This article details the troubleshooting steps taken to resolve an issue where an SRX device was stuck in the loader state.

|/-\can't load '/kernel'

|/-\can't load '/kernel.old'

Press Enter to stop auto bootsequencing and to enter loader prompt.

Type '?' for a list of commands, 'help' for more detailed help.

loader> 

loader> 

Steps were taken in this particular case.

1. The first method involved taking a snapshot of the Junos OS from the same working SRX model and using it to recover the affected device. However, the customer did not have the same SRX model. So that we could not follow this method.
2. The second method involved formatting a USB storage device in MS-DOS format and copying the downloaded Junos OS image onto it. The steps followed were:
   1. Format the USB storage in MS-DOS format.
   2. Copy the Junos OS image onto the USB storage.
   3. Insert the USB into the SRX device and power it on.
   4. Once in loader mode, run the command: loader> install file:///<image-path-on-usb>.
3. Despite following the steps, this method could not recover the SRX device.
4. After the unsuccessful recovery attempts, it was determined that the device could not be restored to a functional state. The decision was made to proceed with the RMA process to replace the faulty SRX device.