Reinstalling VPS OS

Reinstalling the operating system wipes your VPS and gives you a fresh Linux install. On a Domain India VPS you do it yourself from the Rebuild tab of your VPS page: back up what you need, choose the OS and confirm. Your IP address, VPS name and plan stay the same. This page gives the short version; the full guide covers every step.

1. When a reinstall makes sense

• After a compromise. Once an attacker has had root, a clean OS is the only state you can trust. Restore your data and code, never old system files.
• To change distribution, for example from AlmaLinux to Ubuntu.
• To leave an end-of-life OS such as CentOS 7 or 8, or Ubuntu 20.04.
• When the system is broken beyond a reasonable repair, such as a failed major upgrade.

If one service is misbehaving, fix or restart that service instead. A reinstall costs hours of setup and restore time.

2. Back up first

Before you reinstall:

1. Archive your site files, for example tar -czf /root/sites.tar.gz /var/www.
2. Dump each database with mysqldump --single-transaction dbname > dbname.sql or pg_dump dbname > dbname.sql.
3. Save /etc, your crontabs (crontab -l > crontab.txt), any .env files and certificates you paid for.
4. Record your installed packages (apt list --installed or dnf list installed).
5. Copy it all off the server with rsync or scp, and open a few files to check they are complete.

3. Reinstall from your VPS page

Your IP address stays the same. You can reinstall up to 3 times an hour. If a reinstall fails, the VPS is started again as it was.

Older VPS without a VPS page in your client area: open a ticket with the VPS IP address and the OS you want, and our team will do this for you.

4. After the reinstall

Your computer remembers the old server's fingerprint, so clear it with ssh-keygen -R your-vps-ip and connect again with ssh root@your-vps-ip, using your key or a root password you set on the Rebuild tab (it is shown once and never emailed). Then secure the server before restoring anything: update the system, add your SSH key, create a sudo user, turn off password and root login, and enable a firewall. The first-hour checklist is in VPS account setup and activation, and the firewall steps are in Setting up a firewall on your VPS.

5. Domain India VPS

Domain India VPS plans run on KVM with full root access and NVMe storage. They are self-managed: you install, secure and back up your own software, and your VPS page lets you reinstall the OS, restart the VPS and open a console yourself. A VPS comes without a control panel; you can install one yourself, but cPanel is not offered on a VPS.

Ready for a clean start? Take your backup, then use the Rebuild tab on your VPS page, or compare VPS plans if you are moving to a bigger server at the same time.