WL-500g Premium died After Upgrading Firmware [Archive]

dwojtas

05-09-2006, 21:18

Hi,

I have just bought a WL500g Premium router.
And on the 1st day I have lost control over it: flashing with OpenWRT (worked), then trying some network settings ... and it stopped responding.

Before I broke it (even after flashing with openWRT) I could see it's wireless interface (appeared on my Windows box, I could recognize it by MAC), I could also work with SSH over one of 4 LAN ports.
Then after changing some nvram parameter is ttopped responding.
No ping, no wireless interface.
Blind.

But hapily it still accepts tftp upload using the WAN port (lan port do not work although the port lights seem to flash as expected).
Using WAN i could upload some firmwares, but I found that only after using
wl500g-recover.trx (as described here http://wl500g.info/showthread.php?t=515 )
it constantly responds for pings to 192.168.1.1 on WAN (LAN ports are quiet).
But I cannot access it using telnet or ssh. These ports do not respond.
I have also tried the wl500g-clear-nvram.trx but with no success - after uploading it, and then some other firmware (eg. the wl500g-recover.trx firmware) - I still did not go any further.

Does telnetd start only on LAN interfaces (not responding for me) that I cannot access it?
How to enable telnetd on WAN using 192.168.1.1 ?
Any other firmware?

Now only ping works, but I cannot reset any settings, nothing ...
Any help?

Darek

Oleg

06-09-2006, 08:41

connect serial console or use pin9 hack...

thenextdon13

06-11-2006, 05:08

Hello all,

I know this may be slightly off topic, because I was using dd-wrt rather than Oleg's firmware but:

Last night I got v23 SP2 ASUS VPN version running on my wl-500. I initially set the clockfreq to 300 (by doing nvram set clkfreq=300, then nvram commit, the reboot).

Box came back up fine, reported 300mhz (cpuinfo).

I then proceeded to enable jffs, usb support, knockd, etc.

For jffs, the original command line commands didn't seem to work, so i grep'd nvram show for all jffs variables, and set the following to 1 (it worked then for a while after this... and through other reboots.. so I modified the wiki's for the subject)

nvram set jffs_mounted=1
nvram set enable_jffs2=1
nvram set sys_enable_jffs2=1
nvram set clean_jffs2=1
nvram set sys_clean_jffs2=1
nvram commit

reboot

So, a couple of hours later after getting things figured out a bit with knockd, etc, I noticed that the wireless 'signal quality' was quite poor for the laptop right next to the router (30-55 %, cycling, sometimes dropping).

I decided this was possibly because of the oveclocking or the increase in txpower to 70, so:
1. i decreased the txpower to 30, still no change, so
2. Changed clkfreq to 266.

On reboot, the router never came back- the power LED would stay on. That is not the problem at this point, story continues---

So, the router would still go into recovery mode (by pressing the reset button during reboot), so I knew it was saveable. It would not reply to ping requests.

Then I shorted the solder connection by pin 9 (as listed in the sticky at the top of the forums) for 15 seconds. The power LED went out, and i could again ping the unit YAY! Smile ... WELLLL... Went about my way resetting things. This time I set the JFFS in the web GUI (as well as 'clean jffs'), and the router never came back from reboot.

So, now the power led on the router never lights up, not even if trying to go into 'recovery mode'.

The router does appear to work as a switch still. And with the case off, you can see that the wlan led lights dimly at boot (and stays lit), as do all of the eth connections if a single device is conected (the one led for the connected port is full brightness)

I see on http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Oxo that someone is working on console connectivity to the unit, but the specifics are not listed. It looks like it requires building an external rs232 circuit.

Comments/suggestions anyone?

Oleg

06-11-2006, 08:02

Have you tried pin9 trick again?

thenextdon13

06-11-2006, 16:25

Have you tried pin9 trick again?

Oleg--

Thanks for your reply. Yes, i've tried the pin9 trick again, to no avail.

I found schematics for a rs232/uart converter, but am not 100% sure this is what I need.

Have you worked with the uart/serial interface much?

take care
Camden

Oleg

06-11-2006, 17:36

yes, i've 2 serial cables made of nokia phone cables...

thenextdon13

06-11-2006, 19:23

yes, i've 2 serial cables made of nokia phone cables...

Hmmm..
Does the board natively support rs232?

If not what all is required?

From what I was reading, it would require a rs232 chip (which i have), as well as a uart chip of some sort. is this correct? Or was this for a previos version of the wl500?

The instructions here (http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Oxo) are quite cryptic.... would you mind clarifying? Maybe i understand...if UART2 an external uart chip in the circuit that he built, and he is using UART1 on the circuit board, and not using UART0 at all. That would make sense...

[quote]
Ok, the connector is soldered on, so now we need to check software.

* start for example minicom and connect to ...UART2
* check that there is no echo of characters
* connect UART2 tx to rx
* check that there IS echo of characters
* connect UART2 tx to UART1 rx and UART2 rx to UART1 tx
* try and connect to prompt...
[end quote]

If a uart and max232 chip are required, how did you build these into the nokia cable with a power supply/voltage regulator?

Thank you very much, Oleg!! I am hoping to learn a little something doing this... have done some circutry, but not much. As well as hopefully find that my wl-500 is not totally bricked :)

take care
Camden

Oleg

06-11-2006, 19:44

you do not need uart for the wl500g premium.
the thing you need is level shifter, which usually built using max 3232 or max232 ic.

just search for any wrt54g tutorial - it's exactly the same (except the board pin out).

thenextdon13

06-11-2006, 20:09

Thank you again, Oleg.

I will look into it later tonight :)

take care..
Camden

On the circuit board there is a silkscreen showing the spot for a header that has uart0 and uart1 tx and rx, as well as ground, 3.3v reference, and something labled 'reset' (i believe).

Oleg-- if you're listening-- Do you use that 3.3 volt feed as your supply for the rs232 chip? I assume yes.....

Hope this helps.. I will be trying to find the right capacitors for the max232 chip today after work, or at least find the spec sheet for the ones I have...

take care

Camden

calaba

07-11-2006, 09:56

Is somewhere described the pinout of the UART in WL500gp ?

Thx, ric.

Randale91

07-11-2006, 17:55

Please try to get MAX3232.

This chip is well designed for 3,3V logic level.
Please keep this in mind. Do not use MAX232!!!!
And yes, please use the 3,3V port pin from asus connector to power the MAX3232 chip.
You also need 5 capacitors.

thenextdon13

07-11-2006, 18:08

Thank you, I would have made that mistake-- did not realize the difference, hadn't looked at the data sheets yet.

I will source a max 3232 :) Thank you!

Camden

Okay, no one locally has 3232's so I will have to order one.

Seeing as Digi-Key's minimum order is 20 or 25$, is there anyone that needs one in the US, my treat? First come first serve.... i'll pick up the units and the caps needed for the charge pumps....

Camden

Oleg

08-11-2006, 09:44

better buy usb phone cable with prolific chipset... It should be cheaper...

thenextdon13

08-11-2006, 17:16

better buy usb phone cable with prolific chipset... It should be cheaper...

OK, so the USB phone adapters have a 3 volt rs232 converter built into them? hmmmm

What model of phone are your converters from? Or is this in another forum/howto for the wrt?

Thanks, Oleg!
Camden

Hey all,
Thanks for the help, I have found the wiki pages for openwrt describing what phone cables to use, etc.

Unfortunatly I don't have any old cables around, and none of the stores in town carry cables with inline boxes... so it will be a little while before I end up set up.

Thanks again for the help, will reply to this forum as things come up (particularily just how hosed the unit is)

take care
Camden

thenextdon13

09-11-2006, 08:01

Hey all--

I ended up finding a serial cable for a siemens c55. After checking the tx -> ground voltages, and them being right around 3.4 volts (as per http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/HowTo/AddASerialPort), I decided that this must be an okay cable to use.

I set minicom for 115200 8 N 1 as per http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/HowTo/AddASerialPort and http://www.rwhitby.net/nslu2/serial.html

I double checked my minicom settings by tying tx and rx together, and got character echo.

Still no connection on either uart pair.

So, i moved on to reading more about wtzm's issues here: http://wl500g.info/showthread.php?t=859
as well as wvr's post here:
http://wl500g.info/showthread.php?t=3220&highlight=pin10

And it appears that wvr's unit showed the same characteristics as mine, but shorting A20/pin10 to ground for even a long period of time had no effect.

If no one has any other suggestions or ideas, I am ready to can the unit and get another.

If someone would like to play with the unit and see if they can figure out what happened, I will ship it to them free of charge. It will probably be missing the mini-pci card, however.... :)

Camden

JohnS@

15-11-2006, 16:23

Hey guys!

I got myself a bricked router (don't know how it was bricked exactly because I received it in this state from its former user)... still I wonder if someone has an idea as to what course of action to take when the following serial console output is the only thing that the router will output:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
CFE version 1.0.37 for BCM947XX (32bit,SP,LE)
Build Date: ¤@ 6¤ë 12 16:31:07 CST 2006 (root@localhost.localdomain)
Copyright (C) 2000,2001,2002,2003 Broadcom Corporation.

Initializing Arena
Initializing Devices.
rndis0: Broadcom USB RNDIS Network Adapter (P-t-P)
CPU type 0x29006: 264MHz
Total memory: 33554432 KBytes

Total memory used by CFE: 0x80800000 - 0x8089B670 (636528)
Initialized Data: 0x808317E0 - 0x80833EC0 (9952)
BSS Area: 0x80833EC0 - 0x80835670 (6064)
Local Heap: 0x80835670 - 0x80899670 (409600)
Stack Area: 0x80899670 - 0x8089B670 (8192)
Text (code) segment: 0x80800000 - 0x808317E0 (202720)
Boot area (physical): 0x0089C000 - 0x008DC000
Relocation Factor: I:00000000 - D:00000000

Device eth0: hwaddr 00-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX, ipaddr 192.168.1.1, mask 255.255.255.0
gateway not set, nameserver not set
Null Rescue Flag.
Boot program checksum is invalid
Hello!! Enter Rescue Mode: (Check error)

Reading :: TFTP Server.
Failed.: Timeout occured
Reading :: TFTP Server.
Failed.: Timeout occured
[this continues forever]
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Additional notes:
1) Although it seems that an IP address is assigned to eth0 I can not ping the router (of course I have set a static IP in the same subnet on the computer I'm trying to connect from)!
2) The MAC address in the console output above has been altered for this posting, in real life looks like it should.
2) Recovery mode: same output except that it says "Hello!! Enter Rescue Mode: (Forced!)"
3) Pin shorting has not changed anything (Pin 9)
4) Neither TFTP or the ASUS Utility can connect to the router, not even in forced recovery mode.... probably because the router can not even be pinged (cp. point 1).

