enabling USB for storage on Cisco 2901

[sameermulgund1]

Hi Team,

I am working on commissioning new Console server using cisco 2901 router. I need to upgrade the IOS through USB drive. I have attached pen drive to the USB port on the router however its not getting recognized. there are no logs on the device.

When I checked show usb port

Port Number: 0
Status: Enabled
Connection State: Connected
Speed: High
Power State: ON

Port Number: 1
Status: Disabled
Connection State: Disconnected
Speed: Unknown
Power State: ON

show usb device command shows -

Device not found

how to enable the USB port to recognize mass storage and enable to copy IOS for upgrade.

Quick help is appreciated.

Regards

[Mark Malone]

Hi it needs to be formatted to FAT mode for the Cisco devices to recognise it ? what is it currently formatted too ?

I just checked mine that's in a 4k router now its set as FAT32 and recognised

[sameermulgund1]

Thanks. I have formatted the pen drive with FAT32 but still router is not recognizing the drive. There are no logs on the router.

show usb drive shows below

Index: 0
Owner Mask: 0x6
Class Code: 0x0
Subclass Code: 0x0
Protocol: 0x0
Interface Class Code: 0x8
Interface Subclass Code: 0x6
Interface Protocol Code: 0x50
Product ID: 0x0
Vendor ID: 0x30F123D0
Attached Devices:
    None

Index: 1
Owner Mask: 0x5
Class Code: 0x9
Subclass Code: 0x10000
Protocol: 0x4E20
Interface Class Code: 0x3CF60000
Interface Subclass Code: 0x227A2E3C
Interface Protocol Code: 0x21CD1888
Product ID: 0x21D8CB60
Vendor ID: 0x0
Attached Devices:
    None

Index: 2
Owner Mask: 0x10
Class Code: 0x0
Subclass Code: 0x0
Protocol: 0x0
Interface Class Code: 0x0
Interface Subclass Code: 0x0
Interface Protocol Code: 0x0
Product ID: 0x0
Vendor ID: 0x0
Attached Devices:
    None

Index: 3
Owner Mask: 0x1
Class Code: 0x0
Subclass Code: 0x0
Protocol: 0x0
Interface Class Code: 0x0
Interface Subclass Code: 0x0
Interface Protocol Code: 0x0
Product ID: 0x514
Vendor ID: 0x529
Attached Devices:
    None

Index: 4
Owner Mask: 0x1
Class Code: 0x0
Subclass Code: 0x0
Protocol: 0x0
Interface Class Code: 0x0
Interface Subclass Code: 0x0
Interface Protocol Code: 0x0
Product ID: 0x600
Vendor ID: 0x529
Attached Devices:
    None

I have reloaded the router couple of times but no use. Is there any switch on the router to enable the mass storage?

[Mark Malone]

no switch,  once the usb is formatted the router reads it and a log appears its available , then you can see it in dir usb

try fat16 and try another spare usb some don't get recognized sometimes

[Leo Laohoo]

If the USB stick is supported or not, it will show up in the "sh log".

[Leo Laohoo]

Depends entirely on the size and manufacturer of the USB flash drive.  

I've got pretty good success with a 16Gb  Samsung Bar (image below).

Samsung Bar 16 Gb

[carlosgfranco]

For anyone else out there having this issue: The drive needs to be formatted as FAT (a.k.a FAT16).

FAT can only be used on partitions of up to 4GB so if you have a flashdrive larger than that, you'll need to use diskpart (or your preferred partition software) to create a partition of max 4GB. Then you will be able to format that partition as FAT and the router will recognise it.

These are the diskpart commands on Windows. THIS WILL WIPE THE CONTENTS OF YOUR USB PENDRIVE:

diskpart
list disk
select disk <INDEX OF USB DISK>
clean
create part primary size=4000
active

Done! Now you can use Windows Explorer to format the drive as FAT.

Cheers!