Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 15:57 Post subject: Linksys EA6900 Corruption w/ maxpartialboots
Good morning,
I have a Linksys EA6900 running CFE 1.3.0.7. This is now the second time this has happened so I figured I'd turn to the pros.
My working theory is this...
I have multiple partitions -- FreshTomato on 1, DD-WRT (v24-sp2 std) on 2. Whenever the maxpartialboots is triggered (eg: power outage during a storm), the router flips from FreshTomato to DD-WRT. When this happens, it retains "some" of the configuration -- WAN settings, for example. However, it's almost like when DD-WRT touches this "shared" configuration, it corrupts it in some capacity.
I can telnet in w/ DD-WRT and manually toggle the boot partition and get back into FreshTomato -- however, now it is essentially bricked and I have to go through a ton of hoops to factory reset, etc.
So my question is...
Is there a way to just disable the maxpartialboots setting entirely? Or how has everyone else done this?
Joined: 08 May 2018 Posts: 14248 Location: Texas, USA
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 16:26 Post subject:
My suggestion is pick which 3rd party firmware you're going to run and not try and have two different firmwares coexist. The reason is obvious as you've pointed out already. _________________ "Life is but a fleeting moment, a vapor that vanishes quickly; All is vanity"
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How can I force load tomato into the second partition? I saw a blurb on the Wiki that DD-WRT supports it via the wget command -- can I just boot into DD-WRT, wget http://tomato.fw linux1 and everything magically installs/decompresses?
Joined: 18 Mar 2014 Posts: 12917 Location: Netherlands
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 17:22 Post subject:
I agree with @kp69, not only should you pick one (and I would choose DDWRT ), I would convert the EA6900 so that it can use the full 64 K NVRAM, Freshtomato has a guide to do that so has DDWRT:
That's fair. I thought simply replacing the CFE eliminated said bug?
Edit: Just checked the Tomato side of things -- looks like I'm in the clear based on this:
Used / Total NVRAM: 43.11 KB / 64.00 KB
So -- I guess it's just trying to force firmware onto partition 2 that's the next step. Anytime I try to do it from that partition, and run the upgrade through the GUI, it only flashes partition 1.
P.S.2 For newer @XVortex CFE - like 1.3.0.7 there is a difference in MAC calculation and more info can be found on:
ASUSWRT Merlin Build 384.5 or later ON Linksys EA6900 or EA6700
Joined: 18 Mar 2014 Posts: 12917 Location: Netherlands
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 18:54 Post subject:
@kp69, you are not old and senile, you are in the prime of your life
The "problem" at least with DDWRT and the EA6900 is that if you upgrade via the GUI it writes to linux2 because the router advertises itself as an EA6900 and DDWRT still thinks it has dual partitions and writes to linux2
My own build writes to linux but of course public builds do not so in our guide (I do not know about freshtomato) states that you can not use the GUI to update but have to use the command line and have to update to "linux"
Alternatively you can probably let the EA6900 identify itself an Asus AC68U but I have not tried that.
Bottom line at least for DDWRT you have to update via the CLI, from the guide (use the latest build this is just an example):
I guess stepping back here -- why is there still 2 (or more) partitions at all? Looking at some of your previous posts -- I thought simply replacing the CFE would have the router redo the partition schemes on boot/remove the second partition entirely -- something like:
Joined: 08 May 2018 Posts: 14248 Location: Texas, USA
Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2022 0:02 Post subject:
egc wrote:
@kp69, you are not old and senile, you are in the prime of your life
Nice redirect, I feel the love
egc wrote:
The "problem" at least with DDWRT and the EA6900 is that if you upgrade via the GUI it writes to linux2 because the router advertises itself as an EA6900 and DDWRT still thinks it has dual partitions and writes to linux2
I think the intention was to flip-flop partitions with every flash(?), but it may be broken(?).
I don't see anything that specifically addresses EA6900 and similar in the webUI upgrade functions, but I trust your judgement (it's probably a call from an mtd write function and I'm just getting too old and senile to see it that quickly ):
Are you still trying to have FreshTomato and DD-WRT coexist as previously pointed out not to? _________________ "The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep." - Robert Frost
"I am one of the noticeable ones - notice me" - Dale Frances McKenzie Bozzio
Are you asking how to start over clean, reinstall FreshTomato or Xwrt-Vortex with custom bootloader CFE v1.3.0.7?
If so, well maybe someone will help you here with their experience but for the most part this is for a search engine.
Seems linux2 isn't overwritten, but FT CFE Xwrt have different mtd partition layouts. ASUS Recovery? TFTP? Serial?
There is also miniweb server method? Might need old browser such as Firefox 45.9.0. LinksysInfo: one, two, three
Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 8:57 Post subject: Re: Power Outage -- 3 times, ~5 minutes apart
Windows features > additional programs > tftp
an appropriate tftp line ie tftp 192.168.1.1 put filenamehere.bin in one command prompt ready to go.
Cmd "ping 192.168.1.1 -t" from another, as soon as you see a ping response 100, press enter, if it fails, press up and try again.
Try the different things.
Just had a similar thing moving from fresh tomato to dd-wrt.
If you get it back alive, write dd-wrt to "linux" and "linux2/dd-wrt" and stick to the firmware you prefer, don't mix and match so much.