Bricked 2 WGR614L(v8) routers. What is going on?

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nova3930
nova3930's picture
Bricked 2 WGR614L(v8) routers. What is going on?

Ok I bought 2 WGR614Ls with the intention of using them to network my 360/PS3/Dish Network reciever with my DSL modem. 

 I flash both with the version of DD-WRT that I got from here.  So far so good, firmware up and running and everything seems fine aside from the removal of the "keep alive" functionality in the PPPoE "connect on demand" in v24 of dd-wrt.  I work around that and get one router up and running with the DSL modem.

 I operate my network on the IP range 10.1.1.XXX.  My DSL modem was 10.1.1.1 with DHCP enabled.  The host router was 10.1.1.2 with DHCP disabled.  

  Then I begin to set up the 2nd router in client bridge mode.   I start by changing its IP to 10.1.1.3 subnet of 255.255.255.0 and gateway and DNS of 10.1.1.2 and hit save.  I then disable DHCP and save. I then change my computers IP to a static IP of 10.1.1.100 with a gateway of 10.1.1.3 save and reset the router to make sure the changes took effect.  

 The process bricked the router.  I get nothing on 10.1.1.3 and nothing on 192.168.1.1 which are the only two IP addresses it should have.  I've tried multiple resets using multiple techniques and can't get anything.  There's nothing pingable that I can find and even after a reset there's no DHCP, nothing at 10.1.1.3 and nothing at 192.168.1.1 which is the default.  As near as I can tell there's not even any TFTP going on...

 So I say to myself, ok thats a fluke.  Something went bad in the reboot.  So I pull out my trusty old WRT54G loaded with DD-WRT v23SP2 which has served me well for quite some time.  I set it up on the DSL modem and proceed to try and bridge my second 614L to the WRT54G.

 This time I don't have to change any IP addresses.  My 54G is already set to 10.1.1.1 and the 614L is at 10.1.1.2 so it should work.  I disable DHCP, save, make a change in the wireless setup to client bridge and change the channel to 10 and save. I then setup my computer with a static IP again.  I then reboot the router and boom its bricked as well.  Same story as the first.

 #1 Does anybody have any clue WTF is going on that simple changes and reboots are bricking the router AFTER the flash is done?

#2 Can anybody give me some advice on how to unbrick these two?

 Any help is greatly appreciated because if I can't fix this, I'm out $120....

 

 

Nachi
Nachi's picture
How to recover the board

How to recover the board using a serial console is outlined in http://www.myopenrouter.com/article/10341/Recover-Your-WGR614L-Using-a-S...

The other option is to try the reset button.

The reset button is at the back of the router hidden besides the Antenna connector. You should keep the button while powering up the WGR614L and it should get you back the dd-wrt firmware unless some critical flash sections were overwritten.

nova3930
nova3930's picture
Like I said, I tried the

Like I said, I tried the reset button. I've done it with power on, power off, power off to power on, power on to power off, power on to power off to power on and any other combination you can think of. I've even tried resetting in those combinations and letting the router sit powered down overnight as that once brought my 54G back to life once.

I guess my only option is to get the serial cable and unbrick it that way.

I'd still like to know exactly WTF happened where simple setting changes bricked the router and if anyone else has had this issue...

Nachi
Nachi's picture
This seems to be an odd issue

This seems to be an odd issue. I will check it out and see if I get the same problem.

This type of bricking (and the reset is not working) means something more than just nvram corruption happened.

twindragon6
twindragon6's picture
Are you using Firefox when

Are you using Firefox when you preform the flash? For whatever reason if you flash using this browser it can cause problems. In this instance alone I would have to recommend that you use IE. I don't know if this holds true for other browsers out there but I do know that Firefox can glitch out DD-WRT firmware during a flash. Try checking your ethernet cable. Just some ideas...

nova3930
nova3930's picture
I did use firefox for the

I did use firefox for the flash but the firmware was up and running and had been for a couple days when I got around to trying to bridge the routers. From now on I'll make sure to just use IE, whether I'm flashing or adjusting.

Ethernet cables are good. I tried the 2 that came with the routers plus a few more I had laying around.

On the upside my serial cable should be here today. Now if I can only find my soldering iron...

nova3930
nova3930's picture
1 router recovered to stock

1 router recovered to stock firmware, 1 to go. Thanks for the help guys...

