Having issues with performing a factory reset on Palo Alto 3060

[FLind9999]

Hello Everyone, I went and followed a guide on a pair of Palo Alto 3060s I bought for my lab from eBay. The first unit I was able to login with the default user name and password and verify it was working no problem. The 2nd unit still had a config on it and I went and followed the guide to type maint to enter maintenance mode and do a factory reset. However when I went to boot it back up it reverted back to the config again reason I realized this is due to the unit name changing from 3000 back to PA-MDF. Is there a way like with Cisco Routers and Switches to get to the file system and remove the offending config so I can start off with a clean unit? I saw the options for scrubbing but did not want to do that for fear of bricking the unit as I will probably have issues getting a copy of the OS to do a complete reinstall/restore.

[OtakarKlier]

Hello,

While there is not, I would suggest to try another factory reset.

Regards,

[FLind9999]

I tried multiple factory resets, changing PanOS versions and even a DoD scrub and for some odd reason this config will not go away. You'd think Palo Alto would have a means to do a password recovery on a firewall if someone has physical access since if they have physical access them changing the password on a firewall is the least of anyone's concerns. 

[msyeedrafiqi]

Hi @FLind9999 Please try the below article, Its mainly for panorama but as this is your test device , I am sure its going to work if you follow the below article:

https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClLjCAK

[RoseCliver]

Try using the "debug swm factory-reset" command in maintenance mode for a more thorough reset. Ensure you back up the OS beforehand to avoid potential issues with reinstalling or restoring.