Need help recovering files after mounting new volume

Question

So I used the guide in this answer to mount a new volume to /var/www:

Allowing apache to access multiple volumes under AWS

However, after doing it, my /var/www appears to have been cleaned out. I know the files all still exist, because running a quick df shows no change in the disk usage in the original volume (/dev/xvda1). Where can I find these files? I really need to get them back.

I didn't do anything outside of the commands listed in the answer. There's a lost+found directory where the files were - could they be in there? — Fibericon, Sep 24 '13 at 01:59
Wow, I was about to slam my head on my desk. Please make that an answer so I can mark it as the correct one. — Fibericon, Sep 24 '13 at 02:03

score 6 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:14

6

Michael Hampton's answer is most correct, though I've posted about this before.

The easiest way of moving the files over to the new mountpoint is:

# cd /var/www
# vi /etc/fstab # (add the new disk to the fstab now so you don't forget!)
# mount /var/www
# mv * /var/www

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:14

Community

1

answered Sep 24 '13 at 02:05

MikeyB

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Evil genius, yes. Though it's not immediately clear there what's going on. – Michael Hampton Sep 24 '13 at 02:07
2

I like teaching a man to fish. – MikeyB Sep 24 '13 at 02:08

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 24 '13 at 02:05

4

Mounting a filesystem at a mount point hides any files that may be in that directory on the parent filesystem.

To resolve the issue, move your old files somewhere else temporarily and create a new empty directory to hold the mount point. Then move the files into the new filesystem.

sudo -i
mv /var/www /var/www.old
mkdir /var/www
mount /dev/xvd** /var/www
mv -v /var/www.old/* /var/www
rmdir /var/www.old

answered Sep 24 '13 at 02:05

Michael Hampton

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@MikeyB's answer is quite elegant in its own right, but this is a much more succinct explanation of the OP's issue. – jscott Sep 24 '13 at 02:14

Need help recovering files after mounting new volume

2 Answers2