A Cisco 7200 series router displays the Bad CPU ID error message at bootup

[TCC_2]

Core Issue

This error message occurs if either the boot image, or the main Cisco IOS  Software image, is incompatible with the Network Processing Engine (NPE) or Network Services Engine (NSE) installed on the router. Depending on which image is incompatible, the router can boot to the ROM Monitor (ROMmon) mode, boot mode, or the main Cisco IOS Software mode.

Resolution

To eliminate the error message, the software must be upgraded to a compatible version. To determine which software requires an upgrade, perform these steps:

1. Identify the NPE or NSE installed. If the router is in boot mode or full Cisco IOS Software mode, issue the show version command, as shown:

   7200#show version
   Cisco Internetwork Operating System Software
   IOS (tm) 7200 Software (C7200-P-M), Version 12.2(12a), RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
   Copyright (c) 1986-2002 by Cisco Systems, Inc.
   Compiled Tue 24-Sep-02 00:37 by pwade
   Image text-base: 0x60008940, data-base: 0x610B8000
   
   ROM: System Bootstrap, Version 12.0(19990210:195103) [12.0XE 105],DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE
   
   Lima5 uptime is 1 day, 51 minutes
   System returned to ROM by reload at 14:03:47 ARG Wed Nov 27 2002
   System restarted at 14:05:31 ARG Wed Nov 27 2002
   System image file is "slot0:c7200-p-mz.122-12a.bin"
   
   Cisco 7206VXR (NPE300) processor (revision D) with 122880K/40960K bytes of memory.
   Processor board ID 20391634
   R7000 CPU at 262Mhz, Implementation 39, Rev 1.0, 256KB L2, 2048KB L3 Cache
   6 slot VXR midplane, Version 2.0

2. Once the NPE or NSE has been identified, determine the Cisco IOS Software version requirements by referring to the Software Support for Hardware section of the Software Advisor.
3. Determine the images that require an upgrade by issuing the dir [filesystem:] command.    

   To check the boot image, issue the dir bootflash: command. The command depends on where the Cisco IOS Software image resides. If the image is on a Flash card, issue the dir slot0: command or the dir slot1: command. If the image is on an Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) Flash disk, issue the dir disk0: command or the dir disk1: command.

4. Once the incompatible image has been identified, upgrade the image to a compatible version. As long as an interface is available to connect to a TFTP server, this is done from boot mode or Cisco IOS Software mode.
5. If the router has booted to ROMmon mode, and a valid boot image or Cisco IOS Software image is present, boot directly to the valid image from ROMmon mode by issuing the boot flash-fs: [filename] command.

   For example, if a boot image named c7200-boot-mz.120-15.S.bin is on the bootflash, the command would be as shown:

   rommon1>boot bootflash:c7200-boot-mz.120-15.S.bin

6. If no valid image is present on either the bootflash, or on a Flash card or Flash disk, the system will not be recoverable from ROMmon mode. If another 7200 series router is available, an image can be copied to the Flash card using the other router. Otherwise, a Flash card or I/O controller with a compatible image already installed must be obtained to recover the router.
7. If the error messages started after upgrading the NPE or NSE, and the old NPE or NSE is still available, install the old NPE or NSE temporarily. This boots the router and upgrades the software. Reinstall the new NPE or NSE after the compatible software is on the Flash device.

For more information, refer to What Causes "Bad CPU ID" Messages.