Hi all,
My 3500L router is bricked. I was flashing a firmware into it (Toastman) and it hung for a while. So, I stupidly unplugged it.
At one point I could telnet into it but nothing would happen. It seems to be stuck on some king of boot loop. Though eventually with a minute or three- the orange light will go green, the wireless light will blink blue and my connection will show up green on whatever port I am hooked up to.
I started with a 30/30/30 and then later I tried hold the reset down for several minutes. Nothing worked. So, to spare an expense I decided to try the PIN short method. I set the necessary parameters on my net card, ping -t 192.168.1.1 and then short 15-16. Then I turn back on the router...
If I ping it again the response is 1ms, but the ttl=100. I crtl-c out and then try to tftp the lastest stock firmware (tftp -i 192.168.1.1 wrt3500.chk)-- that hangs and it says request timed out and/or response refused.
I have also tried running the CD touter setup to no avail. It will go all the way through the whole process but then will at the end that there is no router connected...
Did I just FUBAR my router? Anyways, any help would greatly appreciated...!
With a serial cable you could probably get it up and going pretty quickly. Without it you need to try to TFTP the file on as soon as you see a ping response.
I would open up one window and start a continuous ping '-t'. Set your computer to use a static address like 192.168.1.10.
Then open up another cmd windows and enter tftp -i 192.168.1.1 wrt3500.chk (I assume you renamed the factory firmware to wrt3500.chk?
The turn on router and as soon as you see the ping response hit enter in the tftp window and try to send the file.
Oh. So, you don't have to stop the ping response? Just open another cmd windows and tftp from that? I did not know that.
Does the constant ping keep the line of comm open?
It's not to keep the comm open. You have to enter the tftp command right when you start seeing a ping response. Having another window open and ready to tftp makes it so you can do so.
Oh ok. Thanks. I'll report back with either glee or dread... Depending on the results...!
No dice. I just tried it several times with:
ip: 192.168.1.10
sm: 255.255.255.0
gt: 192.168.1.1
One CMD box ran: ping -t 192.168.1.1
Another CMD box had at the ready: tftp -i 192.168.1.1 put wrt3500l.chk
Everytime, I ran the second box once I got a ping response from the router-- it just timed out.
So, I guess it will be a serial cable (or a new router) for me... Does the cable debrick always work??
Thats too bad. It doesn't always work.
I have probably used a serial cable to debrick a router over 20+ times and it has never failed me. That doesn't guarantee anything for you but its probably your only option at this point.
Actually with some fiddling... I tried KK's version of the short and that was working. But once again I screwed that up...
Now the router power light glows a pale green when tuned on and the blue activity light is steady but weak..
edit: I found another post with that same activity, and it look like I'll need the cable. Damn it -- with the KK I actually got the recovery firmware on, but then I messed up the 2nd upload of it...
Well, I bit the bullet and ordered a cable.
We have one big electronics store in our area, that is old school... 3 floors of parts, parts and more parts... But even they did not have it!
Right now I am using my D-Link SuperRouter (with Gamefuel, LED panel status and 3 hi-gain antennae) which was never really super at all...
Update:
Got a cable today. It is not from FTDI but it does actually use the same chip USBTTL 3.3v). The wiring is slightly different:
P6 = Black
P5 = Brown
P4 = Red
P3 = Orange
P2 = Yellow
P1 = Green
So, I set everything up-- the cable was COM4, tried to Putty in with the correct pin-outs... Nothing happened when I pressed ctrl-C. Then I tried the cable with the correct colors on the pin-outs. That did not work either.
Oh well, it looks like I'll be buying a new router. Hopefully I can find this one on sale tomorrow. That is, unless someone has a magic suggestion!
Did you actually see any text in the putty window?
If not then I would recheck everything.
If so then I would try the Ctrl-C a few times. The router boots really quickly so sometimes I must have someone turn it on while I repeatedly hit ctrl-c so I don't miss the window of opportunity.
No, Brandon- none at all...
Ok, I can try it repeated times.
But what wiring setup should I keep? I am thinking pin placement because... But then again, I just noticed a little triangle on the back side of the #6 (or #1) pin, which is black... Does that little triangle mean the start of the pins, or the end?
If you don't see anything in the window you won't be able to ctrl-c into it.
It could be a problem with the driver you installed on the computer, the wrong com port or cables.
This pic may help on the connections. You would have to look at the docs on your cable to see which one is which.
Most times I find that people have the RXD/TXD cables switched.
Thanks Brandon. I actually found that pic a few minutes ago.
I got the data sheet for the cable (FTDI) and checked it versus mine.
Here is the link for my cable: http://www.amazon.com/3-3v-Header-like-FTDI-TTL-232R-3V3/dp/B004LBXO2A/r...
(It mentions it uses their latest chipset...)
I double checked everything and tried again... The most I could get out of the system was a 'c' or '{'... but that's it.
Lesson learned, do not stir anything up when your flash is finally successful and in progress. Luckily, I can get it for $50 nearby.
Did you install a driver for the cable? If not I would install it then try again.
http://www.ftdichip.com/FTDrivers.htm
If you can't get it running I would be glad to try to do it for you. I live in AZ so unless you are close it may not be worth it for you but I will put the offer out there just in case.
Does this forum have PMs? I could always mail it to you PMed me your address.
If I did, I would just send it as a challenge for you...
My old router (DLink DGL-4500) won't even allow my wireless printer to work and in 2 days of use, my wife has had to unplug it and do a hard reset to get it working. That is it working perfectly! Oh, I how I have wished that it was possible to put alternate firmware on that.
My only snafu was that I almost bought the wrong N300 router. This happened the fist time I bought the 3500L. The cheaper one does not have gigabit and usb and is the 2000... The one for $70 was the 3500L...
I'll set that up today.