Three different tools for three uses that must not be confused. A snapshot is a safety net for a risky operation. A backup protects you from data loss. A reinstallation starts from a blank page.
How do I create and restore a snapshot of my VPS?
From the Snapshots tab of your VPS: the Create Snapshot card to take one, the Restore button on the matching row to roll back.
A snapshot freezes the state of your VPS disk at a given moment. Restoring brings the machine back to exactly that state.
Creating a snapshot:
- Open your VPS in My services, then the Snapshots tab.
- In the Create Snapshot card, fill in the User Notes field. It is pre-filled with the hostname: replace it with something useful, such as
before SQL upgrade. - Click Create.
The name only accepts letters, digits, spaces and the _ character — no accents, hyphens or punctuation. Two snapshots cannot share a name.
Restoring a snapshot: click Restore on the matching row and confirm. The machine is stopped automatically before the restore, then returned to the recorded state. Everything written since the snapshot was taken is lost: files, updates, mail received by an application running on the machine.
How many snapshots? The number depends on your plan. The tab displays "Vous avez fait X sur les Y autorisées." Delete old ones: a snapshot kept indefinitely loses its purpose and occupies space.
Is a snapshot enough as a backup?
No: it does not replace a backup, because it never leaves the machine it is meant to protect.
A snapshot lives on the same storage as your VPS and depends on the same machine. It protects you from a mistake, a failed update or software that breaks a configuration. It does not protect you from a hardware incident, a cancelled service or ransomware encrypting the whole machine.
Your backups must leave the VPS. The client area offers no backup service for VPS: that part is yours. At a minimum, organise:
- a copy of the data that is genuinely irreplaceable — databases, documents, configuration — not the whole system;
- a destination outside the VPS: your own computer, third-party storage, another server;
- a frequency matching what you accept to lose: a weekly backup means accepting the loss of a week;
- a test restore from time to time. A backup never restored is not a backup, it is an intention.
The built-in Windows Server Backup feature, or a simple scheduled script sending an encrypted archive to remote storage, covers most cases.
How do I reinstall my Windows VPS?
From the Reinstall tab: choose the system, the hostname, the user and the password, then click Reinstall VPS. The operation erases all your data.
Reinstallation wipes everything and lays down a fresh system. You use it to move to another Windows version, to start clean after a compromise, or to abandon a configuration that has become unmanageable.
- Open the Reinstall tab.
- Choose the Système d'exploitation from the grid. Available Windows images appear as cards; the French or English build is selected automatically according to your profile.
- If your plan allows it, an Pre-installed Application (optional) section offers to install an application directly. Leave No application if you prefer a bare system.
- Fill in the Nom d'hôte.
- Fill in the administrator Nom d'utilisateur. This field only appears for images that require it, which is the case for Windows. Keep the suggested value if you have no preference.
- Enter a Password that satisfies the password policy.
- Click Reinstall VPS and confirm.
The screen is explicit: "Reinstallation will delete all data. This action is irreversible." The confirmation repeats it in capitals. Take the time to check that your data has left the machine before clicking.
The number of reinstallations is capped by plan; the counter "Vous avez fait X sur les Y autorisées" tells you where you stand.
What should I check after a reinstallation?
Four things: the console is locked again for the duration of the install, your old snapshots should be deleted, your SSH keys are kept, and your security settings need doing again.
- The console is locked again for the duration of the installation, just as on delivery.
- Your old snapshots no longer match the new system: delete them.
- SSH keys stored in the Access & Security tab are kept and re-injected.
- Go through the security settings again: password, updates, firewall rules.