[Bug 1633931] [NEW] Installer deletes more files from existing partition than it says it will

[Ryan Saunders]

Public bug reported:

When using manual partitioning, and designating an existing partition
containing files as the "/" partition, the installer issues a warning
that its going to delete "directories containing system files", and
lists (/etc, /lib, /usr, /var) as examples.

However, I had files in /old, and they were deleted too, much to my
dismay. (The only thing that saved me here is that this was a btrfs
filesystem, and I still had the ext2 backup snapshot. Whew!)

Is this intended behavior? Is /old considered a "directory containing
system files"? So perhaps there's a bug here.

Even if /old _is_ properly in the list of directories to be nuked,
there's a usability problem here. In my opinion, the warning message
here is inadequate...it would be far better to actually scan the
directories existing on the partition, and specifically report *which*
directories it's going to delete. That will give users confidence that
they're not about to get bitten.

You might also include an option to instead _move_ these old system
directories into a safe place (say, underneath /old.backup).

I'm installing Ubuntu 16.04 Server, using whatever version of debian-
installer comes on the CD.

** Affects: debian-installer (Ubuntu)
     Importance: Undecided
         Status: New

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1633931

Title:
  Installer deletes more files from existing partition than it says it
  will

Status in debian-installer package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  When using manual partitioning, and designating an existing partition
  containing files as the "/" partition, the installer issues a warning
  that its going to delete "directories containing system files", and
  lists (/etc, /lib, /usr, /var) as examples.

  However, I had files in /old, and they were deleted too, much to my
  dismay. (The only thing that saved me here is that this was a btrfs
  filesystem, and I still had the ext2 backup snapshot. Whew!)

  Is this intended behavior? Is /old considered a "directory containing
  system files"? So perhaps there's a bug here.

  Even if /old _is_ properly in the list of directories to be nuked,
  there's a usability problem here. In my opinion, the warning message
  here is inadequate...it would be far better to actually scan the
  directories existing on the partition, and specifically report *which*
  directories it's going to delete. That will give users confidence that
  they're not about to get bitten.

  You might also include an option to instead _move_ these old system
  directories into a safe place (say, underneath /old.backup).

  I'm installing Ubuntu 16.04 Server, using whatever version of debian-
  installer comes on the CD.

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