I have finally succeeded in getting TestDisk to rescue most of the files on a previously unavailable partition. This is an ext4 partition on a drive that also contained a healthy partition. The sick partition would sometimes mount and sometimes not. Even when mounted it would not show the files it contained. I worked on it for two weeks using a variety of tools including TestDisk and PhotoRec. For some reason this morning it showed me the file structure of the sick disk. I immediately found and copied the crucial file that had precipitated all of my efforts. So, I thought, why not copy all of the user's directory to another drive. This copy seemed to be working fine, but after a few hours the target drive ran out of space. Investigation revealed that the copy was creating an infinite loop of nested directories and files like this:
Home|Users|Barbara|Desktop|OldFiles|Documents|Barbara|Desktop|OldFiles|Documents|Barbara|Desktop...ad infinitum.
I would like to be able to break this loop so as to safely copy any remaining files in Barbara's home directory.
Infinite copy loop
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- Search for posts on the same topic before posting a new question.
- Give clear, specific information in the title of your post.
- Include as many details as you can, MOST POSTS WILL GET ONLY ONE OR TWO ANSWERS.
- Post a follow up with a "Thank you" or "This worked!"
- When you learn something, use that knowledge to HELP ANOTHER USER LATER.
Before posting, please read https://www.cgsecurity.org/testdisk.pdf
- cgrenier
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Re: Infinite copy loop
Use Ctrl-C to stop the copy.
Since March 2011, TestDisk uses some protections against directories creating an infinite loop. Try a more recent version.
Since March 2011, TestDisk uses some protections against directories creating an infinite loop. Try a more recent version.