Joined: 22 Jun 2018 Posts: 25 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 4:37 Post subject: Linksys WRT300N v1 - radio is OFF and I cannot turn it on!
OK, I know from many days of searching that this topic is (a) is for an old model and (b) has been widely covered before. However, despite pulling the rest of my (fast diminishing!) hair out, and probably opening myself up to all sorts of gentle chiding, I'll admit defeat and see if I can tap into the obvious expertise that exists here.
As some background - I've been a long time use of DD-WRT and a great fan. I've successfully flashed a number of routers (including my current TPLink, which is working superbly) - including, I should add, the said WRT300N.
And here's my problem. I suppose it might be called the 'why-the-hell-didn't-I-leave-well-alone' syndrome! The WRT300N v1 router had been previously flashed with DD-WRT (v24-sp2(08/07/10)std) and had been working perfectly for three or so years at my sons's place. They recently moved, and I took the router back. He then called me and suggested he'd like to use it again - ISP supplied router just not cutting it for wifi coverage. Here's where it gets awkward.... So, I thought I'd better check the router; it worked OK; radio signal OK but then in a brain f**t, thought I'd 'update' it with a later firmware.
Well, did everything as per 'peacock thread' (as always) and when it came back on - in the status - wireless tab "radio is off". Checked on my computer - sure enough, no radio signal. Logged in via telnet and tried 'wl radio' to get the response 'driver adapter not found'. That's when I started looking for a fix. So, I have tried just about everything. I have built a JTAG cable (and, yes, I was a professional electronics engineer, so pretty sure that's OK); followed the instructions for WRT300N in the forum and have reflashed the cfe; reflashed the original Linksys firmware - and still no radio. I've reflashed the firmware with the mini- build for WRT300n v1 and upgraded to the original version that was on there before I started this craziness. Still NO radio. Can I say - I am as confident as I can be that there are NO electronic failures; the power supply is the same one that has been working for years (2A capacity); I've 'pulled' the radio card and reinserted (and, yes, with the power off!); tried a 30-30-30 - so many times I can count 30 seconds in my sleep! - reset the password as requested; but all to no avail. Everything else in the router works except that da**d radio!
May I add that I have had enormous frustration with trying to reach some of the areas suggested in earlier posts? Non of the CFE FTP sites appear to be active - I managed to find a CFE for the router in another post. In a post about this issues back in 2009 (yes, I know it was 9 years ago!), 'dellsweig' wrote: Also - for the Broadcom N stuff use this build:
Well, even reading between the lines, that link just goes nowhere. The 'eko' directory under 'others' in the downloads area certainly doesn't include anything like that - or am I just really missing something? In that early post, the poster appeared to say it had fixed the problem - you can see why I thought it worthwhile to try it. So there we are. A sad and sorry story and now I will throw myself on the tender mercies in this fantastic forum and see what I can glean.... Thanks so much in advance for ANY assistance!
Joined: 22 Jun 2018 Posts: 25 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 7:49 Post subject: Linksys WRT300N v1 - radio is OFF and I cannot turn it on!
A bit more information about my post (above). When the router had the original Linksys firmware installed, it showed an empty space on the wireless page where the wireless adapter MAC address would normally be. That's not the case with the DD-WRT firmware - there is a MAC address showing, as you'd expect. It is almost as if flashing the 'incorrect' firmware on to it has somehow 'turned off' the radio - even 'hiding it' from the reflashed firmware - original or DD-WRT. And, now it is 'off', and 'hidden' from the newer firmware, it somehow can't - easily - be turned on again. Is this feasible? is there a parameter in the firmware that can 'hide' the radio hardware? (Excuse my simplistic statements - but hopefully, readers will understand what I am trying to get at! )
Joined: 22 Jun 2018 Posts: 25 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2018 14:47 Post subject: Linksys WRT300N v1 - radio is OFF and I cannot turn it on!
Hello 'barryware', and thanks so much for your prompt and very helpful reply. I'll try and answer your questions, and add comments where necessary.
You ask if I saved the original cfe, and why did I flash it? Well, I'm almost embarrassed to say that after finding that an obviously incorrect DD-WRT version firmware flash had 'turned off' the radio (which, you might recall, had been working perfectly just before), I did a lot of searching and found a post that suggested I might fix the problem by trying to 'erase' some of the flashable areas via telnet. I probably overdid it - obviously destoyed the cfe, and yes, I performed a save before flashing new cfe but it was obvious that there was nothing there left to save!!
I'll leave an answer to 'anything interesting while booting' until another post, as I need to fix up a serial adapter / cable.
The cfe I flashed was one that I found embedded in a post - after a great deal of frustration, since NONE of the supposed FTP servers with cfe software on them appear to be active (including, I might add the one referenced in that DD-WRT bible - the Peacock Thread). It had a file name that referenced the MAC address embedded in it, and as you might expect, the data at 0x1E00 is that MAC address (00:18:39:6F:5D:CF - actually 0x1E00 contains 00 but I think you'd know that). I've done a bit comparison of the cfe you very kindly supplied against the one I originally flashed, and I can see in yours, you have - I assume - modified the MAC address to 00:18:F8:00:00:01. However, to make sure, I have, as you suggested, reflashed using your supplied cfe and reinstalled the stock Linksys firmware (v0.93.3) - all, I'm afraid to no avail. The radio is still very firmly off! In short, not an iota of difference. Still, no MAC address shown in the (Linksys formware) Status - Wireless tab, and no evidence of a radio signal.
I have to add that while I agree that it is a possibility that the wireless card has failed concurrently with an incorrect flash, I really do feel that the probability of that happening is almost zero! It is just too coincidental. Working - perfectly - one minute with DD-WRT. A bad / foolish version flash - not working the next. That just has to suggest that there was something in that flash that turned the radio off - semi-permanently. I could be wrong (and very, VERY unlucky!) - I accept that. But, again, the probability is almost impossibly small.
So that's where I'm currently at. Linksys firmware successfully flashed. New cfe successfully flashed. But still NO radio. I'll set-up a serial connection tomorrow and let you know the results as I boot up. Meanwhile, can I again politely ask why it appears to be so difficult to 'find' the DD-WRT version that was suggested to be the 'gold standard' for this router? The download area seems to be very different from how many links in the forum suggest it should look? Is this by design?
Thanks again for all your help - it is really appreciated!
Last edited by mikeinnc on Sun Jun 24, 2018 3:10; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 22 Jun 2018 Posts: 25 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2018 2:22 Post subject:
Hello Barryware - next installment! As requested, and as I promised, attached is a zipped text file of the boot messages that appear on the internal serial port as I boot the stock Linksys firmware. It's long - which is why I have zipped it rather than posted it directly - but a couple of lines I note that seem to be repeated and are possibly (probably?) relevant are:
<Line #154> Using /lib/modules/2.4.20/kernel/drivers/net/wl/wl.o
insmod: init_module: wl: No such device
<Line 187> Write wireless mac fail : : No such device
A question? Excuse my uncertainty, but is there a separate flash memory and CPU associated with the radio module (which is a PCI-type pluggable module) that has somehow been changed? Some specific bits that turn on or turn off the radio?
Should I now try flashing a DD-WRT firmware, and repeat the process? And, if so, which one?
Many thanks again - Mike
WRT300N_Linksys_Firmware_boot_info.zip
Description:
The text seen on the internal serial port when the router boots into stock Linksys firmware.
Joined: 22 Jun 2018 Posts: 25 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2018 3:09 Post subject:
Just a few more comments. I have flashed the router with the recommended (as in the wiki entry) v24_min-300n firmware. Again, I've collected the text entry from the internal serial port and it's again zipped and attached (below). Interesting lines appear to be 103 through 105; 107 through 110, 115 and 116 '/usr/sbin/wl:radio on ->wl driver adapter not found' and 133 'get_wl_instance doesnt return the right value 0'
There IS now a MAC address Status > Wireless tab (00:18:F8:00:00:03) but - not surprisingly! - 'Radio is Off'
Hope this is of assistance?
Thanks - Mike
WRT300N_DD-WRTv24mini_Firmware_boot_info.zip
Description:
The serial port text on booting the DD-WRT v24mini-300N firmware
Joined: 22 Jun 2018 Posts: 25 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2018 0:08 Post subject: Linksys WRT300N v1 - radio is OFF and I cannot turn it on!
