Accidentally did "chmod -777 / "
Note that chmod -777
is like chmod 000
. So the OP has probably just changed the permissions of the /
folder, not recursively, and he or she can recover the system simply with a
chmod 755 /
from a recovery boot. For example, boot from the installation media, choose try Ubuntu, open a terminal and go superuser (do the following checking thrice and only after having understood what you are doing)
sudo -i
mount /dev/yourrootpartitonhere /mnt
cd /mnt
chmod 755 .
cd ..
umount /mnt
And reboot normally, all should be OK.
If you did use -R, do a backup of your data (see other answers here), and reinstall.
Thanks for your answers.
I freshly installed Ubuntu 14.04, however I was able to backup my data using live CD.
I booted from a live CD and I did chmod 777 / 'pathOfTheDirectory'
Do not mess with things in which you don't have much knowledge - lesson learned.