Correct Build for WNDR4000?

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internic
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 13 Oct 2017
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sat Oct 14, 2017 13:10    Post subject: Correct Build for WNDR4000? Reply with quote
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.

Recommendations I have found so far:

The router database says to use
Quote:
dd-wrt.v24-21061_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR4000.chk
dd-wrt.v24-21061_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega-nv64k.bin
dd-wrt.v24-21061_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-nv64k.bin

but many places in the forum say not to trust the router database.

The supported devices wiki page says that the minimum usable version for the WNDR4000 is
Quote:
K26 build 17201 20110614


The What is DD-WRT wiki page has a section about what build to use on a Broadcom router, but my chipset does not appear to be covered at all.


The wiki page on the WNDR4000 recommends
Quote:
dd-wrt.v24-21676_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR4000.chk


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
Quote:
ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2010/08-12-10-r14929/broadcom_K26/


It's also apparent that some of the text in the Peacock thread is out of date, for example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but the post it links to on that topic says that it is obsolete and links to another post that says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?

  1. Since my router currently has stock firmware, I have to start by flashing a "trailed" firmware image that ends in mini-WNDR4000.chk
  2. After I flash the "trailed" build, I can install any other build that is appropriate for my router.
  3. Per the Supported Devices page I shouldn't use any build earlier than 17201.
  4. I must use a K26 build, because K26 definitely is supposed to work on my router, and that implies K24 is not supported.


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)

  1. Security (build is new enough that any important security-related patches will have been applied)
  2. Stability
  3. Features (this is a distant 3rd, because I don't imagine that I will be a power user)


Any help would be appreciated.
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mrjcd
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 31 Jan 2015
Posts: 6268
Location: Texas

PostPosted: Sat Oct 14, 2017 14:56    Post subject: Reply with quote
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.

Why don't you use this --
ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2017/08-25-2017-r33215/broadcom_K3X/dd-wrt.v24-33215_NEWD-2_K3.x_mega-nv64k.bin

Fairly decent build and jwh7 says its okeydokey on his here -
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1092074#1092074

Not sure about any newer builds --- some have lots trouble.
Should read 'New Build' posts.
jwh7
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 2670
Location: Indy

PostPosted: Sat Oct 14, 2017 15:50    Post subject: Reply with quote
Tru dat. Smile
mrjcd wrote:
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,
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internic
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 13 Oct 2017
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sat Oct 14, 2017 17:24    Post subject: Reply with quote
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.
jwh7
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 2670
Location: Indy

PostPosted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 0:17    Post subject: Reply with quote
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.

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# 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
internic
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 13 Oct 2017
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 3:56    Post subject: Reply with quote
jwh7 wrote:
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.
tedm
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 13 Mar 2009
Posts: 554

PostPosted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 7:25    Post subject: OK flashes for WNDR4000 Reply with quote
Build 33492 K2.6 nv64k mega flashes and boots
Build 32868 K3.X nv64k mega flashes and boots

Be careful with larger K3.x builds see
https://secure.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1098168

7808 KB flash is the limit if you have 256k CFE
7936 KB flash is the limit if you have 128k CFE
internic
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 13 Oct 2017
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:48    Post subject: Probably all for not Reply with quote
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. Sad

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.
Malachi
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 17 Jul 2012
Posts: 7209
Location: Columbus, Ohio

PostPosted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 8:20    Post subject: Reply with quote
Try a different power adapter if you can.
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I am far from a guru, I'm barely a novice.
jwh7
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 2670
Location: Indy

PostPosted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 13:39    Post subject: Re: Probably all for not Reply with quote
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
danshyu
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 22 Nov 2011
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 2:14    Post subject: Re: Probably all for not Reply with quote
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. Sad

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?
vinnie97
DD-WRT User


Joined: 30 Jan 2009
Posts: 86

PostPosted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 7:37    Post subject: Reply with quote
Does the latest recommended build as listed below resolve the Krack vulnerability?

dd-wrt.v24-21061_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega-nv64k

Nevermind, I see we need build 33525. The only problem is our router isn't listed in the betas here:

ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2017/

EDIT:

The Broadcom_K26 build is the one that should work without any size constraints, correct?

ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2017/10-10-2017-r33492/broadcom_K26/
jakeroxs
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 17 Oct 2017
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 21:58    Post subject: Reply with quote
vinnie97 wrote:
Does the latest recommended build as listed below resolve the Krack vulnerability?

dd-wrt.v24-21061_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega-nv64k

Nevermind, I see we need build 33525. The only problem is our router isn't listed in the betas here:

ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2017/

EDIT:

The Broadcom_K26 build is the one that should work without any size constraints, correct?

ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2017/10-10-2017-r33492/broadcom_K26/


Based on my testing:

DD-WRT v3.0-r33525 mini (10/17/17) with
Linux 2.6.24.111 #32812 Tue Oct 17 00:56:08 CEST 2017 mips
http://ftp.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/betas/2017/10-17-2017-r33525/broadcom_K26/dd-wrt.v24-33525_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-nv64k.bin
Seems to work fine

DD-WRT v3.0-r33006 (08/03/17) with
Linux 3.10.107 #15472 Thu Aug 3 12:11:03 CEST 2017 mips
http://ftp.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/betas/2017/08-03-2017-r33006/broadcom_K3X/dd-wrt.v24-33006_NEWD-2_K3.x_mega-nv64k.bin
Is the Latest K3X build that is small enough to flash.


DD-WRT v3.0-r33525 mega (10/17/17) with
Linux 2.6.24.111 #32814 Tue Oct 17 00:57:31 CEST 2017 mips
http://ftp.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/betas/2017/10-17-2017-r33525/broadcom_K26/dd-wrt.v24-33525_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega-nv64k.bin
DOES NOT WORK - DHCP Failure?
vinnie97
DD-WRT User


Joined: 30 Jan 2009
Posts: 86

PostPosted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 23:40    Post subject: Reply with quote
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.
jwh7
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 2670
Location: Indy

PostPosted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 2:33    Post subject: Reply with quote
jakeroxs wrote:
DD-WRT v3.0-r33006 (08/03/17) with
Linux 3.10.107 #15472 Thu Aug 3 12:11:03 CEST 2017 mips
http://ftp.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/betas/2017/08-03-2017-r33006/broadcom_K3X/dd-wrt.v24-33006_NEWD-2_K3.x_mega-nv64k.bin
Is the Latest K3X build that is small enough to flash.
It was just discussed a few posts above that k3x 33215 works fine. I'm running it. Smile
_________________
# 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
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