Reinstall a VM
Reinstalling a Virtual Machine allows you to replace the operating system on an existing VM without creating a new instance.
This process is useful when you need a clean OS environment while keeping the same VM resources and configuration.
What Is VM Reinstall?
In CloudRaya, Reinstall VM means:
- Re-deploying a selected operating system to the VM
- Replacing the root disk contents
- Keeping the VM instance, resources, and network configuration intact
Reinstalling a VM is different from:
- Stopping or starting a VM
- Upgrading CPU or memory
- Restoring from a snapshot
- Creating a new VM
What Happens During Reinstall
What Will Change
- Operating system and version
- Root disk data (all data will be erased)
- Installed applications and system configuration
What Will NOT Change
- VM ID and project
- CPU, memory, and package size
- Public and private IP addresses
- Attached additional storage volumes
⚠️ Data Impact and Important Warning
Reinstalling a VM will permanently delete all data on the root disk.
- Snapshots are not created automatically during reinstall
- Existing snapshots are not restored automatically
- Recovery is only possible if you created a snapshot before reinstalling
Before reinstalling, make sure you:
- Create a snapshot if you need to preserve system data
- Back up application or configuration files manually if required
📄 See:
Supported Operating Systems
CloudRaya allows you to reinstall a VM using any operating system available in the current image catalog.
Available options may include:
- Linux distributions (such as Alpine, Ubuntu, Debian, Rocky, AlmaLinux, and others)
- Windows Server (when supported)
- Other operating systems released in the future
Windows Availability
The Windows option will only appear if the existing VM meets the minimum requirements:
- At least 2 CPU cores
- At least 2 GB of memory
If the VM specification does not meet these requirements, the Windows option will not be shown.
Available operating systems and versions depend on the CloudRaya image catalog and your VM specifications.
When Should You Reinstall a VM?
Reinstall is recommended when you need to:
- Recover from operating system corruption or misconfiguration
- Reset the VM to a clean operating system state
- Change to a different supported operating system
- Remove all existing system data without creating a new VM
When You Should NOT Reinstall
Reinstall may not be the right choice if you want to:
- Roll back data → use Snapshots
- Deploy a new environment → Create a new VM
- Change CPU or memory → Upgrade VM
- Restore application-level data → use application backups
Reinstall Workflow
- Open VM Detail
- Go to the Reinstall tab
- Select the operating system and version
- Review estimated cost changes (if any)
- Confirm the reinstall action
The VM will be reinstalled automatically after confirmation.
Billing Behavior
- Reinstalling a VM does not change hourly compute pricing
- Billing continues as usual during and after the reinstall process
Best Practices Before Reinstall
- Create a snapshot of the root disk
- Verify that important data is backed up
- Ensure you have access credentials ready after reinstall
Next Steps
After reinstalling your VM, you may want to: