Mint KDE installer dangerous behavior

Chat about anything related to Linux Mint
Forum rules
Do not post support questions here. Before you post read the forum rules. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
Locked
humpfrey

Mint KDE installer dangerous behavior

Post by humpfrey »

I lost cryptocurrencies and work because of what I would describe as a dangerous behavior of Mint 18.3 KDE installer's GUI.
OK, I'm clearly the one to be blamed first, the only backup I had was on a USB dongle that had died at least two weeks before ^^
Anyway, here is what happened : I wanted an encrypted installation on sdc ( Ironically it was meant as an offline system for cryptocurrency related stuff ).
At the "disk setup" step, I first chose sdc from the dropdown menu, and THEN changed the radio button for an encrypted installation... which, for some reason, resets the dropdown menu to sda... didn't notice it, fired the installation, and there went sda... [EDIT : the partitions are created before you get a chance to confirm the drive to be used ]

It sucks big time that you can accidentally erase your drive because of a small detail like that...
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
User avatar
catweazel
Level 19
Level 19
Posts: 9763
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:44 pm
Location: Australian Antarctic Territory

Re: Mint KDE installer dangerous behavior

Post by catweazel »

humpfrey wrote: Wed Mar 14, 2018 10:10 am It sucks big time that you can accidentally erase your drive because of a small detail like that...
Yes, the installer does that when you change the installation method. It's standard behaviour. At the end of the day, you caused the problem by not watching what was happening, not confirming that what you were going to get was what you wanted, and by not having a working backup. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is.
"There is, ultimately, only one truth -- cogito, ergo sum -- everything else is an assumption." - Me, my swansong.
humpfrey

Re: Mint KDE installer dangerous behavior

Post by humpfrey »

I'm not taking any of the blame you are trying to put on me ( except obviously the backup, as I've already said )
It's standard behaviour.
What's the rational for it? If you decided that you wanted your installation encrypted after all, clearly you now want it on sda?
by not watching what was happening
I had no reason to pay attention to that dropdown menu. It had no reason to change.
not confirming that what you were going to get was what you wanted
Here is the confirmation dialog :
Screenshot_20180315_090905.png
I could argue that there is no indication of what drive is being used, but it's not even that relevant : at that point the partitions have already been created, so this drive is already screwed whether you confirm or not.
I'm sorry, but that's the way it is.
And if sucks big time.
bjmh46
Level 4
Level 4
Posts: 307
Joined: Fri May 30, 2014 6:44 pm

Re: Mint KDE installer dangerous behavior

Post by bjmh46 »

I've got to agree with humpfrey on this one. I've done the same thing, but fortunately had a backup of the partitions that I destroyed. I vowed to always, even with a laptop, remove/disconnect any drive that I didn't want touched during the installation. This behavior goes way back though--I can remember doing this in the early 2000's!

Bob
Locked

Return to “Chat about Linux Mint”