Overview

Rescue mode boots your Pod into a minimal temporary system instead of its normal OS. It is invaluable when the server will not boot, when you have locked yourself out, or when you need to repair disks and configuration files. This article shows how to enter and use it.

Before you begin

• A Pod in the ALYPOD Console.
• Note that rescue mode does not load your normal OS — do not expect your services to run.

When to use rescue mode

• Fixing a broken /etc/fstab that prevents boot.
• Running fsck on a corrupted filesystem.
• Resetting a lost root password.
• Repairing SSH or firewall rules that locked you out.
• Recovering files from a system that will not start.

Steps

1. Sign in to account.alypod.com and open the ALYPOD Console.
2. Select your Pod and open the Rescue tab.
3. Click Enable Rescue Mode and note the temporary root password shown.
4. Reboot the Pod. It boots into the rescue system.
5. Connect over SSH or the VNC console:

bash ssh [email protected]

1. Identify your real disk and mount it:

bash lsblk mkdir -p /mnt/root mount /dev/sda2 /mnt/root

1. Repair as needed, for example fixing fstab:

bash nano /mnt/root/etc/fstab

or checking a filesystem:

bash umount /mnt/root fsck -y /dev/sda2

1. Unmount and disable rescue mode, then reboot back into your normal OS:

bash umount /mnt/root sync

Troubleshooting

• Problem: rescue SSH password rejected. Solution: re-open the Rescue tab to refresh the one-time password.
• Problem: cannot find your data. Solution: run lsblk -f to spot the correct partition, and consider LVM tools (vgscan, vgchange -ay) if using LVM.
• Problem: forgot to disable rescue. Solution: reboot from the console power controls after switching rescue mode off.

Related articles

• [How to reinstall the operating system]
• [Using the web console and VNC]
• [Mounting an ISO image]