RouterTech Firmware v2.6 Discussion

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Frontier
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RouterTech Firmware v2.6 Discussion

Post by Frontier » Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:16 am

Hello,

Forgive me if this is not the correct area to post my query, but there is no RT 2.6 firmware discussion thread available.

As the title says, I was running RT 2.5 on my D-link DSL-G624T and was extremely pleased with it. Today, I tried to upgrade to v2.6 in order to benefit from the fixes and the great new additions to this firmware.

I've followed the instructions to the letter (after reading the upgrade.html file) and especially paragraph 1B which deals with my router, but I cannot upgrade the machine to RT 2.6. Every step is carried on:

1. Firmware reset (factory defaults) to the G624T.
2. Logon with the default credentials, Upgrade Gateway and uploading the file 'RTech_AR7WRD_config.img'.
3. After the upgrade page loads (the one with more buttons like "Restart Gateway"), I upload the file inside the 'Single-A' folder.
4. The firmware is flashed (the progress indicator completes) and I wait 10 minutes after that.
5. Logon inside the router and the RT version is still 2.50!!

I've tried the above procedure 4 times with no avail. Even tried to revert back to the original D-Link firmware (so that I can flash back to 2.6 from there) without avail: no matter what I do, the RT 2.5 firmware remains.

Besides that, the router works fine - I am connected with it now using RT 2.5.

Any ideas what I might be doing wrong?
Many thanks in advance.

EDIT by SyBorg: Renamed thread to be the place for discussion of all RT 2.6 related topics
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RouterTech Firmware v2.6 Discussion

Post by SyBorg » Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:22 am

This is the place to discuss (thanks, suggestions, criticisms etc.) the v2.6 release of the RouterTech firmware, available for download here

For support, problems, bugs or other such firmware related questions or issues, please start a new thread
We learn something every day, and lots of times it’s that what we learned the day before was wrong.
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Post by mstombs » Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:47 pm

D-Link routers always seem fussy with web upgrades. One reason is the amount of free ram available. I recommend you disable everything you can on the web interface, ie wireless, upnp, dnsproxy, sntp, ipaccount etc. save and reboot without the DSL line connected, then try the web upgrade with maximum amount of free ram.

If this works we should update the docs!
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Post by Frontier » Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:53 pm

Thanks for the replies.

At first, it seems that the RT 2.6 firmware is no longer available (nor v2.5) - no download link works.

Second, I've managed to flash my 624 back to the original D-Link firmware, using the corrupted image mode. Then I performed a factory reset and re-flashed RT 2.6.

Now my 624 is totally bricked, since it does not boot, does not assign DHCP values, does not respond to the hardware reset button and no matter how many times I've tried, the corrupted image flash mode does not bring it back (it's not get detected at all).

I sincerely believe that RT 2.6 is broken for the DSL-G624T because it failed to install from v2.5 (having disconnected everything in order to maximize the available memory).

Now, I'm going to search for any posts with help in order to de-brick my 624. Hope that v2.5 is available again (I no longer have the original archive) in order to flash my G624T with it - if it becomes alive again.

Thank you very much in advance.
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Post by thechief » Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:08 pm

Frontier wrote:I sincerely believe that RT 2.6 is broken for the DSL-G624T because it failed to install from v2.5 (having disconnected everything in order to maximize the available memory).
Please stop spreading FUD. V2.6 is not broken for any supported router. It is perfectly fine if upgrades are done correctly. And there are many ways in which it can be done incorrectly.

Perhaps you might want to post all the steps that you took to get it loaded, and what your mtd values were at each stage (especially after putting on the original D-Link firmware).

Wrong mtd values are a major cause for firmware upgrades not being successful. Another cause is incompatible config files. If your hard reset button is not functional, then you will have an incompatible config.xml active (from the D-Link firmware).
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Post by mstombs » Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:37 pm

You have to be logged into the forums to see the download links - they are still there for me!

I have been experimenting with an old G604T recently. One thing to watch out for is that various D-link Tiupgrade tools change the default bootloader IP address.

