ASUS RT-G32

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Contents

[edit] Introduction

This is a step by step guide to flashing dd-wrt onto an ASUS RT-G32.

Hardware: ASUS RT-G32 (this is not the Rev B version!)

dd-wrt version: DD-WRT v24-sp2 (11/21/10) std (SVN revision 15778)

OS used to flash: Windows 7

[edit] Preparation

  • Download ASUS firmware. I used RT-G32_V3.0.2.1_RU09.bin
  • Download the ASUS Firmware Restoration tool. I used version 1.0.12.0
  • Network settings needed for ASUS flashing tool.
    • IP: 192.168.1.254
    • Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
    • Gateway 192.168.1.1
    • DNS can be left blank.
    • Set these in Control Panel -> Network Connections -> Local Area Connection -> Properties -> TCP/IP -> Properties on Windows XP.
  • Download asus-to-dd-wrt.bin. Build 15778 has been very stable for me for over a year.
  • You should be connected to the router with a network cable on port 4.

[edit] Try web Asus Software Update

  • If you are fresh out of the box this step is for you. This has worked for some but not others. It is easier than the other method so try it first.
  • If you have old ddwrt firmware go to uninstall old ddwrt firmware.
  1. Browse to the Asus web interface at 192.168.1.1
  2. Select Software Upgrade
  3. Browse to the asus-to-dd-wrt.bin file.
  4. Let it flash and reboot. You now have DD-WRT.

If it doesn't let you flash the file you can skip on to the install dd-wrt using the restore tool.

If you have old ddwrt firmware or other issues the move throw the steps in order (some steps may still tell you to skip ahead if you meet certain conditions).

[edit] Uninstall old ddwrt firmware

[edit] If you already have stock ASUS firmware on your G32 skip this step!

You can move on to the next step if you already have stock asus firmware installed OR if you have installed ddwrt using this guide.

This uninstall section is only meant to help undo changes from the old flashing method that was used before Dec 13 2010. You ONLY have to do this step if you have a ddwrt install from before that date.

[edit] Requirements for this step

  • A TFTP server. I used Tftpd32
  • A telnet client. I used PuTTY
  • A special config file: config.txt. There are links to mirrors of this file at the bottom of this guide.

In this step we will get back to stock ASUS firmware and factory settings. This is important as the newer ddwrt firmware can't be installed on the G32 without starting from a good state.

This step is only needed if you had installed ddwrt on the RT-G32 with the old guide. You might also need to do this if your router is non responsive from some mishap.

In order to flash the router, you'll need to access RedBoot on the router via telnet. You also need to have a tftp server running.

Putty settings for telnet (best to save these since it might take more than one try to connect):

  • Host Name: 192.168.1.1
  • Port: 9000
  • Connection Type: telnet
  • close window on exit: never


[edit] Uninstall old DDWRT

  1. Start the TFTP server.
    Make sure you place the config file you downloaded earlier in its serving directory.
    I'll refer to this file by the name: config
    If you downloaded config.txt then you'll need to use config.txt wherever I use config below.
  2. Connect:
    1. Plug your ethernet cable in to port 4 on the router.
    2. Then plug in the power to the router, wait 2-3 seconds (until you have valid network connection, windows should tell you).
    3. Click "Open" in putty to start your telnet session.
      This may take you a few tries to get it to connect.
    4. This is what the telnet screen shows on connection
      == Executing boot script in 1.920 seconds - enter ^C to abort

      ^C

      RedBoot>
  3. Enter these commands into Redboot (my comments are in parentheses):
    1. fis init
    2. y
    3. ip_address -l 192.168.1.1/24 -h 192.168.1.254
    4. load -r -b %{FREEMEMLO} config
    5. fis create -l 0x00010000 -f 0xBFFD0000 -e 0x00000000 -r 0xBFFD0000 config
    6. fconfig (press enter twice)
    7. fis load -l vmlinux.bin.l7 (you don't have this file but its part of the plan)
    8. exec -c "root=/dev/mtdblock1 of rootfs=squashfs" (press enter 12 times)
    9. y (to the only y or n question)
    10. reset
  4. Close putty and tftpd.
    If you forget to close them you might get socket errors later when you try to use the ASUS Firmware utility.


[edit] Install ASUS firmware using ASUS Firmware Restoration utility

In this step we install a stock firmware using the ASUS Firmware Restoration utility. We do this so in a future step we'll be able to use the ASUS Firmware Restoration utility to install newer versions of ddwrt since for whatever reason the web flash part of the ddwrt doesn't work for the G32.

  1. Start the ASUS Firmware Restoration utility.
  2. Browse to the RT-G32_V3.0.2.1_RU09.bin (or whatever stock firmware version you downloaded).
  3. Unplug the router.
  4. Press and hold the reset button.
  5. Plug the router back in while still holding the reset button.
  6. In 2 to 3 seconds (as soon as you have a valid network connection) press the "Upload" button.
  7. Release the reset button around 3% complete or so.
  8. The router will reboot after installing the firmware.
  9. After reboot browse to 192.168.1.1 -> administration and reset the router to factory defaults.

[edit] Install dd-wrt using ASUS Firmware Restoration utility

[edit] This is the method to install future upgrades of dd-wrt

With this new flashing method G32 users are finally able to get newer builds of dd-wrt consistently despite the web interface not allowing upgrades. Using the ASUS tool it's still pretty easy.

After going through this guide this is the only step you'll need to install new versions of ddwrt. So after having ddwrt on the G32 and you see a newer build you would like to install you just need to do this last step of this guide.

Firmware files can be found here: Where do I download firmware?

[edit] Installation

  1. Start the ASUS Firmware Restoration utility.
  2. Browse to the asus-to-dd-wrt.bin.
  3. Unplug the router.
  4. Press and hold the reset button.
  5. Plug the router back in while still holding the reset button.
  6. In 2 to 3 seconds (as soon as you have a valid network connection) press the "Upload" button.
  7. Release the reset button around 3% complete or so.
  8. The router will reboot after installing the firmware.
  9. After reboot browse to 192.168.1.1 -> administration and reset the router to factory defaults. (you should only have to do this coming from ASUS firmware).
  10. Clear your browser cache. If you can browse to dd-wrt web interface and see the updated version but are getting issues with apply.cgi not working you need to clear cookies and cache. After clearing it everything should be working smoothly.

[edit] Additional Configuration

[edit] Loop back issues

If you are having issues connecting to a domain you host from the LAN but no trouble connecting from a computer at some one else's house you might be having loop back issues.

  1. Browse to the ddwrt web interface at 192.168.1.1
  2. Open the Administration -> Commands tab
  3. In the Command Shell -> Commands textbox place this script:
    insmod ipt_mark
    insmod xt_mark

    iptables -t mangle -A PREROUTING -i ! `get_wanface` -d `nvram get wan_ipaddr` -j MARK --set-mark 0xd001
    iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -m mark --mark 0xd001 -j MASQUERADE
  4. Click the Save Firewall button
  5. The router will reboot. The problem should now be fixed.

See ticket 1868 for more details on loop back issues.

[edit] Links

  • Beta DD-WRT firmware versions. Just select whatever date or build number you want and then look for the Asus_RTG32 folder in that directory e.g. 2011-> 12-20-11-r18024 -> Asus_RTG32.

Thanks to Tylex, Scythe, and many many others for researching how to flash ddwrt on the RT-G32.