Ok, so I am just starting out. I just got my first open suace router - Netgear N300 (WNR3500L). After doing some prlimiary reading, I learned about a couple of the popular firmwares out there - DD-WRT and Tomato. So instead of futzing around for a while, after reading a few blog posts and forum threads, I figured I would jump right inw without even messing with the stock firware in the Netgear. I usually like to jump in head first, and learn by doing.
Anyway, so I find this guide here. http://www.myopenrouter.com/article/14430/How-To-Install-Tomato-Firmware-on-NETGEAR-WNR3500L/.
So I download the firmware. I notice in the guide, the firmware in the screenshot is a .chk. However, the firmware I downloaded (tomato-K26USB-1.28.7476MIPSR2-Toastman-RT-Ext.trx) has a .trx extension? What gives? I have not seen anything that addresses this. Have I overlooked something?
Of course, when I go to router upgrade and hit upgrade, it states "Please assign the correct file. The file format is "*.chk"
So right now, I am at an impasse. Any insight would be truly awesome.
This isn't a stupid question at all, actually--it depends on the format of the firmware you have, and there are many flavors of Tomato.
We have another guide that shows you what to do if the file is in a TRX format. Essentially, you rename it to a .BIN file, then upload it via DD-WRT. (Meaning it's a two step upgrade, but it works.)
http://www.myopenrouter.com/article/18972/Installation-and-Quick-Review-...
You may also be able to simply change it to a .CHK extension, but I haven't personally tried that approach.
Thanks Peter. I will look into the methods you mentioned. Thanks again for the reply!