Netgear R7000 Not saving config

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jarapablo
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 03 Apr 2018
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 18:00    Post subject: Netgear R7000 Not saving config Reply with quote
Hi Guys, I have tried a few custom firmwares on my Netgear R7000 and they all have their pros and cons. I tested successfully Merlin and Tomato but wanted to give dd-WRT a try as it's very popular.
I installed the latest versions I found on Kong and Brainslayer's repositories but it seems to be a bug. I have tried several browsers and different versions but each time I reboot my router the config resets to its default. Am I missing something? I hope you can help.

Currently I am on v3.0-r35030M
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boochi99
DD-WRT User


Joined: 31 Jan 2012
Posts: 88
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 3:53    Post subject: Reply with quote
You probably had xwrt-vortex 384.x on your router. That firmware seriously screwed up the cfe on the router. If you have a copy of that, you need to restore it. I had the same problem and just fixed it yesterday. I had corrupted boardid, mac, sn and had to use the burn command after going back to stock. Came back to dd-wrt and had the same issue as you. Configure the router, works great, reboot and it resets. If you have a serial ttl cable and can look at the output right after boot you will likely see something like this after all the x's and +'s.

CFE for Foxconn Router R7000 version: v1.0.21
Build Date: Wed Aug 7 19:11:17 CST 2013
Init Arena
Init Devs.
Boot up from NAND flash...
Bootcode Boot partition size = 524288(0x80000)
DDR Clock: 800 MHz
Info: DDR frequency set from clkfreq=1000,*800*
et0: Broadcom BCM47XX 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet Controller 6.37.15.1 (r407936)
CPU type 0x0: 1000MHz
Tot mem: 262144 KBytes

nvram erase
Digital core power voltage set to 1.0V
Decompressing...done


CFE for Foxconn Router R7000 version: v1.0.21
Build Date: Wed Aug 7 19:11:17 CST 2013
Init Arena
Init Devs.
Boot up from NAND flash...
Bootcode Boot partition size = 524288(0x80000)
DDR Clock: 400 MHz
Info: DDR frequency set from clkfreq=1000,*800*
Warning: invalid DDR setting of 800 MHz ignored. DDR frequency will be set to 400 MHz.
et0: Broadcom BCM47XX 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet Controller 6.37.15.1 (r407936)
CPU type 0x0: 1000MHz
Tot mem: 262144 KBytes

Committing NVRAM...done
Waiting for reset button release...donDigital core power voltage set to 1.0V
Decompressing...done
Digital core power voltage set to 1.0V


------------------

Notice the "nvram erase" line between the first and second half. It is not supposed to do that.
That was my problem and luckily I had the backed up cfe I made back in 2015. I took a leap and restored it and everything now appears to be working correctly. Do to some changes somehwere in the code, recent dd-wrt versions would not let me restore the cfe. I jumped all the way back to brainslayers first 2015 release and it worked. Mind you that was just to do the cfe restore. I am now able to run either the current brainslayer or kong releases and have everything survive reboot. Also the serial output looks like it returned to normal.

Be careful.

Others reported problems, yet I think I was the first to voice the issue after moving away from xwrt or netgear fw.

You may want to read starting on this page.

http://www.linksysinfo.org/index.php?threads/asuswrt-merlin-on-netgear-r7000.71108/page-54
jarapablo
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 03 Apr 2018
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 14:00    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hey, this is awesome. I am totally up to give it a try. However, What if I never backed up the CFE?... Is that something I can restore/recreate manually?

boochi99 wrote:
You probably had xwrt-vortex 384.x on your router. That firmware seriously screwed up the cfe on the router. If you have a copy of that, you need to restore it. I had the same problem and just fixed it yesterday. I had corrupted boardid, mac, sn and had to use the burn command after going back to stock. Came back to dd-wrt and had the same issue as you. Configure the router, works great, reboot and it resets. If you have a serial ttl cable and can look at the output right after boot you will likely see something like this after all the x's and +'s.

CFE for Foxconn Router R7000 version: v1.0.21
Build Date: Wed Aug 7 19:11:17 CST 2013
Init Arena
Init Devs.
Boot up from NAND flash...
Bootcode Boot partition size = 524288(0x80000)
DDR Clock: 800 MHz
Info: DDR frequency set from clkfreq=1000,*800*
et0: Broadcom BCM47XX 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet Controller 6.37.15.1 (r407936)
CPU type 0x0: 1000MHz
Tot mem: 262144 KBytes

nvram erase
Digital core power voltage set to 1.0V
Decompressing...done


CFE for Foxconn Router R7000 version: v1.0.21
Build Date: Wed Aug 7 19:11:17 CST 2013
Init Arena
Init Devs.
Boot up from NAND flash...
Bootcode Boot partition size = 524288(0x80000)
DDR Clock: 400 MHz
Info: DDR frequency set from clkfreq=1000,*800*
Warning: invalid DDR setting of 800 MHz ignored. DDR frequency will be set to 400 MHz.
et0: Broadcom BCM47XX 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet Controller 6.37.15.1 (r407936)
CPU type 0x0: 1000MHz
Tot mem: 262144 KBytes

Committing NVRAM...done
Waiting for reset button release...donDigital core power voltage set to 1.0V
Decompressing...done
Digital core power voltage set to 1.0V


------------------

Notice the "nvram erase" line between the first and second half. It is not supposed to do that.
That was my problem and luckily I had the backed up cfe I made back in 2015. I took a leap and restored it and everything now appears to be working correctly. Do to some changes somehwere in the code, recent dd-wrt versions would not let me restore the cfe. I jumped all the way back to brainslayers first 2015 release and it worked. Mind you that was just to do the cfe restore. I am now able to run either the current brainslayer or kong releases and have everything survive reboot. Also the serial output looks like it returned to normal.

Be careful.

Others reported problems, yet I think I was the first to voice the issue after moving away from xwrt or netgear fw.

You may want to read starting on this page.

http://www.linksysinfo.org/index.php?threads/asuswrt-merlin-on-netgear-r7000.71108/page-54
boochi99
DD-WRT User


Joined: 31 Jan 2012
Posts: 88
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 17:01    Post subject: Reply with quote
First, did you ever try and put a custom cfe on the router in the first place, most people don't?

Second, what version of cfe are you at now. That would appear in the serial string like mine showed.

Third, does yours look anything like mine especially that "nvram erase" line?

Fourth, have you run the telnet burn commands from the netgear fw to see if you had corrupted data like sn, mac etc. Those commands did not work for me under a dd-wrt telnet window. If they are corrupted, I would correct them before proceeding any further.

The CFE from what I have been able to come up with is generic for a specific model and version router. If you had 1.0.21 for instance, it should be the exact same stock image as mine. The router specific mac, sn and wifipass are stored elsewhere.

I will help you as much as I can, just remember I am no guru at this.
jwh7
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 2670
Location: Indy

PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 19:25    Post subject: Reply with quote
boochi99 wrote:
The CFE from what I have been able to come up with is generic for a specific model and version router. If you had 1.0.21 for instance, it should be the exact same stock image as mine. The router specific mac, sn and wifipass are stored elsewhere.
Well, it depends on the model/version; CFE normally has the default MAC, etc. but some OEM's make a 'board data' or 'nvram' partition that stores those defaults, and they are the ones that are easily bricked if said partition gets overwritten (by accident, or by an oversize build). Does the R7000 have a separate partition?

You can check by `cat /proc/mtd` in telnet/ssh, and then `strings /dev/mtd0|grep -e mac -e addr` (and also for the other 1, 2, 3... partitions).

_________________
# 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
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boochi99
DD-WRT User


Joined: 31 Jan 2012
Posts: 88
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 19:39    Post subject: Reply with quote
As I said I am no guru. The chatter over at linksys.info is unclear on that. If jarapablo does not have his CFE backed up and it is corrupt, what are his other options? You can always change the MAC, SN and IP after the fact with the burn commands.

I would appreciate all the input available on this.

root@DD-WRT:~# cat /proc/mtd
dev: size erasesize name
mtd0: 00080000 00020000 "boot"
mtd1: 00180000 00020000 "nvram"
mtd2: 02000000 00020000 "linux"
mtd3: 01e60000 00020000 "rootfs"
mtd4: 00040000 00020000 "board_data"
mtd5: 05dc0000 00020000 "ddwrt"


strings /dev/mtd0|grep -e mac -e addr
et0macaddr=00:90:4C:0F:F2:a7
et0phyaddr=30
lan_ipaddr=192.168.1.1
addr


That MAC looks generic, so I don't think the CFE contains unit specific information at least for the R7000.

My actual MAC was only listed under the mtd1 (nvram)
jwh7
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 2670
Location: Indy

PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 20:36    Post subject: Reply with quote
boochi99 wrote:
That MAC looks generic, so I don't think the CFE contains unit specific information at least for the R7000.

