Ubuntu

Changed all file permissions/ownerships to root

Asked by naschas

Hi everyone,

It seems like I have got myself into a huge problem. While following another thread on changing the ownership of a USB hard drive from root, I seem to have either changed the file permissions or ownerships of all the files on my system.

I would simply do a clean install, but I had backed up all the data on my USB hard drive to my PC to format the drive to NTFS. I changed all the permissions before copying them back onto the USB drive. I really do not want to lose all the data.

If its easier to mount the drive from recovery mode and copy the files I will do that, otherwise is there any way to undo the damage I have done?

Hope you can help, thanks in advance!

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

you will need to reapply suitable ownerships

you can use:

sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /mount/point

obviously, change /mount/point to wherever the partition is mounted, this will recursively set the ownership to the current user.

Revision history for this message
naschas (info-stringer) said : 		#2

Thanks for the response.

Maybe I didnt explain properly, I think all the files on my system have had their ownership changed, as I cannot even load a functioning desktop, just some errors then a desktop background.

Revision history for this message
midnightflash (midnightflash) said : 		#3

Please just try as actionparsnip suggests:

sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /home/$USER

(of course set "$USER" to your username)
Maybe you will have to boot into the recovery-mode if you cannot get into any other terminal.

Greetings

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#4

Gotcha, well all the files outside of your home are ownwed by root

here is the ownerships of /etc

total 1340
drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 2009-05-07 00:50 acpi
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2986 2008-10-29 21:42 adduser.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 64 2009-04-12 15:07 aliases
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 12288 2009-06-10 17:23 aliases.db
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-03-30 17:12 alsa
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 12288 2009-07-18 14:50 alternatives
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 395 2008-09-03 00:38 anacrontab
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-06-13 12:15 apache2
drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 4096 2008-10-29 21:47 apm
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-08 18:03 apparmor
drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 4096 2009-07-15 09:09 apparmor.d
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2009-06-27 13:29 apport
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2009-07-14 13:16 apt
-rw-r----- 1 root daemon 144 2008-07-10 16:02 at.deny
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-06 21:21 autoconf2.13
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-03-30 18:07 avahi
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1733 2008-05-12 19:49 bash.bashrc
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 226839 2009-02-05 08:02 bash_completion
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-07-14 13:19 bash_completion.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 332 2008-09-29 10:20 bindresvport.blacklist
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 348 2009-07-02 07:46 blkid.tab
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 348 2009-07-02 07:45 blkid.tab.old
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-19 08:22 bluetooth
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-02 12:14 bonobo-activation
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2008-10-29 21:41 ca-certificates
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 6282 2009-03-30 17:10 ca-certificates.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 6256 2009-03-30 14:37 ca-certificates.conf.dpkg-old
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-03-30 17:20 calendar
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 2009-06-27 21:45 clamav
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2008-10-29 21:46 ConsoleKit
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-09 06:06 console-setup
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-17 23:20 cron.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-27 13:30 cron.daily
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-02 18:34 cron.hourly
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-10 11:17 cron.monthly
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 724 2008-09-09 20:52 crontab
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-02 18:34 cron.weekly
drwxr-xr-x 4 root lp 4096 2009-06-29 13:43 cups
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 2009-07-14 08:16 dbus-1
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2969 2008-10-10 11:32 debconf.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4 2008-12-04 09:01 debian_version
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-07-17 07:41 default
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2009-06-18 21:01 defoma
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 600 2008-06-26 09:33 deluser.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-03-30 17:09 depmod.d
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2009-07-15 09:09 dhcp3
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-09 16:00 dictionaries-common
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-03-30 18:03 dkms
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-03 09:28 dm
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 20139 2009-04-05 23:01 dnsmasq.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-02-14 01:03 dnsmasq.d
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-03-31 09:54 doc-base
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-06-22 01:45 dpkg
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 34 2008-02-19 04:33 e2fsck.conf
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2008-10-29 21:44 emacs
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 79 2008-10-29 21:41 environment
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-03-30 18:03 esound
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-18 21:54 event.d
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2009-07-16 01:52 firefox-3.0
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2009-07-16 01:52 firefox-3.5
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2009-03-30 17:10 fonts
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2008-10-29 21:53 foomatic
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 603 2009-06-23 19:58 fstab
-rw------- 1 root root 603 2009-04-06 02:03 fstab.save
-rw-r----- 1 root fuse 216 2008-09-25 17:06 fuse.conf
drwx------ 2 root root 4096 2009-06-03 17:53 gadmin-proftpd
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2689 2008-03-26 17:44 gai.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-24 15:23 gamin
drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 2009-06-18 22:36 gconf
drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 2009-06-16 15:19 gdm
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 588 2008-07-04 09:10 GeoIP.conf.default
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-05-05 00:00 ggi
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-06-27 13:29 gnome
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-07-15 14:21 gnome-app-install
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-05-02 12:14 gnome-vfs-2.0
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10852 2007-04-28 03:27 gnome-vfs-mime-magic
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-07-18 14:50 gre.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-03-30 17:20 groff
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 950 2009-06-30 00:05 group
-rw------- 1 root root 967 2009-06-27 21:45 group-
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-03-30 17:20 grub.d
-rw-r----- 1 root shadow 786 2009-06-30 00:05 gshadow
-rw------- 1 root root 800 2009-06-27 21:45 gshadow-
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-17 10:28 gtk-2.0
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2008-10-29 21:47 hal
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4818 2009-04-22 15:12 hdparm.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 426 2009-04-24 01:00 hesiod.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 92 2008-08-08 18:53 host.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 11 2009-03-30 14:00 hostname
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 280 2009-06-30 10:10 hosts
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 579 2008-10-29 21:52 hosts.allow
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 878 2008-10-29 21:52 hosts.deny
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 211 2009-06-29 13:43 inetd.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-07-17 07:41 init.d
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 2009-04-17 10:27 initramfs-tools
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1723 2007-10-02 15:35 inputrc
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-03-30 17:20 iproute2
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 19 2009-04-13 10:33 issue
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 12 2009-04-13 10:33 issue.net
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 2009-07-14 13:21 java-6-openjdk
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-07 01:11 kbd
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-13 11:13 kde3
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 2009-03-30 15:41 kernel
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 167 2009-03-30 14:04 kernel-img.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-03-30 17:11 ldap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 90537 2009-07-18 14:50 ld.so.cache
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 34 2008-10-29 21:40 ld.so.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-09 10:45 ld.so.conf.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3587 2009-02-14 01:22 lftp.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 20 2008-05-03 02:29 libao.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-06-19 14:12 libpaper.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2570 2009-02-13 11:28 locale.alias
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3661 2009-06-19 15:17 localtime
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2009-06-27 21:45 logcheck
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10881 2009-03-17 13:56 login.defs
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 599 2008-10-09 08:12 logrotate.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-29 13:43 logrotate.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-09-16 13:53 lsb-base
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3820 2009-02-07 23:33 lsb-base-logging.sh
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 97 2009-04-13 10:25 lsb-release
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 15752 2008-12-10 17:43 ltrace.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 111 2008-07-11 11:24 magic
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 111 2008-07-11 11:24 magic.mime
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 24426 2009-07-18 14:50 mailcap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 449 2008-06-19 13:50 mailcap.order
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10 2009-04-23 15:44 mailname
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 5170 2009-03-19 10:18 manpath.config
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-16 15:43 menu
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-16 15:43 menu-methods
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 21373 2008-06-19 13:50 mime.types
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 803 2008-10-13 14:13 mke2fs.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-07 00:14 modprobe.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 208 2009-06-28 13:12 modules
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 2009-03-30 13:50 motd -> /var/run/motd
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 346 2008-10-29 21:41 motd.tail
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-05 00:00 mplayer
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 766 2009-07-18 15:28 mtab
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-07-14 13:19 mysql
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 7670 2009-03-30 11:27 nanorc
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2064 2006-11-23 19:33 netscsid.conf
drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 4096 2008-10-29 21:41 network
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 91 2008-08-08 18:53 networks
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 513 2008-10-29 21:55 nsswitch.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-18 21:23 obex-data-server
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-05 00:00 openal
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-07-14 13:19 openoffice
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-10-29 21:40 opt
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 552 2008-10-16 05:32 pam.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-29 13:43 pam.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-10-29 21:54 pango
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3 2009-03-30 14:02 papersize
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1855 2009-06-27 21:45 passwd
-rw------- 1 root root 1810 2009-06-16 14:13 passwd-
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-10-29 21:52 pcmcia
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 2008-10-29 21:54 perl
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 2008-10-29 21:47 pm
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-03-30 18:06 PolicyKit
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2009-06-27 21:45 ppp
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 22 2009-06-29 13:43 printcap -> /var/run/cups/printcap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 497 2009-04-13 17:07 profile
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-18 18:49 profile.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2626 2008-06-23 16:12 protocols
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-07-17 07:41 pulse
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-07-02 12:26 purple
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-10-29 21:42 python
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-05 21:09 python2.5
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-19 12:21 python2.6
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-23 21:15 qt3
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1018 2008-12-15 18:32 rarfiles.lst
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-30 00:05 rc0.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-07-02 16:51 rc1.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-07-02 16:51 rc2.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-07-02 16:51 rc3.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-07-02 16:51 rc4.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-07-02 16:51 rc5.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-30 00:05 rc6.d
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 306 2009-04-15 17:15 rc.local
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-28 13:12 rcS.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-21 08:16 readahead
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 373 2008-06-23 18:02 rearj.cfg
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2009-04-06 01:07 resolvconf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 72 2009-04-06 01:00 resolv.conf
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 268 2008-05-03 10:14 rmt
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 887 2008-06-23 16:12 rpc
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-03-30 18:03 samba
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-03-30 18:04 sane.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3663 2008-06-13 11:24 screenrc
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 23 2008-07-01 13:14 scrollkeeper.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 666 2009-03-27 08:40 scsi_id.config
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1347 2009-03-17 13:56 securetty
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-03-30 17:02 security
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 18480 2009-03-05 15:06 services
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-06-18 22:38 sgml
-rw-r----- 1 root shadow 1124 2009-06-27 21:45 shadow
-rw------- 1 root root 1124 2009-06-27 21:45 shadow-
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 181 2009-03-30 18:03 shells
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-23 17:25 skel
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-05-02 12:14 sound
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-03-30 18:19 ssh
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2009-06-25 20:21 ssl
-r--r----- 1 root root 557 2009-03-30 13:59 sudoers
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 19 2008-11-17 15:16 su-to-rootrc
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2732 2009-04-15 09:42 sysctl.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-07-18 14:50 sysctl.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-03-30 17:08 terminfo
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 14 2009-06-19 15:17 timezone
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-09 23:04 transmission-daemon
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 645 2008-02-08 16:36 ts.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1260 2008-05-30 07:22 ucf.conf
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-07-15 14:21 udev
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-04-03 18:31 ufw
drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 4096 2009-05-06 23:58 update-motd.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-03-27 08:42 update-notifier
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-05 00:00 vga
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-07-14 10:17 vlc
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4221 2008-07-25 08:40 wgetrc
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1343 2007-01-09 18:39 wodim.conf
drwxr-xr-x 9 root root 4096 2009-06-29 02:18 X11
drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 4096 2009-05-07 00:47 xdg
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-02 12:14 xml
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-06-13 10:30 xulrunner-1.9
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-07-18 14:50 xulrunner-1.9.1
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 461 2008-04-03 20:33 zsh_command_not_found

do you have similar?

you will need:

ls -l /etc

Revision history for this message
naschas (info-stringer) said : 		#5

ok thanks guys, I changed the permissionn of my home folder and /etc folder. I can now get back into my desktopn, only problems I see is no network connection and no sound. I am assuming there are other folders that need ownerships changed, any ideas?

Thanks again for your help!

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#6

Sounds like you need to change the stuff in /dev

total 0
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 14, 12 2009-07-19 14:44 adsp
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 14, 4 2009-07-19 14:44 audio
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 660 2009-07-19 14:44 block
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 60 2009-07-19 14:44 bus
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 3 2009-07-19 14:44 cdrom -> sr0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 3 2009-07-19 14:44 cdrw -> sr0
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 3180 2009-07-19 14:44 char
crw------- 1 root root 5, 1 2009-07-19 14:44 console
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 11 2009-07-19 14:44 core -> /proc/kcore
crw-rw---- 1 root root 10, 60 2009-07-19 14:44 cpu_dma_latency
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 100 2009-07-19 14:44 disk
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 14, 3 2009-07-19 14:44 dsp
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 3 2009-07-19 14:44 dvd -> sr0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 3 2009-07-19 14:44 dvdrw -> sr0
crw-rw---- 1 root root 10, 63 2009-07-19 14:44 ecryptfs
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 2009-07-19 14:44 fd -> /proc/self/fd
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1, 7 2009-07-19 14:44 full
crw-rw-rw-+ 1 root fuse 10, 229 2009-07-19 14:44 fuse
crw-rw---- 1 root root 251, 0 2009-07-19 14:44 hidraw0
crw-rw---- 1 root root 10, 228 2009-07-19 14:44 hpet
prw------- 1 root root 0 2009-07-19 14:44 initctl
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 260 2009-07-19 14:44 input
crw-r----- 1 root kmem 1, 2 2009-07-15 14:21 kmem
crw-rw---- 1 root root 1, 11 2009-07-19 14:44 kmsg
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 7, 0 2009-07-15 14:21 loop0
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 7, 1 2009-07-19 14:44 loop1
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 7, 2 2009-07-19 14:44 loop2
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 7, 3 2009-07-19 14:44 loop3
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 7, 4 2009-07-19 14:44 loop4
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 7, 5 2009-07-19 14:44 loop5
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 7, 6 2009-07-19 14:44 loop6
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 7, 7 2009-07-19 14:44 loop7
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 2009-07-19 14:44 MAKEDEV -> /sbin/MAKEDEV
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 60 2009-07-19 14:44 mapper
crw-r----- 1 root kmem 1, 1 2009-07-19 14:44 mem
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 14, 0 2009-07-19 14:44 mixer
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 60 2009-07-15 14:21 net
crw-rw---- 1 root root 10, 59 2009-07-19 14:44 network_latency
crw-rw---- 1 root root 10, 58 2009-07-19 14:44 network_throughput
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1, 3 2009-07-15 14:21 null
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 195, 0 2009-07-19 14:44 nvidia0
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 195, 255 2009-07-19 14:44 nvidiactl
crw-rw---- 1 root root 1, 12 2009-07-19 14:44 oldmem
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 60 2009-07-19 14:44 pktcdvd
crw-r----- 1 root kmem 1, 4 2009-07-19 14:44 port
crw------- 1 root root 108, 0 2009-07-15 14:21 ppp
crw-rw---- 1 root root 10, 1 2009-07-19 14:44 psaux
crw-rw-rw- 1 root tty 5, 2 2009-07-20 00:02 ptmx
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 0 2009-07-19 14:44 pts
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 0 2009-07-19 14:44 ram0
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 1 2009-07-19 14:44 ram1
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 10 2009-07-19 14:44 ram10
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 11 2009-07-19 14:44 ram11
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 12 2009-07-19 14:44 ram12
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 13 2009-07-19 14:44 ram13
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 14 2009-07-19 14:44 ram14
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 15 2009-07-19 14:44 ram15
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 2 2009-07-19 14:44 ram2
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 3 2009-07-19 14:44 ram3
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 4 2009-07-19 14:44 ram4
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 5 2009-07-19 14:44 ram5
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 6 2009-07-19 14:44 ram6
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 7 2009-07-19 14:44 ram7
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 8 2009-07-19 14:44 ram8
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 1, 9 2009-07-19 14:44 ram9
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1, 8 2009-07-19 14:44 random
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 4 2009-07-19 14:44 rtc -> rtc0
crw-rw---- 1 root root 254, 0 2009-07-19 14:44 rtc0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 3 2009-07-19 14:44 scd0 -> sr0
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 8, 0 2009-07-19 14:44 sda
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 8, 1 2009-07-19 14:44 sda1
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 8, 2 2009-07-19 14:44 sda2
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 8, 3 2009-07-19 14:44 sda3
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 8, 16 2009-07-19 14:44 sdb
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 8, 32 2009-07-19 14:44 sdc
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 14, 1 2009-07-19 14:44 sequencer
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 14, 8 2009-07-19 14:44 sequencer2
crw-rw----+ 1 root cdrom 21, 0 2009-07-19 14:44 sg0
crw-rw---- 1 root disk 21, 1 2009-07-19 14:44 sg1
crw-rw---- 1 root disk 21, 2 2009-07-19 14:44 sg2
crw-rw---- 1 root disk 21, 3 2009-07-19 14:44 sg3
drwxrwxrwt 2 root root 80 2009-07-19 23:26 shm
crw-rw---- 1 root root 10, 231 2009-07-19 14:44 snapshot
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 160 2009-07-19 14:44 snd
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 24 2009-07-19 14:44 sndstat -> /proc/asound/oss/sndstat
brw-rw----+ 1 root cdrom 11, 0 2009-07-19 14:44 sr0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 15 2009-07-19 14:44 stderr -> /proc/self/fd/2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 15 2009-07-19 14:44 stdin -> /proc/self/fd/0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 15 2009-07-19 14:44 stdout -> /proc/self/fd/1
crw-rw-rw- 1 root tty 5, 0 2009-07-19 20:41 tty
crw--w---- 1 root root 4, 0 2009-07-19 14:44 tty0
crw------- 1 root root 4, 1 2009-07-19 14:44 tty1
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 10 2009-07-19 14:44 tty10
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 11 2009-07-19 14:44 tty11
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 12 2009-07-19 14:44 tty12
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 13 2009-07-19 14:44 tty13
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 14 2009-07-19 14:44 tty14
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 15 2009-07-19 14:44 tty15
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 16 2009-07-19 14:44 tty16
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 17 2009-07-19 14:44 tty17
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 18 2009-07-19 14:44 tty18
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 19 2009-07-19 14:44 tty19
crw------- 1 root root 4, 2 2009-07-19 14:44 tty2
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 20 2009-07-19 14:44 tty20
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 21 2009-07-19 14:44 tty21
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 22 2009-07-19 14:44 tty22
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 23 2009-07-19 14:44 tty23
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 24 2009-07-19 14:44 tty24
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 25 2009-07-19 14:44 tty25
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 26 2009-07-19 14:44 tty26
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 27 2009-07-19 14:44 tty27
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 28 2009-07-19 14:44 tty28
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 29 2009-07-19 14:44 tty29
crw------- 1 root root 4, 3 2009-07-19 14:44 tty3
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 30 2009-07-19 14:44 tty30
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 31 2009-07-19 14:44 tty31
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 32 2009-07-19 14:44 tty32
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 33 2009-07-19 14:44 tty33
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 34 2009-07-19 14:44 tty34
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 35 2009-07-19 14:44 tty35
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 36 2009-07-19 14:44 tty36
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 37 2009-07-19 14:44 tty37
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 38 2009-07-19 14:44 tty38
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 39 2009-07-19 14:44 tty39
crw------- 1 root root 4, 4 2009-07-19 14:44 tty4
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 40 2009-07-19 14:44 tty40
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 41 2009-07-19 14:44 tty41
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 42 2009-07-19 14:44 tty42
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 43 2009-07-19 14:44 tty43
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 44 2009-07-19 14:44 tty44
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 45 2009-07-19 14:44 tty45
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 46 2009-07-19 14:44 tty46
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 47 2009-07-19 14:44 tty47
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 48 2009-07-19 14:44 tty48
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 49 2009-07-19 14:44 tty49
crw------- 1 root root 4, 5 2009-07-19 14:44 tty5
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 50 2009-07-19 14:44 tty50
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 51 2009-07-19 14:44 tty51
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 52 2009-07-19 14:44 tty52
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 53 2009-07-19 14:44 tty53
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 54 2009-07-19 14:44 tty54
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 55 2009-07-19 14:44 tty55
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 56 2009-07-19 14:44 tty56
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 57 2009-07-19 14:44 tty57
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 58 2009-07-19 14:44 tty58
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 59 2009-07-19 14:44 tty59
crw------- 1 root root 4, 6 2009-07-19 14:44 tty6
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 60 2009-07-19 14:44 tty60
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 61 2009-07-19 14:44 tty61
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 62 2009-07-19 14:44 tty62
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 63 2009-07-19 14:44 tty63
crw--w---- 1 root root 4, 7 2009-07-19 14:44 tty7
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 8 2009-07-19 14:44 tty8
crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 9 2009-07-19 14:44 tty9
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 4, 64 2009-07-19 14:44 ttyS0
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 4, 65 2009-07-19 14:44 ttyS1
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 4, 66 2009-07-19 14:44 ttyS2
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 4, 67 2009-07-19 14:44 ttyS3
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1, 9 2009-07-19 14:44 urandom
crw-rw---- 1 root root 252, 1 2009-07-19 14:44 usbdev1.1_ep00
crw-rw---- 1 root root 252, 0 2009-07-19 14:44 usbdev1.1_ep81
crw-rw---- 1 root root 252, 6 2009-07-19 14:44 usbdev1.4_ep00
crw-rw---- 1 root root 252, 4 2009-07-19 14:44 usbdev1.4_ep02
crw-rw---- 1 root root 252, 5 2009-07-19 14:44 usbdev1.4_ep82
crw-rw---- 1 root root 252, 3 2009-07-19 14:44 usbdev2.1_ep00
crw-rw---- 1 root root 252, 2 2009-07-19 14:44 usbdev2.1_ep81
crw-rw---- 1 root root 252, 8 2009-07-19 14:44 usbdev2.2_ep00
crw-rw---- 1 root root 252, 7 2009-07-19 14:44 usbdev2.2_ep81
crw-rw---- 1 root root 252, 14 2009-07-19 14:44 usbdev2.3_ep00
crw-rw---- 1 root root 252, 10 2009-07-19 14:44 usbdev2.3_ep02
crw-rw---- 1 root root 252, 12 2009-07-19 14:44 usbdev2.3_ep03
crw-rw---- 1 root root 252, 9 2009-07-19 14:44 usbdev2.3_ep81
crw-rw---- 1 root root 252, 11 2009-07-19 14:44 usbdev2.3_ep82
crw-rw---- 1 root root 252, 13 2009-07-19 14:44 usbdev2.3_ep83
crw-rw---- 1 root root 253, 0 2009-07-19 14:44 usbmon0
crw-rw---- 1 root root 253, 1 2009-07-19 14:44 usbmon1
crw-rw---- 1 root root 253, 2 2009-07-19 14:44 usbmon2
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 0 2009-07-19 14:44 vcs
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 1 2009-07-19 14:44 vcs1
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 2 2009-07-19 14:44 vcs2
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 3 2009-07-19 14:44 vcs3
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 4 2009-07-19 14:44 vcs4
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 5 2009-07-19 14:44 vcs5
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 6 2009-07-19 14:44 vcs6
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 7 2009-07-19 14:44 vcs7
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 128 2009-07-19 14:44 vcsa
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 129 2009-07-19 14:44 vcsa1
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 130 2009-07-19 14:44 vcsa2
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 131 2009-07-19 14:44 vcsa3
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 132 2009-07-19 14:44 vcsa4
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 133 2009-07-19 14:44 vcsa5
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 134 2009-07-19 14:44 vcsa6
crw-rw---- 1 root tty 7, 135 2009-07-19 14:44 vcsa7
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1, 5 2009-07-19 14:44 zero

Revision history for this message
naschas (info-stringer) said : 		#7

Thanks for the responses, I have had a look at my /dev folder and changed a few permissions that were obviously wrong but it hasnt helped. At this stage, I would like to be able to access my USB drive and copy my data onto it so that i can do a clean install as I can see these permissions being an issue in the future.

When I plug in the drive the system picks it up, but I am unable to mount or access it. I dont get any error messages, just no response when mounting.

Thanks,

Revision history for this message
naschas (info-stringer) said : 		#8

Ok, I have mounted the drive, and got an error when trying to copy. Had to change the permissions on my back-up folder and now the files are busy copying!

Thanks to everyone for your help, learnt alot about permissions from this! It will come in handy!

I will mark this thread as solved!

Thanks!

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#9

sweet, glad you got the gold :)