Score:0

Disappearing files/folder

gp flag

I'm a UBUNTU newbie. I was transferring files from my UBUNTU 18.04 desktop to an external HD. I put the files/folders into a single folder on the desktop to be then copied and moved to another computer. There was an error message while I was transferring, I ignored it and recopied the files. Some of the files and folders (not all) have disappeared both on the "uncopied" folder on the UBUNTU desktop and on the copied folder on new computer. The files are not in the trash, not in recent, and don't turn up in search.

what can I do? Again, I'm a newbie. I've tried searching for solutions, but I don't understand a lot of what people say.

Thanks in advance!!!

Artur Meinild avatar
vn flag
Restore the files from a backup?
David avatar
cn flag
If you do not have a backup the files are gone.
almavague avatar
gp flag
Really? What would have happened?
Artur Meinild avatar
vn flag
If you had remember the error message and posted it here, someone would have a decent chance of guessing what might have happened...
almavague avatar
gp flag
I believe I clicked to send error report. Is there anyway to find what the error was?
in flag
Without knowing exactly what error you received (and ignored), it will be almost impossible to say what happened. It could have been a USB issue, a buffer issue, a copy to a bad location, a dirty write ...
almavague avatar
gp flag
So even if I moved the file from the desktop to a folder on the desktop (which is the case) the file could have been deleted?
Score:0
in flag

You can try to restore files that were successfuly copied on the external HD using testdisk / photorec.

As its name doesn't suggest, photorec can restore a bunch kind of files, not only pictures.

Perhaps also try to do a "file system check" on your external HD. If it is ext3 or ext4 formatted , the magic command will be e2fsck

almavague avatar
gp flag
The files are not on the HD, nor on the desktop. They just vanished, apparently in connection with an error message
almavague avatar
gp flag
To be clear, some of the files were transferred from the desktop to the desktop folder, others disappeared
almavague avatar
gp flag
do I just type the magic command into a terminal window?
Ludovic Lemarinel avatar
in flag
photorec allows to recover "accidentaly deleted" files. It is a command line app, with some good tutorials around it on the internet. There's no "one command fit them all", so you must learn it a bit. Also, just a tip : photorec will save "recovered files" on a disk; so be sure to use ANOTHER disk to avoid overwriting deleted files with recovered ones !
mondotofu avatar
cn flag
The semantics on how the Desktop folder's handled can be weird sometimes. Use one of the folders like Documents, Downloads, Pictures, for example or better yet create your own folder such as *Backup*
Score:0
gp flag

Just an update - I tried rebooting UBUNTU and the files showed up in the trash so I was able to save them. I'm quite lucky, I'll have to be more on top of backing things up in the future. Thanks to everyone for your help!

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