Cisco

Cisco N7K-C7010 Password Recovery

Step-by-step password recovery for the Cisco N7K-C7010 (Nexus 7000 / 7700). Console access required.

Overview

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for resetting lost or forgotten administrative passwords on enterprise networking hardware. Follow the procedure below carefully to regain access while preserving your device configuration.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding with password recovery, ensure you have a console cable, terminal emulation software configured to 9600 baud, and physical access to the device.

Step 1: Establish Console Connection

Connect your terminal cable to the console port of the device and open your serial terminal session.

Step 2: Interrupt the Boot Sequence

Power cycle the hardware and issue a Break key sequence during initial system startup to enter ROMMON mode.

Step 3: Reset Password & Configuration

Bypass startup configuration loading, boot into system software, set your new credentials, and save changes back to non-volatile memory.

Overview

This procedure recovers administrator access to the Cisco Nexus N7K-C7010 running NX-OS. NX-OS is fundamentally different from classic IOS: there is no Mode-button/rename-config bypass. The documented recovery method boots the switch into the boot loader and clears the startup configuration so it boots with factory defaults (admin/admin).

Prerequisites

Console cable with a terminal session at 9600 baud, 8N1. Physical or remote power access to reboot the switch.

Recovery Procedure

Connect the console cable (9600 8N1) and reboot the switch: reload.
During the boot process, when the banner prompts "Press Ctrl-C to stop autoboot" (or when you see the boot prompt), press Ctrl+C repeatedly until the boot loader prompt appears: switch(boot)# (on Nexus 9000) or loader> (on some Nexus 3000/5000/7000 models).
List the boot flash contents to confirm the startup config location: dir bootflash: — the startup configuration is stored as startup-config in bootflash.
Delete the startup configuration: delete bootflash:startup-config (confirm with y).
Reload the switch: reload.
The switch boots with factory default credentials — admin / admin (no password on some older releases).
Log in with the default credentials and configure a new password: configure terminal → username admin password <new-password> role network-admin (or admin-password <new-password> on some platforms), then copy running-config startup-config.
If you have a configuration backup, restore it: copy tftp://<server>/<backup-file> running-config then copy running-config startup-config.

Important Notes

This procedure ERASES the startup configuration. NX-OS has no config-preserving password bypass on most platforms. Always maintain a configuration backup (tftp/scp) — this is the single most important preparation.
The exact boot prompt varies: Nexus 9000 shows switch(boot)#; Nexus 3000/5000/7000 may show loader> or switch(boot)#. The commands dir and delete work at both.
On Nexus 7000/7700 with dual supervisors, ensure you interrupt the boot on the active supervisor console.
Nexus 9000 platforms (C93xx, C95xx, C96xx) also support write erase after booting to the CLI — but the boot-loader delete bootflash:startup-config is the documented recovery when you cannot log in.
Default credentials on most NX-OS releases: admin / admin (older releases may have no password).

Protecting Your Configuration

Before any recovery, export the configuration: copy running-config scp://<user>@<server>/<filename>, copy running-config tftp://<server>/<filename>, or show running-config captured to a file. After recovery, restore the backup and re-save with copy running-config startup-config.