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I currently use freefilesync on ubuntu 24.04 to back up my data. A couple of months ago I started to get errors on the external backup disk that a quick (and ineffective) look didn't resolve so I just ignored them. Today I delved deeper. If I use Files to open one of the problem directories it gives an error "This location could not be displayed" with a file name stating: input/output error. Double Commander (my preferred file manager) opens the directory fine but shows no files.

However, using ls -l in a terminal lists a number of files with reasonable file names but where the attributes, owner, group, etc should be listed there are only question marks. Unsurprisingly attempting to run chmod, chown, rm, etc just results in an imput/output error. I also tried to check the partition with GParted but it crashed,

Is there an easy way top resolve this issue?

I suspect the best option is to bite the bullet and reformat the external disk and backup my 2TB data from scratch. My only concern is that, despite knowing better, I have just the one external disk so would be without a backup for a short while.

Any suggestions gratefully received

Keith

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    Use smartctl to check disk health. Read man smartctl What type of filesystem is your disk? sudo lsblk -f shows. How is it mounted? cat /etc/mtab shows. Do: umount the disk, sudo fsck it. Commented Jun 20 at 20:39
  • Please edit your question to add information, don't use "Add comment" Comments are an "Us to You" channel, used to help you make your question better, and more likely to receive an appropriate answer. Commented Jun 20 at 20:46
  • I am currently struggling with a similar problem on a directory ~/.cache/doc (files with unknown permissions, even sudo rm fails). findmnt shows an entry for /run/user/1000/doc with source 'portal'. I believe it is from a flatpak application. If your case is similar, you can ignore the files and the errors. Commented Jun 21 at 10:42

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