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I've actually looked up a number of solutions for this problem and none of them work. There's this Cisco ASA 5505 that I'd like to use, that outputs mildly garbled text with missing characters. I did some googling and found that the most likely problem is a bad baud rate, so I tried all the baud rates, 7N1, 8N2... basically every possibility minicom had. Then I figured (since I can type ok, just not read) that if I factory reset it that it would fix whatever is set wrong with the terminal. That didn't work either. This usb->db9 adapter and console cable work fine on the catalyst switch in our office. My serial settings are 9600 8N1 with no flow control. Anyone know how to fix this?

I have an example of the text on pastebin: http://pastebin.com/MAJF0mVU - it's just lots of "Dfaut cnfiuraionfil cotais 1enty." instead of "Default configuration blah blah"

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  • Interestingly, it looks normal until it hits the "Launching Boot Loader" stage.
    – Davidw
    May 29, 2014 at 2:55
  • Not that I don't want this answered, but I have an old Cisco 2650 at home that I know works that I think I'll bring in - all I want to do is static route voip over our DSL and everything else over the microwave internet... May 29, 2014 at 3:05

1 Answer 1

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can't post comments, pardon the intrusion.

you will most likely have to interrupt the bootloader (put it in ROMMON mode) and flash a new image.

it could be nvram corruption (actually, that would seem to indicate a problem in flash).

see: Cisco - Recover the Image on an ASA 5500 Series Security Appliance (PDF)

or it could just be some control message is being misinterpreted. have you tried a telnet/ssh client? but that kinda looks doubtful.

also, try different (lower) baud rates, could just be some settings on the unit, or erase nvram in rommon.

edit: --

well tbh, i've only dealt with asa devices on 2 occassions. so i just don't know enough about them to say.

i couldn't make any sense of that log file, but looking at it now. it is failing to load the image, at the very end: eadng romflah.. !. rypochcksm (nchnge): f290c46b337a 5f275f 184120

some checksum error

normal output is !!!!!!!!!!!... spam.

edit2 --

just some more info on erasing flash: erasing/formatting flash should check for/mark bad blocks. additionally, erase marks blocks as 0xFF and reinitializes the filesystem. some of this stuff i just learned today, so bear with me ;p

you can test the filesystem for bad blocks fsck -test flash. (these are bootloader commands) for a switch, the recovery looks something like format flash, flash_init, load_helper, copy image over, boot system flash:filename.

as per the following guide: Recovering Catalyst Fixed Configuration Switches from a Corrupted or Missing Image

bootloader cmd ref: Catalyst 2950 and 2955 Switch Boot Loader Commands

image/filesystem ref: Managing Software Images and Working with Configuration Files on Catalyst Switches

for asa 5500 series: ASA 8.x: Troubleshooting ASA Flash Errors

closest i could get for ASA. i always have issues finding detailed guides for them, so i tend to use the switch/router guides as additional info.

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  • The image is what I suspect as well, given it seems to start after the boot loader stage.
    – Davidw
    May 29, 2014 at 19:59
  • I tried getting some sort of ip management working, but it kept on erroring out on the interface name and I couldn't figure out what the actual error message said. I think I'll take your advice. I've tried all the baud rates (below 9600), and I'll try using cu or screen to connect instead of minicom before flashing the device. I seem to remember that cu is not shy about printing weird characters. May 29, 2014 at 22:32
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    Thanks - I managed to get the flash upgraded, but it's still doing the same thing. While updating the device I discovered that its ethernet 0/0 wasn't working as well (which is why I hadn't been able to get telnet working in the first place), so I have a tcp connection to the device now. I think this device is just a bit broken, I was thinking that a faulty oscillator for the serial connection could possibly explain why it acts like the baud rate is a little off. Thanks for your help, I don't think I could have gotten it setup without the instructions. May 30, 2014 at 22:59
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    @SomeLinuxNerd well, nvram/flash can go stale over time, and the data becomes corrupt. rewriting the data will fix the error in the file (ie: checksum), but it doesn't necessarily guarantee that the block isn't corrupt/faulty to begin with and may act up in the future. alternative is to replace the flash/eeprom. you can also boot from an image located on tftpd. as for the serial connection, it might be the cable. i've never had such an issue. i know 'prolific' adapters seem to work with most units. it may be some sort of clocking problem indeed.
    – porkchop
    May 31, 2014 at 2:16
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    @SomeLinuxNerd added edit2 above, might help you diagnose the problem further, if it's related to flash.
    – porkchop
    May 31, 2014 at 19:03

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