Why Is My Vultr Compute Instance Booting in Read-Only Mode?

If your Vultr Compute Instance boots into a read-only filesystem state, it usually indicates a serious issue, such as filesystem corruption or a failed disk mount during boot.

Check System Logs

To identify the cause, review system or kernel logs using the Web Console or Recovery Mode.

Use a text editor or less to inspect the logs:

$ sudo less /var/log/syslog   # Ubuntu/Debian
$ sudo less /var/log/messages # RHEL-based systems

You can also check kernel logs (if available):

$ sudo less /var/log/kern.log

Run Filesystem Check

If logs show signs of filesystem corruption, boot into Recovery Mode from the Vultr Console, then run a file system check:

$ sudo fsck /dev/vda2

Replace /dev/vda2 with the correct root device for your instance. You can confirm this by running lsblk.