Why the hell? Formatting at installation beginning?

[marty_oc]

First of all, I have to say, that I usually read "readme's."

Since LinuxMCE says it's being built on Kubuntu, I did not expect any major differences.

But tell me, why the hell the installer after choosing drive for installing formats it? OMG WHY?
Thank you, developers, for loosing my photos archive of 2007.


And now, if I can ask for help - can anyone help me restoring my data before I try it for myself?
Before LinuxMCE I had on my 80GB ATA drive one partition with NTFS and Windows.



Sorry for the tone of this post, but I am quite upset. I promise I will read manual every next time, even with a new PC mouse.

[rrambo]

First of all, I have to say, that I usually read "readme's."

Since LinuxMCE says it's being built on Kubuntu, I did not expect any major differences.

But tell me, why the hell the installer after choosing drive for installing formats it? OMG WHY?
Thank you, developers, for loosing my photos archive of 2007.


And now, if I can ask for help - can anyone help me restoring my data before I try it for myself?
Before LinuxMCE I had on my 80GB ATA drive one partition with NTFS and Windows.



Sorry for the tone of this post, but I am quite upset. I promise I will read manual every next time, even with a new PC mouse.

Sorry, but the instructions specifically state the the DVD installer will wipe an existing hard drive.  And that's what it does... The DVD install is not your typical install which takes forever and a day..  It's basically copying an image of an existing working install onto your hard drive..

[rrambo]

Look at the VERY first line:
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/DVD_Installation

[danielk]

Some warning text has been added in svn for the 0710 release:

WARNING :
 This will delete everything on all partitions of your hard drive
 the data is not recoverable

[posterberg]

I am sorry for your loss.

I am not certain how much of a 80 GB disk that gets overwritten on a DVD install, I'd guess about 10 GB's.

The pictures that might have been located on the same physical area on the harddrive won't be recoverable. Sorry...

The rest of the pictures should be possible to restore. I am not entirely certain on how much writing on the disk the formatting process actually does but formatting does normally not erase much data.

So... Download the Linux Sleuthkit and let it harvest your disk. It will probably be a very time consuming process but I guess it will be worth it if it is a photo album...

There are other commercial softwares that can do this job a bit better, I am unfortunately not aware of the policy in the forum. If it is ok to "advertise" and the software I have in mind is quite expensive as well.

Go for the Sleuthkit, it does a great job. Or send the disk to a recovery company, might be worth the money...

The best of luck!!

[marty_oc]

Thanks for suggestions. I am trying free Drive Rescue,

Anyways, I still do not get the point why the installer does not allow you to select a partition to install to. Even needing to partition the disk by hand. I just don't get it.

[hari]

Thank you, developers, for loosing my photos archive of 2007.

if your data were worth a cent you would have had a backup. Even if the installer is not perfect you can't blame it for your data loss.

Btw, we are searching volunteers to improve the quick installer.

best regards,
Hari

[coley]

as rrambo said the DVD install extracts a working image to your HD
I feel your pain - I made the same mistake.
use the 2CD version of the installer - it takes longer but doesn't nuke your HD.

On the recovery of your existing data - it all depends on how far you let the install go and where your partition with your collection was located.

-Coley.

[lon22]

Thanks for suggestions. I am trying free Drive Rescue,

Anyways, I still do not get the point why the installer does not allow you to select a partition to install to. Even needing to partition the disk by hand. I just don't get it.

You might be able to use Active@ Partition Recovery Professional. It isn't free, but it has allowed me to recovery Windows XP partitions in the past without fail.

[dopey]

I'm sorry, but my God. I don't install any OS without checking what it removes; it's just a given. Think about it; it's an operating system, the very core of what runs the entire computer. Even Windows does this if you're not careful. You just need to check the documentation... If you install an OS on something and just assume your previous data is going to just be there when it's finished...

Yes, you are right. I wouldn't recommend this for general users yet as installation of hardware can be a pain and the UI needs some work, but certainly not for this reason!

You're definitely right about Linux and Java, Flash, and CoDecs. It's very annoying and usually has things to do with licenses and certain companies who own the applications just not caring. That said, I too love Linux and use it as my primary desktop... when I'm not working...

Many things in Windows/Linux/Mac/Solaris/etc. can't easily be undone. It's just the nature of the beast we call a computer.

[danielk]

Linux installers are actually traditionally better about not deleting your data on install than other operating systems. I've lost data with Windows and OS X installers. The OS X installer gives no warning and I remember being just as upset as Marty. Unfortunately, the LinuxMCE quick installer is not as sophisticated as state of the art Ubuntu LiveCD installer and adding the warning was on my personal blocker list for the upcoming 710 release. You can never tell people enough times that their data will be deleted.

Most people are not accustomed to installing operating systems, but they are accustomed to installing application software where it is generally safe to install first and read the README.FIRST!!! file later. I think it is like giving people the keys to a 25ft U-Haul, while most people will think, "Hey this isn't like my Miata, I wonder if there are any directions in the glove compartment?" But a few people will get in, drive down the road, and run over a stoplight on their first right turn. The extra warning message is like an etching on the windshield that says "WARNING: This truck requires you to make wide turns."

And honestly, all of us have had that "doh!" moment in our lives.

Marty, fortunately most image files have a unique header that allows disk recovery software to find them on disk. Good Luck!

[sk1]

Computers can't wipe our memories yet, but I'm sure Windows will do it first.

That, my friend, made me laugh.    // insert 'owe me a new keyboard' cliche here