Rescue mode

Rescue mode starts a stopped Linux VM from a temporary disk copied from the same OS image. You get a shell where the system disk is still attached, so you can repair it without reinstalling.

Before you beginCopy Anchor Link

• The VM runs Linux.
• The VM is stopped.
• High availability is off.
• You can sign in with the SSH keys already on the VM, or with the console password.
• VM → Rescue shows the user to sign in as. That is the cloud-init user on this VM.

What rescue mode changesCopy Anchor Link

The VM boots a fresh copy of its OS image. That copy is a separate disk, about 10 GB, on the same storage as the system disk. The system disk stays attached. Files on it are not rewritten. Network settings, the firewall, and the SSH keys stay as they are.

The password in the enable form is for the console of this temporary system. It does not replace the password on the system disk. passwd run in the rescue shell changes only the temporary system, and that password is gone when you leave rescue mode.

To set the password the VM will use after you leave rescue mode, mount the system disk and change it there: Reset the VM password.

EnableCopy Anchor Link

1. Stop the VM.
2. Open VM → Rescue.
3. Optionally set a console password for the temporary system. Leave it off to keep the current console password.
4. Enable rescue mode. The VM starts from the temporary disk.

Sign in as the user shown on the page, with an SSH key or through VM → Console.

DisableCopy Anchor Link

1. Stop the VM.
2. Open VM → Rescue.
3. Disable rescue mode. The temporary disk is removed and the VM starts from the system disk.

Watch outCopy Anchor Link

• While rescue mode is on, resize, reinstall, and snapshots are unavailable, and high availability cannot be turned on. Destroy still deletes the VM.
• The temporary disk is billed until you disable rescue mode.
• Anything you change on the temporary system, including its password and installed packages, disappears with that disk.