An ECS instance may become stuck in the Running or Stopping state. When this happens, you cannot connect to the instance using SSH or Workbench. This issue can occur if the operating system takes more than five minutes to start or stop. This topic describes how to determine whether the operating system is working correctly or has failed to start or shut down.
Instance is stuck in the starting state
Problem description
An ECS instance is in the Running state, but you cannot connect to it using SSH or Workbench. The instance might be starting normally or abnormally.
Normal startup: The instance may take a long time to start. This can happen if the operating system has many startup tasks or if the instance has a low-power configuration.
Abnormal startup: The instance fails to start correctly. For example, a Windows instance might enter repair mode or safe mode and require manual intervention. A Linux instance with multiple kernel versions might require you to manually select a kernel version to continue the startup process.
Solution
You can check the instance's startup progress by viewing its screenshot.
For more information, see View the system logs and screenshots of an instance.
If you cannot determine the status from the screenshot, you can connect to the instance using VNC to view the startup progress.
For more information, see Connect to an instance using VNC.
Choose a solution based on the startup status.
Normal startup: Wait for the operating system to finish starting.
If the instance starts slowly because of a low-power configuration, you can upgrade the instance type. For more information, see Upgrade a subscription instance or Change the instance type of a pay-as-you-go instance.
Abnormal startup: If you find an issue, you can connect to the instance using VNC to manually resolve the startup problem. For more information about instance startup failures and their solutions, see Common errors and solutions for instance startup failures.
Instance is stuck in the stopping state
Problem description
An ECS instance is stuck in the Stopping state for a long time, and you cannot connect to it using SSH or Workbench. The instance might be shutting down normally or abnormally.
Normal shutdown: The instance is shutting down normally. The process may take a long time if the operating system is applying patches or if the instance has a low-power configuration, which slows down the operating system's response.
Abnormal shutdown: The instance fails to shut down correctly. For example, the system may report an error during shutdown and fail to enter the shutdown process.
Solution
You can check the instance's shutdown progress by viewing its screenshot.
For more information, see View the system logs and screenshots of an instance.
If you cannot determine the status from the screenshot, you can connect to the instance using VNC to view the shutdown progress.
For more information, see Connect to an instance using VNC.
Choose a solution based on the shutdown status.
Normal shutdown: Wait for the operating system to finish shutting down.
Abnormal shutdown: If you find an issue, you can connect to the instance using VNC to manually resolve the shutdown problem.
You can also force stop the instance if necessary. For more information, see Stop an instance.
ImportantForce Stop is similar to a power-off operation. It may cause the loss of data that has not been written to the disk.