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Topic: Installing OpenWRT micro on WRT54GS v5.1

The content of this topic has been archived on 27 Apr 2018. There are no obvious gaps in this topic, but there may still be some posts missing at the end.

For installing OpenWRT on Linksys WRT54GS v5.1, documentation says to follow these instructions:
http://www.bitsum.com/openwiking/owbase … RT54G5_CFE

but those instructions are for instaling DD-WRT micro.
Should I follow the same procedure also for installing OpenWRT micro?

I wouldn't.  OpenWRT, as far as I know right now, isn't supported on anything G 5 and above.  There's a chance you could brick your router, and the DD-WRT micro has been tested for those routers.  I don't know of anyone successful in installing OpenWRT micro on them.

Maybe someone who is reading here has done it, though.

too late... I did it... I flashed OpenWRT micro...

This is the firmware I flashed:
http://downloads.openwrt.org/whiterussi … uashfs.bin

results:
the "power" led blinks continuously, if I ping 192.168.1.1 it answers correctly, but I can't login via telnet nor via ssh.

What can I do? Throw the router out of the window?

Please somebody help me....

WRTOpener wrote:

too late... I did it... I flashed OpenWRT micro...

This is the firmware I flashed:
http://downloads.openwrt.org/whiterussi … uashfs.bin

results:
the "power" led blinks continuously, if I ping 192.168.1.1 it answers correctly, but I can't login via telnet nor via ssh.

What can I do? Throw the router out of the window?

Please somebody help me....

sigh...

1.5 hours between your post and me replying.  You should have waited.  Probably the only way to recover now is follow the instructions on reloading the VX Works firmware and hope.  You'll have to do it with tftp, and I'm not even sure that will work if boot_wait was set to off.

Past that, a JTAG would probably be your best bet.  I'm not even sure if that will work.

Openwrt  can be installed on it - if you use the imagebuilder and are very selective about what you do and do not include. You have less than 64k on the squashfs with the micro image. dnsmasq can be removed and replaced with nas (if you just want to use it as a bridge)

BigOkie wrote:
WRTOpener wrote:

too late... I did it... I flashed OpenWRT micro...

This is the firmware I flashed:
http://downloads.openwrt.org/whiterussi … uashfs.bin

results:
the "power" led blinks continuously, if I ping 192.168.1.1 it answers correctly, but I can't login via telnet nor via ssh.

What can I do? Throw the router out of the window?

Please somebody help me....

sigh...

1.5 hours between your post and me replying.  You should have waited.  Probably the only way to recover now is follow the instructions on reloading the VX Works firmware and hope.  You'll have to do it with tftp, and I'm not even sure that will work if boot_wait was set to off.

Past that, a JTAG would probably be your best bet.  I'm not even sure if that will work.

Thanks for answering... where do I find these instructions?

(Last edited by WRTOpener on 30 Sep 2006, 20:04)

h3sp4wn wrote:

Openwrt  can be installed on it - if you use the imagebuilder and are very selective about what you do and do not include. You have less than 64k on the squashfs with the micro image. dnsmasq can be removed and replaced with nas (if you just want to use it as a bridge)

ok, so if it can be installed, and considering that I installed the squashfs version, the question is:

Why It doesn't work? Maybe I used the wrong procedure? How can I login on 1st bootup when installing OpenWRT micro?

(Last edited by WRTOpener on 30 Sep 2006, 20:01)

Your router isn't bricked. You don't need JTAG.

You tftp'd the wrong image. You must tftp the generic TRX image, not the specific wrt54gs one. Otherwise your router rejects it and just sits there at boot waiting for you to transfer a valid firmware. Which is what your router is doing.

You will be without a webif in openwrt micro by default. Like previously said, you need to build your own image for it to be moderately useful.

It doesn't sound like you are prepared to deal with what you'll encounter even if it was flashed.

To flash back dd-wrt micro, just tftp dd-wrt micro generic.