... sombeody got an idea how I can get some life back into the device?

Tronix

16-11-2006, 07:44

What's port you are used, when you connect your desktop to router? MAN or LAN? Try to used different port...

JohnS@

16-11-2006, 08:05

What's port you are used, when you connect your desktop to router? MAN or LAN? Try to used different port...

tnx, tronix. I tried the following:

1) as usual one of the LAN ports ... tried all four (just to make sure)
2) tried WAN (which should not work) and which also did not work

what worries me when looking closely at the console output is especially the following:

--------from console output -----------------------
Initializing Arena
Initializing Devices.
rndis0: Broadcom USB RNDIS Network Adapter (P-t-P)
---------------------------------------------------

... should't there be also the eth0 LAN adapter that is initialized at this point?

Tronix

16-11-2006, 08:47

Try folowing (from Oleg's russian FAQ):

1) Turn off router power.
2) Push (and keep pushed) RESTORE button and turn on router power.
3) Still wait, when POWER led is blinking (about 1 sec.) and push-out RESTORE button.
4) Connect by cross-over or patch-cord to anything LAN port on router.
5) In Windows TCP/IP config set static IP 192.168.1.2 (if router has address 192.168.1.1) and network mask 255.255.255.0. Disable all firewalls.
6) ping 192.168.1.1
7) tftp -i 192.168.1.1 put your_firmware.trx
Still wait, until your see: ransfer successful: 3706880 bytes in 7 seconds, 529554 bytes/s
8) Wait about ~10 minutes.

PS: Sorry my poor English (

JohnS@

16-11-2006, 09:57

tronix, tnx for your input but this problem unfortunately goes much deeper!

I have restored many WL-500gP the way you referenced but this works only works if 192.168.1.1 can be successfully pinged!
In my case now, even in forced recovery mode, the router does not answer to 192.168.1.1 ... nor does it send any packets out (I checked with ethereal/wireshark).

So looking at the serial console output I fear that the network interfaces are no longer initialized properly (cause unknown!).

On a WRT54G I'd know it's time for JTAG in such a case .... but so far I have not found information about the JTAG pins for the WL-500gP ...

soshea

16-11-2006, 10:23

Hello all,

I managed to brick two brand new wl500gp routers, just call me dum and dumer :). If anyone wants them just drop me a email and i will give you the address so you can arrange pickup (Brisbane).

I strongly recommend anyone considering using the wl500gp with alternative firmware, DD-WRT, OLEG, or OpenWRT to stick with the linksys hardware. These WL500's are technically better but the units are bugger, in that hardware reset and update process do not work very well at all.

I have tried all the methods suggested, reset, Firmware restoration, etc, with the expection of adding a serial port, which is just not worth my time!

JohnS@

16-11-2006, 21:48

update: the router is still dead...

from the console output I got the idea that maybe USB could be an option:

-----
Initializing Devices.
rndis0: Broadcom USB RNDIS Network Adapter (P-t-P)
-----

so now I tried rndis as well

Would mean that at least the USB ports are initialized in a RNDIS compatible mode, unfortunately a USB Link cable (with PL-2501NW chipset ... supposedly remote ndis and peer to peer capable) did not establish a link....

somebody every used this interface for a recovery ... or does sombody have another idea about how to reanimate my dead router?

Tronix

17-11-2006, 07:41

Okay, I'am sorry, I not understood your problem. Unfortunately, i don't know, how help you.
May be this log help you:

CFE version 1.0.37 for BCM947XX (32bit,SP,LE)
Build Date: ¤T 12¤ë 14 15:54:18 CST 2005 (root@localhost.localdomain)
Copyright (C) 2000,2001,2002,2003 Broadcom Corporation.

Initializing Arena
Initializing Devices.
et0: Broadcom BCM47xx 10/100 Mbps Ethernet Controller 3.90.23.0
rndis0: Broadcom USB RNDIS Network Adapter (P-t-P)
CPU type 0x29006: 264MHz
Total memory: 33554432 KBytes

Total memory used by CFE: 0x80800000 - 0x8089B590 (636304)
Initialized Data: 0x80831700 - 0x80833DE0 (9952)
BSS Area: 0x80833DE0 - 0x80835590 (6064)
Local Heap: 0x80835590 - 0x80899590 (409600)
Stack Area: 0x80899590 - 0x8089B590 (8192)
Text (code) segment: 0x80800000 - 0x80831700 (202496)
Boot area (physical): 0x0089C000 - 0x008DC000
Relocation Factor: I:00000000 - D:00000000

Device eth0: hwaddr 00-17-31-D6-3C-DD, ipaddr 10.84.0.220, mask 255.255.255.0
gateway not set, nameserver not set
Null Rescue Flag.
Loader:raw Filesys:raw Dev:flash0.os File: Options:(null)
Loading: .. 3560 bytes read
Entry at 0x80001000
Closing network.
Starting program at 0x80001000
...etc...

JohnS@

17-11-2006, 08:22

tronix, tnx for the log of a working device!!! I suspected it but your log now definitively confirms it: my network interface eth0 is no longer initialized properly!
the line
et0: Broadcom BCM47xx 10/100 Mbps Ethernet Controller 3.90.23.0
is missing when my router initializes... this explains why a) I can not ping the router and b) I don't see any packets in wireshark.

Now I guess the only possible way to get it to work again would indeed by JTAG but since there are no visible jtag pin headers on the wl-500gp pcb I have no idea where to start ...

Oleg

17-11-2006, 17:21

Type these lines in the cfe prompt:

nvram erase
flash -offset=65536 flash0.os flash0.os

JohnS@

18-11-2006, 09:52

Type these lines in the cfe prompt:

nvram erase
flash -offset=65536 flash0.os flash0.os

oleg, tnx for the input!! so far I have had no success, perhaps I didn't try it the right way... what I did:

1) Connect serial port to my USB-Serial 3.3v converter (which was used to receive the console output and should therefore work also in the other direction)
2) Power on the bricked unit
3) Enter "clear nvram" and "flash -offset=65536 flash0.os flash0.os" in the terminal program (I tried it a different times, e.g. directly after boot and later).

Still I see the endless loop of:
------------------------
Reading :: TFTP Server.
Failed.: Timeout occured
------------------------
And no change in the state of the router. Later today I'll check if my TX connection is connected properly (just to make sure).

How exactly should the router react to the two commands?

Oleg

18-11-2006, 15:27

Ghm... Just type Ctrl+C before entering commands (to get CFE prompt).

Oleg

18-11-2006, 15:28

BTW, once cleared - you've to flash firmware using recovery tool or tftp (your router should init et0 and also should answer to ping).

JohnS@

18-11-2006, 16:59

oleg, thanks very much for the help! I could successfully enter the commands you posted and the router successfully completed the programming. Towards the end of the programming cycle the power led switched off.
Unfortunately I could neither reach the router directly after programming nor after disconnecting the power supply for a moment ... the power LED is now off and no longer blinking.

the only thing my serial console dump shows is now:

-----------
<0>
-----------
... just these three caracters, no change, nothing more... any ideas?

astudent

20-11-2006, 01:07

It's a lot easier to just purchase a TTL<->RS232 shifter from sparkfun. It's only $10.
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=449

Just solder some wires from TX, RX, Gnd, and Vcc on the shifter to the corresponding points on the wl500gp. Works great for me. Your minicom settings are correct.

Also, I wouldn't mind taking a look at it if you want.

thenextdon13

26-11-2006, 06:24

Hey there--
Yes, if you are interested in looking in the Unit, I would be happy to ship it to you no charge.. and you can keep it when you're done as well!

PM me with your address... :)

take care
Camden

Kandy

28-11-2006, 21:37

Hi

Can anyone help me or point me in the right direction?

I've tried to upgrade my firmware to Oleg's using the built-interface but my computer crashed whilst this was happening and since then I have not been able to access my router. The power led flash slowly and all the lan and wan ports seem to light fine. Pings and the Asus recovery disk tells me the router can not be found and the pin 9 trick does not put the router back into recovery mode ( btw I didnt realise that I had to put the router into recovery mode before I update firmware :( ).

Am thinking about soldering a serial pinout connection but not sure if this is worth it.. how could this help anyway?

Any ideas?

Wie.

soshea

29-11-2006, 03:07

I do not think i will use the wl500 again, they just are not up to the job. As for giving them away i am not sure how much your time is worth but mine is worth a lot more than the cost of these things.

Lets just say in regard to wl500 I Have the tshiet, i live and learn and now move on!

stormwolf

29-11-2006, 12:43

ok i managed to do this by messing around DD-WRT firmware that was installed on the unit. i was tampering with routing tables and routing modes when the unit froze....i powered it off and back on, and that was it. AT FIRST, it would take forever to assign IP to my computer, but it would do it, no acces to web interface tho. now its completely dead, just LAN led goes on when you plug the cable in, thats about it. no telnet reply, no default IP ping reply, no last IP ping reply. in short - nothing.
i cant force it into recovery mode, the power led doesnt start blinking, its just on. no wireless signal. tried shorting the pins on the flash memory - no success.
I noticed theres a 20 pin jumper type connector on board so i was thinking if i can use that to hook a JTAG cable or something to it.
out of those 20 pins, 2 are not connected to anything. (the 2 closest to the front end of the unit)
can someone tell me what pin is what for the JTAG?? and the schematic for the cable please?
i tried lookin on the net, but i cant find that matches my actual case.
The unit processor is BCM4702KPB, the flash memory is 29LV320ATTC-90
Thanks a lot :)

Oleg

30-11-2006, 14:17

Why don't you ask DD-WRT guys?

