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Kubuntu 18.04, computer pre-configured with W10 but never used, booting straight into KU

  1. I tried various changes with Folder View (?) and Desktop (?) to understand the differences between the two.
  2. Unfinished with (1), I went on to delete some directories (youtube, soundcloud) and files (which where a few bytes big but showed no content on Kate) in the /home directory.
  3. When I opened dolphin I noticed that my directory, /home/xyz/MYCOMPLETESTUFF/ which I use to store all my files went missing. Other (default) directories are still there incl. content. E.g. /home/xyz/Videos, /home/xyz/Pictures, etc.
  4. Ages ago I had a sort of link created from MYCOMPLETESTUFF to a FolderView or Desktop for quick access.
  5. My directory has a size of over 50 GB, yet on the disk there's only about 3 GB of free space. So, I assume it must still be out there somewhere.

What is the likely cause of the disappearance of my directory? How do I retrieve the data?

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    Have you checked the trash? Sep 1, 2019 at 14:59
  • Yes, I did. Also, I searched for files and the directory using find and locate - to no avail.
    – One2Three
    Sep 1, 2019 at 16:34

1 Answer 1

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How do I retrieve the data?

You could use a graphical disk usage analyzer for finding directories that use most of the space. If you have that much stuff in this single directory and the folder has just been moved, you should find it pretty fast this way.

Here is an example from the App Baobab


Edit 1

Baobab will analyze the complete filesystem (or your home directory, if you told it.) So no matter what part of the filesystem your files are now in (if they are) baobab will find them.

Exception: Directores that your user account has no permission to read (which are only a handfull as far as I am concerned.)

So, what does that mean? - If your files are out there, you should be able to find them with a disk analyzer.


Hope, this helps tackeling your Problem. Good Luck!

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  • Do I risk overwriting my files by installing baobab?
    – One2Three
    Sep 1, 2019 at 18:32
  • No. It's unlikely that this scenario will happen. Baobab seems to be a linux version of WinDirStat.
    – zx485
    Sep 1, 2019 at 21:25
  • Baobab only reads your file structure and file sizes.
    – Hoschi-IT
    Sep 2, 2019 at 16:19
  • @Hosch-IT - I've installed Baobab on a different device. Created a directory the size equal to 10% of disc size. Moved that dir to 'trash' - Baobab detects dir. Then, deleted dir from' trash' - Baobab didn't detect dir. So, if my missing directory (MYCOMPLETESTUFF) is not in 'trash', Baobab doesn't help. Right?
    – One2Three
    Sep 2, 2019 at 20:03
  • @One2Three - added some Information to the post. Hope, it helps!
    – Hoschi-IT
    Sep 3, 2019 at 19:41

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