I don't know...
Actually at home I use an old Pentium 2 box as firewall, with Debian installed on it, NO web interface, configured "manually" with iptables and dnsmasq.

The packages that I need to do the same things on the WRT are included in the OpenWRT micro distribution... so I think it will be ok for me...

If the WRT is just waiting for a new firmware, I just ask which image do I have to reflash on it...

This trx:
http://downloads.openwrt.org/whiterussi … uashfs.trx
Is the image you are talking about?

So chances are:
- install the generic OpenWRT micro trx
- install DD-WRT
- install custom builded OpenWRT

right?

(Last edited by WRTOpener on 1 Oct 2006, 13:18)

WRTOpener wrote:

This trx:
http://downloads.openwrt.org/whiterussi … uashfs.trx
Is the image you are talking about?

So chances are:
- install the generic OpenWRT micro trx
- install DD-WRT
- install custom builded OpenWRT

right?

You gotted right, I advice you to follow http://wiki.openwrt.org/ImageBuilderHowTo and remove anything that you aren't gonna use. I also advice you as you do this, to include any new configuration file or even a modify one, cause using the WAP54G, more o less same specs, even when I got a read/write filesystem, the space got out very quickly.

thanks for the answer.
Actually I have installed the standard openwrt-brcm-2.4-squashfs.trx, just to be sure that the router wasn't bricked, and it works.
I can login via telnet.

Now I'll see which packages do I need and build a new custom image, then I'll reflash it...
OpenWRT is rock 'n' roll...
smile

(Last edited by WRTOpener on 1 Oct 2006, 16:28)

Cool, glad you got it booting. The TRX vs. BIN is an easy mistake, as DD-WRT's firmware images are not named in the same manner (it's generic is named .bin).

There is a lot of interest in OpenWrt for micro devices. I would like to work on this, but already have too many projects in this community I'm working on. I would like to see there be a concerted effort to develop a good micro OpenWrt firmware (please, we need not hear from those who don't like the idea ;p).

Excellent...in this case, I'm glad I was wrong, that's for sure.  I hate to hear of anyone bricking a router, even if it's the crappy v5.0 and up of the G/GS

smile

In case someone needs it: just made a nano-image for use e.g. with 2Mb-Flash devices. Be warned: this is really _very_ barebone. It's generated with the freifunk-KIT (similar to OW image-builder) which has a new switch for this. Flashable image is here:

http://styx.commando.de/sven-ola/freifunk-nano.trx

Some techno babble:

- 10 flash pages free on wrt54g-v5 for JFFS2
- Which means: 512 kb compressible r/w space
- mini_fo is used, ipkg's can be installed via "ipkg update..."
- all config via nvram, no iwconfig (use "wifi up")
- no firewalling, no dropbear, no dnsmasq (only udhcpd)
- Freifunk uses iproute2, so no "route" nor "ifconfig". Use "ip"
- No web ui, only telnet. Failsafe and autoformat supported.
- Freifunk does not support WEP nor WPA
- Same kernel, uclibc is compat to Whiterussian/RC5
- Which means: You can install RC5 ipkgs.

Kernel: 465k, RootFS: 588k, Jffs2: 2688k/0x2a0000, TRX: 0x107000

Be warned: This is nothing for beginners. If you don't know how to TFTP do not use it. Here's a live snapshot (that device has 4Mb/16Mb):

root@heidel-sued:/# df
Filesystem           1k-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/root                  640       640         0 100% /rom
/dev/mtdblock/4           2688       272      2416  10% /
root@heidel-sued:/# free
              total         used         free       shared      buffers
  Mem:        14452         5964         8488            0          584
Swap:            0            0            0
Total:        14452         5964         8488
root@heidel-sued:/# dmesg -c
Creating 5 MTD partitions on "Physically mapped flash":
0x00000000-0x00040000 : "cfe"
0x00040000-0x003f0000 : "linux"
0x000b41d8-0x00150000 : "rootfs"
mtd: partition "rootfs" doesn't start on an erase block boundary -- force read-only
0x003f0000-0x00400000 : "nvram"
0x00150000-0x003f0000 : "OpenWrt"
diag boardtype: 00000101
Probing device eth0: No Robo switch in managed mode found
Probing device eth1: No such device
Probing device eth2: No such device
Probing device eth3: No such device
eth1: Broadcom BCM4320 802.11 Wireless Controller 3.90.37.0
root@heidel-sued:/#