The header you're talking about is for UART and it's described in the forum.

stormwolf

30-11-2006, 19:49

i left the same post there but no replies either.
I couldnt find any cable specs. i saw one of your posts somewhere giving a pin layout for this specific type of processor, but i have more pins so i cant quite figure out how to adapt the cable to it.
if i'm not too much of a pain, could you just post the link here for that UART cable?

minkiyan

03-12-2006, 03:12

i cant force it into recovery mode, the power led doesnt start blinking, its just on. no wireless signal. tried shorting the pins on the flash memory - no success.
I noticed theres a 20 pin jumper type connector on board so i was thinking if i can use that to hook a JTAG cable or something to it.
out of those 20 pins, 2 are not connected to anything. (the 2 closest to the front end of the unit)
can someone tell me what pin is what for the JTAG?? and the schematic for the cable please?

I think i have the same problem with you.....the firmware damage..........
Can't force in recovery mode and reset key not function
I want to know how to diy a cable to fix this problem~
Any one can help us~?
THX~^^

ttsherpa

13-12-2006, 19:56

When trying to test the newer version of the original ASUS firmware from Olegs latest, with TFTP, I found that my router could not exit recovery mode.
I can send it any firmware (oleg, Asus, Nvram-reset...) with both TFTP or the ASUS recovery utility but too soon after that it responds to pings again with a TTL=100, so it remains in recovery mode, and it seems not capable of storing and booting the new firmwares it receives.
Furthermore it still contains the latest IP I gave to it (192.168.0.2) in spite of the fact that I press the reset button for 20 seconds.

Any ideas?

TIA

WlanMan

16-12-2006, 00:30

Hi

Connect up a Serial Converter to it and look what the bootloader says, or maybe send it back for Service to Asus ?

If it flashes the firmware completely and then dont work even after a manual nvram reset via button, i dont have a clue...

Greets
Wlanman

dude69

04-06-2007, 10:47

Hi Oleg!

I think i have a similar problem... - but my eth0 is initialized! But I still cant ping the box or put a new image on it... i wrote my problems description here:
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=87908#87908

I know thats another board - but if you have any hint for me i would be really glad!

Thx, dude

mururoa

04-06-2007, 11:39

Hi there,

It seems in order to enable 32 Mb Ram, I bricked my wl500g deluxe entering wrong memory values :(
It seems that I should have entered :

nvram set sdram_init=0x2008
nvram set sdram_ncdl=0x0000
nvram commit
reboot

But I entered values for wl500g premium and the router no longer boot.

So. Now that I bricked my router what are my options ( if any ) to get it back working ?

Necromen

05-06-2007, 06:57

Read this
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2507

dude69

05-06-2007, 12:30

Hi! Thx for the info, but shortening Pin 9 doesnt change a thing...
Please check this thread here http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=15908 and give me hints if anyone has an idea...

dude69

08-06-2007, 08:38

Tried this:

CFE> flash -offset=65536 flash0.os flash0.os
Reading flash0.os: Done. 8062791 bytes read
Download of 0x7b0747 bytes completed
Write kernel and filesystem binary to FLASH (0xbfc40000)
flash device 'flash0.os'
Programming...
ERROR!! copysize is 8062791, amtcopy is 8028132
Failed.: Unknown error

Any hints?

dude69

08-06-2007, 09:06

Type these lines in the cfe prompt:

nvram erase
flash -offset=65536 flash0.os flash0.os

DONT try this... after that my device doesnt boot into cfe anymore....

theBrave

18-06-2007, 14:12

Hello,

There's one thing I was wondering: it was how can one brick a router ? You can always come to either the recovery mode (started before the firmware is even loaded) or the bootloader (serial line+tftp) because the bootloader can't be overwritten in an upgrade ?

If no, can you explain me.

Thanks

Jean

avalanche

04-07-2007, 10:00

I've two pieces of Wl500gP - A couple of times before they went uresponsible changing som nvram settings and then I had success debricking grounding pin9. This time I upgraded the firmware (dd-wrt), restored factory defaults and tried to restore some backup'ed settings.
Both routers went dead and the one I got back in business using pin9 trick.
The other one is still troubling me, descriped below.

The router is able to enter recoverymode holding down restore button. Then the router is pingable at 192.168.1.1, but uploading firmware with the restoraion tool or TFTP is really slow and always times out before ever finishing.

Then I've tried grounding pin 10, 12 16 and 17. The last two makes the router enter recovery mode and then speeds are great and the router accepts a new firmware. Tried several different builds, both dd-wrt and olegs firmware and so on.
When TFTPing the new image the router never gets back in business, but using restoration tool the router always boot, but only until poweroff or reboot. So until changing settings etc. the router is accessible trough http/telnet and wireless is working.

Is my bootloader broken? - Anyone ever experienced something like this? - I've also tried olegs files
wl500g-clear-nvram.trx and wl500g-recover.trx and from telnet "mtd erase nvram" (after grounding pin16) - But always the is router only is accessible right after flashing from restoration tool and only until it's rebooted.

Really weird. Anyone knows how to solve this. I have tried attaching a serial cable (old phone usb2serial cable with pl2303) for further diagnosing, but I can't get this to work. Only crappy output in hyperterminal.

Any help would be appreciated. Also posted a similar thread at the dd-wrt forum, but no answers.

avalanche

05-07-2007, 20:05

I've managed to get my router back... And still I got no serial console. But I'll definetly have to get myself a working one.

nvram-clean.sh - did not help
wl500g-clear-nvram.trx - did not help
wl500g-recover.trx - did not help

Flashing from recovery mode always timed out, and never made the router work.
Flashing from recovery mode after shorting pin 16/17 with gnd always was a success with every firmware, but only until reboot. Tried to clean nvram with "mtd erase nvram" or "nvram-clean.sh" before rebooting without success. Ended up doing like this

1) power off
2) short pin 16 with GND and power on until power-LED started flashing
3) removed the shorting of pin 16
4) flashed with dd-wrt
5) after router alive, telnet 192.168.1.1 and logged in
6) ran "mtd erase nvram"
7) ran "mtd erase linux"
8) reboot
9) router started up in recovery mode
10) flashed with olegs firmware (or other firmware), and wasn't slow anymore - after reboot the router was alive and kicking, also after poweroff.

Dunno if the above mentioned method will help someone out there, but maybe someday.

Hoox

31-07-2007, 07:22

A couple of days ago i tryed to install dd-wrt on my wl500gP. It was successfull and I was able to log on to webif and all. When changing some pppoe settings from webif it all suddently stopped working.
I managed to reflash to asus official firmware 1.9.7.5 but I think the router is bricked now. When I power on, the power led is just blinking. I am able to ping 192.168.1.1 but Im not able to connect to a webif or telnet.
If I set up a ping -t I notice that when I try to use Firmware Restoration tool the ping stops and the tool says "No wireless device in recovery mode is found".

Does anyone know any solutions to this or is it just to be thrown away? :(

TheLoneKnight

04-08-2007, 06:49

I've bricked my wl500gp numerous times and I have yet to find one that wasn't fixable.
Usually recovering from any bad flash involves:
* Setting up your own addresses manually. In windows you can navigate to TCP/IP under network connections in your control panel and set your own IP and default gateway.
* Now that you have your connection set up, stick the router into recovery mode and the asus firmware utility should be able to find it and upload wl500g-clear-nvram.trx to it.
* After that you can stick in whatever firmware you want and it's as good as new.

maximorus

28-08-2007, 00:11

Based on discussions and abilities bought WL500gP with the idea to have small always running linux box.

Via standard ASUS firmware interface flashed

http://downloads.openwrt.org/whiterussian-jffs2-4MB.trx
.
later on, via recovery mode I upload (flash)
http://downloads.openwrt.org/whiteru...-jffs2-8MB.trx

After this, router stopped responding(no ping).

I put him in recovery mode by reset button again and start upload standard firmware.
Via usage of Firmware restoration tool ((c) by ASUS)
I start uploading WL500gp_1.9.7.2_TW.trx/
Upload stops near 30% and breaks up, router does not respond to ping or web requests.
I read about pin9 hack and break all warranty seals.
pin9 hack. Recovery mode again, flash image transfer
vVia usage of Firmware restoration tool ((c) by ASUS) breaks up midway.
We, together with Mr.Evtushenko soilder in com port on the router board. Using FT232B (http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm) we get router console with CFE prompt by pressing Ctrl-c on boot
We read http://wl500g.info/archive/index.php/t-8935.html
nvram erase, Waiting 10 minutes. No output/
We reboot with reset pushed down and watch console --

tftp server: Failed.: Timeout occured
Reading :: TFTP Server.

We give him standard asus flash image
tftp -i 192.168.1.1 WL500gp_1.9.7.2_TW.trx
i:
Failed.: Timeout occured
Reading :: TFTP Server.
Failed.: Timeout occured
Reading :: TFTP Server.
Failed.: Timeout occured
Reading :: TFTP Server.
Failed.: Timeout occured
Reading :: TFTP Server.
Failed.: Timeout occured
Reading :: TFTP Server.
Failed.: Timeout occured
Reading :: TFTP Server.
Failed.: Timeout occured
Reading :: TFTP Server.
TFTP_BLKLEN!!
Done. 7974912 bytes read
Download of 0x79b000 bytes completed
Write kernel and filesystem binary to FLASH (0xbfc40000)
flash device 'flash1.trx'
parseflag = 0, the copysize is 7974912
Programming...
after cfe_writeblk, the copysize is 7974912, amtcopy=7974912
done. 7974912 bytes written

Waited 10 minutes, tea\coffee\smoke. router does nothing.
We reboot him and -- BRICKED -- no output on console, no ping, no web interface.

Is it possible to revive this router?

Thanks for reading on, will be grateful on any info on the subject//

Maxim

vuk

28-08-2007, 06:34

It happened to me some times ago, and I found some kind of tutorial on this forum about how to hardware reset the brick :)

Search the forum about how to open the router and short-circuit the pin 9 on the hynix EEPROM to the ground

for me it worked, but read carefully and study your board with a magnifier against those instruction because it is risky.

