# Download a full disk image Source: https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/client-area/nightly-backups/download-full-disk-image Last reviewed: 2026-07-02 Summary: How to use Download Full Disk to get a temporary 24-hour link to your whole backup as a compressed image, and how to mount or import it. Linux VPS images are LXC container filesystems; Premium VPS images are full KVM disks. ## What this is **Download Full Disk** gives you a temporary link to download a whole backup as a single compressed image, a complete copy of your VPS. You get the link for about **24 hours**. Use it to keep an offline copy, pull files out on your own computer, or move your server elsewhere. Start from https://vpsdime.com/backups. This is for Linux VPS (with Nightly Backups) and Premium VPS. On a **Windows VPS**, this is handled by our team, so [open a ticket](https://vpsdime.com/open-ticket/). What's inside the image depends on your plan, which changes how you use it (covered below): - **Linux VPS** runs as a lightweight Linux container, so its image is a **root filesystem** (ext4) with no kernel. - **Premium VPS** is a full KVM virtual machine, so its image is a **complete bootable disk**. ## Before you start - **The file is large.** It's your whole system, so expect many gigabytes. Make sure you have the disk space and time to download it. - **Access lasts about 24 hours.** After that the link stops working. You can also stop it sooner. - **One operation at a time.** While a disk download is active, you can't start a restore or a file browser on that VPS until you stop it. - **Keep the link private.** It opens a copy of your data. Don't share it. ## Download the image 1. Go to **Backups**, open your VPS, and on the **Available Backups** tab find the backup you want. 2. Click **Actions** on that backup, then choose **Download Full Disk** in the **Choose Action** menu. 3. A **Full Disk Download Active** panel appears with a link and the time remaining (about 24 hours). Click **Open** to start the download, or **Copy** to copy the link. ![The Full Disk Download Active panel: the backup date, the private .img.gz download link with Copy and Open buttons, the time remaining, and a Stop Full Disk Download button](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/client-area/nightly-backups/images/cropped/full-disk-active-panel.png) 4. The file is a gzip-compressed image, with a name ending in **`.img.gz`**. For a large file it helps to **Copy** the link and use a download tool that can resume, for example `wget -c ""` or `curl -C - -O ""`. ## What you can do with the image First decompress the `.img.gz` to get the raw `.img`: - Linux or macOS: `gunzip yourbackup.img.gz`. Windows: use 7-Zip or a similar tool. Then follow the path for your plan. ### Linux VPS (LXC container image) A Linux VPS runs as a Linux container (LXC). The image is its **root filesystem** (ext4) and does **not** contain a kernel, so you can't boot it directly as a virtual machine. You can: - **Pull files out of it.** On Linux, mount it read-only, the image is a single filesystem, so no partition step is needed: ``` sudo mount -o ro,loop yourbackup.img /mnt # ... copy what you need from /mnt ... sudo umount /mnt ``` - **Run it as a container.** Import the filesystem into **LXD**, **Incus**, or plain **LXC** and start it there. It runs on the host's kernel, which is why no kernel is included. To read the files on Windows or macOS, see the notes at the end of this section. ### Premium VPS (full KVM disk image) A Premium VPS is a full KVM virtual machine, so its image is a complete bootable disk (partition table, bootloader, and kernel). You can: - **Mount a partition** to pull files out. Attach it with partition scanning: ``` sudo losetup -fP --show yourbackup.img # prints the loop device, e.g. /dev/loop0 lsblk # find the partition, e.g. /dev/loop0p1 sudo mount -o ro /dev/loop0p1 /mnt ``` Run `fdisk -l yourbackup.img` if you're not sure which partition holds your data. If it uses LVM, run `sudo vgscan` and `sudo vgchange -ay` after attaching, then mount the logical volume. - **Boot it as a virtual machine.** QEMU/KVM can boot the raw `.img` directly. For VirtualBox or VMware, convert it first: ``` qemu-img convert -f raw yourbackup.img -O vdi yourbackup.vdi # VirtualBox qemu-img convert -f raw yourbackup.img -O vmdk yourbackup.vmdk # VMware ``` ### Reading the image on Windows or macOS Both image types store your data on a Linux filesystem (ext4), which Windows and macOS can't open on their own: - **Windows:** copy the image into a **WSL2** Linux distribution and use the Linux steps above, or use an ext4 reader such as DiskInternals Linux Reader or Paragon ExtFS. - **macOS:** run a small **Linux VM** (UTM, VirtualBox, Lima) and use the Linux steps, or install **macFUSE** with an ext4 driver to mount it read-only. ## When you're finished - Go back to the **Backups** page and click **Stop Full Disk Download**, or leave it and it stops after about 24 hours. - While the download is active, other backup actions for that VPS are blocked, so stop it when you no longer need it. The download link stops working once the session ends. ## Troubleshooting - **My link stopped working.** The 24-hour window ended, or the download was stopped. Start **Download Full Disk** again for a fresh link. - **The download failed partway.** Use the **Copy** link with a tool that resumes, such as `wget -c` or `curl -C -`, so you don't restart from zero. - **I can't start a restore or file browser.** A disk download is still active for that VPS. Stop it first from the **Backups** page. - **I just want a few files, not the whole disk.** Use [Recover individual files](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/client-area/nightly-backups/recover-individual-files) instead, it's much smaller and faster. - **My Linux VPS image won't boot as a virtual machine.** That's expected. A Linux VPS image is a container filesystem with no kernel. Import it into LXD, Incus, or LXC instead, or use a Premium VPS image if you need a bootable disk. - **Windows or macOS won't open the image.** That's expected, they don't read Linux filesystems. Use one of the options above (WSL2, a Linux VM, or an ext4 reader). - **I have a Windows VPS.** Full disk images aren't self-service for Windows. [Open a ticket](https://vpsdime.com/open-ticket/). ## Still need help? You can [open a support ticket](https://vpsdime.com/open-ticket/). So we can help on the first reply, it's worth mentioning: - the VPS hostname or IP, - whether it's a Linux VPS or a Premium VPS, - the backup date you downloaded, - what you're trying to do with the image (keep it, mount it, or migrate), - the operating system on your computer. ## Related questions - "How do I download a full copy of my VPS?" - "What format is the backup image?" - "How do I mount my Linux VPS backup image?" - "How do I import my Linux VPS image into Incus, LXD, or LXC?" - "Why can't I boot my Linux VPS image as a virtual machine?" - "How do I run my Premium VPS backup as a virtual machine?" - "How do I open the backup image on Windows or macOS?" - "How long is the download link valid?" - "My download keeps failing, how do I resume it?"