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+So you lost a thumb drive containing a git-annex repository. Or a hard
+drive died or some other misfortune has befallen your data.
+
+Unless you configured backups, git-annex can't get your data back. But it
+can help you deal with the loss.
+
+First, go somewhere that knows about the lost repository, and mark it as
+untrusted.
+
+# git annex untrust usbdrive
+
+To remind yourself later what happened, you can change its description, too:
+
+# git annex describe usbdrive "USB drive lost in Timbuktu. Probably gone forever."
+
+This retains the [[location_tracking]] information for the repository.
+Maybe you'll find the drive later. Maybe that's impossible. Either way,
+this lets git-annex tell you why a file is no longer accessible.