Cisco Systems Cisco 12008 manual Recovering a Lost Password

Performing Other Configuration Tasks

bit 13 causes the system to continue attempting to load a boot file from the network TFTP server indefinitely. By default, bit 13 in the software configuration register is set to 0 at the factory prior to router shipment.

Table 4-3 summarizes the functions of all of the bits in the software configuration register.

Recovering a Lost Password

This section tells you how to recover a lost password. The following is a general outline of the password recovery process:

1Issue the show version command to determine the current contents of the software configuration register.

2Break to the ROM monitor prompt (rommon>).

3Change the software configuration register setting to 0x0040. This setting causes the system to ignore the contents of NVRAM, enabling you to see your password.

4Enter the privileged EXEC mode.

5Enter the show startup-configcommand to display the enable password.

6Change the software configuration register value back to its original setting.

To recover a lost password, perform the following steps.

Note If the enable password is encrypted, the following procedure will not work for password recovery and you will have to reconfigure the system before attempting a reboot. To reconfigure the system, use the displayed configuration, as revealed by issuing the show startup-configcommand in the privileged EXEC mode (see Step 11).

Step 1 Attach an ASCII terminal to the RP console port.

Step 2 Configure the terminal to operate at 9600 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, and 2 stop bits (or to whatever settings the console port is currently set).

Observing System Startup and Performing a Basic Configuration 4-43