How to restore IOS to 2600 after deleting it

[jmarshall168]

Ok I was trying to erase my lab router 2600  and reset it back to the factory defaults. Well I was able to to reset it all right but I used the erase command  which worked a little to well. So now there is no IOS and the router is in ROM mode and I didnt back up the pervious IOS "Nice". So was able to get an updated IOS for my 2600 but I'm trying to install it and don't know how. I was able to get a tftp server app for my windows pc but I'm unsure on how to configure it so I can transfer the new IOS to the router. On the up side I did learn something erasing and reset are to very different things.Any help would be great thanks.

[Leo Laohoo · Accepted solution]

Xmodem Console Download Procedure Using ROMmon

To speed things up, you may want to use the "-s115200" and increase your baud speed to 115200.

[jmarshall168]

Ok I'm able to get the router configured to the point were I can transfer the IOS,But I get this error "

device does not contain a valid magic number

boot: cannot open "flash:"

boot: cannot determine first file name on device "flash:"

I'm not sure what to do at this point.

Is there a way to transfer the ios from router to router ?

[Reza Sharifi]

Can you issue below command? The IOS you currently have may be corrupted.  You may have to download a new one to your PC and do Xmodem again.

Here is the link:

http://www-tss.cisco.com/eservice/compass/common/task_ios_upgrade.htm

1. Router boots in rommon mode, and the following message appears when            you issue dir flash: command.

2. rommon 1 > dir flash: 
   device does not contain a valid magic number 
   dir: cannot open device "flash:" 
   rommon 2 >

3. When you see the above error message, it means the Flash is empty or            the filesystem is corrupted. A Xmodem console download procedure using            ROMmon may then be necessary

HTH

[jmarshall168]

Ok I'm using tera term to do the transfer > get this message "

device does not contain a valid magic number

boot: cannot open "flash:"

boot: cannot determine first file name on device "flash:"

After rebooting the router it goes into rommon 1. So just to be clear are saying issue this command "dir flash " once in rommon1? Also do I have to install the 11.3 version of the IOS or can I install 12.2 or 12.3 instead? Also I have no IOS installed on the flash of the router at all. The only thing stopping me is that error message .

Can you buy flash with the IOS already reinstalled for a 2600 router from Cisco ?

Thanks

[Reza Sharifi]

James,

So, a couple of things regarding the 2600 series. They are end-of-life and end-of-support.  So, if you buy one, you are pretty much on your own when it comes to service and warranty.  You need to download a fresh copy of the IOS (yes you can download 12.2 or 12.3 depending on the amount of memory and flash you have installed in your router). Anyway once the image is downloaded, try using the Xmodem again and see what happens.  If you have too much trouble with it and cannot get it to work, you can purchase one on Ebay for probably less then $50.  If you decided to buy one, don't get the 2600, get the 2600XM or 3620 or if you have a little more money the 2800 series is very good.

tera term should work fine. A better application is Putty.  It is also free.

HTH

[jmarshall168]

Thanks I was considering that option but, wanted to make sure before I did it. Ok live and learn