Server not responding / won’t boot
## Server not responding / container won’t start
A non‑responsive VPS can result from a variety of issues, including misconfigured network settings, high resource consumption or file‑system errors. Follow these steps to diagnose and recover your LXC container.
### 1. Access the console or recovery environment
If you cannot reach the container over SSH, use IllusionCloud’s **web console** or **recovery mode** to gain access. This console connects directly to the host, bypassing network settings, so you can troubleshoot even if the container’s network configuration is broken. Once connected:
- Check if the container is running: `sudo lxc-ls --fancy` (on the host) or use the provider’s control panel to restart the container.
- If the container refuses to start, there may be a corrupt file system or configuration error. Switch to rescue mode and mount the container’s root filesystem to inspect logs.
### 2. Verify network configuration
- Ensure the network interface is up (`ip link`) and has the correct IP address and gateway (`ip addr`, `ip route`).
- If the interface is down, bring it up: `sudo ip link set eth0 up`. If you use DHCP, request a new lease: `sudo dhclient eth0`.
- Check DNS settings in `/etc/resolv.conf` and confirm you can ping a public host (e.g., `ping 1.1.1.1` and `ping google.com`).
### 3. Check resource usage
- **CPU and load** – Use `top` or `htop` to see if a process is consuming 100 % CPU. If load averages are high, investigate which processes are stuck and kill or restart them. Long‑running scripts, runaway cron jobs or misconfigured web servers can consume all CPU resources.
- **Memory** – Run `free -m` to view RAM usage. If memory is exhausted and the system is swapping heavily, processes may become unresponsive. Identify memory‑hungry processes with `ps` or `htop` and restart or limit them.
- **Disk space** – Use `df -h` to check filesystem usage. If `/` or `/var` is 100 % full, the container may not boot or services may fail. Clean up log files (e.g., `/var/log`), rotate logs or remove temporary files (`/tmp`, `/var/tmp`) to free space. Use `du -sh /var/log/*` to find large files.
### 4. Inspect system logs
- Review `dmesg` and `/var/log/syslog` (or `/var/log/messages` on CentOS/AlmaLinux) for kernel errors, OOM (out‑of‑memory) kills or filesystem corruption.
- Check `/var/log/auth.log` for repeated failed login attempts (which may indicate a brute‑force attack) and `/var/log/apt/history.log` to ensure updates completed successfully.
- For network issues, review `/var/log/cloud-init.log` (if applicable) to see if network configuration scripts failed.
### 5. Restart problematic services
If a service like Apache/Nginx, MySQL or a custom application stops responding, restart it using `systemctl restart <service>` or the service’s init script. Often a hung web or database server will cause the container to appear down even though the OS is running.
### 6. File‑system check (fsck)
If the container fails to boot due to a file‑system error, you may see messages such as “/dev/… clean, X files, Y blocks” or “Entering emergency mode.” Boot into recovery or rescue mode, then run:
```bash
sudo fsck -f /dev/your-volume
```
Replace `/dev/your-volume` with the container’s block device. After fsck repairs the filesystem, reboot the container.
### 7. Contact support
If you cannot identify the issue or the container still won’t respond after following these steps, open a ticket with IllusionCloud support. Provide the following information to expedite troubleshooting:
- The VPS hostname or ID.
- Approximate time the problem started.
- Any error messages from the console or logs.
- Steps you have already tried.
### Summary
A non‑responsive VPS often results from network misconfiguration, resource exhaustion or filesystem corruption. Use the provider’s console to regain access, verify network and resource usage, review logs and restart hung services. For persistent issues or boot failures, switch to rescue mode, run filesystem checks and contact support with detailed information.