How to Resurrect a Dead Linksys WRT54G Router Part1

One of the more exciting developments for networking enthusiasts has been the evolution of open-source firmware replacements for certain popular, inexpensive routers (usually the famed Linux-running Linksys WRT54G).




While replacement firmware offers the promise of significantly expanded features, greater customization and mondo-tweakability, it also carries some risk. Should misfortune strike, you might, oh, let’s say, render your router into a useless hunk of plastic. Or, as victims prefer to say, you could “brick it.” How does a router become a brick? And if it does, is there any hope of bringing it back to life?



The short answers: "by accident," and "yes... sometimes."



How a Router Becomes a Brick



Bricks are very good at holding up the walls of your house. Bricks are not very good at routing network traffic. You don’t want your router to suddenly become one. (Likewise, you don’t want the bricks in your walls to suddenly become routers – although that would be pretty cool, no?) But sometimes it happens. Often, you can avoid this fate by understanding how a router can become a brick.



There is an alchemy to turning a router into a brick. The most common formula is the bad flash. When you upgrade the firmware in your router, you’re basically swapping in a new brain in place of the old. This brain controls most of the router's cognitive functions.



The upgrade process, described in The Open Source WRT54G Story, can require up to two minutes. If "Something Bad" happens during this process – loss of power to the router, loss of network connectivity to the uploading PC – you may have just bricked your router.



When upgrading your firmware, try to prevent "Something Bad" from happening:



•Be sure the power source is secure.

•Only upgrade through a wired Ethernet connection; do not use a wireless connection.

•Be sure to manually configure the IP address on your uploading PC – do not rely on automatic DHCP address assignment.

•Be sure to disable any software firewall running on your uploading PC, including the Windows firewall.

RAM, Corrupted



Your router has a small amount of on-board NVRAM (define), or non-volatile memory. Sometimes your flash upgrade will be successful, but your NVRAM will become corrupted. Often, this happens when the firmware you uploaded to the router wasn’t exactly the right version for your model. Be sure to read the upgrade instructions for your chosen firmware very, very, very carefully.



For example, consider DD-WRT, one of the most popular open source firmware replacements for Linksys WRT series routers. DD-WRT is available in many flavors. There is a “minimal” build with only a base feature set. There is also a “generic” build which lacks optimizations, and some model-specific builds, among other variants.



When upgrading the router from the Linksys-branded firmware, you are supposed to “step up” by first installing the minimal DD-WRT build, and upgrading from there to a more feature-rich build.



However, when upgrading your router through DD-WRT’s Web interface, you're directed to use the generic build.



Trip up on one of these finer points, and your upgrade may appear successful at first. But then you configure the router, it reboots, and hello Brickville, city of bricks. Most likely, your “successful” flash upgrade produced corrupted NVRAM.



You will always find message board threads by those who have disobeyed the upgrade instructions without dire consequences. These people can also eat pizza for three meals daily and never gain weight, and smoke a pack a day until they’re 98 years old. In fact, they often smoke and eat pizza while upgrading their routers. But the rest of us – we're not like them. Just follow the instructions, carefully.

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Continued Troubleshooting a Linksys Router

Check that the router can see your computer by checking on the Device List. If your machine is there, the connection is intact. Ensure that the wireless connection is enabled on the client machine and that any firewall is allowing the connection through. On a Windows machine, go to Control Panel, Network and Internet, Change Adapter Settings, right click, select Properties, Configure then scroll to the Channel setting.
Ensure the wireless channel on the client machine matches the one configured on the router. To be extra sure, change them both to something different and save the settings. If this makes no difference, very briefly turn off all security on the wireless connection and try to connect.
If you can connect, reset the security, and the username and/or password. If it makes no difference, switch it back on again. Next check the type of wireless connection you have configured. Making sure whatever settings you have on the router are mirrored on the client PC. Especially things like security settings, channel, security type, connection type, 802.11b and so on.
As long as all the settings mirror each other on the router and client, the connection should work.
As a last resort, at the back of the router is a small hole, which is the reset button. Pushing a pen or pencil into the hole and holding it for a couple of seconds will reset the router to its default settings. This will give you a baseline to work from, but means you will have to configure it again. This can often resolve issues, as all the settings are entered again, and any configuration issues are addressed with the new commands.
If that doesn’t work either, refer to the Linksys site, and go to the Support section. Follow the troubleshooter I linked to above, or find the latest firmware for the router model. If yours is older, update it.

How to Troubleshooting a Linksys Wireless Router

Even the most reliable devices go wrong sometimes. Routers can seem like black magic to some. Read this for an overview of how to troubleshoot a Linksys router if it does stop working or gives you trouble.



The Linksys range of home routers are the most popular around. Not only are they pretty good devices, they are cheap, configurable and easily upgradeable with firmware like DD-WRT or Tomato.
Linksys is a division of Cisco the network giant, which gives the brand automatic credibility. Fortunately that has been backed up by solid performance and reliability of the devices. As reliable as they may be, nothing is infallible and there will inevitably be problems at some point in its lifetime.
Problems with these routers can be anything from poor wireless reception, no IP address being given or a connection that keeps dropping.
The first and easiest way to troubleshoot it is reboot it. The software it uses is a Linux firmware and is immensely stable, but things can still go wrong. Rebooting is the best way to start. Leave the power off for a few seconds then put it back. Leave the router to boot for at least 30 seconds, and then see if the problem persists.
If the problem is still there you have some options. Check the online troubleshooter on the Linksys website and follow the directions for your particular fault. This is quite an intuitive site, and tries hard to help you troubleshoot your problem. The ability to follow it online also helps, but only if you can get online in the first place!
If the problem is a wireless device not being able to connect, first check you have an IP address. Open a CMD window and type:ipconfig /all. You should then see a read out of all your networking info. If you see it populated, and the IP address is something other than 169.***.***.*** then you have an IP.

Try connecting the modem directly into your computer, thereby removing the router from the equation. That is also a good way of seeing if the problem lies with it or not. If the problem goes away then chances are it is, if the problem persists, it may be your computer, or the connection.
You can access the control panel of the router by typing http://192.168.1.1 into your browser, and entering the username and password.

IF

Troubleshooting a Linksys Router. Continued

Online Free Linksys Wireless Router Settings and How to start linksys routers networking...

Linksys routers make it easy for you to set up a wired or wireless network at home or in an office setting. Read on to learn how to access the settings you need to configure a Linksys router.

Use Your Browser

In order to access the Linksys router settings, you will first need to connect the router to your computer or network. Follow the instructions included with your Linksys router in order to make sure it is properly connected. You can find some steps that will help you through this process in the Bright Hub tutorial, How to Set Up a Wireless Network in Your Home.
Once you have the Linksys router connected to your computer, open up your favorite web browser, such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. In the address bar, type 192.168.1.1, which is the router's IP address, and press Enter.

User Name and Password

A dialog box will open asking you for your user name and password. If this is the first time the router settings have been accessed, try leaving the fields blank and clicking OK to access the Linksys router settings page. If doing so does not give you access, check the manual that accompanied your Linksys router for the initial user name and password. Typically, the user name will be admin and the password will simply bepassword. After entering the user name and password, click OK to be taken to the Linskys router settings page.

Set Up Passwords

The first thing you should do once you access the Linksys router settings page is change the router's password. This will prevent unauthorized users from accessing the router settings. To do so, go to theAdministration tab at the top of the router settings page, and then click Router Password in the left pane of the router settings page.

If you are using a wireless Linksys router, you are also recommended to create a security key to keep neighbors and hackers from accessing the Internet using your Linksys router and network connections. To do so, click the Wireless tab at the top of the router settings page, and then click Wireless Security in the left pane of the page. In the Personal Key field, enter a password or key that you will be able to remember. It should also be one that outsiders will not easily decipher. To learn more about securing your wireless network, read WEP, WPA, and WPS - Which to Use?

You can access other router settings from the Linksys router settings page by clicking the appropriate tabs at the top of the page. Refer to your Linksys manual for more advanced setup instructions.

For More Information or Help Visit:http://linksyswirelesshelp.blogspot.com/

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