# links WRT54G v8 problems after bad flash



## ynell (Aug 13, 2008)

Yesterday I got the bright idea to flash some new dd-wrt firmware on my router, and everything was going fine, said it was successful and i hit "continue" ...and it timed out. 

I then couldn't get onto the internet through my wired connection, but my dad could get on through wireless. I went through a few little things, lookin around my settings to see if i noticed anything but it looked like it always had. Then i power cycled it and now neither computers can get on the internet, and i can't even get into the router. it keeps timing out when i try to.

the only way i can connect to the internet now is through my modem, and i have to use dhcp, it won't connect me if i try to use static.

I've spent hours and hours trying to fix it sense last night and i keep running into dhcp/dns errors etc. It also kinda looks like the 'power' LED on the router isn't even on, but the port and internet LED's are green. Maybe it's just because I've had it for a while. I don't know.

I'm kinda lost, i've run out of ideas.


-Modem IP: 192.168.0.3
-Using ISP directed DNS servers
-usual LAN PC IP: 192.168.1.13 but right now with DHCP it's assigning me 204.111.112.138
-DHCP server is my modem IP

not sure if any of that helps, hopefully it does


thanks in advance!



Edit: I know my OS says Ubuntu under my name etc, but i've been using a lot more windows XP lately for gaming, so i'm trying to fix it through XP.


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## Snoopdogie187 (Jun 27, 2002)

Hi, I would try resetting the router (hold the button for a few seconds) and maybe see if you can conect to it once again. If you can connect, re-flase it with dd-wrt or another firmware again and see if that helps. 
I would use a freshly download firmware.

you also may want to try this: http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Recover_from_a_Bad_Flash


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## ynell (Aug 13, 2008)

Thanks for the reply

I've tried to reset it numerous times but i can't get into it again :/ I actually used that same page you gave me as guidelines to make sure i did it right haha



when trying to connect to my router, the browser keeps saying:


Failed to Connect

Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at 192.168.1.1.

Though the site seems valid, the browser was unable to establish a connection.






Also, while connected to the router etc how it should be, and also using dhcp, the IP/Gateway it gives me is: 

IP: 169.254.176.189
Gateway: 255.255.0.0


But it also, under "network connections" says i'm *connected*



I also managed to let configure a static IP without it telling me it's already taken. It says I'm connected and everything, but nothing works.

I can ping my default gateway/router IP both 192.168.1.1 but i can't ping either of my DNS servers

when i try to tracert www.google.com it says its unable to resolve target system name


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## ynell (Aug 13, 2008)

Update: 

I tried a tftp recovery and it said it was successful, i waited like 10 minutes before trying to use the internet or get into the router so it could reset itself or whatever it needs to do, but it still didn't work. 

i also figured out that when connecting through my d-link 2320b modem, it won't work unless i'm using dhcp. every time i try to use a static IP, it'll either tell me it's taken, or it'll connect but nothing will load.

and when i say it'll say my static ip is taken, i mean i'm trying random ones (all of which of course were 192.168.1.x) but it doesn't seem to matter.


sorry if i'm confusing with all this, a lot of it doesn't make sense to me either :/


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## Snoopdogie187 (Jun 27, 2002)

Hi, if the router and anything else is using 192.168.1.1, I would change all but the router to something else for now. (To avoid any conflict)
You might want to try a tftp recovery then. 

not sure if you seen this but if not look at it http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Recover_from_a_Bad_Flash#Recovering_with_TFTP

if you did, how are the pings going when you try this?


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## ynell (Aug 13, 2008)

thanks for your reply, sorry it took me a while to respond >.<




Yeah i've made sure that 192.168.1.1 is only being used by the router, except for the default gateway when i set a static ip

I've done numerous tftp recoveries, a few with dd-wrt firmware and some with linksys firmware, and they've all been successful, from what i can tell.

It says "successful transfer" and the continuous pings show what they should. 

starting with the host unreachable pings and unplugged router, then appy power to router, hit enter on the tftp window at first success ping, transfer successful, then it'll time out for 3-4 pings, and go back to regular successful pings


I'm not sure what else to try :/ i can ping my router and all that, i just can't get into it. I've reset the router by holding the reset button for 30 seconds with power still in, then unplug power still holding reset button for 30 seconds, apply power still holding for 30 more seconds then let it sit for a few minutes. i'll go through this reset after i tftp flash the firmware and am unable to access my router



is there any little mundane details? i've run through the steps on multiple sites on recovering from bad flashes etc but nothing seems to solve it.. kinda odd :sigh:


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## Snoopdogie187 (Jun 27, 2002)

You can try to clear the nvram.

From what I see, other than just playing with it, and hopefully getting a certain mix of things to work,

you may be left with jtag. - which can be a messy job and can take awhile.

im not sure if i missed anything myself, I never had this bad of a problem but from everything i see you seem to have done everything.


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## ynell (Aug 13, 2008)

how do i clear the nvram? i google'd it and just see people saying you can do it by holding the reset button for 30 seconds..


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## ynell (Aug 13, 2008)

OK, i tried to clear the nvram via holding the reset button for 30 seconds while the router is on.. i think that's correct.

and nothing changed.




