, Lite Potato

Please check whether I've put your puzzle pieces together correctly?

1. You have LL installed  on sda2 and had it booted

2. Its home folder resided on the same partition

3. sdc5 got mounted to /mnt/home2

4. You performed:

Code:

rsync -avhW --no-compress --progress /home /mnt/home2

without noticing any error messages

5. You booted up PuppyLiveCD and made the change in fstab and deleted /home on sda2

6. sdc5 is empty


A few more questions:

* How big was your original home folder?

* in your fstab I read this: "change from "/home2" to "/home""
- So you used this fstab entry to mount home2, didn't you?
- Did you use /home2 (as mentioned in fstab) or actually /mnt/home2?
-> You should still see the mount point in LL on sda2 if you haven't deleted it.
- Is this the fstab change you're referring to you have made via Puppy?

* Have you done anything more to your LL installation since you deleted your home folder than booting LL and trying to log in?
Specifically, did you write any data to it?


PS: As you're very familiar with all the technical background may I please encourage you for the next time you reach out for support to explain your issue similar to this list, indicating the general setup, connections (like between devices and mount points), chronological steps performed, and outcome. Rather give to much than little information. It will increase your chances for help dramatically and ensures the issue getting solved a lot faster