diff --git a/src/main/managed-server/install/orcad-remote-host-support.ts b/src/main/managed-server/install/orcad-remote-host-support.ts
index db44dd5ff8b..5a1549ebc85 100644
--- a/src/main/managed-server/install/orcad-remote-host-support.ts
+++ b/src/main/managed-server/install/orcad-remote-host-support.ts
@@ -45,6 +45,20 @@ export function posixProcessAliveShellFunction(
     : 'kill -0 "$1" 2>/dev/null || return 1; '
   return (
     `orcad_alive() { ${probe}` +
-    'case "$(ps -o stat= -p "$1" 2>/dev/null)" in Z*) return 1;; esac; return 0; };'
+    'orcad_stat=$(ps -o stat= -p "$1" 2>/dev/null) && [ -n "$orcad_stat" ] || ' +
+    // Field 3 of /proc/<pid>/stat follows the last ")": comm itself may hold spaces or parens.
+    'orcad_stat=$(cat "/proc/$1/stat" 2>/dev/null) && orcad_stat=${orcad_stat##*") "}; ' +
+    'case "$orcad_stat" in Z*) return 1;; esac; return 0; };'
+  )
+}
+
+/** Prints a PID's argv; slim Linux images ship no ps, so fall back to /proc (#34149). */
+export function posixProcessArgsShellFunction(): string {
+  return (
+    'orcad_args() { orcad_argv=$(ps -o args= -p "$1" 2>/dev/null) && [ -n "$orcad_argv" ] || ' +
+    '{ orcad_argv=$(tr "\\000" " " 2>/dev/null < "/proc/$1/cmdline") || return 1; ' +
+    // Kernel threads and zombies have no argv; their stat line still names them.
+    '[ -n "$orcad_argv" ] || orcad_argv=$(cat "/proc/$1/stat" 2>/dev/null) || return 1; }; ' +
+    'printf "%s\\n" "$orcad_argv"; };'
   )
 }
diff --git a/src/main/managed-server/install/orcad-remote-launch.ts b/src/main/managed-server/install/orcad-remote-launch.ts
index 52da6decb44..6fa6c37eaff 100644
--- a/src/main/managed-server/install/orcad-remote-launch.ts
+++ b/src/main/managed-server/install/orcad-remote-launch.ts
@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@ import {
   ORCAD_PID_MACHINE_FILENAME,
   ORCAD_READINESS_FILENAME,
   ORCAD_READINESS_MAX_BYTES,
-  posixProcessAliveShellFunction
+  posixProcessAliveShellFunction,
+  posixProcessArgsShellFunction
 } from './orcad-remote-host-support'
 import type { ServeReadiness } from '../../server/serve-readiness'
 import { selectOrcadSlotRuntimeCommand } from './orcad-remote-runtime'
@@ -219,12 +220,13 @@ export function orcadLivenessProbeCommand(
   )
   return [
     posixProcessAliveShellFunction({ refuseUnverifiable: true }),
+    posixProcessArgsShellFunction(),
     // PID reuse needs argv identity; absent ps leaves conservative liveness checks to decide.
     `orcad_launcher=${launcher}; orcad_server=${server};`,
     // The probe's own shell, or the shell wrapping it, carries the slot paths in its argv; after a
     // restart either can hold the old PID. A shell elsewhere may be an older launcher's live parent.
     'orcad_reused() { { [ "$1" = "$$" ] || [ "$1" = "$PPID" ]; } && return 0; ' +
-      'args=$(ps -o args= -p "$1" 2>/dev/null) && [ -n "$args" ] && ' +
+      'args=$(orcad_args "$1") && [ -n "$args" ] && ' +
       'case "$args" in *"$orcad_launcher"* | *"$orcad_server"*) return 1;; *) return 0;; esac; };',
     `pid=$(cat ${pidFile} 2>/dev/null);`,
     'case "$pid" in',
diff --git a/src/main/managed-server/install/orcad-remote-shell-commands.integration.test.ts b/src/main/managed-server/install/orcad-remote-shell-commands.integration.test.ts
index 1388e5ce2dc..b3553216f82 100644
--- a/src/main/managed-server/install/orcad-remote-shell-commands.integration.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/managed-server/install/orcad-remote-shell-commands.integration.test.ts
@@ -532,6 +532,33 @@ describe('liveness and stop commands, run for real', () => {
     }
   })
 
+  // Slim Linux images ship no ps; after a reboot the recorded PID often names a new process (#34149).
