Cisco 2611, no console output

J

Jaffa Cakes!

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 13, 2007
Messages
136
Hey,

I was given an old Cisco 2611 to screw around with, no idea if it's working or not and no idea if the configs and passwords were wiped. Now my problem is that when I turn it on I don't see any console output at all.

Using 9600 baud, 1 stop bit, 8 data bits, no parity or flow control.

The power LED comes on and the activity light blinks for ~1 - 2 minutes before stopping. If I plug something into one of the Ethernet ports on the back the link light comes on for the port and the activity light occasionally flashes, from DHCP probes or something from my netbook I assume.

Any ideas?
 
Do you have the right COM port selected? If you plug in a network cable to an interface do you get an IP? If you get an IP you can then telnet into the gateway IP which should be the router's ip. Have you tried hitting the enter key after you connect? If you just connect and see a blank screen that's normal, you have to hit enter a few times to get things coming on screen.
 
Definitely the right COM port, I only have 1 COM port which is a USB to serial adapter (tried two different ones of these). I have also tried hitting enter a few times.

I did look to see if I got an IP so I could telnet into it but aside from the default one Windows assigns when it can't find a DHCP server, I don't get anything. I'm not sure if my console cable is any good or not, I'm gonna grab a different one from a friend on Monday and see if it'll work.
 
I have never had much luck with those USB to serial adapters to be honest.
 
Im sure you've tried, but mine is Com 3 using a USB to Serial adapter. Just a thought.
 
I've had pretty good luck with the USB to serial adapters. You just have to be careful because if you unplug and plug them in, the COM port likes to change on you. Go into device manager and just check which COM port the adapter is using. They like to change up on you. Sometimes mine will be 3, the next time I use it again it could be 5.
 
I've had no issues with USB -> db9 i've used.

This is silly, but have you tried smashing enter twice or a few times?
 
My guesses would be bad RS232 IC or other component (resistors) inline with the console bus on the motherboard. That or maybe the configuration register is set to a higher baud rate? But I'm pretty sure you would still see garbled characters.
 
Just to be clear, you tried plugging the console in with putty/hyperterm running before powering on the router? (i.e you don't even see post)

If that's the case, i would believe some thing is faulty. Either the router's console port, usb to serial adapter or the settings in putty/hyperterm. (At this point, it's pointing to the router.)

I've never had good luck with the adapters, but they do work.
 
The most reliable USB serial adapters that don't have buffer overflow problems are the Keyspan ones like the USA-19HS. The cheap Chinese $5 ones are crap. Just FYI.
 
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