Recover password on ESW 520

[FRANCISCO IBARRA]

I need to know if there is a password recovery procedure on a switch ESW 520

thanks

[David Hornstein]

Hi Francisco,

I have taken the liberty of copying and pasting a section from the ESW admin guide;

Manual Reset

The Switch can be reset by inserting a pin or paper clip into the RESET opening.

Pressing the manual reset for 0 to 10 seconds reboots the switch. Pressing the

manual reset for longer than 10 seconds results in the switch being reset to

factory defaults.

This method is the easiest password recovery procedure, but, as suggested will also kill the configuration

I have no methods, or can think of no backdoors that can break into a switch.

regards Dave

[FRANCISCO IBARRA]

the last point answers my question. thanks

[rschindler1]

I know this was 4 years ago, but in case anyone else is looking... you can do the password recovery procedure via console (I literally just went through the process and changed the password on my Cisco ESW520 right now). Console into the switch (speed 115200), press enter to get the login page, then power cycle the switch. While the switch is booting up, you will have a chance to press Esc to stop the normal bootup and enter its menus. Once on this page, choose the option for Password Recovery Procedure. After going through the procedure (you'll just have to press Enter), you will then be able to log into the switch (still via console) with a blank password. After logging in with the blank password, you can either set up a new login (which I just did with my switch) or change your old login. 

...And that last answer was from a Cisco engineer? Seriously??? *sad face*