Upgrading IOS on router without TFTP

[vendors04]

I purchased a used 3620 router that came with a NM-2FE2W interface card.  When I run sh int, no interfaces are displayed.  Currently the IOS version on the router is 11.1, and according to the link below this interface card requires at least IOS 12 to work on this router.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/routers/3600-series-multiservice-platforms/7254-nm-fe2w.html

As far as I can tell, upgrading IOS through TFTP requires that an interface be active in order to issue it an IP to communicate with the TFTP server.  So my question is: can anyone tell me how to upgrade IOS in this situation?  Is there a way to do it without using TFTP or are there other solutions to this issue? 

Thank you.

[Leo Laohoo]

Is there a way to do it without using TFTP or are there other solutions to this issue?

Do you have a PCMCIA card and a PCMCIA card reader?  You can tell the router to boot via a PCMCIA card.  

Xmodem Procedure for Downloading a Cisco IOS Software Image onto a Cisco 3600 Router

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[vendors04]

Thanks.  I just came across that method on the Cisco site, but unfortunately the router did not come with a PCMCIA card.  I might look into purchasing one.

There has been somewhat of a development, though.  I now have a Serial interface card in the 3620 router.  I've configured one of the serial interfaces to be active.  (The Eth int card is still unrecognized, of course.)  With just a serial int I still don't have a way of connecting to a TFTP server (that I'm aware of).  However, I thought I came across an article in the past that said it's possible to upgrade/copy an IOS image from a connected network device (i.e. neighboring router, in this case).  Can anyone confirm this and/or provide instructions for doing that type of upgrade?

Thank you.

[Leo Laohoo]

However, I thought I came across an article in the past that said it's possible to upgrade/copy an IOS image from a connected network device (i.e. neighboring router, in this case).  Can anyone confirm this and/or provide instructions for doing that type of upgrade?

It ain't going to work.  3600-series routers don't have any ethernet interfaces to start with.  There are only two "ways" of doing things, either copy the IOS directly through a PCMCIA card or via the console cable.  

[vendors04]

I didn't notice your link to the xmodem method at first, but I've been attempting that without success.  I am using Hyperterminal to send the IOS image file through the console to the 3620 router.  I have tried twice, and both times at the end of the 4.5hr transfer, the transfer simply ends, the router does not reboot, and no error is initially shown in the console.  However, when I hit enter, I am presented with this message:

monitor: command "TokenCryptoH32" not found

I couldn't find anything about the phrase "TokenCrypto" online.  I could be using the wrong IOS images, but these are supposedly the IOS 12.2/12.3 images for the 3620.  I've tried the file c3620-j1s3-mz.123-26.image and c3620-jk9o3s-mz.122-32.image.  Prior to the most recent xmodem file transfer, I even deleted the internal flash thinking the problem might be space on the flash card.  No difference.  Any help would be much appreciated.  Thanks.

[Leo Laohoo]

My link also tells you how to increase the 9600 Baud rate of the Xmodem transfer to 512000.  This will significantly bring down the time to upload the IOS. 

Check the MD5 hash value of the IOS file you've downloaded against the MD5 hash value found in the Cisco website.  I'm suspecting your IOS is corrupt.  

[William Burton]

Hi,

#1 bump speed of the AUX port to the max usable speed, typically 115200 for async communications

#2 look up SLIP connections for AUX ports on Cisco.com and connect to a tftp server running on a linux box.

Forgotten skills, standard many years ago.

Bill B. CCIE # 1119