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    #1

    Undelete files in an ext3 partition?

    Because I was stupid in how I named a couple files, I ended up deleting one I wanted to keep, and I was wondering if there was any way to undelete it? Using Adept Manager, all I could find were programs that said they could undelete files in ext2, not ext3, which is what all my partitions are.

    Ideally I want something that doesn't require me to compile a program, as I do have a partial hard copy of the contents of the document I deleted, and compiling programs is annoying enough to make it less annoying to attempt to reconstruct the rest of the file from memory.

    Anyone have any suggestions? I did double check my trash bin, but I have a habit of actually selecting Delete instead of Trash on things as I hate the extra step of emptying the trash for things I am absolutely sure I don't want anymore.

    Thanks in advance for any help.
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    #2
    Re: Undelete files in an ext3 partition?

    Tisket a tasket, put your deletes in the basket.

    The 'bad' news is, you can't:

    Q: How can I recover (undelete) deleted files from my ext3 partition?

    Actually, you can't! This is what one of the developers, Andreas Dilger, said about it:

    "In order to ensure that ext3 can safely resume an unlink after a crash, it actually zeros out the block pointers in the inode, whereas ext2 just marks these blocks as unused in the block bitmaps and marks the inode as "deleted" and leaves the block pointers alone.

    Your only hope is to "grep" for parts of your files that have been deleted and hope for the best."
    Windows no longer obstructs my view.
    Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
    "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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      #3
      Re: Undelete files in an ext3 partition?

      Or, maybe not!

      See this post.
      Windows no longer obstructs my view.
      Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
      "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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        #4
        Re: Undelete files in an ext3 partition?

        Well, I found Slueth Kit in Adept, so let's see if I can follow the directions without frelling things, though they're talking about *directories* and I only deleted one file I want to recover, and it wasn't part of a deleted directory. Any ideas if I'll have to amend any of their directions?
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          #5
          Re: Undelete files in an ext3 partition?

          Install (also in Adept) Autopsy, the graphical interface to SleuthKit. I just did (Sleuthkit has to be installed before Autopsy) and am going to play around with it. Got to love tools that let you 'do the impossible!'
          Windows no longer obstructs my view.
          Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
          "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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            #6
            Re: Undelete files in an ext3 partition?

            This may be a lifesaver for me as I deleted a good portion of my music collection. Unfortunately, the first dd command filled my hard drive and I am not sure whether it completed or not. I don't think so.
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              #7
              Re: Undelete files in an ext3 partition?

              This mainly applies to text files, so you can recover pieces of it. But what use a piece of a mp3 will have for you? Or a photo? Or any other binary file? Try to run a "less" on a program and see the results.
              Not being pessimist, but I'm afraid the developer knows what he is saying.
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                #8
                Re: Undelete files in an ext3 partition?

                I started trying to follow instructions, but I started getting errors. I haven't had the time to attempt to trouble shoot it yet, and as I'm currently stuck without functional vehicle at my dad's house without access to my own computer, I can't provide any information as to what errors I'm getting.

                I will get back to you guys on the topic once things settle down again, but I've pretty much given up on the file recovery at this point, I'll probably just retype what I have written down.

                Also, I so want to kill my father's computer. So many horrible things wrong with it that are driving me gorram nuts and the only solution I can think of involved a kubuntu install disk but my dad wouldn't know what to do with the computer and my brother's girlfriend would probably whine about not being able to install her stupid myspace messanger or whatever.
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                  #9
                  Re: Undelete files in an ext3 partition?

                  Originally posted by Death Kitten
                  Also, I so want to kill my father's computer.
                  <OT>
                  Provided the machine featured sufficient RAM, a multi-session capable live system like e.g. Puppy Linux could save both you from the Windoze torture and your family from getting in trouble in view of an operating system (sic!).
                  </OT>
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                    #10
                    Re: Undelete files in an ext3 partition?

                    I think the beast of a computer is way over due for a RAM upgrade. I've been meaning to build myself a custom kubuntu live disk though, maybe whenever my dad gets around to upgrading the RAM on the beast of a computer he has, I'll see about my custom live disk. Luckily I don't use his computer much, that day it was mostly just the icing on the cake as my car was being very very unhappy and her radiator was leaking too much for her own good.

                    Thankfully, the car seems to be in much better condition now.
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