Can a 2960X start from a USB

[Steveosh72]

Can i start a 2960X switch from a USB. not to copy files from the usb.. but actually start from a bin file thats on a USB stick

[Steveosh72]

I have a new 2960X , but it doesn't have any IOS on it.   it does not recognize any commands, so i assume there is no IOS on it.

[Leo Laohoo]

Yes, it can be done as long as it's using a supported USB flash drive.

[Steveosh72]

so is there a special way to do it? or just put the IOS on the flash drive and restart the switch?

[Mark Malone]

yes have the image on the usb and you need to set the boot statement to the usb not the standard flash , save it then reload

no boot system

boot system usbflash0:.......image name

[Steveosh72]

switch: boot system usbflash0:c2960x-universalk9-mz.152-5b.E.bin

this is what i get

usage: boot [-n|-j] [-p] [-c] [-f] [-i] [-m] [-notnd] [-notni] [-post] [-skip_post] [-reserve_mem <1-15>] [-no_esp_keepalive] [<filename>]

[Mark Malone]

Try

boot usbflash0:c2960x-universalk9-mz.152-5b.E.bin

[Steveosh72]

so here is what i get when i try copying the file over to flash

switch: copy usbflash0:/c2960x-universalk9-tar.152-2.E6.tar flash:/
ERR: usbd_bulk_transfer fail status 32
ERR: Read ERROR start 0 blks 1
ERR: usbd_bulk_transfer fail status 8
ERR: usbd_bulk_transfer fail status 32
ERR: Read ERROR start 0 blks 1
ERR: usbd_bulk_transfer fail status 8
ERR: usbd_bulk_transfer fail status 32
ERR: Read ERROR start 0 blks 1
ERR: usbd_bulk_transfer fail status 8

[Leo Laohoo]

switch: copy usbflash0:/c2960x-universalk9-tar.152-2.E6.tar flash:/

Hold on ... 

1. You can't copy a file from ROMmon. 
2. You're copying a TAR file from the USB.

Put a BIN file in the USB flash drive and instruct the switch to boot the IOS BIN file, from ROMmon, found in the USB flash drive using the command "boot usbflash0:IOS_filename.bin"

[basharatkhan25]

you must use FAT16 system on a ubs stick maximum of 2 GB capacity, more then this can not be converted to FAT16 ant thats what cisco switches supports. Then copy the imageFile.bin on you newly made 1GB or 2GB usb memory stick and punt it into the switch usb port. start the switch and enter the command to boot from usb drive:

Switch:  boot usbflash0:imagefile.bin

switch will start and do what ever you want. :)

[basharatkhan25]

Hi. 

Thank you vey much. it was a great help which worked :-)

[justinm02]

I am also experiencing this issue, and i have a 2gb flash drive formatted at fat16 and i have tried both 32k and 64k allocation unit sizes. is there a specific brand or something else that i can be pointed to? I feel like rommon on a 2960X should be easier to recover from. the 3850 series are super simple. output below:

switch: dir
ERR: usbd_bulk_transfer fail status 32
ERR: Read ERROR start 0 blks 1
ERR: !CSWSIGNATURE
ERR: usbd_bulk_transfer fail status 8
ERR: usbd_bulk_transfer error status 8
usbd_control_transfer fail status 8
usbd_control_transfer fail status 8
usbd_control_transfer fail status 8
ERR: Read ERROR start 0 blks 1
ERR: !CSWSIGNATURE
usbd_control_transfer fail status 8
usbd_control_transfer fail status 8
usbd_control_transfer fail status 8
ERR: !CSWSIGNATURE
usbd_control_transfer fail status 8
usbd_control_transfer fail status 8
usbd_control_transfer fail status 8
ERR: Read ERROR start 0 blks 1
ERR: !CSWSIGNATURE
usbd_control_transfer fail status 8
usbd_control_transfer fail status 8
-- MORE --
usbd_control_transfer fail status 8

usbflash0: contains unexpected values in partition table or boot sector.
Device needs formatting before use!

List of filesystems currently registered:

bs[1]: (read-only)
flash[9]: (read-write)
xmodem[10]: (read-only)
null[11]: (read-write)
tftp[12]: (read-only)
usbflash0[13]: (read-write)

switch:

[Leo Laohoo]

so is there a special way to do it

Format (FAT 16) the USB flash first before putting any file(s) in.  

Make sure the USB flash drive does NOT exceed 16 Gb (it's a UNIX thing).  

So far, I've am using a Samsung BAR (SKU: MUF-16BA) with good success.  

Cisco has three varieties of USB thumb drives in CCW: 

• N7K-USB-8GB (Nexus 7K USB Flash Memory, 8 Gb);
• UCS-USBFLSHA-8GB (UCS C22/C24 USB Flash Memory, 8 Gb); and
• UCS-USBFLSHB-16GB (UCS Server USB Flash Memory, 16 Gb)

The first one, N7K-USB-8GB, normally comes free when you buy a Nexus 7K Sup2 supervisor card.  

[Ranjan Parulekar]

hi i have a cisco catalyst 2960-x switch and i am unable to downgrade the ios version.