Reinstall Instance

Reinstalling an Instance wipes the disk entirely and replaces it with a fresh operating system or application image. This is useful when:

• You suspect your Instance has been compromised
• You've lost access (forgotten password, SSH key issues)
• You want to switch to a different OS version
• You need a completely clean state

Why Reinstall vs Delete?

Reinstalling keeps your IP address. When you delete an Instance, its IP is released and you'll get a different one when creating a new Instance.

Warning: All data on the Instance's disk will be permanently erased. Ensure you have backups before proceeding.

Steps to Reinstall

1. Access Reinstall

1. Navigate to Instances → Virtual Machines.
2. Click on the Instance name.
3. Click the Reinstall icon in the overview tab.

2. Choose OS or Application

Select the desired image from the available options:

• Operating System tab: Almalinux, Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, Fedora, Windows, etc.
• Application tab: Pre-configured applications like Docker, WordPress, etc.

3. Set Credentials

Enter a new username and new strong password for accessing the Instance after reinstall.

Note: The old credentials will no longer work.

4. Confirm

Click Confirm to start the reinstall process. This typically takes a few minutes.

Post-Reinstall: SSH Host Key Change

After reinstalling, the Instance generates a new SSH host key. When connecting from a computer that previously connected to this Instance, you'll see a warning:

WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED!

To resolve this, remove the old key:

ssh-keygen -f "~/.ssh/known_hosts" -R your_instance_ip

Then reconnect and accept the new key.