ETA

Now 2 recovered. Now back to my original intention of bridging the routers...

benbenson
benbenson's picture
Mine is totally FUCKING

Mine is totally FUCKING BRICKED as well!!!!!! I followed the instructions outlined on this site to the T, but now I have a $70 piece of shit. Well, NETGEAR might think that it has a good scam going on this one, but not only will I NEVER purchase a single piece of equipment from NETGEAR, I am going to be spreading the word about their fucking scam and telling everybody to STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM NETGEAR

jeanrob98
jeanrob98's picture
I suspect the same happened

I suspect the same happened to me.
My only way around was to login through the wireless interface and get rid of the gateway specification (bringing it back to "0.0.0.0").
I did get the web interface from my wireless machine.

JD
JD's picture
Same thing happened to me

Same thing happened to me with 2 614L's using v24 sp1 firmeware.
The flash worked fine from chrome, DD-wrt came up fine. As soon as I changed it to repeater-bridge mode the dhcp server enable/diasble went away and after a power-cycle it is dead. no dhcp, no wireless access. also the orange checkmark came on which never happened before.
I've tried all the reset tricks as well.

Eko
Eko's picture
Please NEVER use this site's

Please NEVER use this site's v24 sp1 builds. WGR614L was not yet fully supported at time of sp1 release. ALWAYS us latest V24_TNG pre sp2 builds; latest are svn11205 (dd-wrt -> downloads -> others -> eko -> V24_TNG -> svnXXXXX : Only use WGR614L-v8 builds)

Peter Redmer
Peter Redmer's picture
The newest versions of Eko's

The newest versions of Eko's builds have been posted, you can find them here:

http://www.myopenrouter.com/download/10753/DD-WRT-v11205-Std-Small-Build...

http://www.myopenrouter.com/download/10752/DD-WRT-v11205-Mini-Build-CHK-...

Good luck and please post your experiences, the community is here to help!

Peter

allyn
allyn's picture
WHY ARE THE v24 sp1 BUILDS

WHY ARE THE v24 sp1 BUILDS STILL ON THIS SITE? how many more people need to brick their routers before they get removed?

Peter Redmer
Peter Redmer's picture
Hello allyn,

Hello allyn,

I apologize for your problems, we haven't had any requests to pull down the download as of yet. Part of having an open source community is the availability of experimental or untested software or builds, and loading custom firmware to your router is always at your own risk.

Even though many users have gotten the SP1 build to work with no problems, I see that many have had problems with getting this firmware to flash properly. As such, I'm going to go ahead and remove the download.

If anyone would like to have access to the SP1 firmware for testing, please send me a private message.

Thanks!

Pete

allyn
allyn's picture
THANK YOU!

THANK YOU!

It isn't that the build doesn't flash properly -- it does (at least it did for me). But apparently you're guaranteed a brick if you flash from that to any newer dd-wrt using the .bin files, even .bin files available on this site. Eko thinks those v24 sp1 builds weren't built properly.

Thanks again for removing them. I think you're prevented a lot of bricks. :-)

jules
jules's picture
Bricked my new WGR614L with

Bricked my new WGR614L with the dd-wrt.v24-11205_WGR614v8-L_mini.chk file I downloaded from this site today... Sigh. Flashed OK, booted up, changed a bunch of dd-wrt config options, rebooted a few times during that process, all was well, except it wasn't quite doing what I wanted so I decided to start over by choosing reset to factory default from the web interface. That killed it - the power and Test leds come on solid, but I can't ping it at either the IP I assigned it or 192.168.1.1. I tried holding in the reset button for 30 seconds, and holding in the reset button while powering it up. Neither process helped at all.

jules
jules's picture
Hi Tathagata Das, thanks for

Hi Tathagata Das, thanks for the reply. The activity LED for the port I'm plugged into blinks when I'm pinging. Power and test lights are on solid, they don't blink. It functions ok as a hub -- If I have two computers plugged into two different LAN ports they can ping each other. I held the reset button down for 5 seconds, and rebooted it while continuing to hold the reset button in, then released it, waited a couple minutes, and tried pinging. I also tried holding the reset button down for 5 seconds, then releasing it and rebooting. I still can't ping 192.168.1.1, either way.

achilles
achilles's picture
jules said:

jules said:
Bricked my new WGR614L with the dd-wrt.v24-11205_WGR614v8-L_mini.chk file I downloaded from this site today... Sigh. Flashed OK, booted up, changed a bunch of dd-wrt config options, rebooted a few times during that process, all was well, except it wasn't quite doing what I wanted so I decided to start over by choosing reset to factory default from the web interface. That killed it - the power and Test leds come on solid, but I can't ping it at either the IP I assigned it or 192.168.1.1. I tried holding in the reset button for 30 seconds, and holding in the reset button while powering it up. Neither process helped at all.

Could you please tell me which parameters you configured through GUI ... I have also changed few parameters like SSID, channel etc through GUI and rebooted ... but for me it is working even if I switch to factory default settings through GUI ....

So please tell me the parameters that you were changing so that I can find some solution to avoid my router from getting bricked ... 

jules
jules's picture
achilles wrote: Could you

achilles wrote: Could you please tell me which parameters you configured through GUI ... I have also changed few parameters like SSID

It would be a lot easier to tell you exactly, if I could see the web configuration screen. Basically the first thing I did was disable the WAN port since I wanted to use it as a wireless client bridge. Then I started following the instructions on this web site for configuring a wireless client bridge with dd-wrt. I successfully joined my existing wireless network as a client bridge according to the web configuration screen, but still wasn't able to ping across the link. The instructions said not to disable the WAN port, but I had already done that, and once disabled I didn't see a way to re-enable it. So I tried a reset to factory defaults in order to follow the directions more exactly, but it stopped responding to pings at that point.

conspiritech
conspiritech's picture
I have done basic setup of dd

I have done basic setup of dd-wrt on three types of routers,
and revived quite a few of a different brand. We have found
that it is absolutely essential, at least in the hardware we
use, to reset your router to factory defaults through the web
interface ASAP after flashing any firmware. I also prefer to
reboot it again after that through the web interface after
resetting to defaults. Then you may safely make settings in
my experience. The 'hard reset' at the top of "Recover From
a Bad Flash" in the dd-wrt wiki may bring your router back.

This works with at least one of the other types of router,
and it has worked at least once with the WGR614L. I have not
attempted to get .bin file on it, however, since my first
attempt and my more experienced associates first attempt both
resulted in bricks earlier this year.

Also, I have been unable to successfully flash from Chrome or
Firefox. Internet Explorer is the only one that has worked
for me. But this resulted in no change, not bricked routers.

Please note, I have not tried to upgrade the WGR614L after
the first flash to dd-wrt. The version that I have working
is:
[go to www.dd-wrt.com, click downloads, follow
others/eko/V24_TNG/svn11100 and get
dd-wrt.v24-11100_WGR614v8-L_mini.chk]

Finally, they are not in fact in service yet, but to all
appearances they seem to be working. If they crash after
being put into service I will try to update.

I have just done this successfully with a second WGR614L
(WGR614v8) after resetting to defaults and rebooting (you
will have to reset password at each step). You will have to
wait until the checkmark light goes out after flashing,
rebooting, defaulting, backing up settings or restoring
settings before you can get back to the web page, so don't
panic when it is inaccessible. It may take longer than you
think. When the "settings are successful" page freezes, you
still have to wait for the light to go out. I also ran it
through a series of other operations, although it currently
has no clients, I can say that it has not crashed yet.

Yet another PS: we change relatively few of the available
settings in our applications, so I can't vouch for the rest.

jules
jules's picture
Conspiritech wrote: We have

Conspiritech wrote: We have found that it is absolutely essential, at least in the hardware we
use, to reset your router to factory defaults through the web
interface ASAP after flashing any firmware. I also prefer to
reboot it again after that through the web interface after
resetting to defaults. Then you may safely make settings in
my experience. The 'hard reset' at the top of "Recover From
a Bad Flash" in the dd-wrt wiki may bring your router back.

Thanks for the advice! Unfortunately I have already tried the 30/30/30 reset recommended on that page.

jules
jules's picture
Soooo, since it seems you

Soooo, since it seems you guys are out of ideas, I've placed an order for a USB-LVT serial cable.

I used the dd-wrt firmware because it seemed like more people were using it, it's more well-documented on this site by Netgear personnel, and dd-wrt lists the WGR614L on their supported hardware list.

But apparently dd-wrt has some issues on the WGR614L, perhaps especially when configuring it as a client bridge with the WAN port disabled. :-)

I'm thinking about trying Tomato on my WGR614L. It's not listed on Tomato's site as supported hardware, but people here seem to be using it. Anyone have any recommendations/experience? I mainly purchased this with the intent of having a rock-solid utility device that can be configured as a client bridge.

achilles
achilles's picture
jules said:

jules said:
Soooo, since it seems you guys are out of ideas, I've placed an order for a USB-LVT serial cable.
I used the dd-wrt firmware because it seemed like more people were using it, it's more well-documented on this site by Netgear personnel, and dd-wrt lists the WGR614L on their supported hardware list.
But apparently dd-wrt has some issues on the WGR614L, perhaps especially when configuring it as a client bridge with the WAN port disabled. :-)
I'm thinking about trying Tomato on my WGR614L. It's not listed on Tomato's site as supported hardware, but people here seem to be using it. Anyone have any recommendations/experience? I mainly purchased this with the intent of having a rock-solid utility device that can be configured as a client bridge.

