# How to Fix a VPS That Does Not Boot After a Kernel Update

**Issue**

Upgrading kernel(s) inside Linux guests to the following versions will break them. Updated guest(s) won’t ever boot and will crash on startup.

**Environment**

CentOS 6.x kernel version >= 2.6.32-754.2.1.el6.x86\_64

Debian 9.x kernel version >= 4.9.0-7-amd64

**Resolution**

The issue can be fixed in one of the following ways:

1. Skip the recent kernel while updating guest’s packages: 
    - Update CentOS 6.x with: ```
        # yum update --exclude=kernel*2.6.32-754.2.1*
        ```
    - Update Debian 9.x with: ```
        
        # apt-mark hold linux-image-amd64 linux-headers-amd64
        # apt-get update
        # apt-get dist-upgrade
        ```
2. After the kernel was updated, add the following kernel options to the GRUB boot loader configuration file: 
    - For CentOS 6.x, add *eagerfpu=off* option to *edit /boot/grub/grub.conf* file
    - For Debian 9.x, add *elevator=noop* and *pti=off* options to *edit /boot/grub/menu.lst* file.