ubuntu login failure after uninstalling protonvpn

Hi: After trying for hours to login to protonvpn using its app on ubuntu 20.04 (and not having internet access during that time) I decided to uninstall the protonvpn app, and start over. Big mistake.

I followed these instructions for uninstalling:

https://protonvpn.com/support/linux-ubuntu-vpn-setup/

"1. Uninstall the official app. To uninstall the official app:

sudo apt-get autoremove protonvpn Remove any leftover files:

rm -rf ~/.cache/protonvpn

And

rm -rf ~/.config/protonvpn"

Neither of the rm (remove) commands appeared to work: both received error messages -- the second of which was "permission denied."

So I added "sudo" before each command. After adding "sudo" to each rm command, there was no response to either command (just a new prompt), so they appeared to work.

However, afterward, I could no longer login to ubuntu. My ubuntu password was not recognized. (I think what I experienced was a "login loop" as described by others. When I entered my password after booting, the screen flashed, then returned to the login screen. I logged in again, same result.)

[My computer is a Lenovo T410, with Intel graphics. Not nVidia.]

I then tried to use recovery mode for two versions of ubuntu:

Linux 5.11.0-40-generic (recovery mode), and

Linux 5.11.0-38-generic (recovery mode)

Neither recovery worked. Both booted to brand new installs of ubuntu 20. While my ubuntu password now worked, when ubuntu opened, all my files were gone, and all my installed software was gone. (The screen read "Connect your online accounts," like a fresh install. There were no files.)

What happened? I was just trying to remove the protonvpn app which was preventing me from getting internet access. Instead, I ruined my whole installation and lost all my data.

I followed the protonvpn uninstall instructions, and lost everything. (Protonvpn support has not been helpful -- the representative said I must have "mistyped" the uninstall commands. I didn't.)

I would appreciate suggestions for recovering my ubuntu installation -- or just recovering my lost data. (How does uninstalling one app cause so much heartache?)

I hope I can get my data back. It must still be on my hard drive.

Thank you.

Try:

rm  /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/pvpn-ipv6leak-protection.nmconnection

Well there is nothing obviously going to cause chaos, in the commands you ran. My guess is something in an autostartup script, is expecting to call something that isn't there, and so its failing.

You should be able to fix that, by either finding the problem, or simply clearing out (and replacing) the skel files. Either of which can be done easily if you can get sudo access to the files.

That can normally be done, several ways. The easiest is to login at the console. This can normally be done, remotely, if you have ssh-server running, or depending on your login gui, you may be able to tell it to go to a text console. You may be able to login as root, if you set it to allow that.

Failing that, you should be able to go single user mode (see How do I boot into single-user mode from GRUB?)

The intention of recovery mode, is that it is a completely fresh OS, from which you can mount your original file system, and edit the files directly.

You ideally, need to find out what is failing and fix it. I'd start by grepping everything in your home directory for protonvpn. If in doubt, though, you may want to create a new user from the console, and login as them, which presumably won't have the same problem. Then if needs be you can go back to console and see the difference between the skel files the new user got created, and the ones your old user had.

Ideally, someone with direct protonvpn experience can help you, but I hope I've helped by outlining what I'd do.