[BootlegBill]

Hello everyone, I'm new on these forums, but not new to DD-WRT, my technical prowess is higher then most other people - I program computers as a hobby, crack/hack data, build/repair/upgrade computers, I can solder PCBs, and I can save an entire nation from a nuclear Holocaust using only a toothpick and a paperclip.
(I'm kidding about that last one - a reference to McGuyver.)

I've previously flashed the firmware on my Linksys WRT54GL v1.1 successfully, it was working great for about a year and a half.

however, a recent incident of my own negligence has caused it to brick - whenever I want to lounge in my yard with my laptop, I usually sit the router in the window to get optimal signal strength, (because it was easier to do then to wire up an RF amp and a secondary antennae - I'm often lazy also.) otherwise I tend to get packet loss from the thick stone walls in my home and the one dividing the patio.

long story short, I forgot to bring it in one evening and it rained overnight. the next morning, I found it dripping wet. along with my carpet
so I unplugged it and left it to dry in the sun while a space heater and box fan aimed at the floor dried the carpet.

when I returned later that evening, I plugged the router back in and alas, the LEDs were remaining lit:

power: on
dmz: off
wlan: off, unless I depress the SAS button; goes out when released
all 4 port lights: on
internet: on, sometimes off if I power cycle the unit
no LEDs blink, ever.

[BootlegBill]

I've tried to TFTP a new flash of Linksys' firmware, but I can't even get the router to ping.

PC network config:
IP: 192.168.1.10
Netmask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1

ping -t 192.168.1.1
host unreachable
host unreachable
host unreachable
...etc...

power cycling has no effect.
30/30/30 reset has no effect.
(begging and swearing at it has no effect either.

finally, I got frustrated and took it apart.
from what I see, and under a magnifying glass, every single solder joint on the PCB is making contact and isn't cracked anywhere, and there doesn't seem to be any water damage to any of the components, the capacitors look normal, there isn't any burn marks on the PCB that would indicate a severe short-circut; I've checked everything with a multi-meter, except for the IC's.

[BootlegBill]

so I read up on the revival guide found in the wiki here and found the JTAG guide then went to the electronics store.

I bought:
1 Male 25-pin DSUB crimp-style connector
1 DSUB pin insert/extraction tool
3 packs of 100ohm resistors (5/pack, I figured I should keep some spares handy)
1 pack of colored shrink tubing

I know the guide said to use a 6-inch ribbon, but I figured I'd make a permanent JTAG interface for the device instead. after all, it's really cheap to make them, and I don't think I'll have a use for another anyway.
so, I crimped the DSUB pins diretly on to the 100 ohm resistors and 2 ground wires, applied a dab of solder to the joints to ensure a solid connection, inserted the pins into the DSUB as follows:

DSUB
02 -----[100]------(red)
03 -----[100]------(orange)
04 -----[100]------(yellow)
13 -----[100]------(green)
20 -\
25 -+--------------(black)

after which, I applied the shrink tubing around each resistor leaving only about 2 CM exposed and making sure that each shrink tube was a different color, as noted above. the ground wire has it's own insulation.

I located the 12-hole JTAG port on the router PCB:

JTAG port
+-----------------+ +---
|11|09|07|05|03|01| |LEDs
|12|10|08|06|04|02| |
+-----------------+ +---

Ground wire was soldered in to hole 06, with a jumper wire bridging it to hole 12.
Red tubed resistor (TDI, DSUB pin 02) in hole 03
Orange tubed resistor (TCK, DSUB pin 03) in hole 09
Yellow tubed resistor (TMS, DSUB pin 04) in hole 07
Green tubed resistor (TD0, DSUB pin 13) in hole 05


I'm almost certain this is the proper configuration, but I wouldn't mind a second or third opinion.

[BootlegBill]

now I have a permanent JTAG interface on the PCB, and it seems to fit nicely inside the case where the PCB cut-out is.

while my soldering iron was still hot and I had the router open, I figured NOW would be a good time to rig up that RF amplifier and secondary antennae, in hopes that when/if this thing gets de-bricked, I won't have to set it in the window anymore.