Good luck !

read this http://wl500g.info/showthread.php?t=1606&highlight=pin

alien433

28-08-2007, 19:06

yes it is possible by the the wl500g-clear-nvram.trx and the wl500g-recover.trx. available on this side after this you have to flash your wl500gp with the firmware you need. all by the recover mode. i can also email you these firmwares. Good luck

Barefoot

09-09-2007, 00:07

Barefoot

09-09-2007, 00:48

I have the feeling, mine is not fixable... I have a static address, netmask is correct, gateway is correct (does not matter anyway), the router is flashing - and the firmware restoration tool does not find the router.

The thing still answers pings, but that's all. Any other ideas? Use some ftp tool from Unix? Any mistakes that I could have made?

Ok, no panic. I don't know how and why, but finally it the router was recognized and the upload began. The procedure was like this:

1. Click around cluelessly in those ugly network configuration menus of MS Windows.
2. Wait until the network setting application crashes and you get an error window (not responding).
3. Right after the crash, the restoration tool will start the upload automatically.

Maybe it's to be recommended to go back to Linux and use tftp... seems to be easier. All in all I guess I failed in giving Windows a static IP at the right point in time.

jbroom

18-10-2007, 00:41

Hi guys,
I have an Asus WL-500g Premium which I had loaded a couple of months back with DD-WRT to play with, but then set apart because with the settings I had done it became hard to connect to (can't remember what I did!).
I now pull it off the shelf to reflash it, and when I connect it all I get are 5 orange LEDs on and steady. These are the WAN and all the LAN leds. The power & AIR leds do not light/blink/anything.
When plugging in power with reset pressed it stays the same.
I've opened the unit and I THINK I've correctly shorted PIN-9 to ground for aprox 20 secs with power connected, and it still stays the same.
I've looked through the forums but all the posts regarding birck/dead seem to have one which is not "as dead" as my one seems...
Is it dead? Any suggestions? How hard should I hit it with a hammer (or would it be best to let my 10 month old son play with it instead?).
Thanks in advance.

newbiefan

23-10-2007, 22:33

OK, lets give him a try....maybe that your son should use a hammer...lol

Open a command prompt and 'cd' to the directory where you downloaded the firmware (.trx file).
Type 'tftp -i 192.168.1.1 PUT yourfirmware.trx' but DO NOT HIT ENTER!
Unplug the power to the router.
Hold down the reset/restore button while reconnecting the power. Wait until the power light starts blinking before releasing the reset/restore button.
Hit enter in your command prompt window (to run 'tftp -i 192.168.1.1 PUT yourfirmware.trx').
Wait 15-30 seconds for the image to upload. If you receive a TFTP timeout message start the process over again (from step 3).
Wait 4-5 minutes and power cycle the router.

But: when your last installed firmware was ddrt, you have to do some other steps (or better: you have to use different files).
Give me some minutes, I'll come back soon -try it in the meantime.....

newbiefan

23-10-2007, 23:16

Well, here is the guideline in order to allow a flashing of olegs firmware
(or to give your router a chance.....)
hopefully it works....

1.) download the file WL500gp-1.9.2.7-7g.zip from http://oleg.wl500g.info/1.9.2.7-7g/ and unzip to a new folder e.g. My Documents, AsusOleg
and cd to that directory
2.) download the files below (attached)
3.) set your network settings of your pc manually to 192.168.1.5
4.) follow the guideline which I posted before and use wl500g-clear-nvram.trx and wait some minutes
5.) now follow the guideline again and use wl500g-restore.trx and wait some minutes
6.) same again and now use the downloaded file WL500gp-1.9.2.7g.trx wait about => 10 minutes

good luck!

Well my account is broken right now, therefore I can not upload the second file wl500-restore.trx
The file should be available somewhere.... I'll upload it tomorrow (hopefully my account works),
now its too late here (MEZ)
But anyhow, here is the first one...http://wl500gp.lima-city.de/tools/

jbroom

24-10-2007, 01:12

I think you didn't read my post... The power light is off, the LAN/WAN lights are on. When I turn it on with reset/restore pressed, the lights don't change at all.
If I could get it to blink/whatever normally, then I would follow the regular procedure and put in a .trx in there. It's "stuck" with the leds on as I describe it.
This is why I need suggestions, because I've TRIED the PIN-9 reset to see if I could get that to work, and that is also the same.

newbiefan

26-10-2007, 18:36

Point taken - anyhow - have you ever tried the failsafe mode?

http://wiki.openwrt.org/OpenWrtDocs/Hardware/Asus/WL500GP

Do you have a simple RS232 serial converter (MAX232)?
If yes, connect your PC with your Router and look at the messages.

If nothing helps: last chance is a JTAG cable - but until now I havn't found the right pinout, maybe it's somewhere....
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12053 (is interesting).
And I guess you know how to find the hariydairyunbrick software.

evanloon

20-11-2007, 15:24

jaapjeuk

20-11-2007, 18:00

Hi!
I have seriously bricked my WL-500g (running dd-wrt 2.3 SP2) by uploading a corrupt config file.

When I turn on the router, the power LED is on continually. There is no radio and DHCP through LAN is not working either.
I tried resetting the router to fabric defaults: nothing happens.
I tried going into restore mode (holding the rest button during power on), but that doesn't work either!
I read the sticky about unbricking the WL-500g Premium and the WL-500g DeLuxe, but I have a WL-500g (standard or call it what you want) which has a different mainboard and a different flash chip.
Does anybody know anything else I could try? Or is it a goner...
Thank you VERY much for your help in advance!!!!
Kindest regards,
Eric van Loon

i had the same problem in the past, was solved in this way:
1) install windows/rescue.exe (from the asus wl-500g utils-cd)
2) put the wl500g in upgrade mode
3) flash first (using rescue.exe) http://oleg.wl500g.info/wl500g-clear-nvram.trx and then
4) wl500g in upgrade mode flash with wl500g-recover.trx , afterwards
5) wl500g in upgrade mode flash with normal firmware

see:
http://87.239.12.26/~d02042/showthread.php?t=2197
http://wl500g.info/showthread.php?t=2197

evanloon

20-11-2007, 22:57

i had the same problem in the past, was solved in this way:
1) install windows/rescue.exe (from the asus wl-500g utils-cd)
2) put the wl500g in upgrade mode

Hi Jaap!
The problem is that I cannot switch to upgrade/restore mode.
When I press the reset button during powering on the unit, nothing happens. The power LED just stays lit continualy and will not flash...
Thank you very much fo your reply!
Kindest regards,
Eric van Loon

evanloon

21-11-2007, 14:18

It's working again!!!!!
I erased the memory of the wl500g by the good old pin 10 trick.
Here is how:
1) Turn off the unit
2) On the mainboard find the memory chip (M29W320DT)
3) Find a very small wire and connect pin 10 to ground (e.g. one of the edges of the screw hole)
3) While grounding pin 10 plug in the power cord. You will need al least three hands here...
4) The power LED should start flashing slowly now, indicating that the memory is wiped and the device is now in the recovery mode.
5) Start the normal firmware installation procedure. The reset button is now also working again.
Thank you all very much for your help!
Kindest regards,
Eric van Loon

jaapjeuk

22-11-2007, 20:48

you did a good job, eric! but how you knew how to reset the memory?

Matej

24-11-2007, 13:53

Hi,

Tis is my first post here but I've been hanging around this and several other WL-500 forums for some time now in search for a solution of my problem.

I have a WL-500gP which I've flashed to DD-WRT shortly after purchase. I've been quite happy with DD-WRT's networking features but since it lacks stable USB support I've decided to flash the unit to Oleg's firmware. I had some trouble with this flash so I decided to use a similar method that worked for the DD-WRT flash. The first (and sadly last) step was to flash with tftp using wl500g-clear-nvram.trx. After waiting a couple of minutes and rebooting (i didn't hold down the reset button - perhaps was this a mistake) the unit was dead. The led lights flash upon power-up and then the power led goes immediately off. The air led stays on but it's very dim (barely noticeable light). The lan indicators work normally. It's like the boot process doesn't happen. Could I have corrupted or erased the bootloader? I haven't been able to renter recovery mode since then. The power led stays off even when power cycling with the reset button pressed. I've also tryed to short pin9 to ground several times as described in some threads. It didn't help.

I have no idea what else to try. Does any one know the cause and/or solution for this problem? I would appreciate any help.

brickedkalle

03-12-2007, 20:39

Hi all!

I've bricked my wl-500gp probably by unplugging the power cord to early during firmware upload (but I'm not sure for this, because I was waiting a few minutes before unplugging). Now I can't get the rescue mode by holding the reset switch and there seems to be no serial output on UART_TX0 nor UART_TX1 (I used a scope). After power on, the four LAN LEDs are lighting up for one or two seconds and then they're going dark. If an ethernet wire is connected, the light is flashing by traffic. The power LED stays dark all the time. Shorting pin 9 or 10 doesn't work. Seems that there is even no CFE loader... :-(

Hope for your help...

Seems to be the same as here: http://wl500g.info/showthread.php?t=11724

usp

24-12-2007, 06:34

I upload firmware from 1.9.7.5 to 1.9.7.2 via web interface, the router does not respond for a long time. I refesh the web and nothing happen. After that I still access internet in a few minutes then it come down. The power led blink all the time. The ethenet connection also down. I can not access the router anyway.

How can I do to rescue this router. Please HELP me!!!

Thanks a lot!!!

newbiefan

24-12-2007, 09:40

Don't worry!

First: write exactly which firmware you've taken (choosen).

Search for the right fw (should be the latest - http://oleg.wl500g.info/1.9.2.7-8/ )

Then use tftp to flash your new firmware, but pleeaaaase: wait some minutes more after flashing and use just a wire connection.

Follow exactly http://wl500g.info/showthread.php?t=10989
but use the name of your fw instead of tomatoxxxx.trx

If that fails, there is an other possibility to bring him back......
But I have done it several times and it always worked.

usp

24-12-2007, 15:00

Thank you so much. But in this cases, does the PC recognize the router via 192.168.1.1?
I tried to reload firmware by Asus Firmware Restoration but not successful. And internet explorer say fail when I type http://192.168.1.1.
I will do a try with yours after work today.

Thank you!

newbiefan

24-12-2007, 18:21

This is important: disable any firewall!
Particularly any norton security and so on.....

You can try it simple: when you hold the reset button (which is not so easy) during power on and the power light starts blinking after some seconds, everything should work fine.
Just unplug your router and follow exactly the procedure.
Let us know when you brought him back to life.

