Solved: Cisco IOS

ichigo1661 · ‎11-26-2008

I'm very new to cisco worlds...I just bought cisco 851 router but I can't get my hyperterminal to display anything. I have tried using teraterm and it still the same. What I did was I plug in the light blue cable(looks like RJ45) to console port on the router and use usb(usb to serial) cable to plug in the serial port to my laptop. The hyperterminal is set to 9600 bps, data bits = 8, Parity = None, Stop Bits = 1 and Flow Control = None. Both (hyperterminal and tera term) show that i was connected but nothing display on the screen. Just white screen only. Can someone help me?

graemeporter · ‎11-28-2008

Hi ichigo,

Regarding the reset button :-

Q. What is the use of the reset button on Cisco 870 and 850 Series routers?

A. The reset button is used to restore the router to the default factory settings if pressed within 5 seconds of router power up. In line with this implementation, the following scenarios are possible:

â€¢ The router will not react to the reset button if pressed after the 5 seconds of power up.

â€¢ When the reset button is pressed within 5 seconds of boot up and there is no valid xxx.cfg file in the flash memory, the router boots up with the factory defaults.

â€¢ When the reset button is pressed within 5 seconds of boot up and there is a valid xxx.cfg file in the flash, the router boots up with the xxx.cfg file and avoids the startup-config file in NVRAM.

(taken from the FAQ for the router on the Cisco website)

The IP address change was definitely what disconnected you from the router, as your telnet client was no longer able to communicate with the IP address you were connected to any more.

The router is asking you for a user name because "login local" is set on the vty lines (where you set the password). It's not going to be much help to you now because you can't log in to change it. I think the only way you can get in now that you're locked out is going to be via a password recovery, though this is always done via the console port.

You're going to have to use the reset button. Switch the router off, wait 30 seconds, and switch it back on. As soon as you do that, push in the reset button and keep it held in for several seconds. The router should boot with the factory default configuration (you should be able to telnet to it on its original address then.

Hope this helps!

Kind regards

Graeme

View solution in original post

graemeporter · ‎11-26-2008

Hi ichigo,

Welcome to Cisco ownership :)

You've done all the right steps so far (TeraTerm is the one to use, don't even bother with Hyperterminal).

1) Have you tried hitting the return key on your keyboard a few times when you get the white screen? The router should then respond.

2) If not, can you confirm that your USB-to-Serial adapter is set to be COM1, COM2, COM3 or COM4? Some of these things will pick COM6 or COM7 as their port by default; you can change it through Device Manager. TeraTerm only uses COM1 to COM4 as a valid port.

3) If all that fails, can you try the router connected to someone else's PC? It might be defective (not a good start in the Cisco world, but it does occasionally happen with any piece of hardware).

Hope this is helpful to you in some way, and that it works out for you soon!

Kind regards

Graeme

ichigo1661 · ‎11-26-2008

Thanks Graeme for the suggestion.

I had checked the serial port is COM 4.

I'm using usb to serial converter because my laptop dont have serial port. Tried all the serial port but none of it is COM 1.

I just tried on other laptop but still just white screen.

I did hit the Enter button when I tried before and wait up to five minutes but still nothing.The teraterm still just display white screen and I cant type anything.

I can enter the SDM mode without any problem but I didn't configure anything yet. I want to learn cisco configuration using CLI.

The router is brand new.

Is there anything else that I can try?

What is the use of the reset hole at the back of the router?

graemeporter · ‎11-27-2008

Hi Ichigo,

If the serial port is COM4, you need to ensure that's what your terminal emulator is connecting on. TeraTerm will just give you an error if you try to connect using a port that doesn't exist on your system (if you pick COM1 but you don't have a COM1 configured), so I guess you've already got the right COM port selected.

Still nothing from the Console connection to the router is not a good sign. If power-cycling the router gives you nothing either, then I would contact the company you bought the router from and explain that you're getting nothing from the console on the router.

That said, how did you get into SDM mode - through the web? Try using TeraTerm as a telnet client and telnet to the hostname or IP address of the router as it appears in the URL in the browser in SDM mode. You may be able to use the router like that.

Hope this helps!

Kind regards,

Graeme

ichigo1661 · ‎11-28-2008

Thanks Graeme,

I guess the problem might be the USB to Serial Port converted that I used on my laptop.I did contact the seller and he said that not all converter is working.Maybe later will try with laptop that has the serial port.

Anyway I tried your advice and able to access the router IOS via telnet. But guess what, i'm having another problem, maybe my mistake :(

What I did on the router when I able to get access through telnet was:

1. clock set

2. name the router (hostname)

3. enable secret password

4. enable line vty 0 4 password.

5. enable line con 0 password.

6. save setting

7. change the vlan ip address to 192.168.1.1

Suddently it disconnected my telnet session maybe because the ip change and when I tried to enter again the telnet session it requesting the username and password...I remember that I did not set any username. How do I enter again the telnet session? Do I need to perform the password recovery using the console port? I know the default username is cisco and password is cisco and when I try it still doens't works.What is the use of the reset hole at the back of the router?

PS: Sorry, I have bad english grammar. hopefully you can understand.

graemeporter · ‎11-28-2008

Hi ichigo,

Regarding the reset button :-

Q. What is the use of the reset button on Cisco 870 and 850 Series routers?

A. The reset button is used to restore the router to the default factory settings if pressed within 5 seconds of router power up. In line with this implementation, the following scenarios are possible:

â€¢ The router will not react to the reset button if pressed after the 5 seconds of power up.

â€¢ When the reset button is pressed within 5 seconds of boot up and there is no valid xxx.cfg file in the flash memory, the router boots up with the factory defaults.

â€¢ When the reset button is pressed within 5 seconds of boot up and there is a valid xxx.cfg file in the flash, the router boots up with the xxx.cfg file and avoids the startup-config file in NVRAM.

(taken from the FAQ for the router on the Cisco website)

The IP address change was definitely what disconnected you from the router, as your telnet client was no longer able to communicate with the IP address you were connected to any more.

The router is asking you for a user name because "login local" is set on the vty lines (where you set the password). It's not going to be much help to you now because you can't log in to change it. I think the only way you can get in now that you're locked out is going to be via a password recovery, though this is always done via the console port.

You're going to have to use the reset button. Switch the router off, wait 30 seconds, and switch it back on. As soon as you do that, push in the reset button and keep it held in for several seconds. The router should boot with the factory default configuration (you should be able to telnet to it on its original address then.

Hope this helps!

Kind regards

Graeme

ichigo1661 · ‎11-28-2008

Hi Graeme,

Followed your instruction(reset to factory default)and everythings fine now.

Thanks again