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Ubuntu 11.10 has faffed up on me, It wont let me get passed the login-screen ( i have been searching around online the last two days and none of the proposed solutions worked) as at this point I don't care to try to fix it

I have booted the liveusb and need access to my files so i can move them to an external drive, the issue is i cant move, for example, .thunderbird, as i don't have permission

so please, how can i get permission? as in how do i get to enter password so i can move my files

(please don't confuse what I am asking, as on other forums that i have googled, people keep saying that you are root in a livecd session, this completely misses the point, i need root privilege to move the files from the hard-drive, gksu nautilus doesn't give permission to move/copy files)

tinlyx
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Jayo
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2 Answers2

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IIRC root is root wherever you're logging in from, be that the CD, another installation or whatever.

If you're having issues, on the CD just load a root instance of nautilus (Alt+F2, gksu nautilus) and carry on.

If your filesystem has suffered some damage it might be mounting in read-only mode. If you're trying to move things, this won't work. So for the purposes of your backup only try to copy things.

Oli
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  • hi Oli, thank you for the reply, but no this doesnt work, and i also dont think the FS is damaged, only because it was a fresh install, it was an update that messed it up. anyway, you have answered the way i was trying to avoid, gksudo nautilus doesnt give permission for files that are on the HD which are password protected, so even though I am root on the live cd, i have not entered my passedword anywhere to have permission to move files or even copy files from the actual harddrive as ubuntu keeps reminding me. how can i enter a password to gain access? – Jayo Nov 27 '11 at 22:42
  • hang on, you could be right actually, i tried to copy a file that shouldnt be root protected, and it wouldn't copy, does this mean i could never recover those files – Jayo Nov 27 '11 at 22:50
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    its ok, i worked it out, i have to individually change the permissions in each file in the properties tab – Jayo Nov 27 '11 at 23:04
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In the commandline, type in the following

gksudo nautilus

Press enter and a folder will open, and as long as you're within it, you have root access to all your documents- including the one's on the hard drive.

Regards!

Mateo
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Melony
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