Just another small, and maybe insignificant point. Last night, with the room in darkness and the router on, I could see that the 'wifi' LED was glowing very dimly. At first, I thought it was a reflection from another LED through the clear plastic 'light-pipe', but it wasn't. It is definitely on, but very dim. Significant? It might not be - but it could be another clue as to the issue. Oh, and still no radio......
Joined: 22 Jun 2018 Posts: 25 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 7:24 Post subject:
OK, well a week has gone by and no-one wants to reply. That's fine - I understand that the WRT300N is an old router and maybe people are thing 'what's he messing around with that for?' I've not been inactive - looking everywhere to see if I can work out just what has happened. I'm still very much of the thought that a bug in an obviously incorrect flash has 'turned off' the radio and nothing wants to turn it back on again. (And, yes, I'm sorry but I have found a comment in the Open-WRT site that actually confirms that there was such a problem - maybe not with DD-WRT, but it certainly raises concerns. It says:
"brcm47xx: drop old patch disabling cardbus mode on Netgear WNR834B
First of all this patch was affecting other devices, not just Netgear WNR834B. E.g. Linksys WRT300N v1 also has boardtype 0x0472.This was breaking PCI on WRT300N, ssb couldn't detect core working inhostmode (due to mips_busprobe32 failing)."
So, is there any chance a similar process was included in DD-WRT? It would certainly explain my problems. I understand that there is a protected area of NVRAM that keeps a copy of the parameters for the specific router - and, in theory, that should be utilised when flashing a new CFE. However, my guess is that somehow I've deleted that data and so every firmware flash - even if it is correctly set-up - is 'seeing' a NVRAM with, apparently, no radio device. The data seen during booting appears to show this. Since there's no radio found, the wl module appears not to be set-up and that's why I see 'no adapter found'. I guess that the only way I'm going to fix this is to have a specific model cfe - and/or a 'map' of the NVRAM area? I suppose I might be able to somehow rewrite that 'protected' data to include the radio device (it's a cardbus radio in this router).
So, again, I will ask the question - does ANYONE have a working link to a cfe repository? Every one referred to in numerous forum posts is currently inactive!! An even more obtuse question - can anyone confirm my thoughts? Anyone have a map or details of the NVRAM parameters? Yes, it's an old router, but like a dog with a bone, I don't want to let go!!
Joined: 22 Jun 2018 Posts: 25 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:26 Post subject: Somewhat vindicated!
After posting last entry, I suddenly had a thought. If the WRT330Nv1 radio is a PCI 'cardbus' card, then if my hunch that there is nothing wrong with it is correct, it should work in a laptop PCMCIA slot. I have an older Lenovo laptop, successfully running Mint Linux v18 and so I unscrewed the cardbus radio module from the router chassis and plugged it in the PCMCIA slot. It showed up in the 'driver manager' application, with three driver options. The first - bcmwl-kernel-source - was given as the recommended option, so I tried that. It didn't seem to do much - no recognition of the card. So I tried the second option - firmware-b43-installer. And it worked! The network icon immediately showed two radios - the internal Lenovo one and a new, second option - Broadcom BCM4321 b/g/n. I turned off the Lenovo radio; also turned off the Ethernet port (as the laptop is normally 'wired') - and the total proof that there is NOTHING wrong with the radio hardware is that I am posting this via that link!!
It's a small but significant victory. It absolutely proves beyond any reasonable doubt that there is nothing wrong with the radio card. So - back to the next battle. What is it that is not allowing the firmware to "see" the radio when it is installed in the router? What is missing from the NVRAM image? If you've an answer - or even a hunch - please share it! There must be a huge amount of collective knowledge out there.......
Joined: 22 Jun 2018 Posts: 25 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 8:37 Post subject: YES!! At last! It works....
Well, at last I've fixed the problem! After proving to myself last night that there was nothing at all wrong with the radio hardware, I doubled down on my efforts to fix this ridiculous problem. I had a multitude of sources on the web that helped. But a special mention to those people who convinced me that the way to go was to make certain my CFE file had the MAC addresses of MY hardware in it before flashing. I did that, using the great tool from Jeremy Collake at https://bitsum.com/openwiking/owbase/WRT54G5_CFE/ (and while I'm at it, he deserves a plug for his fabulous program 'Process Lasso' which I'd find it difficult to live without!). That enabled me to write the two MAC addresses into the CFE.bin file and save it. Apparently, it doesn't rewrite the checksum, but this doesn't seem to matter as it gets fixed while flashing.
