💾
How to recover files from a corrupt Linux partition
November 18, 2022
A few days ago, I encountered a strange issue with my Ubuntu/Windows dual-boot computer. After restarting, I noticed that my Linux partition had been corrupted and was now a “Sun” type partition. I was at a loss and wasn’t sure how to fully recover the partition's filesystem structure.
I decided to take a step back and try to recover my files instead. Here’s how I went about it:
-
I used the
dd
command to copy the corrupt partition onto an external SSD for recovery purposes. -
I then used
mke2fs
to search for superblocks backups within the partition (these are essentially scattered throughout the partition). -
I used
fsck -b
to attempt a recovery using a superblock backup.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t recover the full filesystem folder structure. But, after running fsck
, I noticed a ton of numbered folders appear in the ext4’s “Lost + Found” folder. I was able to search for folders from there and eventually locate the files I was looking for.
The biggest takeaway from this experience is to make partition table backups. For GPT, use gdisk --backup=backup.txt
to backup and gdisk --load-backup=backup.txt
to recover. This way, you’ll be able to restore your partition table in the event of a corrupt partition.
I’m glad I was able to recover my files and learn a few new commands along the way. Always remember to keep a backup of your partition table to avoid any potential data loss. 📁
💾 Update 2022-12-05: I've since written a blog post about partition table management here