Copied files only show up in Avast! antivirus

[mgolden]

Running Slacko Puppy Linux v5.7 (non-PAE)

My desktop computer has a 2 terabyte Seagate hard drive divided evenly into sda1 and sda2.

sda1 is formatted ext2 and holds the full install of Puppy.

sda2 is formatted fat32

A few weeks ago I was working on someone's Windows computer and connected the hard drive to my Puppy machine using one of those USB to SATA adapter cables to save the personal files before doing a format and re-install of Windows 7.

I thought I had sucessfully copied the files using ROX-Filer to the fat32 partition on my Puppy computer but later when I went back to retrieve the files there is not a single file showing up on the partition.

Thinking Dave Null was now in posession of the files I didn't think any more about it until today when I was doing a full scan of my system using Avast! antivirus. Lo and behold Avast! was scanning those missing files.

Gparted says there's 400 something megabytes on the partition.

Does anyone have any idea how I can access the files short of removing the drive and attaching it to a Windows computer?

[p310don]

They're not in a hidden folder?

[mgolden]

I've tried toggling the Show / Hide option in ROX-Filer to no avail.

The folder is named /mnt/sda2/Rob Roberts

Yes, there is a space in the name. Could that be the problem?

[musher0]

I've tried toggling the Show / Hide option in ROX-Filer to no avail.

The folder is named /mnt/sda2/Rob Roberts

Yes, there is a space in the name. Could that be the problem?

Hello, mgolden

It shouldn't, but maybe. Linux systems have been able to interpret
filename spaces correctly for awhile now.

What does

Code: Select all

rox  "/mnt/sda2/Rob Roberts"

(with the quotation marks)
show?

Else, try renaming the "Rob Roberts" folder to "Rob_Roberts"?

Other thoughts:
BTW, Show/Hide in rox is used to show or hide hidden files or folders, i.e.
the files and folders with a . before them. For example: /root/.config.

Are you sure your 2nd drive is formatted in vfat?
Check by typing in a console:

Code: Select all

df -T | grep "t/s"

That's "t/s", again with the quotation marks. The file type for all your
drives will be in the 2nd column. An ntfs partition will have "ntfs" or "fuse"
as the label for the type.

The problem you are describing is more likely to happen with a ntfs-
formatted drive. (Any Linux needs the ntfs-3g utility installed to access
the files on a ntfs drive. Otherwise they remain hidden, I mean really
hidden, the system does not see them.)

Keep us posted? BFN.

musher0

[jafadmin]

I suspect that if you navigate to:

/ , then ..

/mnt , then,

/sda2

you will find them.


Possible a false mount point was created on your boot partition, and everything went in there.

[bigpup]

You are running Slacko as root?
Not running as Spot or Fido?

Check the (folder) directory permissions.

Right click on it and select properties.

Under permissions. Should see most if not all selected.

[Sylvander]

A few weeks ago I was working on someone's Windows computer and connected the hard drive to my Puppy machine using one of those USB to SATA adapter cables to save the personal files before doing a format and re-install of Windows 7.

I thought I had sucessfully copied the files using ROX-Filer to the fat32 partition on my Puppy computer but later when I went back to retrieve the files there is not a single file showing up on the partition.

a. If you ran Windows on your machine [when you ran the Windows installation disk]...
Windows would automatically mount ALL [non-Linux=Windows] partitions, and also it would probably scan&fix the "Partition File System" [PFS].
This may have altered the PFS such that Windows can now access the PFS, but Linux cannot.

b. Perhaps you should:
b1. Clone your problem HDD, then...
b2. Use Puppy->GParted to "Check" [scan&fix] the problem partition [on the cloned HDD].
If this fails to fix the PFS so Linux can use it, use...
b3. [Something like] "FalconFour's UBCD->MiniXP->DiskCheck".

[mikeb]

refresh rox? its one of its party tricks.

Since avast sees them and puppy has lost them I would think looking with windows was a good idea.

If avast is seeing them playing with the partition settings seems a little extreme

mike

[mgolden]

> What does
>

Code: Select all

rox  "/mnt/sda2/Rob Roberts"

> (with the quotation marks)
> show?

Wow. The folder opened!

> Else, try renaming the "Rob Roberts" folder to "Rob_Roberts"?

I clicked the up arrow in ROX-Filer and was able to rename "Rob Roberts" to "Rob_Roberts".

Then after about 30 seconds, the folder disappeared.

> Are you sure your 2nd drive is formatted in vfat?
> Check by typing in a console:
>

Code: Select all

df -T | grep "t/s"

Confirmed. The drive is vfat.

Oh, cute. Now the

Code: Select all

rox  "/mnt/sda2/Rob_Roberts"

gives me "File doesn't exist, or I can't access it: /mnt/sda2/Rob_Roberts".

I've got to leave for work but I'll get back with you this evening.

[Burn_IT]

As Mike says, Avast could not see the files if they weren't there and indexed (as in fs entries).
Therefore it must be a hiccup in the file manager not listing them.

[mikeb]

Actually my penny had just dropped.

SATA connectors are a pile of modern crap.
this is exactly the symptoms i get when they are being flaky... and you are using an external adapter which exacerbate the problem.

That's it really..not system but hardware failing.

mike

[Burn_IT]

SATA connectors are a pile of modern crap

Agreed!
Just how they got past a standards committee is a puzzle, unless it was greed!!

[jafadmin]

I/ll say this in a different way ...

First unmount sda2

then open a console and type: cd /mnt/sda2

then type: ls -al

does your folder show up?

If so, you have a messed up mount point for sda2, and all your files are now on sda1 under the /mnt/sda2 bogus mount point.

I don't know how else to explain it. I've had this happen in puppy before.

You'll need to copy the files out of there then delete them out of that mount point.

[mikeb]

I don't know how else to explain it. I've had this happen in puppy before.

apart from files disappearing the other effect of crappy SATA connections is that the device reappears under another node (name)...you get the same effect with an iffy usb flash memory stick.

mike

[jafadmin]

I don't know how else to explain it. I've had this happen in puppy before.

apart from files disappearing the other effect of crappy SATA connections is that the device reappears under another node (name)...you get the same effect with an iffy usb flash memory stick.

mike

I haven't had that experience yet, but I have had the one where I copied stuff into /mnt/sda2 and had it wind up in the mount point rather than the partition.

When that happens, trying to remount /dev/sda2 to /mnt/sda2 tosses an error about /mnt/sda2 not being empty.

[mgolden]

> First unmount sda2

Done

> then open a console and type: cd /mnt/sda2
> then type: ls -al
> does your folder show up?

Yes

> If so, you have a messed up mount point for sda2, and all your files
> are now on sda1 under the /mnt/sda2 bogus mount point.
> I don't know how else to explain it. I've had this happen in puppy before.
>
> You'll need to copy the files out of there then delete them out of that
> mount point.

Very good! I've managed to copy the Rob_Roberts folder to /my-documents/Rob_Roberts

Now I'll be able to burn them to DVD, which was my original intent.

Thanks everyone for your help!!!

[mikeb]

I don't know how else to explain it. I've had this happen in puppy before

could be related to the /mnt/home link generation just a guess...something worth getting rid of/improving.

mike