All Products
Search

This Product

    :Why are some images not visible when I create an ECS instance?

    Document Center

    :Why are some images not visible when I create an ECS instance?

    Last Updated:Jun 21, 2026

    This topic describes why certain images, including custom images, may not be visible when you create an ECS instance and provides solutions.

    Problem description

    When you create an ECS instance, some images, including custom images, are not available for selection.

    Causes and solutions

    This issue can occur for the following reasons:

    OS and instance processor incompatibility

    Some ECS instance types, such as 8th-generation instance families, have limitations on the operating systems they support.

    For more information, see the following topics:

    Solution:

    • If you do not have specific requirements for the operating system or instance type, select a compatible image or instance type.

    • If you must use the selected image and instance type, you can request to bypass the compatibility restriction on the instance purchase page.

      • Instance types that support bypassing the restriction:

        • AMD instances: ecs.c8ae, ecs.g8ae, ecs.r8ae, ecs.c8a, ecs.g8a, ecs.r8a, ecs.hpc8a, ecs.g9a, ecs.c9a, ecs.r9a, ecs.g9ae, ecs.c9ae, ecs.r9ae, ecs.u2a

        • Intel instances: ecs.g8i, ecs.c8i, ecs.r8i, ecs.hfg8i, ecs.hfc8i, ecs.hfr8i, ecs.c9i, ecs.g9i, ecs.r9i, ecs.u2i

      • To request the bypass:

        1. On the instance purchase page, select custom image as the image type, and then click the checks link.

        2. Select the checkbox to bypass the compatibility restriction.

          After you select the checkbox and click OK for the first time, wait about 1 minute before you refresh the image list.

          Important

          The request to bypass the restriction applies to all regions and is irreversible.

        3. Click OK, and then refresh the page.

    Image and instance type feature mismatch

    Cause

    Solution

    • The NVMe feature of the image is incompatible with the instance type.

      An NVMe-capable instance type requires a compatible image with the NVMe driver installed and its NVMe property enabled.

    If you use a custom image and require NVMe for improved storage performance or the cloud disk multi-attach feature, ensure the NVMe driver is installed on the image. You must also set the NVMe Driver property of the image to Supported. For more information, see Install an NVMe driver for an existing custom image.

    Note

    • The boot mode of the image is incompatible with the selected instance type.

      For example, if you select a security-enhanced instance type that supports only the UEFI boot mode, you must choose an image that also uses UEFI.

    For a custom image, you can change its boot mode to match the instance type. For more information, see Instance boot mode.

    vCPU and memory limits for Windows

    Select an instance type that meets the requirements of the Windows operating system. For details, see Memory Limits for Windows and Windows Server Releases.

    Important

    When you create an ECS instance that runs a Windows operating system, the instance type must have at least 1 GiB of memory. ECS instances with less than 1 GiB of memory (for example, 0.5 GB) support only Linux images or Windows Server Version 2004 images, which are no longer supported by Microsoft.

    Red Hat OS requires certified instance types

    Select an instance type that is certified by Red Hat. For details, see Which instance families are supported by Red Hat images?

    Driver and kernel requirements for specific instance types