How to recover Cisco Router/Switch Password

The following is the tutorial about how recover a Cisco Passwords (Example: Console Password, Enable Password, Enable secret, VTY Password. But no need to removing case or CMOS Battery)



Step 1: Restart / Power On the Router “R1”



Step 2: Press Ctrl + Break, When the router is booting IOS. This key will interrupt the router boot process and prompt you ROM Monitor (ROMMON) Mode.

 


Step 3: Change the Configuration Register key to 0x2142 using confreg 0x2142 command. The key 0x2142 used to avoid coping configuration from NVRAM to RAM during next boot process.
Then restart the router using reset command




Step 4: After router restarted you will prompted for Initial Configuration. Type no to avoid Initial Configuration.

 


Step 5: Now the router with basic default configuration will be loaded. You can verify your passwords by show startup-config in Privilege EXEC mode.

 



Step 6: Copy the Startup Configuration to RAM by using command copy start run.

Step 7: Now we can remove the password using Global Configuration commands. And the change the configuration register key to 0x2102 (default).

R1#configure terminal
R1(config)#no enable secret

R1(config)#line con 0
R1(config-line)#no password
R1(config-line)#no login
R1(config-line)#exit

R1(config)#line vty 0 4
R1(config-line)#no password
R1(config-line)#login
R1(config-line)#exit

R1(config)#config-register 0x2102
R1(config)#end

Step 8: Now save the current configuration to NVRAM by copy running-config startup-config command. And restart the router by reload command.

Finished. Now you can access your router with with no authentication.