An operating system replacement operation replaces a system disk. This topic provides answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) about replacing the operating system (system disk) of an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance.
How do I replace the operating system (system disk) of an instance?
You can replace the operating system of an instance by replacing the image. For more information, see Replace the operating system (system disk) of an instance.
Can I use an image created from an instance in Account A to replace the operating system of an instance in Account B?
Yes, you can share the image from Account A to Account B and then use the image to replace the operating system of an instance in Account B. For more information, see Share a custom image and Replace the operating system (system disk) of an instance.
When I replace the operating system of an instance, can I select an image that contains data disk snapshots?
No, you cannot select an image that contains data disk snapshots when you replace the operating system of an instance.
- Use the image to create a pay-as-you-go instance. For more information, see Use a custom image to create one or more instances.
- Create a snapshot for the system disk of the new instance. For more information, see Create a snapshot of a disk.
- Create a custom image from the system disk snapshot. This custom image contains only a system disk snapshot. For more information, see Create a custom image from a snapshot.
- Use the created custom image to replace the operating system of an instance. For more information, see Replace the operating system (system disk) of an instance.
What are the differences between replacing an operating system and re-initializing an system disk?
Item | After the system disk of an instance is re-initialized | After the system disk (operating system) of an instance is replaced |
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Features | The instance is restored to the initial state when it was created. The operating system of the instance remains unchanged before and after initialization. | The operating system of the instance is changed. |
Impacts on the system disk |
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Impacts on the data disks | The data disks are not affected. | The data disks are not affected. |
Impacts on snapshots |
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Charges | You are not charged for initializing the system disk. The operating system of the instance remains unchanged before and after initialization so that billable items remain unchanged. | You are not charged for replacing the operating system of an instance but are charged for the resources that are used in the following scenarios:
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What do I do if partitions on the system disk of an instance fail to be extended when I extend the disk by replacing the operating system of the instance?
If you extend the system disk of an instance by replacing the operating system of the instance, partitions on the system disk may fail to be extended due to a timeout error. You can perform the operations that are described in Extend the partitions and file systems of disks on a Linux instance to manually extend the partitions that fail to be extended. The partition extend operations only extend the system disk partitions and do not affect the version of the operating system.