My actual MAC was only listed under the mtd1 (nvram)
Interesting; thanks for that. And I assume an ifconfig output still matches the nvram address? All my devices (that I've checked) have the real MAC in the CFE. E.g. the EA6900 Xvortex custom CFE, one has to hexedit their correct WAN/LAN/Wireless MACs before flashing. Similar w/ the old WRT54 VxWorks devices that needed the MAC set by the user, as part of the conversion process. Did you happen to check your board_data partition strings? Just curious; maybe board_data is compressed or something...
_________________
# 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
boochi99
DD-WRT User


Joined: 31 Jan 2012
Posts: 88
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 21:01    Post subject: Reply with quote
ifconfig shows the correct mac as is in nvram.

corrupted boardid was ▒▒▒8Z▒i▒▒&}▒lu=▒8▒%▒tX#0){▒
or similar if i remember correctly.

I had to "burnboardid U12H270T00 NETGEAR" to fix.
jwh7
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 2670
Location: Indy

PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 23:13    Post subject: Reply with quote
boochi99 wrote:
I had to "burnboardid U12H270T00 NETGEAR" to fix.
I mean `strings /dev/mtd4|grep -e mac -e addr` Smile

Ref: mtd4: 00040000 00020000 "board_data"

_________________
# 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
boochi99
DD-WRT User


Joined: 31 Jan 2012
Posts: 88
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 1:47    Post subject: Reply with quote
That command returns nothing on mtd4.
mtd2 and mtd3 both return "8mach#8"
jarapablo
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 03 Apr 2018
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 17:35    Post subject: Reply with quote
It's always good to know all the details behind the code of the routers... I am an Electronics Engineer who haven't done electronics for almost 15 years, I am just stuck in the corporate world...

Going back to the router, the thing that doesn't make much sense to me is that the router works perfect (and saves the config) in Tomato and Stock firmware (I am not going back to Merlin because boochi99 made me scared), so I guess there is still something in dd WRT that is not working properly, right?... Why are other firmwares able to save the config but ddWRT isn't?...

In summary, I got the router a few weeks ago and I still can return it. So, for my peace of mind, I will get it exchanged and will install ddWRT from scratch. Is there something you want me to check on the "broken" one before I return it?
boochi99
DD-WRT User


Joined: 31 Jan 2012
Posts: 88
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 22:37    Post subject: Reply with quote
XWRT-Vortex will still work on the router and perform well, but the code in 384 (NG) did indeed damage the CFE. Before this branch came out i could freely move back and forth without issue. I fixed mine, but not without some serious headache. I will never be an early adopter of a ported firmware ever again and that is exactly what that whole project is over there. Since you have a way out, go for it.
nick323
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 28 Mar 2015
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Mon Apr 09, 2018 17:12    Post subject: Reply with quote
boochi99 wrote:
First, did you ever try and put a custom cfe on the router in the first place, most people don't?

Second, what version of cfe are you at now. That would appear in the serial string like mine showed.

Third, does yours look anything like mine especially that "nvram erase" line?

Fourth, have you run the telnet burn commands from the netgear fw to see if you had corrupted data like sn, mac etc. Those commands did not work for me under a dd-wrt telnet window. If they are corrupted, I would correct them before proceeding any further.

The CFE from what I have been able to come up with is generic for a specific model and version router. If you had 1.0.21 for instance, it should be the exact same stock image as mine. The router specific mac, sn and wifipass are stored elsewhere.

I will help you as much as I can, just remember I am no guru at this.


Hi boochi99. I'll get a USB to TTL serial cable shortly to see what I get.

I've never flashed a custom CFE on my R7000 since loading XWRT Vortex 384.

I'm sure it has that "nvram erase" line every time I reboot DD WRT. DD WRT is what I want and it's giving me a headache.

I'm hoping I can get a copy of your saved CFE file from you if all checks out the same.

Thanks.
steelskinz
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 01 May 2008
Posts: 12
Location: France

PostPosted: Wed May 02, 2018 11:50    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hi there, i got the same prob after flashing the 384 NG and revert back to 380.70.

I have the same MAC address as you guy :
et0macaddr=00:90:4C:0F:F2:a7

'strings /dev/mtd4|grep -e mac -e addr'
returns ~macL+

I never flash custom CFE but haven't done a backup before.

Any advice on that ? Does flashing Netgear last firmware could update the CFE to a proper one ? Thanks.
boochi99
DD-WRT User


Joined: 31 Jan 2012
Posts: 88
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Wed May 02, 2018 16:13    Post subject: Reply with quote
No the stock firmware will not fix the damage to the cfe. You will have to restore an undamaged copy. Luckily the cfe on the R7000 is generic. One was posted a while back that can be used, but first I highly recommend that you read all the posts I have made on this issue.

cfe here.
https://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=919689

read
https://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1125878&highlight=#1125878

Be careful and change the name "stock-cfe.bin" to the one in the first link.
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