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Learn how to safely recover data from a non-bootable server using the SystemRescue ISO and create backups → Find out more now
10 November 20264 min read0 Views0 helpful
Introduction
Is your server no longer booting? Are you locked out or want to create a backup before making changes?
By booting your server with the SystemRescue ISO, you can still access your drives, recover important files, and create local backups. This works even if the original operating system is no longer accessible.
To securely transfer the recovered data, you can use SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol). This allows you to copy files from the rescue system over a secure, encrypted connection to your local computer or another server.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Open the Installation tab of your Dedicated Server, click Activate Rescue in the Rescue & Wipe section, select the Rescue ISO 12.01 profile from the dropdown, and confirm the start. Then connect via the Remote Management tab to continue.
It allows you to access your drives, recover important files, and create local backups even if the original operating system is no longer accessible.
You can use SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) to copy files from the rescue system over a secure, encrypted connection to your local computer or another server.
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Navigation
Dedicated Server
Preparation
For the backup, use the SystemRescue ISO version 12.01.
Start by opening the Installation tab of your Dedicated Server.
In the "Rescue & Wipe" section, click "Activate Rescue", select the rescue profile "Rescue ISO 12.01" from the dropdown, and confirm the start. Your server will then boot once from this rescue profile. Once the boot process is running, connect via the Remote Management tab (see Remote Management) to continue.
In the iLO management interface, open the HTML console to view your server’s remote display. Once the console is active, the boot menu of the SystemRescue ISO will appear. Choose the option to boot with the default parameters.
This starts SystemRescue with the recommended default configuration, providing a stable, ready-to-use environment for system maintenance or data backup.
Configure Firewall
For security reasons, SystemRescue enables its firewall by default. This means all incoming connections are blocked to prevent unauthorized access.
In your case, you need to allow a connection from your local computer to the SFTP server on SystemRescue. You can configure the firewall to allow SFTP traffic or temporarily disable it.
If you are on a trusted network, the quickest solution is to stop the firewall service in SystemRescue with the following command:
Code
systemctl stop iptables
Set Root Password
The SFTP client must authenticate with a username and password to access the SFTP server’s data. The system root account is used so the client can access all files visible in SystemRescue. By default, root login is not allowed in SystemRescue. You must set a password for authentication to work. Define a password with:
Code
[root@sysrescue ~]# passwd root
New password:
Retype new password:
passwd: password updated successfully
Data Transfer
Now you can back up your data. Simply open an FTP client of your choice and connect to your server. Select SFTP as the transfer protocol. Enter your server’s IP address as the hostname, port 22, and log in with the username root and the password you set earlier.
On the first connection via SFTP, WinSCP will show this security prompt. The warning appears because the host key of the server is not yet stored in the local cache.
If you know the IP address and are connecting intentionally, it is safe to trust the server. Just click "Yes" to confirm. This stores the key in the cache, and you won’t be asked again for future connections to this server.
Once connected, navigate to the previously created rescue directory. There you have access to your files and can download them to your local computer. Simply browse the folders, select the desired data, and transfer it securely via SFTP.
Conclusion
You have now successfully recovered and secured your important files.
Your data is safe and can be restored at any time. You can now proceed with further steps such as reinstalling the server, repairing the system, or migrating the data to a new environment.
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Available partitions (e.g., /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2, …),
Filesystem type (if detected).
In the example, the drive /dev/sda has three partitions: /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2, and /dev/sda3. Make sure to select the correct partition to mount. The output of fdisk -l helps you avoid mistakes by clearly showing which data is on which drive. Example:
Code
Disk /dev/sda: 111.76 GiB, 119998201240 bytes, 234373120 sectors
Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sda1 * 2048 206847 204800 100M 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda2 206848 232935855 232728008 111G 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda3 232935856 234373119 1431264 699M 27 Hidden NTFS WinRE
Once you have found the correct partition, create a directory to serve as the mount point. This is where the partition will be accessible. Then mount the desired partition to this directory. It is recommended to mount in read-only mode to safely read the data.
Use these commands:
Code
mkdir /mnt/rescue
mount -o ro /dev/sdaX /mnt/rescue
Replace /dev/sdaX with the correct partition you identified using . In the example, this would be .
fdisk -l
/dev/sda2
Tip
Windows partitions in hibernation
Linux cannot safely open Windows partitions that are in hibernation or fast boot mode. To avoid data loss or corruption, always mount these partitions in read-only mode.
Preferred source on Google
