Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2017 13:10 Post subject: Correct Build for WNDR4000?
I have a Netgear WNDR4000 router (Broadcom BCM4718, 8 MB flash, 64 MB RAM) currently running stock firmware, and I would like to install DD-WRT on it. But I'm a n00b when it comes to open source router firmware, and after spending a fair amount of time reading the DD-WRT wiki, forums, etc., I'm still unclear as to which build I should be installing.
And then the most-referenced (but sadly most inscrutable) source is the "Peacock thread", which contains multiple recomendations:
Quote:
Brainslayer 14929. This build has worked fine in most configurations and routers and should be used in most cases.
and
Quote:
If you wish to try a newer build, some people are finding very good stabilty with build 15962
and
Quote:
However, if you are using a newer router model (e4200 etc) that can only run more recent builds than 15962 AND you don't need SSH, use build 17990 or 18000 or 25760.
and
Quote:
27858 has also has gotten good reviews and appears to be a recent fairly stable build.
and then it starts discussing the K26 builds and recommends
It's also apparent that some of the text in the Peacock thread is out of date, for example
Quote:
a VERY new (2011+ release) router
2011 is new? Also it says
Quote:
don't use K26 if your router can use both k24 and k26.
but the post it links to on that topic says that it is obsolete and links to another post that says
Quote:
if you have a device that uses k2.4 then you must use k2.4 builds, and if you have a device that uses k2.6 then you must use k2.6 builds! There are no longer any devices that can run both.
So that leaves me wondering what other information in the Peacock post is incorrect.
So what build should I use?
So, as I said I'm still confused, particularly because the Peacock thread is the most widely referenced but also clearly contains out of date information, so I'm a little wary of using any information from it. This is especially true since there are frequent warnings about how you might brick your router if you install the wrong build.
So what do I think I know?
Since my router currently has stock firmware, I have to start by flashing a "trailed" firmware image that ends in mini-WNDR4000.chk
After I flash the "trailed" build, I can install any other build that is appropriate for my router.
So I'm guessing I should initially install dd-wrt.v24-21676_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR4000.chk per my router's page on the wiki and then once that's on I should flash dd-wrt.v24-21676_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega-nv64k.bin for more features or possibly explore one of the two later builds that were recommended by the Peacock thread, 25760 or 27858 (assuming they include K26 variants).
I'm hoping someone can give me some guidance here, to at least confirm my logic or suggest something better.
I know that which build is best can be a bit subjective, so let me just say that my priorities are (from highest to lowest)
Security (build is new enough that any important security-related patches will have been applied)
Stability
Features (this is a distant 3rd, because I don't imagine that I will be a power user)
Might be time to use a k3.x build if you want everything to work ---- of course depends on what you are doing --- what you need.
Especially if it is a gateway router, as you can use SFE accelerated NAT on k3.x (3.10 to be specific) with 33215. Note: the latest build 33492 is too big for this model. Needs to be 7995392 bytes (7808 KB) or less. _________________ #NAT/SFE/CTF: limited speed w/ DD#Repeater issues#DD-WRT info: FAQ, Builds, Types, Modes, Changes, Demo#
OPNsense x64 5050e ITX|DD: DIR-810L, 2*EA6900@1GHz, R6300v1, RT-N66U@663, WNDR4000@533, E1500@353,
WRT54G{Lv1.1,Sv6}@250|FreshTomato: F7D8302@532|OpenWRT: F9K1119v1, RT-ACRH13, R6220, WNDR3700v4
Thanks for the helpful advice! The Peacock thread sort of gave the impression that 3.x was new and experimental, but I'm assuming that too is outdated (I'm guessing that these refer to the Linux kernel version the build is based on, and 3.x is obviously not that new now).
Anyway, if jwh7 is happily using build 33215 on a WNDR4000, I'm sold! Since I'll be flashing over the stock Netgear firmware, I'm assuming that I should use dd-wrt.v24-33215_NEWD-2_K3.x_mega-WNDR4000.chk initially.
If that's correct, is there any reason for me to flash a second time? Some pages/posts said not to stay with a "trailed" build, but it wasn't clear to me if that was because you should switch or merely making it clear that you can switch to a generic build afterward. My impression was that the "trailed" builds only differ in some added header that makes it look like what the stock firmware is expecting for a firmware image, so there isn't really anything wrong with them. But I may be way off base.
The traditional wiki recommendation for k3x flashing is usually to flash a particular k2.6 build first, then flash k3.x from there. I see the WNDR4000 wiki doesn't even mention k3x. :-/ If k3x works directly, I'll update the wiki.