If everything fails, we provide you more hints.....just let us know

usp

24-12-2007, 23:01

Hi Newbiefan
I try many ways but nothing happen better. The PC can't connect to the router at all. The Power light blinks all the time when I turn it on whatever I press and hold the reset button or not.

http://usbay.net/share/disconnect.jpg

Give me some more hints

Thank you!

jaapjeuk

25-12-2007, 00:46

usp

25-12-2007, 02:12

try ping 192.168.1.1

what's the result of your pc's windows-command: ipconfig /all ?

I tried that and find out the IP's router was changed

http://usbay.net/share/screen1.JPG

raas

25-12-2007, 11:35

Hi,

I think your computer normally has an 'dynamic' ip, leased by an dhcp-server (asus)..

While the asus is 'broke' it doesn't send out an ip address to your computer.

your computer then 'defaults' to an ip which is not in the same range as your asus, that's why you're not able to ping the asus.

Change your pc's network address manually to 192.168.1.10, reboot and then try to ping your asus..

When this connection works, you should be able to restore your asus.

HTH

usp

26-12-2007, 06:36

WOW!!! Finally the router was reborn!!!

Thank you all, yes, the ip changes to a random IP so the PC can not ping 191.168.1.1 because it is not in the same range of Asus. I set PC IP to static IP 192.168.1.xx, then It recognizes the Asus right. The next steps just following the Newbiefan's.

Now I repare to reload the proper firmware for it.

I like the Oleg firmware, It can load the Twonky Media. But Window Network doesn't see files in HDD. I don't like to use FTP. It can not play video files via Network.

The Original firmware can see files from the network, but the Media Server works so bad, the video out put is slow and freeze.

Any advice about that appreciate.

Thanks all again...

raas

26-12-2007, 11:48

Install Samba for your file sharing with windows and configure shares.

It then should be visible in your 'network neighbourhood' in windows and accessible as if it where a 'normal networked machine'

usp

26-12-2007, 15:31

Install Samba for your file sharing with windows and configure shares.

It then should be visible in your 'network neighbourhood' in windows and accessible as if it where a 'normal networked machine'

I don't know how to install Samba. Isn't there a Demo Samba in Oleg Firmware? Could you show me how to? I appreciate that..

newbiefan

26-12-2007, 15:59

Well, follow this tutorial: http://wl500g.info/showthread.php?t=10307

It is a very good one, contains almost everything and is up to date.
Best would be to read it before, just to understand what is useful for you.

Then copy line by line to your telnet/putty console (or what you need).
It's quick done and safe - just read carefully.

Believe me, it's worth the time for reading - you will be surprized what your router can do.

Edit: BWT: Sorry I've no experience with samba demo mode, I used from beginning an installed version.

usp

29-12-2007, 16:03

I tried to install IPKG and Samba many time but not successful. I always received this notice "mkdir: Cannot create directory `/opt/etc'.

I got my 500Gb hard drive patitioned with 3 parts, the 1st for Swap, 512mb, the 2nd for Ipkg 1GB, and the rest for data. What's wrong here? I followed the instruction step by step. What is focus here? Any help would appreciate...

newbiefan

29-12-2007, 16:28

usp

31-12-2007, 00:56

Ok, lets do it step by step.

Do you have partition magic or other partition manager software?
If so, just install your 3 partitions on your PC.

But before, just telnet/putty to your box and input 'df -h'
All partitions should be listed, except your swap partition.
If you don't see them, something went wrong with your installation.
As I know from experience, wengi's howto is up to date and works always,
so I guess, you have done it too fast without reading.
Anyhow, just post at first your post-boot and output of df -h

Thank you, Everything is so good now. I follow step by step the Wengi's tutorials in few times more and got successful finally. I appreciate it...:D:)

One thing more: How can I access the EXT3 partition in WindowXP. I mean i will connect the 500GB HDD back to PC to copy or delete files on it for fasting? Thanks...

newbiefan

31-12-2007, 09:23

Well, as I know there are several drivers out there....
http://www.fs-driver.org/

Anyhow, I don't use it, therefore I've no experience.
Have fun....

pinkfloyd

10-01-2008, 09:27

2 days ago I installed the latest firmware from dd-wrt to try Kai with my psp....everything was working fine except Kai...Today I rebooted the router from the web and after it rebooted I have no connections at all.....

I tried both wireless and Lan and nothing

Tried to restore back to Oleg but when I press restore button the power button does not flicker...router lights up normally but no connection at all

I think my only solution might be the pin9 hardware thing but after I opened my wl500gp I found out that the image that was posted on this forum is different to my internal router diagram

Please help

UPDATE: pin 9 did the trick. My problem is now that login and password dont seem to match and I cant enter neither via telnet nor the web interface to clear the ram...btw I installed oleg back again

pripps

11-01-2008, 11:02

Try failsafe mode as described in open wrt wiki for Asus. I was in the same situation as you and it helped me. But the restore button worked in my case.

wasakima

13-01-2008, 22:43

I read some of the threads in the forum, but cannot seem to find anything on how to groung the pins. I believe my WL-500gP is bricked (used ddwrt FW, then enabled JFFS for USB support, said to click Apply buttom, but click Save as not recommended, not not working and cannot connect to it), and I think grounding the pin 9 might do the trick. But what is the best way to do this?

aka

31-01-2008, 23:52

Problem:
If I plug in the power and start pinging, it responds to ping:

Hardware error.
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=100
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=100
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=100
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=100
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=100
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=100
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=100
Request timed out.
sometimes it starts answering once every 3-4 pings

Hardware error.
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=100
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=100
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=100
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=100
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=100
I tried to put it in recovery mode - but it doesn't answer to ping, after I release the recovery button, the power led stops flashing after the first ping attempt.
What I tried:
I opened it up and I think I correctly grounded PIN 9...
No luck :(.

Any ideas?
Do you guys have any advice?

OncleOh

12-03-2008, 12:37

Hi,i have one WL-500gP dead after upgrade, now only lan led light power and air lead are dead. Tried pin9 solution but no succes. Any idea on how to repair it?

Regards!
Leo

lly

12-03-2008, 13:41

After which upgrade? RAM? USB? console? firmware?
Have you tried firmware restoration by tftp?
If it happens directly after hardware modification - seems to be you broke something.

We even don't know your firmware version... So, without detailed information, nobody can help you.

OncleOh

12-03-2008, 23:59

It happend after upgrate to linux firmware via asus recovery tool. Did not do any hardware modifications.

Regards!
Leo

lly

13-03-2008, 06:56

Try to recover it by TFTP.
Detailed process information from Oleg (translated from russian):
Firmware Restoration äëÿ WL500gP/W/gP v2/gx, WL520g/gU/gC, WL550gE/WL320gE/gP (http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwl500g.info%2Fshowthread. php%3Fp%3D33445%23post33445&langpair=ru%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8)

P.S. OncleOh, once more - if you don't want to post detailed information (FW version, etc.), nobody will help you.

Brickmeister

16-03-2008, 00:56

Hi,

This is one fine mess I've got myself into.
I attempted to flash the firmware of my ASUS WL500G Premium, and it seemed to work but there was something wrong with my nvram settings, so in an effort to start again I believe I've cleared my nvram settings and now I have no IP address to flash further images to.

Can anyone help or have I well and truly bricked it :S ?

Thanks for your time.

Edit: I guess I should add some more details.
The really big problems started when I flashed the router with wl500g-clear-nvram.trx, planning to later flash it with wl500g-recover.trx, however as I understand it the premium doesn't reset to a default but uses the setting in nvram which I just cleared. D'oh! I can get it into what appears to be diag mode, with the power light flashing slowly. Otherwise the power light is solid. It seems no other lights are lighting no matter what is plugged in where.

newbiefan

16-03-2008, 18:28

I would install a serial connector (max232 with 3,3V) and have a closer look for the boot messages.

ozluis

21-05-2008, 18:52

Hi all, first sorry for my english.

Now the problem: I try to upgrade Firmware in my Asus, and program stopped during it. And now I can't connect to router to clean nvram or anything else. only AIR led is shines lightly...

Pin 9 trick, doesn't work...
Do You know what to do? Maybe someone has got answer for this problem...
please, help me:(:(:(:(:(

raas

21-05-2008, 19:12

reset the device a couple off times,
then try to connect.

ozluis

21-05-2008, 21:56

This will not give anything, router does not react on such interventions. I wonder or under COM cable can delete nvram??:confused:

Inertial

22-05-2008, 10:38

Hello!

Well is your router really non-responsive? No reply to ping, not possible to enter recovery mode by pressing reset button during power up, no signs of life on port0 over serial, etc? If so I happened to have a unit given by a friend, in the same condition, CFE (the bootloader) got corrupted so nothing really happens to the router. pin 9 gave nothing either... maybe there is a solution to this but it's a bit hardcore: 'will try it for the router I was given anyway... remove the flash chip, re-program it externally, and then resolder it. I know it's risky and complicated but I haven't come across to any other solution...

On the other hand, if you manage to connect over serial cable to port0 and manage to get to see the booting sequence, pressing ctrl+c while the router listens for tftp connection attempts, gets you to the CFE prompt. From there you can follow the instructions given somewhere in the forum by Oleg, on how to erase all nvram variables and on how to proceed then. The bad thing is that when you are able to do this, it means you can get the power led to flash (ie enter recovery mode) which doesn't seems to be our case.

Reaching to tftp by itself doesn't always means you are saved, since it's mentioned in the forums that if you have corrupted or incompatible (compared to what the recovery firmware expects) nvram variable values, the firmware download and re-flashing over tftp doesn't complete successfully.

Been on the fourth modded unit, I have to admit that while things advance relatively easy when no errors occur, it gets quite difficult to recover when something turns bad...

In other words it's all fine as long as all goes well, but in case of trouble you really need all the equipment, knowledge and technique you can get, to recover.

Lately I realised that hardware interventions to the router are inherently risky... I happened to know how to proceed and have some of the needed equipment, so it feels quite feasible to do, but I have also seen damaged hardware as a result of over-enthusiastic attempts to modding.

