In the standard Ubuntu Server installation if there was a problem during the boot process, next time you start the machine it will stop at the GRUB menu and wait for manual interaction. On headless machines this is not desired, but you can avoid it using the following settings: Edit /etc/default/grub and add the following line: GRUB_RECORDFAIL_TIMEOUT=1 Then run: sudo update-grub Next time the machine will not stop if there is a boot error. Source: http://askubuntu.com/questions/55551/how-can-i-force-ubuntu-to-boot-on-a-stuck-boot-menu