So, I then erased everything using Jtag. CFE; kernel; wholeflash. The works! Then I flashed the new corrected CFE - and to my surprise, the wifi light came on shortly after! I then flashed the original Linksys firmware; did a 30-30-30 reset and held my breath. And wifi!! Finally, another 30-30-30 and flashed the DD-WRT.v24-mini dated 24MAY2008 - and it still worked!!
So what can I deduce from this? Well, if anything, it is that you MUST set the correct MAC addresses into the CFE file before flashing it. The base address (eth0) is found on the bottom of the front cover and eth1 is that plus 1 (remembering it's hex!). What is interesting, though, is that yesterday, when I had the radio card plugged into a PCMCIA slot, it showed the MAC address of the radio as one number (with an OUI of Epigram Inc) yet now it is back in the router and working, it is eth2 with a MAC address of (base + 2). But hey - who cares? It's working again - and maybe.....just maybe, this tale of woe, stupidity (on my part); despair and ultimate joy will be useful to someone else. I hope so!!
Thanks again to all who post - here and everywhere, because its you who helped.
Joined: 22 Jun 2018 Posts: 25 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 8:03 Post subject: WRT300N v1 - a couple more general questions
So, yes - the router is still working. Fantastic. But - a couple of general questions that I'm sure someone could answer.
I found some notes from when it was working BS (that's before stupidity.... ) and they tell me that I was previously using v24-sp2_std_build_14896. That worked well - and had been loaded for at least a couple of years.
Now, I'm not saying I want to update - the build v24_mini_build 9526 dated 24May2008 and finally loaded yesterday is working just fine, and there's probably no good reason to change. But - if I did, here are my two questions:
a. Why can I not apparently find any -sp2 releases? Have they all been deleted? I'm certainly unable to now find that release on-line.
b. It is quite likely that I actually have a copy of that release. But - how can I tell? For example, I appear to have at least three copies of files named dd-wrt.v24_std_generic.bin. That's how it has downloaded. No indication at all of version number. Only the dates are different - and even those appear to be the download date. So, my second question is - is there any way (hex editor etc?) that I can determine what release a file is?
That's probably where you'll find the build you were using previously that you're looking for. I don't think there's any 'official' SP2 v2.4, v2.6, etc builds as this firmware has been in beta for 10 years. I guess it all depends on your stance on security and stability as to what build to go with, but I'm no expert on what to recommend for that specific device without doing some legwork a la letting my fingers doing the ticking and clicking....
Joined: 22 Jun 2018 Posts: 25 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 0:26 Post subject:
Thanks so much, kernel-panic. Those two links are invaluable! I've downloaded both the recommended files - mini and generic - and this time made sure I've renamed them (eg dd-wrt.v24_mini_wrt300n-r14929 (recommended).bin) so I don't forget what they are in my dotage......! I have reflashed the router with the recommended mini- version (I probably don't need the additional functionality in the std version for now) and all appears to be fine. A working backup / loan router at last! (and certainly learnt a lot along the way.)
Thanks so much, kernel-panic. Those two links are invaluable! I've downloaded both the recommended files - mini and generic - and this time made sure I've renamed them (eg dd-wrt.v24_mini_wrt300n-r14929 (recommended).bin) so I don't forget what they are in my dotage......! I have reflashed the router with the recommended mini- version (I probably don't need the additional functionality in the std version for now) and all appears to be fine.
Good to hear its working I hope by 'recommended mini' that you mean 14929, because 14896 is a bad build, as noted in the Peacock Announcement. From what I've read, you should really read that and the Firmware FAQ which has e.g. download links and much more background info. Happy DD'ing. _________________ #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
Joined: 08 May 2018 Posts: 14247 Location: Texas, USA
Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 14:10 Post subject:
Glad to be of help. I'm still wondering if there may be a newer firmware build that is stable for your device, but I'd have to re-look through the build threads or do a search to see if there's anyone still maintaining any of those. I know that I have seen more recent firmware builds for them still, but without one to run the gamut of going build by build to see for myself, I'd just be blindly guessing without some research. Maybe someone will chime in....
