Restore a cloud server from an ISO image

Last update: October 05 2026Open in Markdown

If you encounter system errors while working with a cloud server, you can restore the server from an ISO image.

You can recover a server from an ISO image if any OS from a custom image or Windows OS from a pre-made image is installed on it. To recover servers running Linux-based OS created from pre-made images, we recommend using booting in Rescue mode.

1. Prepare the ISO image.

2. Upload the ISO image to the image repository.

3. Create a cloud server from an ISO image.

4. Fix the cloud server disk.

5. Apply the fixed disk.

1. Prepare an ISO image⁠

Prepare your own operating system ISO image with the necessary drivers. You can also use pre-built WinPE ISO images for Windows or Rescue ISO images for Linux.

2. Upload the ISO image to the image storage⁠

Use the instructions Upload and create image. The image must be uploaded to the Selectel image repository located in the same pool as the cloud server.

3. Create a cloud server from the ISO image

Use the instructions Create a cloud server. As the source, select the image that you uploaded to the image repository.

4. Repair the cloud server's volume

Network volume

1. In the control panel, in the top menu, click Products and select Cloud Servers.

2. Go to the Servers section.

3. In the menu of the server where errors occurred, select Shut down. The server status will change to SHUTOFF.

4. Go to the Disks section.

5. In the menu of the disk to be fixed, select Detach from server.

6. Attach the network volume to the server that you created from the ISO image in step 3.

7. Perform repair work on the cloud server volume, for example, repair damaged files.

Local disk

1. In the control panel, in the top menu, click Products and select Cloud Servers.

2. Go to the Servers section.

3. In the menu of the server where errors occurred, select Shut down. The server status will change to SHUTOFF

4. Create an image from the local disk of the server.

5. Create a network volume from the local disk image.

6. Attach the network volume to the server that you created from the ISO image in step 3.

7. Perform repair work on the cloud server volume. For example, repair damaged files.

5. Apply the repaired volume

Network volume

1. In the control panel, in the top menu, click Products and select Cloud Servers.

2. Go to the Servers section.

3. In the menu of the server that you created from the ISO image in step 3, select Shut down. The server status will change to SHUTOFF.

4. Go to the Disks section.

5. In the menu of the disk, select Detach from server.

6. Use the repaired network volume:

   • attach to the cloud server whose operation needed to be restored;
   • or create a cloud server.

Local disk

1. In the control panel, in the top menu, click Products and select Cloud Servers.

2. Go to the Servers section.

3. In the menu of the server that you created from the ISO image in step 3, select Shut down. The server status will change to SHUTOFF.

4. Go to the Disks section.

5. In the menu of the disk that you created in step 4 when fixing the disk in step 4, select Detach from server.

6. Create an image or snapshot of the network volume.

7. Create a cloud server with a local disk. As the source, select the image or snapshot created in step 5.