3

I was using Ubuntu 14.04 when due to power interruption, my computer was shut down. On reboot, it was corrupted and I lost all my data.I want to reinstall Ubuntu again, is there any way,other than uninterrupted power supply, to make Ubuntu resistant to corruption of data,so that such things don't happen in future?

Improve this question
2
  • What is the exact error you saw when the "file system was corrupted and you lost all of your data"? It does seem unlikely that you would lose all of your data with a journaling file system due to power loss, journal filesystems are designed to handle exactly this kind of issue.
    – bain
    May 26, 2014 at 0:01
  • I saw- “error: no init found. Try passing init=bootarg” I was terrified to see this and since I didn't have access to internet that time, I thought first I should install windows and then install Ubuntu later on.During installation of windows I found that all my drives were corrupted and I had to "clean" my disk.After cleaning my disks with DISKPART,I installed windows.I want to use Ubuntu again.Therefore, I asked this question.
    – akshay
    May 26, 2014 at 4:45

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
5

and I lost all my data

This to me seems to show a lack of understanding operating systems. You erased all your data when installing a new operating system over the current one. If you wanted to save it I assume you could have with a live dvd. We will never know but only if your hard disc actually died and got replaced you loose your data. Besides that: if you had installed without formatting most of your personal data would have been there after installing. Maybe there would be a file that was damaged (but that probably only happens if it was written to disc at the moment of the power failure).

to make Ubuntu resistant to corruption of data

You might use another filesystem than ext. Both btrfs and ZFS claim "protection against data corruption" but I am not sure if the do a better job than ext. Journaling systems do not have a habit losing data, killing your system beyond repair. The biggest risk is your hard disc itself. That can have a malfunction (like broken heads).

The best method to prevent data loss is and has always been to backup important files.

Improve this answer
1
  • 2
    Well said @Rinzwind, especially since default ext versions are journalised file-systems the odds of losing all data approach nil.
    – Elder Geek
    May 25, 2014 at 17:22
2

The least expensive way to prevent significant data loss is indeed regular backups and/or off site backups. Another way to protect against data loss due to disk failure is to run a fault tolerant disk configuration such as RAID 1 (A simple disk mirroring configuration.) or RAID 5 (This is a more common configuration for servers requiring large high performance data storage systems that is minimally impacted by loss of a single disk.).

As power failure seems to be your prime concern, a UPS would definitely be your best solution. Combined with regular backups you can drop your risk of data loss significantly. Note that there is virtually nothing an OS or even the hardware can do to prevent incomplete data writes (Which can cause corrupted files.) to the hard drive due to power failure on it's own, support of a UPS that allows the system to complete it's task before powering down is required.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .