Can't move data back after reinstall. <SOLVED>

[n8xk]

Just did a reinstall after a bad experience with another OS and grub.

I have heard that it is a good idea to have a separate /home or /data partition it make things easier if there is a need to reinstall.

I chose to make a /data partition. After the install the /data partition shows up as a folder in Root.

I thought it should show up as a partition in the Places column of Dolphin, like Root, System, Trash, etc. I guess that's ok, maybe I just need to change the icon?

My problem is that I backed up all my data to an external USB hard drive, and the only way I can transfer it back to the /data partition is to log in as Root.

I can move it back to Home with no trouble when logged in as normal user. I want to be able to move files back and forth easily in the /data partition without having to log in as root.

Is there a way to allow file transfer to "/data" when logged in as a normal user?  In the "local disks" section of the Control Center I allowed sharing, but that did nothing.

n8xk

 

[Rudge]

My guess:

I think what you may need is the "chown" command.

You will have to open a command line as root to use it, and it needs to be used on the data on the external USB hard drive.

Read about it here > http://www.tuxfiles.org/linuxhelp/fileowner.html

Hope that helps.  

NOTE:  See old-polack's explanation below. |
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[Old-Polack]

Just did a reinstall after a bad experience with another OS and grub.

I have heard that it is a good idea to have a separate /home or /data partition it make things easier if there is a need to reinstall.

I chose to make a /data partition. After the install the /data partition shows up as a folder in Root.

I thought it should show up as a partition in the Places column of Dolphin, like Root, System, Trash, etc. I guess that's ok, maybe I just need to change the icon?

My problem is that I backed up all my data to an external USB hard drive, and the only way I can transfer it back to the /data partition is to log in as Root.

I can move it back to Home with no trouble when logged in as normal user. I want to be able to move files back and forth easily in the /data partition without having to log in as root.

Is there a way to allow file transfer to "/data" when logged in as a normal user?  In the "local disks" section of the Control Center I allowed sharing, but that did nothing.

n8xk

 

First you need to be sure that the partition in question is actually mounted on the directory. If you navigate to the /data directory, do you see a lost+found directory in there, or an empty directory? You could also open a terminal and enter the command;            mount                <Enter>

That would show all the partitions currently mounted, and the mount point directory used by each. If the partition is in fact mounted on /data, then you can, as root, use the chown command to give ownership of the entire partition to your normal user.

[root@localhost ~]# chown -R <user>:<user> /data                       <Enter>

Replace <user> with your actual user name. You will then own the partition and be able to move all your data to it, as your normal user.

[n8xk]

Thanks Rudge for the link explaining the chown command. That one is going into a bookmark.

Followed your excellent instructions old-polack and I was able to change ownership to me.

Thanks guys for the help.

n8xk