Rescue Mode

VPS · Boot a VPS into a temporary live OS to repair a system that will not start, reset a root password, or copy files off the disk.

The Rescue Mode starts a temporary live Linux system in RAM. Your main disk is left unmounted, so you can still reach files when the installed OS will not boot.

This mode is useful if you cannot SSH in, forgot your root password, broke the firewall or network config, or need to run fsck / copy data off before a reinstall.

Start a rescue session

  1. Open the VPS control panel - Screenshots: VPS Control Panel.
  2. Open the server, then go to Options → Rescue.
  3. Click Create Rescue Session.
  4. Wait for the VPS to reboot into the rescue image (Debian Live). This can take a minute or two.
  5. You receive an email with the temporary login details.

Log in

SSH with the temporary login credentials:

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Or open VNC and sign in at the rescue login prompt. Press Enter if you only see a splash or kernel messages.

The installed OS is not running. Your files are on the virtual disk, not in the live system’s /.

Mount the disk

List disks and partitions:

lsblk
fdisk -l

On our typical KVM VPS the system disk is /dev/vda. Mount the root partition (often /dev/vda1):

mount /dev/vda1 /mnt
ls /mnt

Do not run fsck on a mounted filesystem. Unmount first (umount /mnt), then:

fsck -y /dev/vda1

For XFS use xfs_repair /dev/vda1 instead.

Reset the root password

After the root filesystem is mounted:

mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys
chroot /mnt
passwd
exit
umount /mnt/dev /mnt/proc /mnt/sys /mnt

Then end the rescue session so the VPS boots the installed OS again.

End the rescue session

  1. Return to the server page in the VPS control panel.
  2. Click End Rescue Session (banner or Options → Rescue).
  3. The VPS reboots from the main disk.

Leave rescue mode when you are done. A reboot while the session is still active boots the live image again, not your OS.

TIP Need a graphical rescue desktop or extra tools? Mount SystemRescue or netboot.xyz from our ISO library instead. See Custom ISOs.

If the disk is damaged beyond repair, copy what you can from /mnt, then reinstall or restore a backup.