What to do about lost files

University of Wisconsin Madison

Computer Systems Lab CS1000

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What to do about lost files

   

The CSL performs disk backups on a daily and biweekly basis to safeguard against the accidental loss of files. The daily backups, called incrementals, are run in the evening every day and save the information that has changed since the last daily backup. The biweekly backups, known as epochs, save all information on the system and are our best protection against catastrophic failure. Files can be lost in several ways; some are easy to recover from, some are not. If you suspect a file is missing, you should act as soon as possible. Backup tapes are kept for one month. Consult the following table to figure out what to do when you lose a file.

 

Reason LostAction to Take
system crash while in vi Type vi -r filename (see the man page for vi).
system crash while in emacs Run emacs on the file; it automatically prompts for restoration.
accidental rm Restore file with the recover fetch filename if it existed at 12a.m. that day.
If the file was just created on the same day, it is gone. :(
If the file was removed more than a day ago, run the program restreq.
inexplicable loss Run the program restreq

In addition to daily and biweekly backups, the CSL archives a complete backup of each machine at end of each semester. These tapes are kept for one year before being recycled so it possible to have old class work restored. There is a fee for restoring work from previous semesters.

 


Caitlin Howell
Thu Jan 16 20:24:40 CST 1997