3560 blocked in bootloader

[Nicolas Darchis]

Hi,

it may sound silly but I just stuck my 3560 and it's the first time I can't recover it.

I get the "switch:" prompt.

All my attempts at configuring tftp download failed.

I tried xmodem copy but the first time, it stopped after 1h30 because of too many errors.

Now any time I try xmodem, it stops after few minutes, showing some weird characters on the screen and returning me to the switch: prompt.

No way at all to do tftp ?

Thanks for any opinion. I feel a bit stupid on this one :-)

[Leo Laohoo]

Hey Nico,

Have you checked the BIN file's MD5 hash matches?

This is a 3560/3560G and not a 3560E or a 3560X am I correct?

You can speed up the XModem speed using the "xmodem -s 115200".  This sets your baud speed to 115200.

[Nicolas Darchis]

It's a goold old 3560, no E or X correct.

The Xmodem was already at 115200. it plans to take 3 hours like that. At 9600 bauds it was goign to be 8 hours :-o

By the way, there is no IOS image at all anymore in the flash. I should have started by saying that :-D I screwed up on that part and that's why it needs recovery.

[Leo Laohoo · Accepted solution]

The Xmodem was already at 115200. it plans to take 3 hours like that.

That does not sound right.  Look for old versions like the 12.2(46)SE (or older) or something.  These don't take that long because the file size is small compared to the newer ones.

Anyway, back to your case.  Try downloading another IOS.  I'm suspecting your IOS BIN file is corrupt or something.

I did an XModem to a 3750G with an 12.2(25)SEE IOS that has a filesize of about <5Mb.  It took about 45 minutes.

May I ask if you can reboot the switch and post the entire bootup process plus your xmodem process?  I'm curious to see.

[Neeraj Arora]

Hi Nicolas,

Unfortunately the 3560/3750 switches do not support TFTP in rommon. I  will suggest bumping up the speed when using xmodem for file transfers as suggested by others.

Steps for that:

in rommon (case sensitive)

set BAUD 115200

change your connection speed in hyperterminal, and start transfer.

to change it back after the transfer

unset BAUD

and it will go back to 9600. Change the settings back in hyperterminal and boot.

For more information about this procedure:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps628/products_tech_note09186a0080169696.shtml#speedrecovery

Hope it helps

Neeraj

[Nicolas Darchis]

Thanks to all of you. +5 !

Increasing baud speed was good. Using a smaller IOS definitely helped. But I also had some issue with my cable probably (or is it the usb-to-serial adapter plugged via usb hub ?) and the download speed was anyway outrageous (2 hours for 7 Megs IOS at 115200 baud :-) ). I also faced corrupted image and so on but once I emptied my stock of bad luck, it finally worked

[Leo Laohoo]

Thanks for the ratings Nico.