URGENT: help recovering lost data

Question

I have made a directory: sudo mkdir /ssd, the directory was supposed to be mounted to a raid array called md3. This was done by adding /dev/md3 /ssd auto defaults 0 0 to fstab. Then after a while where I had used the directory, I realized that I had forgotten to run sudo mount -a - and then I did, and now the data is gone. I tried to uncomment the line in fstab and run sudo mount -a but that didn't get back my data. What can I do!?

CONTENT OF FSTAB:

proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
none /dev/pts devpts gid=5,mode=620 0 0
/dev/md/0 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/md/1 /boot ext3 defaults 0 0
/dev/md/2 / ext4 defaults 0 0
/dev/md3  /ssd  auto   defaults  0 0

platforms · Accepted Answer · 2012-11-30T03:52:45.840

3

Unmount that filesystem and the files should be right where you left them.

First, type sudo umount /ssd, making sure that you are not currently working in that directory, to avoid "Directory in use" errors.

Then move the files in that directory to a safe place.

Finally, remount your filesystem with sudo mount -a.

edited Nov 30 '12 at 03:52

answered Nov 30 '12 at 03:38

platforms

1,118
10
23

What exactly do you mean by unmount? Should I run something like: sudo umount /dev/md3 ? – Niels Kristian Nov 30 '12 at 03:38
First, please copy and paste the output of `mount` (without the `-a` switch) so I can see exactly what you're talking about. – platforms Nov 30 '12 at 03:42
Okay done, see my update :-) – Niels Kristian Nov 30 '12 at 03:44
You probably just mounted a filesystem at the same mount point that your files are in. They were likely just obscured when you mounted the filesystem with `mount -a`. – platforms Nov 30 '12 at 03:44
Okay, but then what command should I use to get them back? I'm a little afraid of doing something wrong here – Niels Kristian Nov 30 '12 at 03:45
Right - so, just try `sudo umount /ssd` and your files should be there in `/ssd`. – platforms Nov 30 '12 at 03:46
Then move the files to a safe place and run `sudo mount -a` again to remount the filesystem to `/ssd`. – platforms Nov 30 '12 at 03:46
Okay cool, When I try to write the command it says: umount: /ssd: device is busy. (In some cases useful info about processes that use the device is found by lsof(8) or fuser(1)) – Niels Kristian Nov 30 '12 at 03:48
See my edit to the answer. You need to make sure you aren't currently working in that directory, or it can't unmount it. So `cd` somewhere else first. – platforms Nov 30 '12 at 03:53
Pyhh yes found it - thanks!!!!!! You saved my night! – Niels Kristian Nov 30 '12 at 03:56
What do you mean? – platforms Nov 30 '12 at 04:01
let us [continue this discussion in chat](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/6561/discussion-between-platforms-and-niels-kristian) – platforms Nov 30 '12 at 04:02

URGENT: help recovering lost data

1 Answers1