Not in Possession of Password for Cisco 871W

[PeterR5368]

Recently, I purchased a Cisco 871W Router with which to practice/study for my CCENT with. Since I have made the purchase, it has given me nothing but headaches.

I cannot access the router to configure it, as the previous owner has a password set on it to access enable mode, which he/she has forgotten.

Here is the message that I receive when I attempt to log in into the router, to access enable mode.

[IMG]http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii336/BOB421C4/IMG_20120707_140325.jpg[/IMG]

Apparently there is supposed to be a one-time username and password of "cisco", but this is not the case.

I have tried to do a password recovery, following this post discussion thread:

https://supportforums.cisco.com/thread/193005

Unfortunately, this has not worked, and I am sure that I am doing something incorrectly. I am connected to the router via console cable and have tried power cycling the router and entering the break sequence, powercycling again, and then holding the spacebar down for 15 seconds. The preceding has produced no results to speak of. Following, I set my terminal emulator, Tera Term, to the baud rate of 1200, powercycled the router, and held down the space bar for 20 seconds. I then immediately set the baud rate back to 9600. Nothing occurred, once again.

Furthermore, I have followed the password recovery instructions set forth by Cisco.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/routers/access/800/850/software/configuration/guide/trouble.html#wp1038210

Nothing has come of these methods, either, and I do not see how they would work, or even apply to my situation, as Cisco seems to imply they should, as I cannot get into enable mode, let alone privileged mode or conf t mode, as the guidelines require.

Here is some info that may help in troubleshooting:

OS: Win 7 HP 64 bit

Terminal Emulator: Tera Term

Router is not currently connected to any sort of internet connection. Only the power cord and console cable are properly connected.

So, as it stands right now, I am plain confused and lost!

Hopefully this can be figured out quickly.

[darren.g]

Connect to the router console port using a Cisco console cable (the port  will be the same colour blue as the console cable is - a kind of light,  sky-blue).

Use your terminal program with the following settings

9600

8 data, 1 stop bits

hardware flow control

Power on the router.

Do you see the startup proces? Do you see ANYTHING?

If you don't, then either your terminal connection is bad, or the router is dead. If you do, capture the output and paste it here.

Cheers

[PeterR5368]

Yes, the entire startup process is run, the configuration is grabbed from the NVRAM and run, and then, at the end, when RETURN is pressed to start, the text appears that is in the image posted above. Click the image link to see it.

Here is everything that appears when I boot up the router and try to enter what is supposed to be the one-time username and password of "cisco".

(In attached .txt file.)

[darren.g]

Peter Ramacher wrote:
Yes, the entire startup process is run, the configuration is grabbed from the NVRAM and run, and then, at the end, when RETURN is pressed to start, the text appears that is in the image posted above. Click the image link to see it.
Here is everything that appears when I boot up the router and try to enter what is supposed to be the one-time username and password of "cisco".
(In attached .txt file.)

OK, that looks like a normal startup, with no indication that password recovery is disabled, so you SHOULD be able to break it.

When you're conected with TeraTerm, unplug the router, then plug it back in and start hitting ALT-B - forget CTRL-6 or the space bar, TeraTerm (assuming you're using 3.1.3 like I am) uses ALT-B to send the break command.

Hit this combination several times during startup until you get to the ROMMON prompt (once *should* be enough, but I've had to do it several times in the past) - it might take you a couple of boots to hit it at just the right moment - and once you're there the rest of the password recovery process should be pretty normal - set your config register to 0x2142, reset, then copy start run, no shut all interfaces, change your username/password with "username cisco password test", set the config register back to 0x2102, copy run start and you should be able to reboot the router and get back into it.

Cheers.

[johnlloyd_13]

hi peter,

why not push the reset button behind to factory reset your 871?

[PeterR5368]

The reset button appears to do nothing at all.

I am trying to get the ALT-B sequence entered at the right time as I type this message.

I'll post back soon.

Also, should any of the boot up sequence run and appear on Tera Term after ALT-B is hit? I just cannot seem to get it right.

[PeterR5368]

I am not getting anywhere by powering on the router and then immediately pressing the "ALT-B" key sequence. The router just proceeds to run through its normal boot sequence. ROMMON mode does not appear.

Currently, I am using Tera Term version 4.74, and I see no information regarding the fact that the break key sequence may be different for this version.

I am going to try another terminal emulation program, and hopefully some of you guys will have more input and knowledge with regard to this situation.

Okay, I just tried HyperTerminal and attempted to use the CTRL-F6 break sequence that it supports. This dd nothing. The bootup sequence ran normally.

I then tried the break sequence simulation that Cisco recommends here:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/routers/ps133/products_tech_note09186a0080174a34.shtml

This also produced no results.

I am stuck on what to do next, and am tired of wasting time with this router. I would like to move onto getting to know the CLI and SDM better, as planned, but this is standing in my way.

[paolo bevilacqua]

Try a different USB/serial adapter. Also try Putty, or Kitty.

[PeterR5368]

I don't have another USB/serial adapter.

I downloaded and tried to use Putty before trying Hyperterminal, but Putty would not begin a Serial connection for me.

The settings appear to be correct. I hit open, but nothing occurs.

[paolo bevilacqua]

You will need an adapter that produces break correctly. The one you're using likely doesn't.

[PeterR5368]

Do you have any recommendations for me, Paolo?

I am not sure what I should purchase this time around.

[Peter Paluch]

Peter and Paolo,

I do not want to invade this thread - this is clearly Paolo's thread and I respect that, just a suggestion:

The "break" sequence is in fact not a character sent through the serial console at all. Rather, if the Tx line is held at logical 0 for a longer time than is required to transmit a single character, this event is considered a break.

Therefore, an alternate way of generating the break is to configure the COM port (or the USB-to-COM) to a low speed, say, 1200bps, and hitting several keys in hope they will cause the Tx line be pulled to logical 0 for enough time to make the CON port on the router (still running at 9600bps) treat that as a break. This has to be done fairly quickly during the router bootup phase while the # signs are being displayed. Of course, after making this experiment, one has to reconfigure the COM port back to 9600bps to see if the experiment had any effect.

Peter, would you mind trying this?

Best regards,

Peter

[PeterR5368]

Peter, thank you for lending some assistance. I appreciate it.

When I set the BPS to 1200 and then power on the router, all that I see is gibberish displayed. The boot sequence does not appear, so I cannot attempt to press random keys during the displaying of the #'s. Just to be sure, I tried pressing some random keys while the gibberish was displaying at the 1200 BPS setting, but this did nothing. I also pressed random keys while the router was displaying the #'s during the boot up, with the BPS set at 9600. This resulted in nothing as well.

Do I have a setting incorrectly set here?

[pompeychimes]

Try connecting with each of the available flow control settings.

James

[PeterR5368]

pompeychimes wrote:
Try connecting with each of the available flow control settings.
James

Just tried that, no difference.

I am looking at picking up this Keyspan USB to Serial converter cable. It is aid to support the Cisco break sequence. Any thoughts on it?

http://www.amazon.com/Keyspan-USA-19HS-Hi-Speed-supports-Sequence/dp/B0000VYJRY

Does anybody have recommendations on console cables for me, to ensure that I have a proper connection to my Cisco devices that supports all Cisco commands?