You can definitely delete a terminated EC2 instance. Terminated instances are no longer running and are essentially in a “shut down” state. Deleting these instances will remove them permanently from your account and free up any associated resources.
To delete a terminated EC2 instance, you will need to access the EC2 Console. You can do this by logging into your AWS Management Console and navigating to the EC2 service. Once you are in the EC2 Console, follow these steps:
1. Locate the instance: In the EC2 Console, go to the Instances page. Here, you will see a list of all your instances. Look for the instance that you want to delete. If the instance is in a terminated state, it will be displayed as “terminated” in the Status column.
2. Select the instance: Click on the instance that you want to delete. This will highlight the instance and display its details in the bottom pane of the console.
3. Terminate the instance: In the bottom pane, you will find several tabs such as Description, Tags, Security, etc. Look for the “Actions” button and click on it. From the drop-down menu, select “Instance State” and then click on “Terminate”.
4. Confirm termination: After selecting “Terminate”, a confirmation pop-up will appear asking you to confirm the termination. This is an important step to ensure that you don’t accidentally delete an instance. Review the details of the instance being terminated and click on “Terminate” to proceed.
Once you have confirmed the termination, the EC2 instance will be permanently deleted from your account. It is important to note that this action cannot be undone, so make sure you have selected the correct instance before confirming the termination.
Deleting terminated instances is a good practice to keep your EC2 resources organized and to avoid unnecessary charges for unused instances. By regularly deleting terminated instances, you can ensure that you are only paying for the resources you actually need.
In my personal experience, I have often come across situations where I had terminated instances that were still visible in the EC2 Console. These instances were no longer running, but they were still listed in the console. Deleting these terminated instances helped me keep my EC2 resources clean and avoid any confusion when managing my instances.
To summarize, yes, you can delete a terminated EC2 instance. Simply locate the instance in the EC2 Console, select it, and choose the “Terminate” option. Confirm the termination, and the instance will be permanently deleted from your account. Regularly deleting terminated instances is a good practice to keep your EC2 resources organized and avoid unnecessary charges.