Linux System Recovery

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.

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Table of Contents

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

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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.

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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

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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/

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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

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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

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Summary

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

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Next Steps

• Backup and Restore - Backup setup
• Bootloader Configuration - Bootloader setup
• CachyOS Cachy Chroot Guide - CachyOS chroot tool
• ArchWiki System Recovery: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Installation_guide#Chroot

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