My cisco 2800 series router isn't working with Putty CLI

[abelmartin1]

Hello I recently bought a used cisco 2800 series router from ebay. The seller listed the item as tested and working so im assuming the IOS is present. The hardware appears to be working it powers on and self tests. My computer sees the hardware connected to COM3 via the console port. I am using windows 7 at the moment.

I run putty and I attempt to connect to the command line interface via serial port connection but all I get is a black screen and when I press enter nothing happens.

I know I'm supposed to get a password and login screen but nothing shows up... I can't even type anything in the command line interface... Does my router have IOS installed? If so how can I tell? I'm a beginner at this so any help would be greatly appreciated. Please respond.

[Leo Laohoo]

This so-called "issue" is very common with after-market purchases, like e-bay.  The seller makes it difficult for the new buyers to use them by "scrambling" some of the basic console settings.  

Read THIS and make sure your console settings are correct.  Try different console software, like TerraTerm, for example.  If still not working, try another computer/laptop, etc. 

[Dan Lukes]

1. Feedback forum is dedicated to other topics, so I will move this thread to more appropriate community.

2. Always reset to factory defaults if device come from unknown environment. Read Password Recovery Procedure for the Cisco 2600 and 2800 Series Routers for instructions how to start device but ignore saved configuration. Delete saved configuration then. COnfigure device from scratch. Don't forget to check firmware version.