how to recover deleted files

hello

i ve accidently deleted a folder with

rm -rf <folder name>

can i recover it?

From my knowledge, no.

But then I don't really know what linux is doing behind the scenes when files are removed with the rm command.

Take a look at this:

unrm

[My understanding is that rm does an 'unlink' on the files .. effectively forgetting they exist. rm itself doesn't actually overwrite files.]

You may also want to check out libtrash. I haven't tried it, and don't know how well it works. I will not help you with your present dilemma, though. It is supposed to create a recycle bin type of folder where things are moved to when they are deleted.

Thanks ogmoid for your post. What little I have seen on undeleting in Linux made me think that there was no easy way to do it. I think this project only applies to ext2 (and probably ext3) filesystems though.

In theory, it is possible to recover the data, since when you delete the file, all you delete are the inodes and stuff at the filesystem level, not the data itself. It's still there. You can use unrm or access your hd on windows and use Acronis Data Recovery on the linux partition. If the data is buried very deep in the magnetic multilayers of the HD, then you will have to use scanning microscopy to recover the data, and there are professional data-recovery companies that do so.

Originally posted by gd2shoe I think this project only applies to ext2 (and probably ext3) filesystems though.

Tried this with ext3 as an experiment, get just a complaint:
Checking device /dev/hdb2...is not an ext2 file system!
So I wouldnt bet on the ext3 compatibility.. (:

Originally posted by student04 From my knowledge, no. But then I don't really know what linux is doing behind the scenes when files are removed with the rm command.

Doesn't it just move the file to /dev/null/ ?

Originally posted by hari_seldon99 Doesn't it just move the file to /dev/null/ ?

Arrrrrrrgh.

I just got half way through explaining what really happens when something gets deleted. I glanced down, and saw that you already have a sound understanding of where the file goes to.

That... must have... been... a, joke?

<smack head on keyboard> <think about it for a minute> <repeat>

If you use ext2 then you're lucky.
If you're using ext3 then there's no easy (read: cheap) way of recovering data.

Originally posted by gd2shoe I will not help you with your present dilemma, though.

That's a typo, I believe. "I" should be "It", or? One typo changed the entire meaning... *cries* gd2shoe doesn''t like helping people *runs away*

If you use ext3 you can mount it as ext2 and lose the journaling abilities, then you may be able to use that tool.

Originally posted by realjustin If you use ext3 you can mount it as ext2 and lose the journaling abilities, then you may be able to use that tool.

No, it won't work. I tried that.

What happens at that point? Is there an error?

Can you post the message?

Cool

Originally posted by student04 That's a typo, I believe. "I" should be "It", or? One typo changed the entire meaning... *cries* gd2shoe doesn''t like helping people *runs away*

Yeah, you'd better run!

<sigh>

I almost always spell check my posts. The checker kinda misses that one though. You can feel free to have some lighthearted humor at my expense, just be aware that some others (even here at lq) are easier to offend.