Linux System Recovery - ryzendew/Linux-Tips-and-Tricks GitHub Wiki

Linux System Recovery Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to system recovery on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including chroot, boot repair, recovery procedures, and data recovery.

Table of Contents

  1. Chroot into System
  2. Boot Repair
  3. Recovery Procedures
  4. Data Recovery
  5. Troubleshooting

Chroot into System

Boot from Live USB

Boot from ISO:

  1. Boot from Linux ISO (Arch/CachyOS)
  2. Mount partitions
  3. Chroot into system

Mount Partitions

Mount system:

# Mount root
mount /dev/sda2 /mnt

# Mount EFI (if UEFI)
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot/efi

# Mount other partitions
mount /dev/sda3 /mnt/home

Chroot

Enter chroot:

# Arch/CachyOS
arch-chroot /mnt

# Or manual chroot
chroot /mnt /bin/bash

CachyOS note: CachyOS provides cachy-chroot tool. See CachyOS Cachy Chroot Guide for details.

Boot Repair

Reinstall Bootloader

GRUB:

# Chroot first
arch-chroot /mnt

# Reinstall GRUB
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=GRUB

# Regenerate config
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

systemd-boot:

# Chroot
arch-chroot /mnt

# Reinstall
bootctl install

# Update entries
bootctl update

Rebuild Initramfs

Rebuild:

# Chroot
arch-chroot /mnt

# Rebuild
mkinitcpio -P

Recovery Procedures

Fix Broken Packages

Fix packages:

# Chroot
arch-chroot /mnt

# Fix packages
pacman -Syu

# Reinstall broken
pacman -S package-name

Restore from Backup

Restore:

# Mount backup
mount /dev/backup-device /mnt/backup

# Restore files
rsync -av /mnt/backup/home/ /mnt/home/

Data Recovery

TestDisk

Install TestDisk:

# Install TestDisk
sudo pacman -S testdisk

# Launch
sudo testdisk

PhotoRec

Install PhotoRec:

# Install PhotoRec
sudo pacman -S testdisk

# Launch
sudo photorec

Troubleshooting

Cannot Chroot

Check mounts:

# Check mounts
mount | grep /mnt

# Mount required filesystems
mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys

Summary

This guide covered system recovery for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions, including chroot, boot repair, and data recovery.

Next Steps

This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. CachyOS-specific tools are highlighted where applicable.