Techniques for recovering from boot failures over a computer network

A client device in a client/server network, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• one or more storage devices on which an operating system configured to cause the client device to transition into an operational computing state is stored, the one or more storage devices further storing a custom bootloader with a set of computer readable instructions executable by the processor, a standard bootloader of the operating system, wherein the custom bootloader is configured to issue one or more instructions that supersede one or more instructions issued by the standard bootloader,
• wherein, when executed by the processor, the set of computer readable instructions of the custom bootloader cause the processor to:
• detect an unsuccessful boot of the operating system on the client device, in which the unsuccessful boot comprises the client device being unable to enter a subsequent phase of a boot process after an initial phase of the boot process;
• connect to a server on the client/server network;
• obtain a desirable playbook comprising a set of instructions from the server that are configured to remediate an inability of the client device to enter the subsequent phase of the boot process;
• and
• execute the desirable playbook on the client to cause the client device to enter the subsequent phase of the boot process, thereby transforming the client device from an inoperable state to an operational state.

A client device in a client/server network, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• one or more storage devices on which an operating system configured to cause the client device to transition into an operational computing state is stored, the one or more storage devices further storing a set of computer readable instructions executable by the processor, and a standard bootloader of the operating system,
• wherein, when executed by the processor, the set of computer readable instructions cause the processor to:
• detect an unsuccessful boot of the operating system on the client device, in which the unsuccessful boot comprises the client device being unable to enter a subsequent phase of a boot process after an initial phase of the boot process;
• responsive to detecting the unsuccessful boot of the operating system, execute one or more instructions that supersede one or more instructions issued by the standard bootloader,
• when executed by the processor, the one or more instructions superseding the one or more instructions issued by the standard bootloader cause the processor to:
• establish a connection over a computer network to a server on the client/server network and communicate one or more bootup conditions of the client device;
• receive from the server over the computer network, a desirable playbook comprising a set of instructions configured to cause the client device to enter the subsequent phase of the boot process, the desirable playbook being based on the one or more boot conditions communicated to the server from the client device and from previous playbooks prepared by the server to address similar boot conditions on one or more different client devices in the client/server network having a same computing environment profile in order to produce a remedied computing environment profile;
• and
• execute the desirable playbook on the client device to adjust one or more properties of a computing environment profile of the client device to conform to the remedied computing environment profile and to cause the client device to enter the subsequent phase of the boot process, thereby transforming the client device from an inoperable state to an operational state.