At first you can't configure a client bridge with WAN port disabled and if accidentally you have done this then restoring to factory defaults is possible through GUI .... I have tested it myself and found that I was able to access the board after performing the steps you have done ..... though it takes around 30 secs after which ping and GUI starts working ...

(Due to the time consumed in rebooting the board ..) ... I would suggest you to give DD-WRT one more try as its client/repeader bridge features have been tested and are also documented here ....

It seems that you did something funny in your previous attempt which caused this problem ......

As far as tomato is concerned I have not tested it for client/repeater feature ... I still think that you can use DD-WRT for your purpose ... :)

Keep us updtaed about your proceedings ... 

 

achilles
achilles's picture
Peter Redmer said:

Peter Redmer said:
The newest versions of Eko's builds have been posted, you can find them here:
http://www.myopenrouter.com/download/10753/DD-WRT-v11205-Std-Small-Build-for-...
http://www.myopenrouter.com/download/10752/DD-WRT-v11205-Mini-Build-CHK-For-W...
Good luck and please post your experiences, the community is here to help!
Peter

I am using the mini build specifoed in this post but I am not able to login through shell ....

In GUI I found that login id : admin and

password : password

I tried these values for CLI also but could not log in .... Could any body please tell me what should be the username and password for logging in through CLI ..

jules
jules's picture
I thought it was supposed to

I thought it was supposed to be login=root and pw=admin

jules
jules's picture
I thought it was supposed to

I thought it was supposed to be login=root and pw=admin

jules
jules's picture
achilles said:At first you

achilles said:At first you can't configure a client bridge with WAN port disabled and if accidentally you have done this then restoring to factory defaults is possible through GUI .... I have tested it myself and found that I was able to access the board after performing the steps you have done ..... though it takes around 30 secs after which ping and GUI starts working ...
(Due to the time consumed in rebooting the board ..) ... I would suggest you to give DD-WRT one more try as its client/repeader bridge features have been tested and are also documented here ....
It seems that you did something funny in your previous attempt which caused this problem ......
As far as tomato is concerned I have not tested it for client/repeater feature ... I still think that you can use DD-WRT for your purpose ... :)
Keep us updtaed about your proceedings ... 

Thanks, I will. I think I could probably recreate the problem if I re-flashed to the firmware Netgear installs by default, changed the IP address, then used the web gui to install the same dd-wrt image, and follow the same procedure I bricked it with earlier. My theory is that the NVRAM didn't get cleared properly from the Netgear firmware configurations, and using dd-wrt's "reset to factory default" procedure corrupted it further. I hope I can reproduce the problem, anyway -- the alternative is likely that I got flaky hardware, and installing a serial port will violate the warranty... meaning I'll be stuck with a flaky box that has a nicely installed serial port. :-(

Believe me, the problem isn't that I didn't wait long enough after resetting it. Anyway thanks for trying to reproduce the problem on your end!

achilles
achilles's picture
jules said:

jules said:
I thought it was supposed to be login=root and pw=admin

Thanks jules .... though at the moment I am busy compiling DD-WRT with some changes in configuration ..I will try these values for logging in ...

Well I have tried with login=root and pw=admin but still I am not able to log in ...could anybody please tell me what are the correct login parameters ... 

jules
jules's picture
OK, I installed a serial

OK, I installed a serial cable, re-flashed to Netfear firmware, which worked, re-flashed the same dd-wrt image, and then did a Factory Defaults reset. Now it's doing the same thing again, but this time I have more info about what's going on. it boots, then gets this error:

VFS: Cannot open root device "mtdblock2" or 1f:02
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 1f:02
Rebooting in 5 seconds..Please stand by while rebooting the system...

It just keeps looping, trying to reboot.

achilles
achilles's picture
jules said:

jules said:
OK, I installed a serial cable, re-flashed to Netfear firmware, which worked, re-flashed the same dd-wrt image, and then did a Factory Defaults reset. Now it's doing the same thing again, but this time I have more info about what's going on. it boots, then gets this error:
VFS: Cannot open root device "mtdblock2" or 1f:02
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 1f:02
Rebooting in 5 seconds..Please stand by while rebooting the system...
It just keeps looping, trying to reboot.

As evident from your log , your board is not able to boot properly and this is what that causes ur problems .... It seems from the log that there is some problem in rootfs of your image or you have corrupted some critical section of flash  ... as you r using 11205 build available on this site rootfs should not be the problem and flash corruption seems to be the main culprit ....

You can try the flash/nvram recovery method(s) outlined in the following link :

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Hard_reset_or_30/30/30

 

jules
jules's picture
The nvram reset is actually

The nvram reset is actually what triggers the problem. I've got more info now, but it's far enough off topic that I'm going to start a new thread. Thanks for your help!

-Jules

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