On 5/1/23 18:51, Maureen L Thomas wrote:
Unfortunately I cannot install anything. I used the command line and
the app but neither of them will work. I have no idea what to do next.
I used su and sudo first. It just keeps saying it cannot connect with
the base from which I get updates, etc. I used the reinstall on brasero
and it just said that it was up to date. I am so confused.
Repairing a damaged OS instance is tough; even when the damage mechanism
is known (deleting /var/log/, /var/tmp/ and /var/cores/). Recovery
requires a lot of expertise.
Other readers have posted long listings and ACL dumps of their
corresponding directories. Is this approach too advanced for you?
Do you have an image of your system disk taken before the disaster?
As Brasero is not working, I suggest that you get a large USB HDD and
back up onto that. Hopefully, your computer has a desktop environment
that displays an icon when the USB HDD is plugged in, you can use the
icon to mount the USB HDD file system, and you can back up with a file
manager via drag and drop. If this is not the case, try a root terminal
and suitable commands. Back up your home directory and any data
directories you have created. Be sure to unmount the USB HDD before you
unplug it.
If there are more user accounts on the system, you will want to log in
to each of those accounts and backup their home directory and data.
If you know how to take an image of the system drive and save it on the
USB HDD, do so. If not, now would be a good time to learn. Clonezilla
is the obvious choice:
https://clonezilla.org/
If you have access to another computer with a CD/DVD/BD burner, burning
archival optical discs would be a good idea.
The most direct path to a working Debian system is a fresh install onto
a zeroed drive. Next, install the applications you want. Then connect
the USB HDD, mount the file system, and restore your data. Restoring
application-specific data, such as a Thunderbird profile, may require
additional steps.
Please post if you need help with any of the above.
David
