Erasing configuration files

In certain scenarios, you might want to remove the existing configuration of a Cisco IOS device and restore the device to the factory settings. To do this, you will need to access the device over the network or through the console and issue one of the following commands (not all commands are supported on all Cisco devices):

  • write erase
  • erase nvram:
  • erase startup-config

 

Once you execute one of the commands above, you will need to reload the device. Here is an example:

R1#write erase
Erasing the nvram filesystem will remove all configuration files! Continue? [confirm]
[OK]
Erase of nvram: complete
%SYS-7-NV_BLOCK_INIT: Initialized the geometry of nvram
R1#reload
Proceed with reload? [confirm]

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