Bug 701032 - Warn the user before removing data
Summary: Warn the user before removing data
Keywords:
Status: CLOSED DUPLICATE of bug 629311
Alias: None
Product: Fedora
Classification: Fedora
Component: anaconda
Version: 15
Hardware: All
OS: Linux
unspecified
high
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Anaconda Maintenance Team
QA Contact: Fedora Extras Quality Assurance
URL:
Whiteboard:
Depends On:
Blocks:
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2011-04-30 13:28 UTC by Zeeshan Ali
Modified: 2016-09-20 01:41 UTC (History)
5 users (show)

Fixed In Version:
Doc Type: Bug Fix
Doc Text:
Clone Of:
Environment:
Last Closed: 2011-05-02 18:36:40 UTC
Type: ---
Embargoed:


Attachments (Terms of Use)

Description Zeeshan Ali 2011-04-30 13:28:08 UTC
When installing F15, one is given the choice of 'Custom' filesystem layout. I chose that and was given a nice UI to choose the partitions for differnt mount points. I specifically chose *not* to format the partition I chose as my root (/). I was warned about the fact that swap partitions will be formatted and I will loose all my data, though that hardly ever is an issue for anyone but I was not warned at all that root partition will be complete cleaned-up of all content. However, after the installation finished (with a weird error that I can't remember now) everything in root partition I had was simply gone. I lost ALL my data.

I know it was partly my fault but a warning could have saved me.

Comment 1 David Lehman 2011-05-02 18:36:40 UTC
In the final release of F15 it will not be possible to reuse your root filesystem -- you will be required to reformat it or use a different device. See bug 629311.

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 629311 ***

Comment 2 Steve Tyler 2011-05-02 18:46:49 UTC
If the partition was not formatted, you might still have files there. You could try booting from the installer disc in rescue mode and mounting the partition to look at it.

Comment 3 Zeeshan Ali 2011-05-02 18:53:51 UTC
No, they really were removed.

Comment 4 David Lehman 2011-05-02 22:07:43 UTC
Is this a live install? If so, yes, your selected root device will be completely overwritten. With non-live media the root device would not have been cleared, but much of it would have been overwritten.

Comment 5 Zeeshan Ali 2011-05-02 22:13:18 UTC
(In reply to comment #4)
> Is this a live install? If so, yes, your selected root device will be
> completely overwritten. With non-live media the root device would not have been
> cleared, but much of it would have been overwritten.

Yes. Please note that all I am saying is that there must be a warning for this, not that this is wrong.

Comment 6 Steve Tyler 2011-05-03 01:53:29 UTC
(In reply to comment #5)
> (In reply to comment #4)
> > Is this a live install? If so, yes, your selected root device will be
> > completely overwritten. With non-live media the root device would not have been
> > cleared, but much of it would have been overwritten.
> 
> Yes. Please note that all I am saying is that there must be a warning for this,
> not that this is wrong.

Yes, indeed. There should always be a warning before this. It must be painful to lose your data like that.
Why not join with us:
http://fedoraproject.org/
We are all people ...

Comment 7 Steve Tyler 2011-05-03 10:37:20 UTC
Easily reproduced in a VM.
Reinstalled with the F15-Beta Live CD onto:

/dev/sda1: /boot
/dev/sda2: LVM
           vg_foo
              lv_root: /
              lv_swap

Custom layout, no formatting.

Test files on lv_root were overwritten.
/boot (/dev/sda1) was not overwritten, however.

Discovered this bug:

The file system is not resized to match the size of the the LV (lv_root).

"lvs" shows lv_root is 9.56g, but "df -h" shows 2.2G.
Verified with "tune2fs -l /dev/mapper/vg_foo-lv_root".

Comment 8 Steve Tyler 2011-05-03 16:17:52 UTC
(In reply to comment #7)
... 
> Discovered this bug:
> The file system is not resized to match the size of the the LV (lv_root).
...

If you were installing to a logical volume, this bug could mean that some of your data might be recoverable ...

Comment 9 Zeeshan Ali 2011-05-03 16:21:26 UTC
(In reply to comment #8)
> (In reply to comment #7)
> ... 
> > Discovered this bug:
> > The file system is not resized to match the size of the the LV (lv_root).
> ...
> 
> If you were installing to a logical volume, this bug could mean that some of
> your data might be recoverable ...

Unfortunately, I was not. :(

Comment 10 Steve Tyler 2011-05-03 17:40:34 UTC
I see you are a developer, so here is the way I reproduced this bug:
1. Install from the DVD image to the VM disc image and boot from it.
2. Create test files in /boot, /home, /etc.
3. Boot from the F15 Beta Live CD image and install to the VM disc image
   without formatting any partitions:
   $ qemu-kvm -m 1024 -cdrom Fedora-15-Beta-x86_64-Live-Desktop.iso -hda ../f15-test1.img -boot menu=on
4. Boot from the installed image and look for the test files.

BTW, in the future, when opening bugs, please fill in the form as provided. As it was, you did not provide a crucial piece of information: that you were installing from the Live CD. That would go into the form something like this:

Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):
F15 Beta Live CD x86_64 Desktop
or
Fedora-15-Beta-x86_64-Live-Desktop.iso


Note You need to log in before you can comment on or make changes to this bug.