The above is said in order to prevent people who are not at ease with smd rework and external flash programmers to end up in a worst mess then they began with. (lifted pads, damaged tracks, corrupted flashes, electrically or thermally fried chips, etc.) Flash chip being too close to the cpu's bga, bga's being known of not being particularilly forgivefull...

Still I’ll try to proceed this way if I can't come up with any better idea and if no one can advise me on a better solution.

So here it comes:

wl500gp with Oleg's firmware v.10 (latest as of may 2008) with 128MB mod:
I was connected over serial to the CFE console, then something happened, the router freezes, when I re-apply power, nothing :confused: (my guess is that the router froze while the flash was in an inconsistent state). Not even CFE prompt, no power light blinking, no ping, not a single character emitted over serial, no nothing :eek: (only lan lights flash all together, and then they turn off, only to light again if a lan cable is connected to the corresponding port). Tried pin 9 trick several times, while connected over serial to monitor things, nothing...

I've spend days (weeks) looking in the translated versions of the Russian forum (where most of the information wealth resides :) ) but still nothing.

Does any one can tell me: is my fear that once CFE gets corrupted, pin 9 trick doesn't work any more, correct?

If so externally re-flashing might be the last hope...

Inertial

kolp

09-06-2008, 16:37

So I went away for holiday and just returned 2 weeks later to find I had not internet. So I thought it wasn't a big deal thought it was the company. I decided to try after an hour and realized that I couldn't even log into the router. So I hooked directly from the internet through the machine and it worked. So I know that router has a problem. So I resetted with the button and still no go. And I got it in restore mode and uploaded the new firmware from asus still nothin happened. So now what should I do I pretty tried everything. I read another forum that said if I was able to png my router I was able to do that to. But I don't know why I cant log onto it. Any suggestions guys thanks in advance

lord_dizzy

09-06-2008, 20:47

So, your router has the latest firmware from ASUS now you say? Of course you can't login to it with telnet or ssh, but you can check the open ports of your router (i.e.: 80 is not open, did you try writing router address in your browser and nothing is coming up or you don't know user/pass ?), or maybe try again to reset to default -- press for 10 seconds the black button.
Also I had once the same problem, and the solution was pretty simple: I've modified my NIC's MAC address for some reason (I gave to ISP the MAC address of the router) to be the same as of the router. You can simply try either to modify that MAC address to something else or let it to be the default one.
Please write also what else did you try and if it was successful or not...

kolp

10-06-2008, 00:23

So i was able to get onto my router by telnet. But I still can get into the webpage by 192.168.1.1 that is my problem. The user name and password is resetted to admin. But the problem is the device web page wont load up. And in device discovery the router shows up as 192.168.1.1. ANY suggestions thanks

newbiefan

10-06-2008, 18:52

I had a similar prob. - the reason was the power supply for my asus.
I have been a lucky guy, because I own a second asus - hence it was easy to check my power supply. A simple exchange solved my prob

lord_dizzy

10-06-2008, 22:52

Did you try a different browser (from other connected PC for example); Also try resetting the cache.
newbiefan, interesting idea :cool:

kolp

11-06-2008, 04:50

I dont know how

poiu

11-06-2008, 18:38

Means to try log on your Asus using another browser on your station (like opera/firefox/iexplorer/netscape/etc).

Inertial

20-06-2008, 01:35

Hello again!

Just an update to my previous post. I was given that router, i did somemething to it and bricked it. Day before yesterday, the router was dead as always, but before taking the decision to desolder anything from it, i just gave it a cleaning around the mem-chips with isopropul-alchool and a cotton bud. Well guess what: it booted fine and entered recovery mode. I suspect that some tiny piece of metal, from the times i used a dremel on the emc-shield of the board, or maybe a small solidified droplet of solder, managed to get stuck between some pins, on the residue of the flux, shorting pins, after the board worked for a few (initial) times, making me wondering and thinking of all kinds of (not) possible reasons, :) let alone solutions :rolleyes:

Anyhow it now works fine, and sees all 128mb of memory too. The critical part was when i needed to re-install the firmware, because i could see over the serial console that the one in the flash was corrupted - but the CFE was intact ofcourse, contrary to what i thought.

Last time the router worked, i had troubles with the firmware re-flashing failing, possibly because of some values of the nvram which were incompatible with the bootloader's expectations. To get over with this problem without erasing manually the nvram variables, I used a method described somewhere in the forum. First I used the asus firmware restoration utility to flash a stock asus firmware (this is said to also take care of the nvram variables) and then i reflashed the latest Oleg's firmware :) no troubles at all.

That's it!

Inertial

@ozluis: Any luck with your router? have you tried to keep reset button pressed during power-up to enter recovery mode? (When in recovery mode, the power led blinks). Let us know of any advancements.

miguipda

30-07-2008, 21:06

Hi,

I just tried freewrt firmware via the ASUS firmware upgrade web interface.
I works well.
I though to try X-WRT (better for me) but I missed my manipulation and now here is the situation :
WL500gP unavailable. Ping to 192.168.1.1 = dead (127.0.0.1 works well)
Tried to do a "firmware restoration" from the asus utility but He try using the wireless and after more than 30 seconds answer it doesn't find it. Or it tells that no IP avalaible.

Can you please tell me how can I set back a firmware on it and getting it back in order to work ?

Sincerely thanks for your help.

Miguipda ;-)

Kenny

31-07-2008, 14:17

try to assign static ip/subnet/gateway to your network adapter, reboot the router in recovery mode and then run the recovery tool

matrix200

31-07-2008, 23:44

Hi all,
Here is a very strange bricked router.
After reflashing to dd-wrt and setting a few settings (rebooting each time) it bricked after changing wireless settings.
The router's power led lights up right after it is on and never blinks.
AIR doesn't come on and router is not responding.
Now after trying some debricking procedures (long reset etc) it came on.
All the settings WERE NOT ERASED.
Everything seemed in order.
Then after another power cycle or two it got stuck again (power on but nothing responds).
Should I try the pin 9 trick or it is all lost?

cupacup

05-08-2008, 13:09

Hello! I have problem with old router (I have v2 now). After upgrading with dd-wrt router didn't run properly, the power on led is not on even if hold reset button. The only led which is powered is LAN or WAN, wherever I connect the cable. LAN works as a switch(default mode), and wireless card has been tested in laptop and also works. First I tried to do trick with pin 9 and 16 on flash, then recover console(which showed nothing, only char "1"). Tried to find JTAG but failed, because supposedly, router doesn't have one. Does anyone have other suggestions or it is ready for trash??
LE:Pinging and tftp also doesn't work

dennis quebeq

25-08-2008, 19:03

Hello,
I downloaded the latest firmware, 1.9.7.7, from asus site. Actually, i thought that the firmware update had went fine, but in the end, the signal from the router had gone.
I tried all the tricks, inclusive the 9 pin trick. Nothing work. I am thinking in trash it definitely.

So, at this moment, pc cannot recognize the router, either by asus device discovery nor by ping... What should I do? Buy a new one? :o

Thanks for the help!
DQ

lewis2pac

31-08-2008, 08:33

Hi, my unit is dead :/ now i now that i shouldn't upgrade ram :) On unit all LAN and WAN flashes still (don't blinking). Firmware restoration with "restoration" button dosn't work. I didn't try "pin9" method, but before this i will try sned unit for warranty. Any sugestions how to repair this in home (without opening unit) ? ...please

kierzniak

03-09-2008, 05:49

i have this same problem. Where i can find pin9? I now where it is in 500gP

http://openwrt.livenet.pl/lib/exe/fetch.php/openwrt:pin9.jpg?w=&h=&cache=cache

But i have 500gP V2 and it's different

http://img5.pcpop.com/ProductImages/640x480/0/850/000850864.jpg

val

03-09-2008, 21:03

hi, dennis

it seems i had the same problem when i was trying to flash Oleg's fimware on my router with latest Asus firmware. I didn't probe the router with such tricks as you described, i only use buttons "easy-setup" and "reset". I'd pressed them for some time and after reboot router started working fine but with old firmware.

May be it'll be useful for you.

Sincely yours, Val.

JoschiBK19

28-09-2008, 16:20

Hey guys,

yesterday I tried to flash my router with olegs firmware (previously dd-wrt installed) so I uploaded clear-nvram.trx via tftp at first.
Having finished i uploaded the trx from oleg, but it seemed as if it didn't work so I uploaded the dd-wrt trx again and recognized that all settings were still the same, as if the clear-nvram did not work.

So I tried it using the firmware restauration tool from asus, but after flashing with that the router seems to be bricked.
The power LED does not flash anymore (but lan LEDs do), even if I press the reset button while power cycling.

I even tried to ground Pin9 but it didn't work either.
Am I doing something wrong? Or could there be another possibility?
I'm using a small cable to ground the pin but power led doesn't flash after power cycling and pressing reset button again.

I'd be happy If anyone could help me..

Kind regards,
Joschi

raas

28-09-2008, 18:28

Having finished i uploaded the trx from oleg, but it seemed as if it didn't work

I've had a similar problem in the past, although I didn't migrate from dd-wrt.

At first it seemed that the firmware-flash hadn't worked, but it needed a couple of (2) reboots in a row, to get it working, after that, I haven't been able to replicate the problem.

EdSki

28-09-2008, 19:01

Always, after a change of firmware do the following:

Push reset button, connect power and wait for 30 seconds, disconnect power and keep pushing for the reset button for another 30 secs. Connect power, and after 30 more seconds release the reset button. Router should reset and since the NVRam is completely empty reboot. Thing is that sometimes some param's are still saved in NVRam and gives a checksum error.
Give it 1,5 minute of your life:p!

Ed

JoschiBK19

28-09-2008, 22:43

hi,

thanks for your replies, but 30/30/30 didn't work for me either... :(

Is there any other possibility?... really tricky ^^

Kind regards
Joschi

EdSki

28-09-2008, 23:13

Check if the CPU is really getting hot in 20 seconds. If it stays on a low-temp.....and before the dustbin, try to short the other pins and see what's happening. There has to be a reboot pin, and i think a combination of reboot pin and shortage of pin 9 or 17 during reboot sometimes seems to work.

It's a bit tricky, but it's what you asked for:cool:.

If the cpu is getting really hot, there's some short circuit on the board->dustbin!