DarkWolf mod resets to normal default 192.168.1.1, others reset to 192.168.1.199, 5.8.8.8, 10.8.8.8 or 10.1.1.1

Your PC/ OS/ Network card may not like changing IP ranges which may explain some symptoms, especially if the bootloader and firmware IP ranges very different.
Last edited by mstombs on Thu Jul 24, 2008 3:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Frontier » Thu Jul 24, 2008 3:14 pm

@mstombs: I am logged in the forum - I've even logged off, cleared the cookie and re-logged on - but when I click on the 'stapler' icon for my router firmware, a new tab opens with the following message

Code: Select all

General Error
 
The selected Attachment does not exist anymore

404 File Not Found: The File routertech_ar7wrd_adam2_firmware_20080723_186.zip does not exist.
The page is on download.php?id=1130

@thechief: I am not spreading FUD, I've just described what I did and - based on my previous experience with v2.5 - where this procedure worked faultlessly.

I've managed to flash the DSL-G624T with RT 2.6, but using a 'crazy' procedure I'll explain below. I'm also explaining two other ways I've used to flash it unsuccessfully.

Method 1 - Flash from web from RT 2.5 - Unsuccessfull
I've followed the steps in paragraph 1B from the 'upgrade.html' file. The DSL-G624T was running RT 2.5, no connections/WLAN or any other computers - besides the one that was doing the flash procedure - were enabled.

The router did not 'brick' but did not accept RT 2.6 either, it just kept RT 2.5 working.

Method 2 - Flash from web from the latest DSL-G624T official firmware - Unsuccessfull
After doing a factory reset from RT 2.5, I've used a flash package (I've found it here when I was working with RT 2.5) to flash the DSL-G624T back to the D-Link Firmware. Between each successfull flash and the next a factory reset was performed (that is: rt 2.5 -> D-Link firmware downgrade -> D-Link latest firmware -> RT 2.6). After flashing RT 2.6 from the web interface of the latest D-Link firmware, the router 'bricked' (i.e did not provide DHCP services or access to itself).

Method 3 - Using the De-Bricking Method - Successfull
After trying to de-brick my DSL-G624T, I've used a similar package to the one Pondera suggested [url=viewtopic.php?t=2105]here, only this time I replaced the D-Link firmware package file with the RT 2.6 one (renamed RT 2.6 to the D-Link name notation). It worked!. The router boot using RT 2.6, performed factory reset and set-it up (using it now).

Just my experience so far flashing RT 2.6 on DSL-G624T. It was not easy, but at least the third method worked. :)
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Post by thechief » Thu Jul 24, 2008 3:23 pm

I'm glad the 3rd method worked. But you still have not provided the information about mtd values. Your problems seem to me to be caused either by wrong mtd values, or inconsistent IPs in the environment (i.e., the different ones referred to by mstombs above).

Those problems might well still be there. If they are not fixed, then you will have the same issues when next you want to upgrade (unless you use the pctool or tiupgrade, both of which use direct ftp access).

So, can you please post your current bootloader environment (after removing your MAC addresses). Thanks,
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Post by mstombs » Thu Jul 24, 2008 3:25 pm

Phew, well done. The DarkWolf mod community certainly prefer the Tiupgrade approach, so much so that in one version they removed the web upgrade modules to save flash/ram. We really need to see what a serial console connection reports during a failed web upgrade, as we cannot reproduce it is probably a curious mix of PC/OS/Network/Router/D-link adam2 bootloader.
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Post by thechief » Thu Jul 24, 2008 3:34 pm

Frontier wrote:After flashing RT 2.6 from the web interface of the latest D-Link firmware, the router 'bricked' (i.e did not provide DHCP services or access to itself).
Can I just point out (for the record, and for future reference) that the task of getting a new firmware correctly onto the router is the job of the software being used to to carry out the upgrade (in this case, the D-Link firmware). It is far better for an attempted upgrade to be aborted when a problem arises, than for it to be botched.
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Post by cybor » Thu Jul 24, 2008 4:13 pm

Frontier wrote:

Code: Select all

General Error
 
The selected Attachment does not exist anymore

404 File Not Found: The File routertech_ar7wrd_adam2_firmware_20080723_186.zip does not exist.
The page is on download.php?id=1130
I get the same error right now using Opera and IE.

Any idea or alternative links ?

