Password recovery cisco catalyst 3850

1. PASSWORD RECOVERY
CISCO CATALYST 3850
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2. PASSWORD RECOVERY CISCO
CATALYST 3850 – STEP 1
• Connect your console
cable to the 3850 and
ensure you can get a
command prompt.
• The first step is to power
your switch off.
• You need to be able to
power on switch and
hold down the mode
button at the same time.

3. STEP 2
• Now you have powered off your switch
and located the Mode Button.
• Hold the Mode Button down and connect
the power – after about 12 seconds the
SYST LED will go Amber along with all the
other four LEDS. Release the Mode Button

4. • If this step has gone well, you should be looking at the following on your laptop
The system has been interrupted prior to initializing some
filesystems and loading the operating system software.
Console will be reset to 9600 baud rate, need to change terminal setting first.
The following commands will initialize the remaining filesystems,
and finish loading the operating system software:
flash_init
boot
switch

5. • You now need to enter the two following command
• switch: SWITCH_IGNORE_STARTUP_CFG=1
• Next reboot the switch with the following command
• switch: boot --- System Configuration Dialog ---

6. Enable secret warning
----------------------------------
In order to access the device manager, an enable secret is required
If you enter the initial configuration dialog, you will be prompted for the enable secret
If you choose not to enter the intial configuration dialog, or if you exit setup without setting
the enable secret,
please set an enable secret using the following CLI in configuration mode-
enable secret 0
----------------------------------
Would you like to enter the initial configuration dialog? [yes/no]:
Answer No to this and you should be looking at a blank switch config

7. STEP 3
• You now need to copy your startup-config to the running-config so that you keep the
configuration on the switch.
• Use the command
copy startup-config running-config
• You should now see the hostname of your switch and all the configuration should be there.
• Now you either need to add another username
• username NPX privilige 15 password <your password here>
• or change the enable secret
• enable secret <new enable secret password>
• Or disable AAA
• no aaa new-model

8. • Once you have performed those steps you just need to tell the 3850 to check it’s
startup config on the next boot again, you do this with the command you used
earlier to ignore it.
• conf t
• no system ignore startupconfig switch all
Save the running config to the startup
• copy run start
or
• wr m

9. • Then reload your switch and you should be able to log back in with your newly
created password.
The command to reload the switch is simply
• Reload