Dell

Dell Force10 S6000 Password Recovery

Step-by-step password recovery for the Dell Force10 S6000 (Force10 / Z-series (FTOS)). 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 Dell Force10 S6000 (Dell PowerSwitch / Force10 running OS10) when the admin password is lost. OS10's GRUB boot loader provides a single-user mode that drops to a root shell where the admin password can be reset — the configuration is preserved.

Prerequisites

Console cable (micro-USB or RJ-45 depending on model) with a terminal session at 115200 baud, 8N1 (S/Z series) or 9600 baud (N-series OS10 — check the model's guide). Physical or remote power access to reboot the switch.

Recovery Procedure — GRUB Single-User Mode

Connect the console cable with the correct baud rate (S/Z series: 115200; N-series: 9600, 8N1) and open a terminal session.
Reboot the switch (power-cycle or reload if you have access).
When the GRUB boot menu appears, press a key to stop the countdown (or press e to edit the boot entry).
Find the kernel line (the one starting with linux or linux16) and append single (or init=/bin/bash) to the end.
Press Ctrl+X (or F10) to boot with the modified entry. The switch boots to a root shell (single-user mode).
Mount the root filesystem read-write: mount -o remount,rw /
Reset the admin password: passwd admin — enter the new password twice.
Reboot: reboot. Log in as admin with the new password.
Save the configuration if needed: copy running-config startup-config.

Important Notes

Baud rate differs by model: Dell S-series (S4048-ON, S5048F-ON, S5148F-ON, S5200F-ON, S5232F-ON) and Z-series (Z9100-ON, Z9264F-ON) use 115200; Dell N-series running OS10 (N3200, N3400) uses 9600 on the console.
The single-user method preserves the configuration — only the admin password is reset.
If GRUB does not show (fast boot), hold Shift or press Esc repeatedly during power-on to force the menu.
OS10's default admin user is admin; the default password is set at first boot.
After the password reset, remember to re-save the config if the password is stored in the config file.

Protecting Your Configuration

Before recovery, back up the config: copy running-config tftp://<server>/<filename> or show running-config captured to a file. After recovery, verify and re-save.