Thanks in advance for the assistence and for the new firmware too.
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Post by Frontier » Thu Jul 24, 2008 4:25 pm

@thechief: I agree with your last statement (regarding the D-Link firmware), I just pointed it out because a lot of people will flash the RT firmware from inside a D-Link firmware.

@mstombs: You are right, however I still cannot understand two things: 1) why I couldn't upgrade to RT 2.6 from RT 2.5 and 2) how a tried procedure (flashing RT 2.x from inside the D-Link firmware) who used to work, now produced a brick (I'm itching to do the test and flash back to D-Link in order to retry flashing to RT 2.6 but I'm kinda afraid at the moment :) ).

I never 'hack' the RT firmware (i.e messing up with filesystems etc) besides some simple commands that I place in the bootloader environment (disable usb support to save memory, automatic memory optimizer and leds). On RT 2.6 I've enabled DarkStat as well.

Anyway, here's what thechief requested (serial number and MAC addresses were removed).

Code: Select all

setenv checksync.sh 1
setenv memsize 0x01000000
setenv flashsize 0x00400000
setenv modetty0 38400,n,8,1,hw
setenv modetty1 38400,n,8,1,hw
setenv bootserport tty0
setenv cpufrequency 150000000
setenv sysfrequency 125000000
setenv bootloaderVersion 0.22.02
setenv Adam2_Release 0.22.02_b04_Mar 10 2005
setenv ProductID AR7RD
setenv HWRevision Unknown
setenv my_ipaddress 192.168.1.1
setenv prompt Adam2_AR7RD
setenv firstfreeaddress 0x9401d888
setenv req_fullrate_freq 125000000
setenv mtd0 0x90094000,0x903f0000
setenv mtd1 0x90010090,0x90094000
setenv mtd2 0x90000000,0x90010000
setenv mtd3 0x903f0000,0x90400000
setenv mtd4 0x90010000,0x903f0000
setenv autoload 1
setenv autoload_timeout 5
setenv StaticBuffer 120
setenv SW_FEATURES 0X8000
setenv vcc_encaps0 0.0
setenv vcc_encaps1 0.0
setenv vcc_encaps2 0.0
setenv vcc_encaps3 0.0
setenv vcc_encaps4 0.0
setenv vcc_encaps5 0.0
setenv vcc_encaps6 0.0
setenv vcc_encaps7 0.0
setenv modulation 0x10
setenv usb_vid 0x0
setenv usb_pid 0x0
setenv usb_man N/A
setenv usb_prod N/A
setenv eoc_vendor_id 444C696E6B000000
setenv eoc_vendor_serialnum 00:1C:F0:E3:04:CF_00000000000000
setenv eoc_vendor_revision 20070924
setenv invntry_vernum 2007092400000000
setenv mac_ap 00:1C:F0:E3:04:D0
setenv usb_enable no
setenv led_conf led.g604t
setenv connection1 0x417d
setenv memchk.sh 10
setenv cron_la.sh 2
setenv darkstat_enable yes
Another question I have is with DarkStat: I've enabled it with setnenv darkstat_enable "yes", but even after a reboot it's not active (I have to issue the command darkstat -i ppp0). I might be doing something wrong, however.
Last edited by Frontier on Thu Jul 24, 2008 4:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Frontier » Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:06 pm

Is there anything else - besides setting the boot environment variable 'darkstat_enable' to yes - in order to activate DarkStat?

DarkStat is active but it keeps reporting no packets whatsoever :(
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Post by mstombs » Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:12 pm

What type of ISP connection do you have? I see in your env you are using connection1. It certainly worked in testing in the UK with pppoa connection, which uses a wan connection named ppp0, and I think this equates to connection0.
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Post by Kieran » Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:58 pm

cybor wrote:
Frontier wrote:

Code: Select all

General Error
 
The selected Attachment does not exist anymore

404 File Not Found: The File routertech_ar7wrd_adam2_firmware_20080723_186.zip does not exist.
The page is on download.php?id=1130
I get the same error right now using Opera and IE.

Any idea or alternative links ?

Thanks in advance for the assistence and for the new firmware too.
This issue has now been fixed. Apologies to all for the inconvenience.
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