Recovering Files on the Central UNIX Servers

Description

If you accidentally erase a file, you can usually recover it yourself using the recover command on the composers. Files are backed up every night. You can recover a file that has been on the server for up to 6 months.

NOTE: This process will only recover files from the Central UNIX servers and will not recover e-mail from the Mirapoint UD e-mail system. If you need help to recover e-mail, please contact the the IT Help Center at 831-6000 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Or, you can submit a question through e-mail.

Where to Find the recover Command

recover is located in the /usr/bin directory. By default, you should be able to find this command; however, if you see the following message:

recover: Command not found

You may need to type /usr/bin/recover to run the program.

How to recover a File (not valid for e-mail)

NOTE: This process will only recover files from the Central UNIX servers and will not recover e-mail from the Mirapoint UD e-mail system. If you need help to recover e-mail, please contact the the IT Help Center at 831-6000 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Or, you can submit a question through e-mail.

1. Log in to one of the UNIX servers.

   If you are unsure what this means, see "Secure Shell Instructions" for help.

2. Change into the directory where the file used to reside. For example, if you want to recover a file that used to reside in a folder you created and named data, at the UNIX prompt, type

   cd data

   and press ENTER. You are now in your data directory.

3. Start the recover program. At the UNIX prompt, and while working in the directory in which the original file resided, type

   recover

   and press ENTER. It might take up to a minute for the "recover>" prompt to appear. It should look similar to

   

4. Get a list of files available to recover. At the "recover>" prompt, type

   ls -a

   and press ENTER. You will see a list of files. For example, if you are in the data directory, then these files will be the same names as your data folders.

5. Get the versions of the file you want to recover. At the "recover>" prompt, type

   versions filename

   replacing filename with the name of the file you wish to recover, then press ENTER. A list of various versions of the file stored on different dates appears. You should see a display similar to this one when looking for the versions of the folder class in the data directory:

   

   In this example, the most recent version of "class" saved on February 21, 2002 is the largest version with a size of 1584. The size of the file is displayed on the same line as the name of the file, right before the date.

If you see a program prompt that reads, "Display more versions of /home/usra/0c/03174/mail/______," press the Y key.

6. Select the correct version of the file you want to recover. Find the date just prior to the date on which your file disappeared. If the most recently backed-up version IS the version you want to recover, proceed to step 7 ("add").

   If, however, the most recently backed-up version IS NOT the one you want recovered, use the "changetime" command to indicate which date you want to recover. NOTE: Use the "save time:" not the creation date to determine what date and time to use with the "changetime" command. For the previous example, at the "recover>" prompt, type

   changetime feb 21 02:02 2002

   and press ENTER to enable recover to use the version saved on February 21 at 02:01:17. Note that this process may take a few minutes. Before you proceed to the next step, you must wait until the system displays the prompt, "Time changed to...."

   Also note that you need to go just past the "save time:" with the value you specify with "changetime".

7. Now add the file to create the list of files you want to recover. At the "recover>" prompt, type

   add filename

   replacing filename with the name of the file you want to recover and press ENTER. You can check to see that the correct files are selected by typing at the "recover>" prompt

   list

   and pressing ENTER. You should see the display similar to the following one:

   

   If you have more files to recover from the same "changetime", then go back to step 7, otherwise go back to step 6. Continue this process until all files have been added to the recover list.

   Other recover commands let you prepare to recover your file. For example, you can use relocate directoryname to recover a file into a different directory, or delete filename to remove a file from the recover list. To see a list of additional commands and a terse explanation of their function, at the "recover>" prompt, type

   help

   and press ENTER. You should see the display similar to the following one:

   

8. Recover your files. At the "recover>" prompt, type

   recover

   and press ENTER. After typing this command, it might take a LONG time (5-40 minutes) for the program to find the files and reload them.

9. Remember, if any files have the same name of the files you plan to recover rename it so that the recovered file does not replace the current one. When prompted, type 'R' to rename the file. This will create the file "filename.R" where "filename" is name of the file you requested to be recovered.

   For example, if you are recovering a data folder called "class" typing 'R' to rename it will create "class.R" as the recovered file.

10. Exit from the recover program. When the "recover>" prompt re-appears, your files should have been recovered and you can exit the command. Type

    quit

    at the "recover>" prompt, then press ENTER. The next sample screen displays the commands to recover the most recent versions of the files "class" and "read-mail" that are mail folders in "mail" directory.

    

More Help

If you need help quickly, you may call the IT Help Center at 831-6000 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Or, you can submit a question through e-mail.