Boot media and boot order
Attach a CD/DVD image to install an operating system manually or boot a rescue disk, and control which device the server boots first.
Boot your cloud server from an image rather than its own disk. Applies to all VPS and dedicated servers.
This is for installing an operating system the Cloud Console does not offer as a template, or booting a third-party recovery tool. For a supported OS, use Rebuild your server instead — it is far quicker.
Attach media
- Open the Media tab.
- Choose from the available images, or select Custom CD/DVD to supply your own image by URL.
The panel shows DRIVE INACTIVE when nothing is attached.
Set the boot order
Choose which device the server tries first:
- HDD — the server's own disk. The normal setting.
- CD/DVD — the attached image. Required to run an installer.
Select the device, then Apply.
Set the boot order back to HDD once installation finishes. Leaving it on CD/DVD means the server boots the installer again on the next restart rather than the system you just installed — which looks exactly like the installation having failed.
You will need VNC
There is no SSH access during an installation from media — the operating system is not running yet. Enable VNC first and use the browser console to drive the installer: Rescue mode and VNC.
The usual sequence
- Enable VNC.
- Attach the image under Media.
- Set boot order to CD/DVD and Apply.
- Restart the server.
- Open Browser VNC and work through the installer.
- Set boot order back to HDD.
- Restart, then connect over SSH.
- Disable VNC.