erase flash IOS reinstall 851w

ephelps69 · ‎05-18-2008

I was getting ready to put my 851w on ebay to sell, but I wanted to clear all the configs off of it, but I got a little carried away and did a 'erase flash' as well as 'write erase'. now I get the

No bootable image file: flash:/

Unable to open boot file

message and then it proceeds to ROM monitor mode (rommon 1). I read how to reinstall the IOS using TFTP, but i don't have a copy of the IOS and cisco.com won't give me access. What do I need to do to obtain a copy of the proper IOS? Do I have to have a certain type of membership with cisco.com or pay something? Is there any other way to get my router back to the factory defaults and suitable to be sold? I'm not experienced at all with cisco routers, if you couldn't already tell, so any suggestions/direction is appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Richard Burts · ‎05-18-2008

Brook

Unfortunately you have created a significant problem by erasing the image in flash without having a backup copy of the image. I sympathesize because in the early stages of my career I did something similar when I deleted something without having a backup of it. This reinforces the importance of having backup copies of the image and of the config file, which should be stored somewhere off of the device.

To get an image to load you will need to either get in image upgrade license or (more likely) get a maintenance contract (SmartNet) for the router. Unfortunately these are not inexpensive options.

HTH

Rick

HTH

Rick