If I download the Image Builder and start using it and selecting packages to make my own firmware, how can I assure that the firmware I am making is micro and not standard?
Are there any mechanisms to set this?

And another question: what's the difference between Image Builder, Buildroot and Buildroot-ng?

The Image Builder is generated out of the buildroot and generates images from package lists without actually compiling anything. 'micro' is one of the lists of it, so running an image builder make will give you the micro image.
Buildroot is the name for our build system, which downloads, patches and compiles the packages.
Buildroot-ng is the build system rewrite for the upcoming 'kamikaze' version (currently a developer tree in svn only).

thanks for answering... smile

See warning about fix today, else your router will brick.

db90h wrote:

See warning about fix today, else your router will brick.

yeah thanks I've red it, and I was wondering if I can obtain a fixed image using Image Builder or if I can obtain it only by using Buildroot...

Or maybe can I "manually fix" by canging that line in the file /etc/init.d/S05nvram ??

I have almost the same device: WRT54GS v5.0

-> WRTOpener
-> db90h
&
ALL:

Could you pls take a look at http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic. … 4398#74398.

Main brief summary of my questions:

1) Is anywhere custom builds repository for openwrt MICRO?
2) Is it possible to get from openvrt the same as dd-wrt MICRO by functionality but with nfs mounting in addition or with samba client in addition? purpose - get network mounting. It will resolve problem with storage. and it is reasonable in case of home using, because when u r using Internet t least 1 PC is used also, so add space will be always available
By my opinion, for simple home using it culd be achieved with removing upnp, wep but leaving wpa,  if still no space - then also dnsmasq, local dns

WRTOpener

Hey Bud.  I am glad that you got your router running, I too have a WRT54GS-V6 I manage to put DD-WRT on it, now I would like to re_flash with Openwrt.

did you build your image?
is it running?

I am little checkin; I don't like to see my power led ding dong.

Joe the Man

I would like someones input on this. I built a small version of Openwrt for the 5.1. It flashed
correctly. But it seems it doesn't get me all the (limited...) memory this device has on board?!
My image size is just 1052672 bytes. Here's what I get though:

Creating 5 MTD partitions on "Physically mapped flash":
0x00000000-0x00040000 : "cfe"
0x00040000-0x001f0000 : "linux"
0x000be400-0x00160000 : "rootfs"
mtd: partition "rootfs" doesn't start on an erase block boundary -- force read-y
0x001f0000-0x00200000 : "nvram"
0x00160000-0x001f0000 : "rootfs_data"


Total memory used by CFE:  0x80300000 - 0x80399700 (628480)
Initialized Data:          0x8032F870 - 0x80331F50 (9952)
BSS Area:                  0x80331F50 - 0x80333700 (6064)
Local Heap:                0x80333700 - 0x80397700 (409600)
Stack Area:                0x80397700 - 0x80399700 (8192)
Text (code) segment:       0x80300000 - 0x8032F870 (194672)
Boot area (physical):      0x0039A000 - 0x003DA000
Relocation Factor:         I:00000000 - D:00000000

Filesystem           1k-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
none                      1080        16      1064   1% /tmp
/dev/mtdblock/4            576       328       248  57% /jffs
/jffs                      704       704         0 100% /

This differs quite a bit from the output from sven-ola above. Seems I get only half the rom?
I you know what could be causing this I'd like to know!

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