Consolidated Platform Configuration Guide, Cisco Ios Release 15.2(4)E (Catalyst 2960-X Switches - Cisco Catalyst 2960 series Configuration Manual

How to Troubleshoot the Software Configuration
On these switches, a system administrator can disable some of the functionality of this feature by allowing
Note
an end user to reset a password only by agreeing to return to the default configuration. If you are an end
user trying to reset a password when password recovery has been disabled, a status message shows this
during the recovery process.
You enable or disable password recovery by using the service password-recovery global configuration
command.
The switch supports homogeneous stacking and mixed stacking. Mixed stacking is supported only with the
Catalyst 2960-S switches. A homogenous stack can have up to eight stack members, while a mixed stack can
have up to four stack members. All switches in a switch stack must be running the LAN Base image.
Step 1 Connect a terminal or PC to the switch.
• Connect a terminal or a PC with terminal-emulation software to the switch console port.
Or
• Connect a PC to the Ethernet management port.
Step 2 Set the line speed on the emulation software to 9600 baud.
Step 3 On a switch, power off the switch.
Step 4
Reconnect the power cord to the switch. Within 15 seconds, press the Mode button while the System LED is still flashing
green. Continue pressing the Mode button until all the system LEDs turn on and remain solid, then release the Mode
button.
Several lines of information about the software appear with instructions, informing you if the password recovery procedure
has been disabled or not.
• If you see a message that begins with this statement:
The system has been interrupted prior to initializing the flash file system. The following
commands will initialize the flash file system
proceed to the "Procedure with Password Recovery Enabled" section, and follow the steps.
• If you see a message that begins with this statement:
The password-recovery mechanism has been triggered, but is currently disabled.
proceed to the "Procedure with Password Recovery Disabled" section, and follow the steps.
Step 5 After recovering the password, reload the switch.
On a switch:
Switch> reload
Proceed with reload? [confirm] y

Consolidated Platform Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(4)E (Catalyst 2960-X Switches)

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