42-2
Cisco ME 3400 Ethernet Access Switch Software Configuration Guide
OL-9639-06
Chapter 42 Troubleshooting
Recovering from Corrupted Software By Using the Xmodem Protocol
Recovering from Corrupted Software By Using the Xmodem Protocol
Switch software can be corrupted during an upgrade, by downloading the wrong file to the switch, and
by deleting the image file. In all of these cases, the switch does not pass the power-on self-test (POST),
and there is no connectivity.
This procedure uses the Xmodem Protocol to recover from a corrupt or wrong image file. There are many
software packages that support the Xmodem Protocol, and this procedure is largely dependent on the
emulation software that you are using.
This recovery procedure requires that you have physical access to the switch. The Cisco ME switch boot
loader uses break-key detection to stop the automatic boot sequence for the password recovery purpose.
Note The break key character is different for each operating system.
On a SUN work station running UNIX, Ctrl-C is the break key.
On a PC running Windows XP or 2000, Ctrl-Break is the break key.
Cisco TAC has tabulated break keys for most common operating systems and an alternative break key
sequence for those terminal emulators that do not support the break keys. For that list, see
http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/701/61.html#how-to
Step 1 From your PC, download the software image tar file (image_filename.tar) from Cisco.com.
The Cisco IOS image is stored as a bin file in a directory in the tar file. For information about locating
the software image files on Cisco.com, see the release notes
Step 2 Extract the bin file from the tar file.
• If you are using Windows, use a zip program that can read a tar file. Use the zip program to navigate
to and extract the bin file.
• If you are using UNIX, follow these steps:
1. Display the contents of the tar file by using the tar -tvf <image_filename.tar> UNIX command.
switch% tar -tvf image_filename.tar
2. Locate the bin file, and extract it by using the tar -xvf <image_filename.tar>
<image_filename.bin> UNIX command.
switch% tar -xvf image_filename.tar image_filename.bin
x me340x-metroipaccess-mz.122-25.EX.bin 3970586 bytes, 7756 tape blocks
3. Verify that the bin file was extracted by using the ls -l <image_filename.bin> UNIX command.
switch% ls -l image_filename.bin
-rw-r--r-- 1 boba 3560586 Apr 21 12:00
me340x-metroipaccess-mz.122-25.EX.bin/
Step 3 Connect your PC with terminal-emulation software supporting the Xmodem Protocol to the switch
console port.
Step 4 Set the line speed on the emulation software to 9600 baud.
Step 5 Unplug the switch power cord.