Reinstall Your VPS Operating System

Reinstalling wipes the server and lays down a fresh operating system image. It is the right tool when you want to switch distributions, start over after an experiment went sideways, or return a compromised server to a known-good state. It is a one-way trip for the data on the disk, so read the warning before you click.

Available images#

The current template list is shown in the reinstall menu and on the order form, and it changes as distributions release new versions. As of this writing it includes:

• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and 22.04 LTS
• Debian 12 (Bookworm) and 11 (Bullseye)
• AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux 9 (and older 8 releases)
• CentOS Stream, Fedora, openSUSE, and Alpine Linux
• Windows Server 2019, 2022, and 2025 evaluation images (bring your own license to run beyond the evaluation period)

Prebuilt application templates are also offered for some stacks at order time; the Solutions guides say where.

Reinstall from the cloud portal#

1. Open the server. Sign in to the cloud portal at cloud.nobullnetworks.com (or use the panel login button on the service page in MyNobull) and open the server's page.
2. Open the Reinstall tab. Choose an operating system image, or an application template where one is offered for your plan.
3. Choose how you will log in. Select the SSH keys stored on your account to have them preinstalled (see Store SSH Keys in the Cloud Portal), and note that the reinstall sets a fresh root password.
4. Confirm. Read the confirmation carefully; this is the last stop before the disk is wiped.
5. Wait for provisioning. A fresh image usually takes a few minutes. The server's page shows progress and the server comes back powered on.
6. Collect the new credentials. The new root or Administrator password is displayed once in the portal; copy it into your password manager. If you miss it, use Reset password.

After the reinstall#

• Expect an SSH host key warning. The server has new host keys. Clear the old entry with ssh-keygen -R your.server.ip and connect again. See Connect to Your VPS with SSH.
• Redo your baseline. Updates, a sudo user, SSH keys, firewall: First Steps on a New Linux Server.
• Reverse DNS stays. PTR records are tied to the IP, not the disk, so they survive a reinstall.

Custom kernels and ISOs#

You have full root, so installing your own kernel or replacing the distribution kernel is fine. The cloud portal's Boot & Rescue tab can boot a server from an ISO image, but fully custom ISO installs are not fully supported at present; if you need a distribution that is not in the template list, open a ticket and we will tell you honestly what is possible on your plan.

Reinstall versus rescue#

If the goal is to fix a server rather than start over (a bad fstab entry, a firewall lockout, a broken bootloader), you do not need to reinstall. Boot into rescue mode, mount the disk, and repair it with the data intact. See Console and Rescue Access.