Bug #15598

Explain loss of persistence.conf in known issues

Added by sajolida 2018-05-09 07:23:37 . Updated 2018-11-06 08:46:00 .

Status:
Resolved
Priority:
Elevated
Assignee:
sajolida
Category:
Persistence
Target version:
Tails_3.9
Start date:
2018-05-09
Due date:
% Done:

0%

Feature Branch:
Type of work:
End-user documentation
Blueprint:

Starter:
Affected tool:
Deliverable for:

Description

Here is the template answer from our help desk:

Do you have the option to enable persistence at Greeter?
https://tails.boum.org/doc/first_steps/startup_options/#index2h1

If so please do the following:

Boot Tails, enable your persistence at Greeter and then go to
Application -> Tails -> Configure persistent volume.

If it doesn't ask you for a passphrase, then don't change any of your
persistence settings, just click OK, reboot, and if you're lucky it
will be back.

It probably just is your persistence.conf file that disappeared. You
can check on that by going (when your persistence is enabled)
to /live/persistence/TailsData_unlocked and see if your files are still
there.

Subtasks

Related issues

Related to Tails - Bug #10976: persistence.conf lost, recoverable by reconfiguring In Progress 2019-02-12
Blocks Tails - Feature #15411: Core work 2018Q2 → 2018Q3: Technical writing Resolved 2018-03-14

History

#1 Updated by sajolida 2018-05-09 07:23:51

  • blocks Feature #15411: Core work 2018Q2 → 2018Q3: Technical writing added

#2 Updated by intrigeri 2018-06-26 16:27:53

  • Target version changed from Tails_3.8 to Tails_3.9

#3 Updated by emmapeel 2018-06-27 12:56:00

I just add a comment to bump this new feature ‘in the name of helpdesk’[1], as I think this is very scary to users and potentially leads to lost information.

[1] https://labs.riseup.net/code/issues/10976#note-34

#4 Updated by cbrownstein 2018-07-25 08:32:37

  • Assignee changed from cbrownstein to emmapeel

emmapeel:

Would you mind reviewing my draft, below? Please let me know if it accurately describes the symptoms of the problem, and the fix.

Sometimes when Tails is started, files in the Persistent folder will be
missing and the configurations for persistent features will not be loaded.

Most likely this means that the persistence.conf file has disappeared.
However, the files and configurations should still be saved.

If you encounter this problem:

- enable your encrypted persistent storage in Tails Greeter when you start
Tails

- when the Tails desktop appears, choose Applications ▸ Tails ▸ Configure
persistent volume

- click Save, then restart Tails

The files in your Persistent folder and the configurations for your persistent
features should be restored.

#5 Updated by emmapeel 2018-07-25 14:07:57

  • Assignee changed from emmapeel to cbrownstein

I gave my input on XMPP… the ball is on your side again :)

#6 Updated by cbrownstein 2018-07-26 22:15:54

  • Assignee changed from cbrownstein to sajolida
  • QA Check set to Ready for QA

I’ve pushed a branch for review:

https://0xacab.org/cbrownstein/tails/commits/doc/15598-persistence-conf-lost

#7 Updated by sajolida 2018-08-03 19:34:16

  • Assignee changed from sajolida to cbrownstein
  • QA Check changed from Ready for QA to Dev Needed

Thanks for the draft, it’s very good!

Some nitpicking notes:

  • id=“persistence_conf_disappears”, these HTML anchors are used mostly by help desk to point people to sections, so the top goals are for them to be memorable and short, but not necessarily precise or good English. I also prefer using hyphens instead of underscore (don’t ask me why but I personally always do that though we’re not super consistent in that). I’ll write a style guide entry for that at some point.
    • So what about “persistence-disappears”, “lost-persistence”, “lost-persistence.conf” which are a bit shorter and a bit closer to how help desk describes this issue?
  • As a general note, don’t base yourself too much on the writing style of this page as it’s pretty inconsistent and not always great :)
  • Avoid future tense which is often ambiguous (when will this actually happen?), longer, and harder for an international audience. Here for example, I would prefer “Sometimes, the Persistent folder is missing and the configurations for persistent features do not load.”
  • I like using “your” when I’m referring to people’s Tails to make the explanation more personal (but you might disagree). Eg. “your Persistent folder”.
  • “When the Tails desktop appears”: I usually don’t take the extra words to make this clear. Step 1 makes it clear that it’s “when starting Tails” but for the rest I expect people to know that the Application menu is on the desktop.

#8 Updated by cbrownstein 2018-08-04 01:54:54

  • Assignee changed from cbrownstein to sajolida
  • QA Check changed from Dev Needed to Ready for QA

sajolida wrote:
> Thanks for the draft, it’s very good!

Thank you!

> Some nitpicking notes:
>
> * id=“persistence_conf_disappears”, these HTML anchors are used mostly by help desk to point people to sections, so the top goals are for them to be memorable and short, but not necessarily precise or good English. I also prefer using hyphens instead of underscore (don’t ask me why but I personally always do that though we’re not super consistent in that). I’ll write a style guide entry for that at some point.
> So what about “persistence-disappears”, “lost-persistence”, “lost-persistence.conf” which are a bit shorter and a bit closer to how help desk describes this issue?

I shortened the anchor name to “persistence-disappears” in changeset 720eb98dae.

> * As a general note, don’t base yourself too much on the writing style of this page as it’s pretty inconsistent and not always great :)

Understood.

> * Avoid future tense which is often ambiguous (when will this actually happen?), longer, and harder for an international audience. Here for example, I would prefer “Sometimes, the Persistent folder is missing and the configurations for persistent features do not load.”

Done in changeset d949e09e83.

> * I like using “your” when I’m referring to people’s Tails to make the explanation more personal (but you might disagree). Eg. “your Persistent folder”.

I use your when explanations or instructions are meant to be personal. In the sentence, “Sometimes, the Persistent folder is missing and the configurations for persistent features do not load,” I purposely am not using your. I think to use your in that sentence would suggest to the user that at some time (eventually) the user’s Persistent folder, etc. will be missing. Hopefully, the user’s Persistent folder, etc. will never be missing! But, if the user does encounter the problem, then the user is given personal instructions: “If you encounter this problem…”

Let me know if this reasoning is flawed.

> * “When the Tails desktop appears”: I usually don’t take the extra words to make this clear. Step 1 makes it clear that it’s “when starting Tails” but for the rest I expect people to know that the Application menu is on the desktop.

I shortened the sentence in changeset f91d44a62e.

#9 Updated by sajolida 2018-08-04 12:11:13

  • Status changed from Confirmed to Resolved
  • QA Check deleted (Ready for QA)

>> * I like using “your” when I’m referring to people’s Tails to make the explanation more personal (but you might disagree). Eg. “your Persistent folder”.
>
> I use your when explanations or instructions are meant to be personal. In the sentence, “Sometimes, the Persistent folder is missing and the configurations for persistent features do not load,” I purposely am not using your. I think to use your in that sentence would suggest to the user that at some time (eventually) the user’s Persistent folder, etc. will be missing. Hopefully, the user’s Persistent folder, etc. will never be missing! But, if the user does encounter the problem, then the user is given personal instructions: “If you encounter this problem…”>
> Let me know if this reasoning is flawed.

That makes perfect sense! And I’ve seen you using “your” in other places so I’m happy :)

I nitpicked a bit on the formatting (420facb624) and merged!

#10 Updated by intrigeri 2018-11-06 08:46:00

#11 Updated by intrigeri 2018-11-06 08:46:07

  • related to Bug #10976: persistence.conf lost, recoverable by reconfiguring added