Hi,
I just got my WNR3500L and installed dd-wrt.
I am currently using this version of dd-wrt:
ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/others/eko/BrainSlayer-V24-preSP2/08-12-10-r14929/b...
I'm wondering what firmware would be best for me. The version I have installed is fine, but it won't let me plug in a USB drive to the router to be shared on my network via samba/smb share. I want to be able to access my hard drive over the network in order to play movies/videos/etc with a media player hooked to my TV. I mostly use the router for wifi and a couple wired hosts.
Should I go back to the netgear firmware, dd-wrt kong mod, or tomato?
Also, can I go from this version of dd-wrt to whatever you suggest? If so, how?
Regards,
Kevin
Only you can make the decision on which firmware is best for you.
Have you read this topic?
Simple Guide to Basic Firmware Selection
If all you want is to use your USB drive for storage and playback of movies/videos/etc, I recommend that you revert back to the OEM firmware as it is the easiest to set-up and provides the fastest speed (if you need that). Switching back to OEM firmware may not be easy for you, depending on your skill level.
An alternative to reverting back to the OEM firmware, is to switch to one of the DD-WRT or Tomato firmware variants that supports the WNR3500L and UBS/SAMBA/FTP. One DD-WRT variant that may suit you is
DD-WRT Kong Mod USB/FTP/SAMBA3/OpenVPN/Proxy build 15758
Another topic that may be of interest to you is
Simple NAS Setup on the WNR3500L with DD-WRT
If you want to stay wiTH DD-WRT then you should load the latest 'Bin.bin'
http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/others/eko/BrainSlayer-V24-preS... to get the Samba setup working.
Both Kong's DD-WRT and Tomato USB firmwares see to work pretty good also.
Since you already have DD-WRT on the router you may just want to stick with it. Then if you ever want to update or change to another firmware you can do so very easily.
I have been using Toastman's Tomato USB Firmware on the NETGEAR WNR3500L and it has been pretty rock solid for me.
http://www.myopenrouter.com/article/25150/Toastman-s-Tomato-USB-Firmware...
Sounds like I need to revert back to the factory firmware.
Is this how? http://www.myopenrouter.com/article/16099/How-To-Reflash-Factory-Firmware-on-the-NETGEAR-WRN3500L-Without-A-Serial-Cable/
Can I go directly to the toastman's tomato?
Will Tomato allow me to connect to the usb hard drive attached to the router from a media player on my network that is attached to my TV and then stream videos/movies?
Is that bin file supported for the wnr3500l?
I checked the dd-wrt router database and it isn't listed for that router.
Yes, that is the "how to".
It may be easier for you to first switch to a varient of DD-WRT with your required support or switch to a suitable Tomato varient before reverting back to the OEM firmware.
Remember, you may not need the extra speed of the OEM firmware for what you want to do.
To revert easily to original firmware the best way is to flash latest TomatoUSB firmware, which handle this without problem.
Going from dd-wrt to Tomato is easy, if you perform an nvram erase and 30-30-30 reset.