Knowledge Base
How to troubleshoot a Cloud VPS that does not start
This article discusses how to troubleshoot a Cloud VPS instance that does not boot or "hangs" during the startup process.
If you are unable to access a Cloud VPS instance using SSH, this is often because something during the bootup process happened before the SSH daemon could start. In such a scenario, you can use the serial console to view output during the startup process of a Cloud VPS instance. This can be invaluable for troubleshooting startup problems.
For step-by-step instructions about how to use the serial console to access a Cloud VPS instance, please see this article.
The most common reason a Cloud VPS “hangs” during startup is because it needs to do a file system check (fsck):
- For Ubuntu and Debian, fsck can cause the bootup process to “hang.” If this is the case, type F to allow fsck to run.
- For CentOS, type the root password, type fsck -y, and then reboot the system.
