I just posted a comment on this over at bug #1265192 but perhaps it is more appropriate for this bug. Since I wrote this comment, I have been thinking about the number of users who a) know about AskUbuntu, b) look up their problem, c) do not find an existing answer, and d) bother to ask a question. At a guess, I would say they probably represent, at most, 1 in 10 of new users. So the lower bound of "1 drive inadvertently wiped every 1.5 days" might actually mean ten drives wiped every day. It is just a guess, but I wouldn't be that surprised. Copy/paste follows.
> @Erick: WT#? it gobbled your XP partition when you said upgrade ubuntu 12.04? Eeeeeek! Data loss on partitioning is sadly common, just browsing AskUbuntu today I counted 35 reports of people inadvertently deleting or formatting their Windows partitions since the start of April -- http://askubuntu.com/questions/tagged/partitioning+data- recovery?sort=newest&pagesize=50 -- that's one user's data being deleted, due to bug or error, every 1.5 days. And that is obviously just a lower bound, consisting of the minority of users who knew about AskUbuntu, and bothered to report it there, and had their questions properly tagged. I just now saw a report of "Install Ubuntu alongside Windows" deleting all the partitions on a 2nd drive: http://askubuntu.com/questions/471996 /data-lost-after-installing-ubuntu-alongside-windows -- The user managed to recover his deleted partitions using a data recover tool but concludes, "I am still angry over B**tard Ubuntu i hate it VERY much, I WONT USE UBUNTU AGAIN IT IS S**T. " Ubuntu attracts a lot of novice users. The installer needs to make it really, really clear when it is going to wipe a partition that contains an existing file system. I would say it is necessary to make the confirmation crystal clear - maybe go so far as making them type WIPEMYDATA! or similar in capitals, to confirm that they read the text and really understand what is about to happen. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1256874 Title: warning colour needed when the entire disk will be used To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/hundredpapercuts/+bug/1256874/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
