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My system is a dual boot, windows 8 (Originally windows 7, if it matters)/Ubuntu.

The other day, I shrunk my Windows partition, to extend my linux partition. It's not the first time I've done it, but it's the first time I've had any issues. I shrunk windows using EaseUS Partition master, that went with no problem. I booted a live CD to extend my Linux partition, it all seemed like it was working, then all of a sudden it froze. Here's where I think I messed up. I thought I had to restart my system.

When it booted back up, I was met with the grub rescue command line, had no idea what I was doing, so I googled it. I ran the commands I found on google to try and boot my linux back up, didn't work. I booted into the Live CD, and tried a grub repair. Restarted my laptop once again, was met with a different grub screen (Grub version 1.99).

No clue what I was doing, tried the commands again- They kept telling me file not found, then that I needed to load a Kernel. Well, I tried changing the commands I used, and successfully booted into windows.

I booted from the live CD again, and tried to mount the Ubuntu partition. It was practically empty. There was only random system folders/files (One was the Initrd.img file or whatever, that I needed for Grub booting- so not sure why it said the file wasn't found) But all my user data was GONE.

Is there any way I can rescue my data? Or even my system maybe? Any help would be greatly appreciated, sorry for the verbose explanation.

Braiam
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Rudi
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2 Answers2

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Try taking a look at how to recover partition data.

If this doesn't work there are other methods of file recovery as noted in this post.

Community
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jmunsch
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Always backup your important data, especially before doing any risky stuff like partitioning.

I am no expert, but it seems to me that by rebooting the system, you interrupted the partitioning process. So I think your Linux partition is corrupted. There are a few things you can do:

1) Try to fix your partition with command-line utility called fsck. I've used this tool in the past to repair corrupted partitions. Keep in mind that some data may get lost in the process. So you might want to make an image of your corrupted partition before proceeding. Once the partition is fixed, Linux might still not boot, but you can at least copy your data using a Live CD.

2) Use GParted to attempt a data rescue. To do this, run GParted from a Live CD (e.g. PartedMagick) and go to Device > Attempt Data Rescue. I've personally never tried this option.

Serrano Pereira
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  • How exactly do I make an image of an ext4 partition? I tried to do it with a few utilities I found online, but each one failed to load properly. Is there a way to make a partition image with my 12.04 LiveCD? – Rudi Dec 07 '13 at 02:06
  • @user222541: Did you look for existing questions on this website? I'm pretty sure this is a common question. For example see question 2724. – Serrano Pereira Dec 08 '13 at 19:41