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Contivity 600 Password recovery 1

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VTR

Technical User
Aug 27, 2003
7
GB
Any Idea's ?? This in in our lab so I don't care if the config is lost. I have already removed the CMOS battery. If not its back to Nortel :-(
 
Has anyone come up with a solution for this yet, I find it absolutely ridiculous that I would have to send this back to Nortel just to reset the password. I bought this from a friend who forgot the password and would like to reset it to something that I like. I physically have the box and in no way am trying to hack something that is not mine. Please help.
 
What version software is on the 600? Did the previous owner of the 600 setup a manage/manage account for a specific user?
 
I have now cracked my pw problem I tried the the default username /pw +1. I know the username /pw needs to be 6 characters long to be able to FTP the config as authentication has to be enabled. Thanks for the help
 
I have the same problem. I have purchased this box used from a large corporation that wanted to get rid of it cheap. Unfortunately they have no idea what the admin password is. I have tried the default to no avail. Please tell me that there is some way to reset this damn thing without having to send it back to Nortel. I have tried the CMOS battery trick and such. PLEASE HELP!!!!!

 
what did you mean by default username/password +1?
 
the default username is admin, in my case it was admin1 and the same for the password. It was a lucky guess that all. I can only assume when who ever installed it, tried to back the config up they couldn't get the FTP authentication working without 6 characters.
 
There is an easy way to change the login and pw if you have access to a 2nd router. Just clone (or ghost) the one you have access to and then install over top the one you donot have access to - this effectively allows you into the unit and you can then chage pw etc at will
 
Great - can you share the backdoor password ? I would love to have it
 
Yes, i think there´s a lot of People who having the same Problem.
So we have it too!!

Please share it.......

Thanks in Advance
 
In general there is no way to recover or reset the password with Contivity boxes. There is a good reason for this - it's a box built for security. This is a box built for enterprise, and being able to easily reset the password would be an unacceptable security risk. That being said, there are a few cases where you can reset the box to factory defaults. To be honest, I do not remember the specific code versions, but you can try it. For a 600, you'll need to boot into recovery mode and reset to factory default. For boxes with disk drives you'll need a recovery floppy drive.

Keep in mind that when you factory default the box you'll need a console cable to set up the box.

This will not work with every code version, you'll just have to try it. If you do not have a recovery diskette, one made on another contivity will work.

Good luck.
 
I did some checking today and found (to my surprise) that many Contivity code versions allow you to reset the box to factory default using a recover disk. If you find that the recovery disk doesn't allow this, switch to a disk made from a contivity running a different code version and try again. It doesn't matter what code version is on the Contivity, the code version of the disk is what counts.

I realized I didn't mention how to put the 600 into Recovery mode. You reboot it (power cycle it if you have to) and push the reset button as it's going through it's memory check (the timing is important).

I am not sure if the method described by Levendis will work. The interface ip information (and I believe the admin password) are stored in eprom, not on the hard disk.

There is no backdoor password.
 
Cloning the hard drive on a 600 has worked successfully in the past on most models. I have had my tech dept reprogram a 1/2 dozen or so 600s bought on ebay by using ghost. I wonder if VPNSteve has tried ghosting the image on newer boxes. I have to admit that I have not used this method for at least 2 years as I have stopped selling these units due to cost.
 
The Admin password is in FLASH.. ghosting the hard drive will do no good.. In older code the Admin password would be in clear text when you do a show running-config. That has been fixed in later code versions Admin password is hashed. Recovery mode will not reset the Admin password either.

One would require RMA with Nortel. If you have no contract that would be bad. The other way requires you to have a local Manage/Manage account on a contivity running old code pre V4_85.. Gui on to the contivity and go to the Admin--- Administrator section. Just hit the OK button. That will set the login/password to 0/0.. This has been fixed in later versions since Manage/Manage accounts should not have access to Admin page.
 
Push the reset button in the back of the 600, I think it says "FC" or something. After reboot, go to the web interface (you must remember the management IP) and use "admin" and "setup". Then change your password.

peace
 
Nortel Dude that will not clear the ADMIN password. That will only clear the LDAP/Config.. You still will need the Admin password.. THE ADMIN PASSWORD IS IN FLASH!!! Not on the hard drive.
 
After some work today in my lab, I am afraid I have some disappointing news to report concerning password recovery with the Contivity 600. I have not finished yet, but it appears that the method I posted about earlier may not work. I still have several more code versions to try.

Having no experience with the method mentioned by Levendis, I decided to give it a shot. I did not actually clone the drive from another 600, I actually pulled one out of a 600 that had the default admin password and put it into one that I had changed the password on. Unfortunately, this did not work. I was not even able to factory default the box. I decided to call Nortel and get some information. I confirmed that the admin password is stored in the flash, and that the 600 must be RMA'd to Nortel if the admin password is lost.

I also confirmed something I found in the documentation for the 600: the FD button on the back is not enabled currently, but the RC button does boot the box into recovery mode.

So, to sum it up, if you've lost the password for your 600, there is nothing you can do but send the box back to Nortel.
 
Once you are in restore mode, you can go to the restore mode web page and default the switch. This will allow you to login with admin and setup. you need to know the management ip. the password is in flash and this works

peace
 
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