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How Can I Regain Access to My Vultr Compute Instance When It Won’t Boot?

Updated on 15 September, 2025

A guide for recovering access to non-booting Vultr Compute instances using SystemRescue ISO to troubleshoot and repair system issues.

If your Vultr Compute instance fails to boot normally, you can regain access using the SystemRescue ISO. This allows you to troubleshoot and fix issues by mounting the root file system and accessing system logs in a recovery environment.

To begin, follow our detailed recovery guide to boot your instance into a rescue environment:

Check Logs and Fix Boot Issues

Once inside the rescue environment and chrooted into your instance, run the below commands to retrieve the server logs:

console 
# dmesg
# less /var/log/syslog
# less /var/log/kern.log

These logs can help you identify kernel, service, or disk-related issues preventing your instance from booting normally.

After resolving the issue:

  1. Detach the SystemRescue ISO from your instance.
  2. Reboot the server from the Overview tab in the customer portal.

If the issue persists and cannot be resolved:

  1. Provision a Block Storage Volume.
  2. Attach it to your instance.
  3. Mount the volume and transfer critical data to the new storage device for safekeeping.

This approach ensures your files are backed up before rebuilding or redeploying the instance.