But also there's something else that should be addressed now that may give some insight.

When I'm connected into my modem (no router what so ever), it won't work unless im using dhcp. When I try to connect to IRC it keeps saying "unable to resolve server"

also..

3/4 of the time I try to set it static, it says that the address is taken.. no matter what the last octet is, it'll tell me it's taken.

The only way I can get it to let me set it statically (tho it still doesn't work) is if i disable it, set the ip, then enable it again.

when i do it this way, ipconfig /all reports my ip and subnet mask are 0.0.0.0

and to add to it, when its set statically, i get the windows system error balloon saying "There is an IP address conflict with another system on the network" ... and i'll get this no matter what the ip is.


and i just noticed that the status light on my modem is blank. not sure if that matters or not..


think maybe its a trojan of some sort? i've scanned with spyware doctor and spybot search and destroy, as well with my Comodo Firewall. (no I don't have them all installed at once, i installed spyware doctor and SB SND once to run them once, they found nothing, then i uninstalled them)


sorry for always typing an overwhelming amount, i can never figure out a way to compress the info :/


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## Snoopdogie187 (Jun 27, 2002)

who is your isp? they may require you do use dhcp (i think comonly cable internet does from what I see) 

Mostly what is left are hardware stuff that invovles opening the case up. jtag is one which you hardwire the router to your computer and you can access it that way. 
Another, more dangerous, and done at your own risk... you short two pins on the board. http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Recover_from_a_Bad_Flash#If_That_Doesn.27t_Work
tips for this.. if you decide to try later, it is better to use a softer metal to short this with (helps prevent danaging the joints and creating a permant short in the board), also just take your time and don't rush (learned this one on my own, held a bad joint together on a board and slipped and cashed it to short and create a spark and create more damage - luckly after that I got it fixed carefully). Another, be careful! you don't want to get shocked yourself or anything like that.
Once again.. these methods are at your complete own risk....

As for the modem (sorry if i jump around a lot I'm really tired already - which I'm sorry if my spelling/grammar is horrbile), you can work on the router with it just connected to a computer, it doesn't have to be connected to the modem.


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## ynell (Aug 13, 2008)

my isp is Shentel. Its a kind of smallish ISP but I had a static IP for years, i've only had this problem sense the router flashing incident.

I did read about the jtag and the pin bit, guess if they're my last options as far as the router goes then that's what i'll have to do. But it seems weird I can't set a static IP while just using my modem.


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## ynell (Aug 13, 2008)

problem fixed.. bought a WRT110 >.<


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## Snoopdogie187 (Jun 27, 2002)

Well now that you have the new linksys, the old one should work (atleast for me that is how it happens).

but if you still care you can play with the wrt54g and see what you get, this is the point that if you do fry it, it wont matter at all. (my thought anyway). It might just be gone anyway.

as for the modem thing, I never even heard of Shentel until now, but you can possibly call them and ask. I really wouldn't be too concerned though if besides a few settings it works exactly the same.

Also, can you tell me how the wrt110 is, I was thinking of getting a wrt300n or wrt600n, but afraid that they are still too new to really trust.


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

You probably need a JTAG cable to revive the toasted router.


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## deadjimmy (Feb 1, 2010)

I had the same issue. Most recovery walkthroughs I found reference what to do when the power LED flashes fast, or slow, etc. - but none that really mentioned what the issue is in the case the power LED stays off completely.

I also bricked my WRT54G (v8) during a dd-wrt upgrade - because I didn't follow the instructions closely enough and uploaded the firmware via the web management interface when the directions for the v8 firmware update at the time explicitly stated not to do so. I also saw the same behavior - the update appeared successful until the router was rebooted and the power LED extinguished completely and effectively turned the router into a 4 port hub that responds to ping on 192.168.1.1 but has no management interface available.

Having already bought a new router I got around to messing with the bricked one recently and was able to successfully recover it short of using the jtag method.


First - find your tftp app of choice. I downloaded draytek's router tools for windows. http://www.draytek.com.au/downloads.php (recommended @ http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Recover_from_a_Bad_Flash#Recovering_with_TFTP)

Second - See if there's a vxworks-revert image available for your router at dd-wrt.com. (http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database)

Third - Download a Linksys flavor firmware update image from Linksys' website. (http://www.linksysbycisco.com/US/en/support/)

Disable any wireless and set a static IP on your PC in the 192.168.1.x range. Make sure you can ping the router at 192.168.1.1. 

Prepare your tftp upload, remove and then replace the power and upload your vxworks-revert image via tftp as the router boots up. If this is successful, you should notice the power LED on the face of the router flashing constantly. Wait 2-3 minutes before rebooting the router.

Reboot the router and attempt to access the web management interface at 192.168.1.1. You should be presented with a simple recovery firmware upload option.

Upload the Linksys firmware upgrade image you downloaded.

Your WRT54G should be fully functioning on the vendor firmware image again at this point.

I am however having issues using the same tftp method to update the device to dd-wrt now that I updated to the vendors 8.00.7

Perhaps at the recovery upload you could attempt to flash the dd-wrt package, but I haven't tested this and am just glad to have unbricked the router finally.

Will play more with dd-wrt later now that I have a spare.


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