Ed

JoschiBK19

28-09-2008, 23:20

Ok sounds like I have to pray for another 2 arms ^^

Well its not exactly what I asked for ;)
If there's another easier way, I'd like to use this way.

Tomorrow I'll report about my success... ;)

Kocky

01-10-2008, 18:17

Hello,

I have some problems with my router. After unsuccessful upgrading official firmware, when I connect power cable the power led flashing. It doesn't matter if I press and hold restore button or not. When I use asus firmware restoration after upload (it shows 100%) and gives "Upload system recovery file failed: transfer cancelled". Computer doesn't recognize router. Ping doesn't reach it.

Have You got any ideas, what can I do with it?:confused:

avberk

02-10-2008, 08:22

search forum for:

pin 9 trick

Kocky

04-10-2008, 10:51

search forum for:

pin 9 trick

Thanks, but I can't find how to open router box to apply pin 9 trick :/
There are some screw or sth?

There is no question I found this screw:)

thanks

avberk

05-10-2008, 12:41

Remove the rubber feets:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/networking/display/asus-wl500g-premium_2.html

stormwolf

13-10-2008, 10:46

This is what happened: i was running dd-wrt firmware on WL-500g and after changing some settings and rebooting it didnt reboot any more.

Simptoms: After powering it on Power LED blinks rapidly 2-3 times and stays on, 4 LAN leds all light up then go off and if a LAN cable is plugged into any ports that led stays on. no AIR or WAN LED's come on at all at any moment. The ruter doesnt respond to pings etc, and i cant force it into recovery mode.
The only thing that happens is if i try to ping it via cable, the corresponding LED blinks indicating traffic, but no reply from the box.

Please help :(

Hardware revision is V2.40 with 4702 processor and MX flash chip 29LV320ATTC-90

Thank you in advance :)

biohazarduk

13-10-2008, 14:59

Tried to flash dd-wrt mega last night it seemed to work OK set up all the setting and pressed apply button. After reboot the router stopped working now all I have is the LAN and WAN lights blinking on and off.

Using the restore button I have:

1. Tried using the Asus restore tool but says invalid IP address
2. Tried using a manual ip address but Windows says cable is diconected(tried different wires)
3. Tried tftp but gives timeout.

Router seems to enter restore mode ie blinking power light, but will not give an ip. Help please

wpte

13-10-2008, 21:08

for the asus restore tool you need some patience mostly
the easiest way is if you can restore the router to factory defaults, if not... it might be a bit tricky
be sure you have the cable in LAN port 1 of the router.
wait till you get a valid ip, like 192.168.*.* (* can be anything)
be sure to turn of your firewall temporarily
try to upload the file with the asus tool...

if this doesn't work, search the forums for the so called "pin 9 trick"
but if you do this, you will void your warranty.

Erusletum

14-11-2008, 07:44

So this is my third Asus WL-500g Premium.

I installed some firmware and some of my settings bricked it. When I hold in the reset button and plug in the power the power LED does not flash. I tried the Pin 9 trick to get recovery mode back but it is not working.

Any ideas?

Or perhaps I am doing pin 9 wrong? I have the power on and connect pin 9 via a wire to the metal wrap around where the power comes into the circuit board for about 30 seconds. I notice NO CHANGE in the power LED during this time.

bitbrain2101

14-11-2008, 23:16

I think pin9 should be connected to ground first, then apply power. Can you ping the router ? I could re-animate my WL-500GP with a "clear NVRAM" firmware flashed with tftp in cmdline window, but you need a ping response.

Erusletum

16-11-2008, 09:38

No I cannot ping it, it times out. I had changed the IP address of the router and it does not respond at the new IP address nor at the factory default IP. (And yes I used static IPs from within the same network to test each individually.)

I'll try adding the bridge before the power and see if that works.

bitbrain2101

16-11-2008, 09:55

Changing the IP adress of the router seems to be a dangerous task, even with asus original software. That also was the reason for my problems.
With pin9 to ground you pull down one adress line of the nvram so at boot the firmware thinks that nvram content is corrupted and loads default settings. You have to power off/on again after that.

Edit:
It is only a feeling, but I think it is a good recommendation to change the LAN IP of the router as a single task, no other settings changed at the same time.

dexluv

20-11-2008, 15:54

hello
i have a problem with my 500gp i can not connect to it, the power led is on and the link leds are on if i put a cable,
4 LAN leds all light up then go off and if a LAN cable is plugged into any ports that led stays on same with WAN , NO AIR come on at all at any moment

when i put it in restoration mode i can ping 192.168.1.1
i tried to put:
clear nvram
restore
asus latest firmware
both by tftp and asus restore firmware and i couldnt see an improve?
what can i do?

wpte

20-11-2008, 19:47

I guess you already tried resetting the settings with the reset button?
sometimes firmware doesnt want to be flashed when old settings are available.

if it all just doesnt work... I guess the "pin9 trick" is the only option:(

cbmarkjennings

03-01-2009, 01:08

I've been reading about some of the workarounds when one bricks a router but I'm not sure it is bricked. I just got my WL-500gPv2 router. Here's what happened. I hope somebody can help.

1. I started out trying to load tomato. I booted the router up into restore mode. The power LED was flashing and I TFTP'd the lastest Tomato Firmware 1.23 to the router. As soon as the file started, the power LED turned off (not flashing). I waited about 7-8 minutes and power-cycled the router
2. It came up with the power LED on but there was no connectivity and I couldn't ping 192.168.1.1 from my static 192.168.1.2 on my laptop.
3. Rebooted in Restore mode and I could ping the router again - but, again, no other connectivity (telnet, web, etc.) and I couldn't get out.
4. Tried to load Tomato again with the same results.
5. Got the Asus Firmware Restoration software and the latest Asus Firmware (1.9.7.7). Booted the router into restore mode and loaded the firmware with the Asus program. It said it was a success. I waited 15 minutes but no luck whatsoever.
6. Rebooted. Still could not access the router. Tried again with the same result.

So, I can ping the router (and apparently TFTP) when it is in Restore mode but I can't do anything when it boots to the normal mode. Is this a symptom of a bricked router? What should I do next?

OVERKILL

24-01-2009, 22:09

I have a WL-500W here that I put DD-WRT 2.4 SP1 on after it had randomly frozen one weekend.

It was fine for a couple weeks then locked up. A power cycle was necessary to get it functional again. This then occurred a few times again. Then the last time it happened (Friday) it simply goes to solid LED's on the LAN ports. No illuminuation of the PWR or WLAN LED's.

I tried the PIN 9 method.

Nothing.

Pulled the wireless card out.

And using the 30/30/30 or the Pin-9 method, the switch will function, but nothing for the PWR LED.

Seems to be a total brick now.......?

wpte

24-01-2009, 23:21

is your router quite hot after these crashes?
might be a burn or something...

OVERKILL

25-01-2009, 02:20

is your router quite hot after these crashes?
might be a burn or something...

No, it is not hot at all.

wpte

25-01-2009, 16:18

I wouldn't have a clue then:confused:

dreKion

24-02-2009, 19:15

Hello, I bricked my Asus WL-500W.. the same...

I tray pin9 method....

Cable to DC

http://www.estoyaburrido.net/asus/Im.066.jpg

Cable to PIN9

http://www.estoyaburrido.net/asus/Im.064.jpg

After:

http://www.estoyaburrido.net/asus/Im.072.jpg

The leds LAN1,LAN2,LAN3,LAN4 and WAN are turned on...

bkiss

04-03-2009, 16:47

I will describe below shortly what happened to us.

We have 2 pcs. of asus 500 G Premium. (now both of them is Brick - or
switch - whatever)

My friend wanted to put back the original firmware from asus, he has
DD-WRT - 24 sp1 before, but it was too difficult for him to get the
printer workink.

We use:
1. the original firmware restoration tool from asus,
2. Enter in failsafe mode, restore button and power cord in
3. Upload the file: WL500gp_1.9.7.7_TW.trx
4. Wait until the software finishes about 5 min.
5. after we cut the power and we put it back, the router goes back
automatically in failsafe mode (power led slowly blinking)
6. We use the restoration software again to put the same file again.

7. after this the router it's like a switch. if we connect anything to
the ethernet port the led's are ok, but power led is off, and air is
dimmed.

We have tried already to get in failsafe mode:

1. restore button + powercord in ---> nothing
2. Pin 9 to ground + powercord in (wait) --> nothing
3. tryed also 10, 9/10, 16, 17, 16/17 but nothing
4. we made a connection with max232 -> tx0 rx0 gnd hyperterminal
115000, 8, n, 1, n ---> at boot time we cannot see nothing

We have the same problem with another router 500 gp, but with this one
we proceed different (before it was ddwrt 2.4.sp1):

1.after the first flash WL500gp_1.9.7.7_TW.trx ---> failsafe (we get the power led flashing)
2. put clear-nvram.trx
put recover.trx

after this THE SAME simptoms like you have read before. :(

If you have any suggestion or solution please let us know.

skyraven

10-04-2009, 00:13

Hello,

Did you find any solution for this ?

I'm in the same "club" and I even attached a serial console to the router..but issueing nvram erase from that ..makes the console freeze => requires reboot
also I see this in the boot seq:
Device eth0: hwaddr 00-1E-8C-72-2E-CE, ipaddr 192.168.1.1, mask 255.255.255.0
gateway not set, nameserver not set
Null Rescue Flag.
Reading :: TFTP Server.
Failed.: Timeout occured
Loader:raw Filesys:raw Dev:flash0.os File: Options:(null)
Loading: . 0 bytes read
Failed.
Could not load flash0.os:: Error

Of course..IP is not pingable via any method like:
- after boot
- hard-reset
- 30/30/30 method
- keeping ping on, then power off, ping on, power on..etc
I don't even get by using a Linux, any arp reply from the router..seems like it's as solid as a wall.

laowai

20-04-2009, 16:33

Good day,

I have a problem: on the console last what I see is:

Null Rescue Flag.
: Device not found

There is no difference which button pressed or not pressed. The last is ": Device not found". It happened after I just a click save and reboot on dd-wrt web gui.

How can I reanimate this device?

Thank you.

Lesiuk

05-05-2009, 10:55

Just restart router.

laowai

05-05-2009, 12:09

it didn't help.