Regarding .chk vs .bin, yes that is generally correct; just a header difference. It can differ for some router models though; there can be a big difference, and sometimes even the trailed build is smaller. _________________ #NAT/SFE/CTF: limited speed w/ DD#Repeater issues#DD-WRT info: FAQ, Builds, Types, Modes, Changes, Demo#
OPNsense x64 5050e ITX|DD: DIR-810L, 2*EA6900@1GHz, R6300v1, RT-N66U@663, WNDR4000@533, E1500@353,
WRT54G{Lv1.1,Sv6}@250|FreshTomato: F7D8302@532|OpenWRT: F9K1119v1, RT-ACRH13, R6220, WNDR3700v4
The traditional wiki recommendation for k3x flashing is usually to flash a particular k2.6 build first, then flash k3.x from there. I see the WNDR4000 wiki doesn't even mention k3x. :-/ If k3x works directly, I'll update the wiki.
As much as I would like to add to the general knowledge, I will probably go the conservative route of flashing with a K2.6 build first, since I'm a novice and also this router has been acting a bit odd with the stock firmware (management web GUI doesn't always want to come up). So I'll flash dd-wrt.v24-33215_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR4000.chk first, followed by dd-wrt.v24-33215_NEWD-2_K3.x_mega-nv64k.bin. But, again, I'm all ears if I should be doing something different.
Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:48 Post subject: Probably all for not
I mentioned before that with the stock firmware the router was acting a bit flaky. I managed to flash dd-wrt.v24-33215_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR4000.chk to the router (doing a 30/30/30 reset before and after). However, it's still exhibiting the same flaky behavior: the router intermittently fails to respond to pings and the web interface can only sporadically be reached. I was hoping that this might have been some issue with the stock firmware, but since the same issue persists with DD-WRT, it seems likely that it's a hardware problem. I opened up the case, just to see if there was anything glaringly obvious wrong, but no such luck. I guess I will need a different router.
In any case, thanks for the help in finding the right build to flash. I was able to get the web interface to come up for a little while and it appeared to have worked.
Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 13:39 Post subject: Re: Probably all for not
internic wrote:
it seems likely that it's a hardware problem. I opened up the case, just to see if there was anything glaringly obvious wrong, but no such luck.
Hopefully it's the power supply, but I've had many failed caps in routers, and not a single one showed a visible issue (unlike failed caps in motherboards and PC power supplies).
If another power supply doesn't help...do you have access to a multimeter? In lieu of an ESR meter, you could check your power supply and (very carefully) the output of the regulator chips. _________________ #NAT/SFE/CTF: limited speed w/ DD#Repeater issues#DD-WRT info: FAQ, Builds, Types, Modes, Changes, Demo#
OPNsense x64 5050e ITX|DD: DIR-810L, 2*EA6900@1GHz, R6300v1, RT-N66U@663, WNDR4000@533, E1500@353,
WRT54G{Lv1.1,Sv6}@250|FreshTomato: F7D8302@532|OpenWRT: F9K1119v1, RT-ACRH13, R6220, WNDR3700v4
Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 2:14 Post subject: Re: Probably all for not
internic wrote:
I mentioned before that with the stock firmware the router was acting a bit flaky. I managed to flash dd-wrt.v24-33215_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR4000.chk to the router (doing a 30/30/30 reset before and after). However, it's still exhibiting the same flaky behavior: the router intermittently fails to respond to pings and the web interface can only sporadically be reached. I was hoping that this might have been some issue with the stock firmware, but since the same issue persists with DD-WRT, it seems likely that it's a hardware problem. I opened up the case, just to see if there was anything glaringly obvious wrong, but no such luck. I guess I will need a different router.
In any case, thanks for the help in finding the right build to flash. I was able to get the web interface to come up for a little while and it appeared to have worked.
Well, I won't call my self an expert. But I happened to be running a WNDR4000 myself. And I've had the exact symptom as you've described here. After doing all sorts of troubleshooting. It turned out that the cause of all these freezing was because that I've had it placed right next to my computer, alongside with my external hard drive rig. And it was somehow getting strange interference from the devices next to it. As soon as I moved it somewhere reasonably isolated, it started working without any issues. And it's been working at 100% for 5+ years ever since.
My brother in law had a similar problem with a different model of router, except that it was the other way around. His router was interfering his cable modem signals. As soon as he placed the two some distance apart, the issue just magically resolved itself.
Since it doesn't really cost you anything to move your router around, why not give it a try just for the hell of it?
Yes, those just went up! Thanks for confirming. I wanted to use MEGA but sounds like it's not operational. I can either use MINI or wait until the next build for a hopeful MEGA fix of DHCP.