I repaired my JFS system with a Ubuntu LiveCD; no problem.

EDIT: @OP; put in a live cd, and see if the system identifies the FS. If it does, it is easily repairable.

DOUBLE EDIT: @themerovingian; he does not need to mount the partition to run a fsck. I just Googled it to make sure and the first relevant thing that came said you SHOULDN'T do that, although I did a CHKDSK on a live Windows system and didn't have any problems either.

I do hope you get your issue resolved. Sometimes backing up and reinstalling is a good choice; but at least try to fsck it. If it doesn't work, go with the route.

Even moreso, you should always backup your data. Anyways good luck and tells any advancements made.

1 members found this post helpful.

Thank you for the welcome, Eric. And I do apologize for the threadjacking. I'll go make a new one now.

Hi chaps,

Overwhelmed with help! Thank you so much.

Is the live CD the installation disc I originally created, or do I go to the Ubuntu website and create one from there?

Thanks for theadvice about the flash drive - I need to back up my photos and music properly anyway! Hence the external hard drive.

I will keep you all posted with progress.

Regards
Stuart

Hi Colin, Andrew,

Thank you so much for all of your help.

I made an up to date live CD from the Ubuntu website, got in and was able to copy most files from the home directory, but found that some were not available because I was not logged in.

I went back to the maintenance shell, and typed fsck - without the a/dev/sda5 - and got to the list of errors to force and got back into my proper log in. I was then able to copy all files not just some, including my evolution data. It has let me back in normally, but I think I will re-install anyway, just to be sure.

I still have no idea what caused the problem, and I don't really understand what I have done to repair it, but I am good at following instructions, and feel a lot more empowered to ask for help and to follow threads on the forum for my own education!

Many more thanks - should the winds of fate make our paths cross, I owe you both a pint.

Just out of interest and proper etiquette, should I now close this thread?

Regards

Stuart

Yes.

To note, often times an unclean restart can completely corrupt a whole file system.

I am glad you have gotten your issue resolved, and hope you will never encounter such problems again.

1 members found this post helpful.

Sorry - how do I close the thread?

Stuart

Well, you can't really close it, but you can mark it as solved, which is basically the same thing. It shows the moderators, administrators, and other readers that the issue has been resolved.

You can mark the thread as solved by scrolling up to the top of the page, clicking on Thread Tools, and clicking 'Mark thread as SOLVED.'

@ Stuart, good job getting it fixed correctly! While these issues are annoying, they are always a learning experience! I can't say that I like when my system doesn't work, but I can say that I learn more when I have to fix it than by just reading a book.

@Leopard, thanks for correcting me on the mounting issue. I would hate to give the wrong advice and have someone mess their system up worse! Good looking out man. Now I learned something too.