Initializing Arena
Initializing Devices.
et0: Broadcom BCM47xx 10/100 Mbps Ethernet Controller 3.90.23.0
rndis0: Broadcom USB RNDIS Network Adapter (P-t-P)
CPU type 0x29006: 264MHz
Total memory: 67108864 KBytes

Total memory used by CFE: 0x80800000 - 0x8089BA00 (637440)
Initialized Data: 0x80831B70 - 0x80834250 (9952)
BSS Area: 0x80834250 - 0x80835A00 (6064)
Local Heap: 0x80835A00 - 0x80899A00 (409600)
Stack Area: 0x80899A00 - 0x8089BA00 (8192)
Text (code) segment: 0x80800000 - 0x80831B70 (203632)
Boot area (physical): 0x0089C000 - 0x008DC000
Relocation Factor: I:00000000 - D:00000000

Device eth0: hwaddr 12-34-56-78-90, ipaddr 192.168.1.1, mask 255.255.255.0
gateway not set, nameserver not set
Null Rescue Flag.

---> IT STOPPED HERE

: Device not found

It does not matter button pressed or not.

c3ll

05-05-2009, 16:25

if you can not send new firmware by tftp or asus recover tool
JTAG the damn thing
you will find all the information you need on dd-wrt forum
where you should have put this post
after all is a dd-wrt problem

dimka177

06-07-2009, 08:27

kierzniak

Could you please post some more pics of the PCB of your WL500gpv2 ? To read text on the chips. And describe how to disassemble it without damage ...

Thanx in advance.

Sorry for stupidity :) Found 4 screws, now exploring PCB, chips etc.

dreamlayers

25-07-2009, 03:54

I'm now running Oleg's firmware 1.9.2.7-10 on my WL-500W. I see that people online had good experiences with it, so feel it is safe. I'd like to try other firmware or even build my own flash image. However, I don't want to risk bricking my router.

Are firmware updates risky? Can bad firmware unrecoverably brick the router?

I see that the router can recover via TFTP. If that can always be relied on, then I have nothing to worry about. Theoretically, it could be perfect: if the recovery routine is in ROM or write protected flash, it's safe. But did Asus do that?

I see that some people need to short pins, and some people can't even recover that way. What causes that? Is it due to firmware issues or hardware problems?

EdP

25-07-2009, 09:59

You will not get any guarantees as to success or a total brick.
I've uploaded about 4 different firmwares to 2 different Asus models and it worked, I guess because I followed the instructions meticulously, including applying factory default settings before I start. I guess some folks think this step is there just for fun and decide to not bother with that.

wzaatar

28-08-2009, 23:23

I have a very similar issue with a WL500gpv2.

- Upgraded to a DD-WRT mega generic.
- Router rebooted.
- Power+Wifi up, no connection, no dhcp, nothing.
- Switched to restore mode.
- Able to ping in restore mode only (not normal mode).
- Able to tftp.
- Tried tftping the nvramclean, recover and several Asus firmwares, tftp works fine. But then when I boot back, the wrouter doesn't do anything (Power+wifi up), no connection, no DHCP, nothing.

Did you manage to repair/get some help?

Cheers,

W.

jr0

03-09-2009, 18:48

Again , both of you need serial conection to actually see where is the problem, using either hyperterminal or putty. There are lots of instructions here and at other places , just search the web for "wl500gp v2 serial" or something like this.
This requires some soldering skills and opening the router which automatically voids your warranty.
So ... good luck ;)

badnews

18-09-2009, 10:05

Hello... i have the following problem ...

I tried updating dd-wrt firmware (with newer version)... while doing so i forgot to put it in recovery mode.... anyways.. i udated via web interface.. it was updating... after that my router i useless.

I cannot enter recovery mode or so anything. The power light is just lit up, doesn't blink.
If i plug in any cabled the router detects them... if i try to connect via cable (i inter ip, getaway, dns manualy: 192.168.1.2... n dns/getaway 192.168.1.1)

the router connectswith limited connectivity n the network has its old name that i had...
I cannot ping 192.168.1.1.

so this is my case.... any ideas would be appreciated

thanks !

avberk

18-09-2009, 21:19

pin9 trick perhaps?

search the forum for it.

badnews

20-09-2009, 09:10

fixed the problem..... i kept pluggin it in 'n out.
it works like this : turn touter on
- put the lan cable in lan1
- turn the outer off
- unplug the lan cable
- turn the router on
- plug the cable in after like 2 secs

That way always started working.. went on air so i could reflash it

ygor.almeida

28-09-2009, 18:07

Hi Guys,

I need some help over here, i've got an ASUS WL500W unit, it was working until yesterday after a bad attempt to change firmware.

Let me explain.

I was Running

PRE-SP2
/eko/BrainSlayer-V24-preSP2/08-13-09-r12638/broadcom/dd-wrt.v24_std_generic.bin

And tryed to update to a Mega Build Generic.

Well, something goes wrong, and IE crashed (using webinterface). So the router stopped working.

Tryed the Reset and nothing ...

After some reads of many topics of bricked routers like mine, tryed hard 30/30/30 and for about 5 ou 7 times i got Ping Response with TTL=100.

After read the Peacock post, i've understand the router is waiting for firmware.

Well, i tryed my best, and after many many reads, i've got the right momment to upload the nvram.trx to recover my router (well Asus Recovery don't worked right on Windows 7, even after firewall disable and UAC turned off).

Well first TFTP worked right.

Then following the some posts, i just continue to fix my router, and running another TFTP with wl500g-recover.trx

Well until this part i was following and everything it's OK, but the router still respond with ping with TTL=100 ( so Peacock say's, waiting for Firmware right ?? )

I've tryed the Original 1.9.7 firmware of ASUS, no chance, the TFTP works right but even after 10 minutes waiting for something, and unplug from wall, and plug it again ... Dead End. Pings shows TTL=100 so didn't work as expected.

I've tryed other's solution like ...

Do everything Again, and Again ... and Flash the Asus Mini Firmware from DD-WRT. Well, again all the TFTP worked right, but no chance to get a single response from router, Ping's TTL=100 and no change.

Router Boots, pings 5 times and timeout timeout timeout.

Well, i've bot myselft very angry, because it was 140 US Dollars from Ebay to Brazil ... Sad don't want to loose my router.

Well, went to sleep for sometime, and another billion of topics and experience share ...

Tryed the Clear Nvram.trx again, the Recover Again ...

And as sugest by google, i've looked for other firmware ( in this case OLEG ).

Well well, quite well done.

I've flashed after the restore the oleg firmware !!!
WL500W-1.9.2.7-d-r617.trx

Well, the router reboot, well now AIR led is UP and running.

Manage to ping router and Well i've got TTL=64, as Peacock says there is something on the router, is this OLEG !?

Well not so good. It's not Oleg and not Original Asus.org, it's a partial bricked DD-WRT.

If i try WebBrowser 192.168.1.1 (just work if i set the ip on LAN no DHCP on any conditions ).

I've got a prompt with my old config, asking for username and password.

But, it does not accept root, root and admin admin, and the root as user and the password i used to have.

Telnet the router works, but instead of showing something i could understand it show the router name as WL-MacAdress of the router itselft

So root/root doest no accept, and other combinations.

I'm still pinging router for now with -t option all response <=1ms with TTL=64

But if i try to TFTP with any DD-WRT firmware (TFTP Can not connect)

TFTP any OLEG firmware same result
TFTP Original asus, the same result

Well, if i reset it comes back to Ping with TTL=100

And i don't known what to do for now !!!

I think it's only partial bricked. But how can i recover !?

I've order from ebay the TTL=RS232 3.3V but i will have to wait for 15 days to have it on Brazil.

I'm Afraid of Short Pin 9 !!! So anyother chance to have it working !?

I'll try to contact asus RMA not sure if they have something on Brazil, but i don't think the will accept an EBAY item, and the Guy on Ebay will not accept it back, since i think it was my fault on something, and the Time to send defective unit just gone 3 weeks ago.

Thanks a lot for your help guys.

cidwilly

08-11-2009, 17:45

So my wl500gp v2 is eternally in recovery mode (power light blinking) ... somehow its "semi-bricked". When i reboot it it goes into recovery mode (power light blinking).. i can ping it, i can tftp files to it BUT if I use the asus recovery tool, and push a bin to it and then let it reboot with the tool (the tool reboots it as part of the bin load i belive) then it comes up just fine and fully functional.

If I reboot it manually it comes back up in recovery mode. It needs some sort of kickstart to move past it. however the ASUS recovery tool reboots it is the way to go.. anyone have an idea??

rubenvazquez

25-11-2009, 18:37

have you fixed the router? Mine does the same thing.

c3ll

26-11-2009, 19:04

use telnet to upload the firmware

Wayland

24-02-2010, 23:20

So after I replaced my power supply (http://wl500g.info/showthread.php?p=185724) I entered recovery mode and flashed the router with the clear-nvram and recover images. After that I flashed it with Oleg's firmware (1.9.2.7-10). Without power cycling the router I connected to it via telnet. I executed these commands:

erase /dev/mtd/3
erase /dev/mtd/4
reboot

I did this because I've read here (http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=54808) that it should be done after messing with pin 9. Since then I haven't been able to ping the router and I'm not able to enter recovery mode. I already tried shortening pin 9 again but it didn't help.

My power LED hasn't been on a single time since I flashed the router with Oleg's firmware (even when I was issuing commands over telnet). The switch functions as normal. The respective LAN ports' LEDs blink as they should and I'm able to ping other computers.

Is there anything left I can do?

molnart

19-03-2011, 20:00

Hi all,

i think today i have managed to kill my beloved router.... I was happily using olegs firmware for the last 3 years, however i have decided to try out Tomato. I couldnt manage to update the firmware through the Asus restoration tool (probably because i was on a machine w/o admin rights) so i flashed in the firmware with tftp. The flash seemed to go through, however the router remained in recovery mode. In panic i have tried to flash back oleg (tftp) which was also seemingly successful, but router remained in recovery.

Since then i am unable to do anything with the router. Asus restoration tool wont recognise it, i cannot ping it and tftp doesnt work either (ends with timeout, probably because there is no ip adress to flash to).

I have tried shorting pin 9, however nothing changed

Do you think there is any chance to get back my router, or should i immediately start shopping for a new one?