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I accidently moved my /usr/bin/ folder to Downloads using the following command.

sudo mv /usr/bin/ Downloads/

I saw a similar problem like this here

But that doesnot work, because I don't have access to my terminal. Any idea how to solve this?

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  • @cocomac i got to tty but I cannot login, there is no response after I type my username
    – Abhilekh Gautam
    May 20, 2022 at 15:48
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    @vanadium not because I cannot access my terminal.
    – Abhilekh Gautam
    May 20, 2022 at 15:59
  • Then post a different question: how to access my terminal. Anyhow, if the system is broke, then boot from a live system. You will then need to mount your system drive to move the misplaced directory back, supplying the appropriate paths.
    – vanadium
    May 20, 2022 at 16:00
  • Remember that your bin path changed, if you try to reach terminal through your gui you have to adjust the path and profile preferences, where custom command resolves to .../Downloads/.../bash
    – user986805
    May 21, 2022 at 5:56

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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The gist is simple. Boot a live USB, mount the system partition, and fix it. Now, here's how to actually do it:

  1. Make a live USB. Directions are here (go to the section titled "Creating a Ubuntu LiveCD" and do that) if you don't know how. If you don't already have a live USB (a.k.a. the installation USB stick) you will need to make one from a different machine.
  2. Boot to the live USB, and do "Try Ubuntu"
  3. Open a terminal - I don't use Ubuntu much anymore, so maybe someone else can edit in the name of the terminal app on Ubuntu)
  4. Identify the main system partition. I'll use /dev/sda1 as my example, but use the correct one for you. You can identify it with lsblk (run that in the terminal).
  5. Mount the system partition somewhere (e.g., /mnt). Do sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt.
  6. Double-check that ls /mnt contains the root direcory of your main OS. If it doesn't, find out where you messed up and fix it
  7. Do sudo mv /mnt/home/[you]/Downloads/bin /mnt/usr. Replace [you] with your username on your real system. Done!
  8. Do sudo umount /mnt to unmount your system partition
  9. Do sudo shutdown now to turn off the live USB, unplug it, and when you turn your computer on again, it should work
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