Q: What are ISO images and why do I need them?

An ISO is an image of a CD or DVD that can be mounted to your server. This greatly expands the range of tasks you can handle on your own when working with your VDS. For example, using popular antivirus LiveCDs, you can clean an infected system yourself and avoid having to reinstall the OS; you can boot the server from a LiveCD and save important data from it even if the server's OS is damaged and cannot boot; you can use Acronis to create or restore a full backup of the server or your own image, resize disk partitions without data loss, or recover deleted or damaged partitions; you can install any other operating system, including Linux, Windows XP, Windows 7, various preconfigured images, etc.; you can reset the administrator password and regain control of the server, use the Windows Recovery Console, and much, much more.

Q: How does it all work? How do I use it?

You can choose the ISO image you want to mount in the client area. After mounting the ISO, use the VNC console and reboot your server (since most ISOs are bootable and are useful precisely for that). The server will then boot from the selected ISO image, and you will be able to use the features that the particular ISO image provides.

Q: How do I mount an ISO image to my server?

To mount one of the available ISO images to your VDS, log in to the client area, go to the "My Servers" section and select the server from the list. In the "ISO Image Management" section, select the ISO you need from the list (a short description of the disc is shown when you select an ISO), choose the boot order and click the "Save ISO/DVD Settings" button. The selected image will be mounted within 1 minute.

Q: Which ISO images are available?

All ISOs are grouped into categories. Currently these are:

Antivirus - LiveCD images from leading antivirus vendors that let you fully scan and clean an infected system.
LiveCD - various bootable discs with service software for diagnostics, data recovery, saving backups from damaged VDSs and other tasks.
Linux - installation discs for the most popular Linux operating systems. CentOS, Debian and Ubuntu are available.
Windows - installation discs for various Windows distributions. Use them only for evaluation purposes or if you have an appropriate license!
Tools - various utilities for working with the server, partitioning and resizing disks, etc.

We try to keep adding useful ISO images to the repository that our customers may need for a wide variety of tasks. If you think some other ISO image could be useful to our users, send us a link to the ISO and a short description, and we will be happy to add it to the repository.

Q: How can I mount my own ISO image?

You can mount your own ISO image (if it is available via a direct HTTP or FTP link) in the VDS control panel, in the "Virtual CD/DVD" section. Please note:
- only FTP or HTTP links are supported.
- the image must be in ISO format.
- the link must be direct (no redirects, no authorization required, etc.), and the ISO file download must start immediately when it is opened, regardless of cookies or IP address.
- therefore, downloading from file-sharing services, Dropbox, Yandex.Disk, torrents and similar sources will not work!
- an FTP link can include a login/password in the format ftp://user:[email protected]/file.iso

Q: How do I boot the server from a mounted ISO image?

To boot the server from the selected ISO, mount it and choose the boot order "ISO/DVD then HDD". Then open the VNC console and reboot the server so you can watch the boot process (some ISOs require "Press a key to boot from this DVD", etc.). Please note that the VNC console should be opened in a separate window so that it does not close if you leave the client area page where it was opened! We also recommend using a dedicated VNC client (TightVNC, RealVNC, etc.) instead of the built-in Java applet in the control panel.

Q: What should I do if a mounted ISO does not work (is not available) on the server?

If the ISO is shown as mounted in the client area but is not visible in "My Computer", try unmounting and then mounting this ISO image again.

Q: How do I install my own OS from an ISO image?

It's simple. Mount the ISO you need, choose the boot order, open VNC, reboot the server and install the OS following the instructions or documentation.
During OS installation, we recommend deleting all existing partitions on the disk to avoid confusion and errors.
Your server can obtain network settings automatically via DHCP (recommended), or you can enter them manually: IP and Gateway - your server's IP address, subnet mask - 255.255.255.240, DNS servers 213.133.99.99, 213.133.98.98, 8.8.8.8

If needed, you can also ask our administrators for help: installing a non-standard OS (including network and remote access setup) costs 10 EUR.

Tags: [tag:ISO] [tag:VNC] [TAG:Панель управления]

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