How do you access the boot loader on a Cisco switch for crash recovery?

Hold the Mode button during power-on until the System LED turns briefly amber then solid green — that drops you to the switch: boot loader prompt.

* The five-step drop into the boot loader. *

Step-by-step recovery process:

1. Connect a PC via console cable to the switch console port
2. Unplug the switch power cord
3. Reconnect power and within 15 seconds, press and hold the Mode button while the System LED is still flashing green
4. Keep holding until the System LED turns briefly amber, then solid green — then release
5. The switch: boot loader prompt appears in the terminal

What you can do from the boot loader:

• Format the flash file system
• Reinstall the operating system software
• Recover a lost or forgotten password
• Use the dir command to view files in flash

Tip: This is the Cisco equivalent of booting into "safe mode" — you bypass IOS entirely and work directly with the boot loader.