+  it.runIf(process.platform === 'linux')(
+    'reads argv from /proc on a host without ps, so a reused PID is DEAD and the slot is LIVE',
+    () => {
+      const noPs = 'ps() { return 127; };'
+      const stranger = spawn('/bin/sh', ['-c', 'sleep 30'], { stdio: 'ignore' })
+      const slot = spawn(
+        process.execPath,
+        ['-e', 'setTimeout(() => {}, 30000)', join(versionDir, 'orcad.js')],
+        { stdio: 'ignore' }
+      )
+      try {
+        writeFileSync(join(versionDir, ORCAD_PID_FILENAME), String(stranger.pid))
+        expect(
+          parseOrcadLiveness(sh(`${noPs} ${orcadLivenessProbeCommand(host, versionDir)}`))
+        ).toBe('DEAD')
+        writeFileSync(join(versionDir, ORCAD_PID_FILENAME), String(slot.pid))
+        expect(
+          parseOrcadLiveness(sh(`${noPs} ${orcadLivenessProbeCommand(host, versionDir)}`))
+        ).toBe('LIVE')
+      } finally {
+        stranger.kill('SIGKILL')
+        slot.kill('SIGKILL')
+      }
+    }
+  )
+
   it.each(['orcad.js', 'orcad-server.js'])(
     'reports LIVE and stops a running %s even without entry files',
     async (entry) => {
@@ -574,6 +601,13 @@ describe('liveness and stop commands, run for real', () => {
       expect(sh(`ps -o stat= -p ${child.pid} || echo GONE`).trim()).toMatch(/^Z/)
       expect(sh(`kill -0 ${child.pid} 2>/dev/null && echo LIVE || echo DEAD`).trim()).toBe('LIVE')
       expect(parseOrcadLiveness(sh(orcadLivenessProbeCommand(host, versionDir)))).toBe('DEAD')
+      if (process.platform === 'linux') {
+        expect(
+          parseOrcadLiveness(
+            sh(`ps() { return 127; }; ${orcadLivenessProbeCommand(host, versionDir)}`)
+          )
+        ).toBe('DEAD')
+      }
       expect(
         parseOrcadStopOutcome(
           sh(stopOrcadCommand(host, versionDir, { waitSeconds: 1, justLaunched: true }))
diff --git a/tests/e2e/ssh-orcad-idle-exit.spec.ts b/tests/e2e/ssh-orcad-idle-exit.spec.ts
index f665c3661a2..a79ba591af9 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/ssh-orcad-idle-exit.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/ssh-orcad-idle-exit.spec.ts
@@ -284,6 +284,54 @@ test('a killed managed orcad comes back with its terminal, and starts fresh afte
   }
 })
 
+// Slim images ship no ps, and after a reboot the slot's recorded PID often names a new process (#34149).
+test('after a reboot on a host without ps, a recycled server PID does not keep the server down', async (// oxlint-disable-next-line no-empty-pattern -- This test owns its isolated app and host.
+{}, testInfo) => {
+  test.skip(
+    HOST !== 'docker' || !TEMPLATE_SOURCE,
+    `Set ${ORCAD_CONVERT_HOST_ENV}=docker and ORCA_E2E_ORCAD_CONVERT_TEMPLATE`
+  )
+  // Deploys a real server, then reconnects after a simulated reboot.
+  test.setTimeout(10 * 60_000)
+  const target = startDockerSshHostTarget(testInfo)
+  const session = createRestartSession(testInfo, { ORCA_ORCAD_TEMPLATE_PATH: TEMPLATE_SOURCE! })
+  let app: ElectronApplication | null = null
+  try {
+    const launched = await session.launch()
+    app = launched.app
+    const page = launched.page
+    await waitForSessionReady(page)
+    const { targetId, environmentId } = await connectManagedHost(page, target)
+    await page.evaluate((targetId) => window.api.ssh.disconnect({ targetId }), targetId)
+
+    execDockerSshHostTargetCommand(target, "pkill -KILL -f '/root/[.]orca-remote/' || true")
+    await expect.poll(() => runningOrcadPids(target), { timeout: 60_000 }).toEqual([])
+    const marker = String(800_000 + Math.floor(Math.random() * 100_000))
+    // The stale pid file now names a live process of the same user that is not orcad.
+    execDockerSshHostTargetCommand(
+      target,
+      `setsid sleep ${marker} </dev/null >/dev/null 2>&1 & ` +
+        'for f in /root/.orca-remote/orcad-*/.orcad-pid; do echo $! > "$f"; done; ' +
+        'mv "$(command -v ps)" /usr/local/ps-hidden'
+    )
+    await expect.poll(() => processAlive(target, marker), { timeout: 10_000 }).toBe(true)
+
+    const connected = JSON.parse(await reconnect(page, targetId))
+    expect(connected).toMatchObject({ kind: 'managed', environmentId })
+    expect(connected).not.toHaveProperty('serving')
+    expect(await callEnvironment(page, environmentId, 'terminal.list', {})).toMatchObject({
+      ok: true
+    })
+    expect(processAlive(target, marker)).toBe(true)
+  } finally {
+    if (app) {
+      await session.close(app)
+    }
+    await session.dispose()
+    cleanupDockerSshHostTarget(target)
+  }
+})
+
 test('a new desktop on the same build starts a server that was killed with its daemon', async (// oxlint-disable-next-line no-empty-pattern -- Playwright's second fixture arg is testInfo; the first must be an object destructure to opt out of the default fixture set.
 {}, testInfo) => {
   test.skip(