How to Reset a Cisco 3650 Catalyst Switch

Follow the guide on how to Reset a Cisco 3650 Catalyst Switch. This is useful when you want to remove an undesirable configuration that is present in the switch. If you have configured a switch and the configuration has become very complex or if you want to move a switch from one network to another. You can reset the switch to factory defaults and configure it as a new switch. Please see how to Update Cisco ASA software, Fast user switching: How to create a desktop shortcut in Windows 10 to switch User Accounts, and how to configure a console port password on Cisco Router.

What to do before resetting your Cisco Appliance?

Please ensure that all the images, configurations etc are backed up before performing the Factory Reset operation.

• Ensure that the device is not in the stacking mode as Factory Reset is supported only in the standalone mode.
• Ensure that there is an uninterrupted power supply when the process is in progress.
• Ensure that you take a backup of the current image before you begin the Factory Reset process.
• Ensure that neither In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) nor In-Service Software Downgrade (ISSD) is in progress before starting the Factory Reset process.

Also, see how to Configure a username and secret on a Cisco Switch and Router, and some Common Cisco ASA Commands.

Method 1: Perform Factory Reset

From the privileged EXEC mode, run the command below.

factory-reset all

This erases all the content from the NVRAM, all the Cisco IOS images, including the current boot image, boot variables, startup and running configuration data, and user data.

When the Factory Reset process completes. The device reboots and stops at ROMMON mode.

Method 2: Reset a Cisco 3650 Catalyst Switch

If you wish to restore the Catalyst switch configuration to the original default factory settings, follow the steps below.

A: First, you need to power down the switch. Once the switch is powered off, hold down the mode button, and power the switch on. The switch will boot up and you should see the switch prompt as shown below.

Note: This interrupts the boot process before the Flash file system can initialize, and after a short while (continue holding the “mode” button) you will see the following prompt:

Before proceeding to perform this step, ensure these files are present and therefore delete them

switch: dir flash:
 Directory of flash:/
 2    -rwx  976                      vlan.dat
 3    -rwx  386                      system_env_vars
 4    -rwx  5                        private-config.text
 6    -rwx  1554                     config.text

B: Initialize the flash file system with the command:

switch:flash_init

Next, check out the contents of flash and locate config.text and vlan.dat (if it exists).

C: Delete the config.text file from the flash directory: switch: del flash:config.text

D: Delete the vlan.dat file from the flash directory or have them renamed so you can restore them in the future if need be.

switch: del flash:vlan.dat

E: Reboot the switch and you’re done:

switch: boot

Method 3: Using the Write Erase

Alternatively, you can reset a Cisco router or switch to its factory default configuration by using the “write erase” command followed by the “reload” command. This will delete the startup-config and running-config files and reset the device to its default configuration.

I hope you found this blog post on how to reset a Cisco 3650 Catalyst switch helpful. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment session