Recovering from a Lost or Forgotten Password
The default configuration for the switch allows an end user with physical access to the switch to recover from
a lost password by interrupting the boot process during power-on and by entering a new password. These
recovery procedures require that you have physical access to the switch.
On these switches, a system administrator can disable some of the functionality of this feature by allowing
an end user to reset a password only by agreeing to return to the default configuration. If you are an end user
trying to reset a password when password recovery has been disabled, a status message shows this during the
recovery process.
Note
Procedure
Step 1 Connect a terminal or PC to the switch.
• Connect a terminal or a PC with terminal-emulation software to the switch console port.
• Connect a PC to the Ethernet management port.
Step 2 Set the line speed on the emulation software to 9600 baud.
Step 3 Power off the standalone switch or the entire switch stack.
Step 4 For a device with dual supervisor module, remove the standy supervisor from the chassis before the password
recovery procedure. Reconnect the power cord to the switch or the active supervisor module. Press Ctrl-C to
prevent autoboot and to get into ROMMON mode while the switch or the active supervisor module is booting
up.
Proceed to the Procedure with Password Recovery Enabled section, and follow the steps.
Step 5 After recovering the password, reload the switch or the active switch.
On a switch:
Switch> reload
Proceed with reload? [confirm] y
Procedure with Password Recovery Enabled
Procedure
Step 1 Ignore the startup configuration with the following command:
Device: SWITCH_IGNORE_STARTUP_CFG=1
Step 2 Boot the switch with the packages.conf file from flash.
System Management Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru 17.4.x (Catalyst 9400 Switches)
402
Troubleshooting the Software Configuration
Recovering from a Lost or Forgotten Password
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