A system and method in accordance with exemplary embodiments may include detecting a fault associated with a network element that is communicatively coupled to a network. After detecting the fault, the network element may receive a reset signal in response to the fault detection. After receiving the reset signal, the network element may store a new image of an operating system of the network element into memory associated with the network element. After storing the new image, the network element may reboot. During reboot, the method may load the stored new image of the operating system from memory associated with the network element.