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Topic: [HELP] Tp-link TL-1043ND v1.8 bricked!!!

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EDIT: problem solved without opening the router! See https://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php … 29#p133829
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First of all let me congratulate for the really great community around this project.

Then let me say that I'm a retarded n00b sad

I'm a complete newbie about Openwrt, but I decided to buy this router and test it. I tried to flash it with the image found at:

http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … actory.bin

as from instructions, and it worked (web interface LUCI a little buggy, though). BUT, since I'm an idiot, I couldn't resist trying to build my own image with the procedure at:

http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/obtai … e.generate

After the flashing procedure, the router is, OF COURSE, dead. I tried to reset it and the generic failsafe procedure, both failed. Now if I turn on the router, the SYS led keeps blinking, but I cannot access it anymore through the network interface.

I gave a look at the unbricking procedure and searched on the forum, and I've found a TON of stuff to read. Being a novice, all this results in an overwhelming amount of information to handle.

Begging: could please someone give me some direction to start with? sad I promise I will be more careful next time, but I really cannot afford right now to read all that stuff in a single time!

Thanks in advance!

(Last edited by gaglia on 23 Apr 2011, 09:08)

koniu wrote:
fyi wrote:

Once again. Don't waste your time on making your own serial cable unless you're an expert.

So the best way (if tftp is a no-go) is to quickly hack up a serial cable using CA-42 USB data cable - cheap and easy:
http://buffalo.nas-central.org/wiki/Use … inkstation

How much money can you save by making your own serial cable? These CA-42 clones might not have the same color scheme of wires described in many DIY guides. You've been told.

OpenWrt / help me out plz... bricked tp-link tl-wr941nd ver 3.2
OpenWrt / Help unbreak tl-wr841nd

fyi wrote:

How much money can you save by making your own serial cable?

These cables start at £2.50 from ebay and can save you a lot of time on both research and assembly - I found it to be the most straight-forward way of getting a serial console to unbrick my tl-1043nd smile

(Last edited by koniu on 14 Apr 2011, 19:06)

Are you sure it is really bricked ?
Try setting a static IP address on your PC - say 192.168.1.2  and see if you can ping 192.168.1.1.   If the ping works - you can try to telnet to 192.168.1.1

Thanks everybody for the help and sorry for my late reply, I am not complaining for too much information, but for the lack of time to read all those interesting instructions sad anyway now I have some more time to play with the router and made some test.

@snowyowlster: you're right! I can access the router via telnet in failsafe mode:
- I set up a "test" cable connection with IP 192.168.1.2, gateway 192.168.1.1 and mask 255.255.255.0
- I turn on the router and wait for the SYS light to start blinking
- then I push the QSS button and hold it until the SYS light starts to blink faster
- at this point I plug the network cable from LAN port 1 to my pc and ifconfig the test connection
- now i can telnet to 192.168.1.1

So it seems that it's not so brutally bricked after all smile but since I do not want to make further mistakes, I'd like to ask you what to do now to restore the original firmware (I kept a copy) or the default openwrt image. I will think in a second moment on how to build a personalized image.

Thanks!

1043 can only recover by serial if really brick, you better get a serial cable first, cause the offical firmware can be brick also. at least mind did
next time better to get a router with tftp recover enable

Solved without opening the router! big_smile (can please a mod add a [SOLVED] tag in the title? I couldn't find a way to do it by myself)

This is what I did (step-by-step howto for possible n00bs coming after me tongue ):

- set up a "test" wired connection on my pc, with static IP 192.168.1.2, gateway 192.168.1.1, netmask 255.255.255.0
- set up an ftp server on my pc with guest login without password (proftpd), listening on 192.168.1.2
- put new firmware in the guest ftp shared folder (newfirmware.bin)
- booted the router in failsafe mode
- plugged network cables
- telnet 192.168.1.1
- checked at least 12-13 MiB free RAM with "free" and at least 8 MiB free space on /swap with "df"
- cd /tmp
- wget ftp://guest@192.168.1.2/newfirmware.bin
- mtd -r write newfirmware.bin firmware
- wait for reboot AND some further seconds after reboot

As a new firmware image I used:

http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … actory.bin

as from instructions and it worked. But then I decided to try the bleeding edge at:

http://downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/ … actory.bin

and I must say I'm pretty satisfied with it! Note that this last one is shipped without LUCi, so there is no graphical web interface at first, but you can install it:

- telnet 192.168.1.1
- opkg update
- opkg install luci
- /etc/init.d/uhttpd enable
- /etc/init.d/uhttpd start

remember to save a backup of the configuration, because if you have to reset the router you lose the web interface again. I definitely prefer this firmware because it is already shipped with the wifi modules kmod-ath9k and wpad-mini, which the stable backfire lacks (see http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl- … stallation ), moreover the full LUCi web interface is DEFINITELY better than the basic one shipped in the stable.

As a last step, I'd like very much to build an image, starting from the bleeding edge but adding some package (luci and some others), but I couldn't find an image builder for the bleeding edge, and however, seen my previous experience, I doubt I will do it without first being properly adviced by someone more expert than me tongue

Volunteers in giving me some step-by-step advice? <_<

Thanks for the help already provided! smile

(Last edited by gaglia on 23 Apr 2011, 09:10)

Sorry guy, but you weren't bricked. You must have been soft bricked, or just locked up some how. Your fix does nothing for my Bricked TL-1043ND. The serial cable fix is truly my only hope. My hardware isn't recognized by ANY connection, WAN or LAN. It just sits there with a steadily lit power light, and all the others blinking on and off, on and off. Back on the shelf it goes, I'll serial cable it one of these days.

I have a big problem on its own decided to TP-Link TL-WR1043ND put the firmware from openWrt but could not put the package PPTP
and decided to flash again by mistake filled firmwareopenwrt-ar71xx-tl-wr741nd-v1-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin
up the router does not respond to a web interface and telnet
when you turn on lights in el.set the power port and 1 usb flashes indicative but then remains on the buttons or what not react
please who knows how to fix it tell me

(Last edited by Roman1981 on 25 Jul 2011, 22:25)

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