[Tfug] Home folder

[Jim March]

On Thu, Jan 1, 2009 at 5:28 PM,  <arizray at comcast.net> wrote:
> I need some help in figuring out how to restore my home folder from a cd using a terminal session. I messed up the folder while trying to install a different OS on drive sdb. Ubuntu ver 8.10. I have my home files backed up (online) and can copy them to a cd. It would be better if I could restore them into the missing folder (/home) directly.
>

Ummm...what state is your system in now?  In other words, can you log
into a terminal session and cd your way over to /media/cdrom or
/media/cdrom0 and see your stuff?

If you can, then we can walk you through copying your stuff in.

Mind you, what I'd be more inclined to do at this point if I was new
to Linux and the command line would be to try and bring a GUI desktop
up first, before restoring data.

IF you're using an Ethernet-based internet connection, the following
should work:

Log in, and at the terminal line type:

sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop

That will get you the XFCE desktop, which is similar enough to Gnome
that you should feel comfortable enough to use GUI based tools to do
your restore.

To use XFCE instead of Gnome, boot it up and at the login prompt hit
the "sessions" button and change from a Gnome to XFCE session.  Then
log in normally.

Once Gnome is back and running, the same "session" command can switch
back to it.

I always make sure I have one complete spare desktop in place, either
XFCE or KDE, so that if Gnome blows itself up I can get to a GUI using
an alternate.  KDE will be more "alien" to a Gnome user than XFCE, and
XFCE is smaller.

If you're on a laptop, bring it to Shooter's tonight, we'll try and sort it out.

Jim