Cisco switches use XMODEM to recover IOS

Mar 26 , 2025 41

The Cisco Catalyst 2960-X switch is a stable and powerful network device that is widely used in the network architecture of enterprises, schools, and other organizations. However, due to various reasons, the switch may have IOS (Internetwork Operating System) damaged or lost, and the USB and MGMT ports are not available, resulting in the device not working properly. This article will detail the entire process of restoring the IOS on a Cisco Catalyst 2960-X switch using XMODEM to help solve this problem.

Preparation

Before performing IOS recovery, you need to do the following preparations:

1. Make sure that the console port of the switch is properly connected to the serial port of the computer, and use terminal software with XMODEM capability (such as SecureCRT) to make the connection.

2. Prepare an IOS file for the Catalyst 2960-X switch, ensuring that the file is complete and version compatible.

3. Ensure that the power supply of the switch is stable to avoid damage to the device due to power problems during the recovery process.

Recovery Steps

1. Connect the switch and computer

Use the control cable to connect the console port of the switch to the serial port of the computer, and use terminal software with XMODEM function (e.g. SecureCRT) to make the connection. When connecting, you need to set the connection method as serial port, rate 9600, no parity, no flow control, stop bit 1.

2.Entering Recovery Mode

Open the terminal software on the computer and start the switch to put the device into recovery mode (press Ctrl+Break to enter ROMmon mode during startup). In recovery mode, start XMODEM transmission.

Set the necessary environment variables

rommon 1 > set

rommon 2 > IP_ADDRESS=switch IP address

rommon 3 > IP_SUBNET_MASK=Subnet Mask

rommon 4 > DEFAULT_GATEWAY=default gateway

rommon 5 > TFTP_SERVER=TFTP server IP address

rommon 6 > TFTP_FILE=IOS filename.bin

3. Send IOS file

In the terminal software, select the “Transfer” menu, and then select the “Send XMODEM” option. Then, find the prepared IOS file and start to send the IOS file to the switch via XMODEM. During the sending process, you need to maintain a stable network connection to avoid interruption of transmission due to network problems.

Note: If uploading is not possible, the alternative can be via TFTP transfer (recommended)

Confirm that the displayed parameters are correct

Press y to start transferring

4. Wait for the recovery to complete

After the transmission is completed, check if the IOS file is in flash and boot manually.

Solutions to Common Problems

1. Insufficient space problem

During the recovery process, you may encounter a situation where you cannot install IOS files due to insufficient storage space on your device. At this point, users need to check the storage space usage of the device first, clean up unnecessary files or configurations to free up enough space for recovery operations.

2. IOS file incompatibility problem

If the prepared IOS file is not compatible with the model or version of the switch, it may lead to recovery failure. Therefore, when preparing the IOS file, users need to confirm the version and scope of application of the file and select the version that matches the device for recovery.

The entire process of recovering IOS using XMODEM for Catalyst 2960-X switches, including preparation, recovery steps, and solutions to common problems. Through the introduction of this article, you can understand and master how to recover the IOS of Catalyst 2960-X switch, providing actionable suggestions and solutions for practical applications. In the actual operation, users need to pay attention to issues such as keeping the device connection stable, choosing the appropriate IOS file version, and clearing the storage space in time to ensure the smooth operation of recovery. At the same time, users are advised to record the details of each step of the operation in detail during the operation process, so as to troubleshoot and solve the problems when they occur.