How to reset/recovery Cisco Nexus 7K/9K admin password
If you’ve forgotten the admin password for your Cisco Nexus device, you can reset/recovery it with the following steps:
Step 1
Press CTRL+C during the boot sequence until you see “loader>” prompt
Step 2
Enable recovery mode before the boot
loader> cmdline recoverymode=1
Step 3
If you have a previously image loaded just choose that one. Type dir command to see a list of binary files.
But if there is no boot image you can use a USB port and a USB stick FAT32 formatted and containing a suitable binary firmware (.bin).
boot <image on USB or on bootflash>
example: boot usb2:nxos.9.3.11.bin or boot bootflash:nxos.9.3.11.bin
Step 4
When the boot is complete, the switch(boot)# prompt will appear, signifying that the recovery mode procedure was successful.
Type “init system” but be aware that this will erase all partition data and return the system to a full initialization.
switch(boot)# init system
Step 5
Upon completion of the “init system” command, it will be possible to reboot the switch in factory-reset mode.
So with all the prompts from the beginning, the password prompt, the quick configuration mode… and you will be able to enter the new password.
switch(boot)# reload-nxos
NOTE:
On reboot you may miss the firmware but it is not a problem, because you can start the switch with the binary file in a USB stick, as we did during the recovery procedure.
Then, when the upload is complete, you can reinstall it with the command install all nxos nxos.XXXXXXXX.bin and reboot the switch.