5.3.6. VPS won't start up after reboot

After updating the operating system kernel on the VPS and rebooting, the server may fail to boot. In this case, the VPS status in the control panel on our site changes to "Off" a few seconds after it is turned on.

If you manage to connect to the server via VNC, you might see an error like this, for example:

To resolve the issue, try booting with a previous version of the kernel:

  1. Enable VNC access and set everything up for a quick connection (it’s a good idea to save the connection settings in your VNC client so you can connect to the server without opening additional windows or entering any parameters).
  2. In our control panel, under the "VPS" section, click the "Enable" button to start the server and try connecting via VNC right away. Your first attempts may fail if the server hasn't had time to start up yet — close the window with the connection failure message and try again immediately.
  3. If you manage to connect before the GRUB bootloader starts loading the operating system, you will see the GRUB menu. Press the up or down arrow on your keyboard to stop the automatic countdown. You can now select any previous kernel version and try to boot it.

If the system boots successfully, edit the GRUB configuration so that it automatically loads the correct kernel version:

  • For GRUB version 0.97: In the file /boot/grub/menu.lst, you need to change the default parameter, which specifies the line number of the menu entry (numbering starts at zero).
  • For GRUB 2: Change the GRUB_DEFAULT setting in the /etc/default/grub file and run update-grub.

In these same files, you can change the timeout parameter (GRUB_TIMEOUT for GRUB 2), which determines how long the menu is displayed.

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