---
title: Troubleshooting an Elastic Metal server blocked installation
description: Solutions for resolving installation issues on Scaleway Elastic Metal servers.
tags: elastic-metal troubleshooting installation
dates:
  validation: 2025-08-11
  posted: 2025-02-05
---

## Problem
Your Scaleway Elastic Metal server installation is blocked and cannot proceed.

### Symptoms
- The installation process remains stuck at a certain percentage.
- You receive an error message stating that the installation has failed.
- The server does not boot into the selected operating system after installation.
- The installation does not start even after initiating it from the console.

## Possible causes
- The server is still in rescue mode.
- A hardware issue affecting the installation.
- The chosen operating system is incompatible with the server configuration.
- Network connectivity issues preventing the installation process.
- A temporary issue on Scaleway’s infrastructure.

## Solution

#### Check if there is a current outage or maintenance ongoing
- Check the [Scaleway status website](https://status.scaleway.com/) to see if there are any issues or maintenance tasks ongoing.

#### Try a different operating system
- If the installation fails repeatedly, try selecting a different OS from the Scaleway console.
- Ensure the chosen OS is compatible with your hardware.

#### Check the screen output of the server
- If your server provides [remote access](/elastic-metal/how-to/activate-remote-access/) to its peripherals, connect to the server to check the screen output and determine where the installation process is blocked.
- If required, press a key on your keyboard to restart the installation.

#### Check if the server is in rescue mode
- Log in to the Scaleway console and navigate to your Elastic Metal server.
- Check if the server is in [rescue mode](/elastic-metal/how-to/use-rescue-mode/).
- If it is, reboot the server into **normal mode** before retrying the installation.

#### Inspect server logs
- Reboot the server into [rescue mode](/elastic-metal/how-to/use-rescue-mode/).
- Use `journalctl -xe` or `dmesg` to check for potential hardware-related errors.
- Run a disk check using commands such as `smartctl`, `fsck`, or `badblocks` to diagnose potential issues. You can also refer to [this guide](/dedibox-hardware/troubleshooting/diagnose-defective-disk/) for additional troubleshooting steps.

#### Contact Scaleway Support
- If the issue persists, [contact Scaleway Support](https://console.scaleway.com/support) with details of the failure.
- Provide logs, screenshots, and your server ID for faster diagnosis.