I plugged the interface in the back of my desktop
(had to lay the tower down sideways so the 3 inch adapter would reach and rest properly)

downloaded the HairyDairyMaid (omg, what a name!) Debricker v4.8 and extracted it to my desktop
(as "HDM" to shorten the folder name)

the loader exe and "giveio.sys" were copied to
C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\
(old PC that still runs WinXP)

I installed/started the loader, start->run->"cmd"


...now this gets tricky...
I'm not able to copy/paste the output as the PC the device is connected to and this laptop I'm currently posting this message on, no longer share connectivity which means my network-based KVM no longer works either; so I'm writing out most of what I see on the screen.

\>cd desktop
Desktop\> cd hdm
Desktop\HDM\> cd windows
Desktop\HDM\Windows\>wrt54g -probeonly /noemw

[BootlegBill]

...more forum searching, and on wiki...
I came across the "risky" reset.
I've located the flash chip on the PCB
"MX29LV320DBT-I70" is written on it. (or at least, that's what I can see, it's hard even under bright light and a magnifying glass!)
strapping on my anti-static wristband, I shorted pins 16 & 17, while it was plugged in and yielded no effect.

getting more frustrated, I ran the wire across every pin on both sides; somewhere near pins 1 and 10, all of the LEDs went out and re-lit as they were before when the wire was removed.

attempting the third risky trick, I soldered the end of the wire to the ground side of the left antenta connector and ran the wire across each pin while plugged in; same effect as shorting the pins from above.

interestingly enough, I ran that same wire across the other chip on the PCB, marked "HY5DU281622FTP-5" and the power light starts blinking. whether this is a good sign, I'm not sure, but it's the most response I got out of the damn thing.
a google search said that chip was a(n) 128MB DDR SDRAM
which I find odd, since I thought that this particular model only had 16MB RAM.



at any rate, "Quit" is not in my dictionary, I'm very tenacious, but also desperate. I do not have the money to spare right now to go buy a new router, but I need the router to perform career-related tasks.

in total, I've spent about 15 consecutive hours trying to get this thing debricked on my own before posting here.

Please help.


-- Bill


PS. Sorry for multi-posting, it wouldn't allow me to post everything all at once.

[Murrkf]

There is info that might be helpful in the tjtag wiki article. If you can't tjag it, it is fried.

[BootlegBill]

[LOM]

You'd better buy a new cpu, a new ram, and a new flash chip after having done the pin shorting of every available pin

(you may have the skills you advertised in your opening post but you completely lack basic understanding of electronic circuits)

It is dead Jim..

[barryware]

the freezer trick may be a suitable option at this point

[BootlegBill]

@LOM: I only attempted the shorting trick after I couldn't get it to respond to JTAG.
It's life, but not as we know it; There's Klingons on the starboard bow. (song reference )

@barryware: ok thanks, I'll try that now.

anyways, since everyone insists that it's dead, I looked on eBay for a cheap replacement, I won't know the results for a few days but it'll be using up the last $30 of what I have in my paypal account, post-seasonal shopping :/

meanwhile, I notified my employer and clients of the situation, their not very happy about the delay, but seem to understand.
due to the nature of my employment, I do not get paid until my assigned projects are completed so I'm not a happy camper either.

hopefully the freezer trick will bear fruit and I can shorten that delay until I succeed on eBay.

[Murrkf]

If the freezer trick is "Store it in the freezer until you buy a router that isn't fried"... Barry is right. It might work.

[BootlegBill]

Just an update:

I left the router in the freezer for 2 hours, during which I found a tjtagv3.exe (v3.0 RC1) through a google index search.

removing the router and quickly attached the JTAG interface to my PC, issuing the following command a half-second after turning on the spare power surge switch with my right big-toe:

tjtagv3.exe -erase:wholeflash /noemw /nocwd

[Murrkf]

Try a different ac adapter if you have one of the same voltage at at least the same amperage. Just for kicks.

[BootlegBill]

[Murrkf]

Running 15v would be highly risky. But you could run 5000 amps. The router will only take the amps it needs. But the voltage does need to be correct. YOU probably should not splice anything together.