From DD-WRT Wiki

Revision as of 01:41, 28 May 2010

Installing DD-WRT on a US Robotics USR5461

Introduction

The major hardware features of this router are listed in this table. As of now, the Reset button on this router is not recognized by DD-WRT firmware. Therefore, in place of the so-called "30/30/30 reset" which requires a fully functioning Reset button, other steps will be taken.

DD-WRT versions

This router has only 2MB of flash memory, but its 128K CFE allows either micro or micro-plus builds. See the Firmware Recommendations forum thread for the latest recommended build. For Brainslayer builds, use the micro_generic files. The Eko "NEWD" builds also work well with this router. Do not use "NEWD2" or "VINT".

Preparing to Flash

This instruction page is written assuming your router is running an US Robotics factory firmware, and your PC is running a version of Microsoft Windows. It is expected that Linux users and those already running DD-WRT firmware can adapt these instructions to their situation.

Please read and understand all instructions for this section and whichever flashing method you will use before starting the entire procedure.

1. Read the Peacock Thread. There is a lot of background information there to help you understand what is going on, help prevent mistakes (not to mention bricked routers) and help you to know what to do if something goes wrong.

2. Download the desired firmware. You will not have Internet access from your PC while flashing the router.

3. Connect your PC to a LAN port on the router with a cable and disconnect all other clients. Do not flash the router over a wireless connection.

4. Reset your router to USR factory firmware defaults. Hold down the Reset button until the LEDs stop cycling and reach a stable pattern for at least 10 seconds (a single LAN LED may occasionally flicker at the end). Release the button. (This method to restore defaults only works for USR factory firmware as of this writing.)

5. The default LAN IP Address of USR5461 router with USR factory firmware and CFE is 192.168.2.1. Your computer's network interface will need a Static IP Address on the same network to reliably load DD-WRT firmware onto the router.

On Windows XP: Control Panel, Network Connections, right-click on Local Area Connection icon and select Properties. On Windows Vista: Control Panel, Network and Sharing Center.

In the properties of the Local Area Connection, Internet Protocol TCP/IP, set the static IP address:

     IP Address: 192.168.2.101
     Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
     Default Gateway: 192.168.2.1

Click OK

6. Now perform the flash.

Performing the Flash

Use one of the firmware loading methods listed below.

Method 1: tftp

This section generally assumes you will be using the Tftp2 GUI utility. Those familiar with the command line version can of course adapt these steps as needed.

1. Open a command prompt window and type ping -t 192.168.2.1 and hit enter. Leave this window open with the ping running.

2. Start tftp2.exe (windows GUI for tftp). Configure the following:

     Server : 192.168.2.1
     Password :
     File : dd-wrt.v24-12774_NEWD_micro-plus.bin (or whatever the version you downloaded above)

3. Power off the router - the ping reply should report errors.

4. Wait for 10 sec and plug power back to the router.

5. The timing of this step is very important. You will get responses with TTL=100 within a few seconds when the router is powered on. As soon as you see the FIRST ping reply, click on Upgrade within Tftp2.exe. If you see TTL=64 before you clicked Upgrade, you waited too long to start the tftp. (If you miss this step, back up to step 3 and try again.)

6. You will see the firmware image is loading to the router. After Tftp2 reports success, stop the ping in the command prompt window (control-C).

7. Wait 5 minutes after the tftp has completed, regardless of whether the wireless appears stable before then. Then cycle the power.

8. Proceed to "After the Flash" below.

You can also flash back the original factory firmware as described in this method. Just change the file location in Tftp2.exe to point to the factory firmware and start with the current router IP. (Might need a USR factory firmware without the 28-byte "USR0" header; must check this.)

Method 2: the factory firmware's web User Interface

It is possible to flash DD-WRT for the first time using the upgrade option from the USR firmware's web interface. The trick is to make the DD-WRT firmware file look like a USR firmware file by adding a special header and changing the file extension to .usr such that that the USR firmware will accept it.

1. Download the header file usr5461_hdr.bin

2. Open a command prompt window and issue the command:

     copy /b usr5461_hdr.bin + dd-wrt_xxxxxxx.bin result_file.usr 

This performs a binary copy of the USR header and the DD-WRT image to make a single file with the header at the front. Doublecheck that result_file.bin is exactly 28 bytes longer than the dd-wrt_xxxxxxx.bin file.

3. Open the USR web UI at http://192.168.2.1 in your browser, navigate to the device upgrade page and upload the result_file.usr created above.

4. Wait 5 minutes after the upgrade has completed, regardless of whether the wireless is stable before then. Then cycle the power.

5. Proceed to "After the Flash" below.

After the Flash

1. Change the static IP on your PC back to DHCP (automatic):

On Windows XP, Control Panel/Network Connections/right-click on Local Area Connection icon and select Properties. On Windows Vista, Control Panel/Network and Sharing Center.

In the properties of the Local Area Connection, Internet Protocol TCP/IP, set:

     Obtain IP address Automatically
     Obtain DNS Server Automatically

Click OK. Your PC will be assigned a new IP address on the 192.168.1.x network by the router, which is now running DD-WRT.

Now you must issue commands to configure some unique properties of the USR5461 when running DD-WRT.

2. Go to the command prompt window and issue the command

    telnet 192.168.1.1
    username: root
    password: admin

Now you are in the DD-WRT shell.

3. Issue these commands, pausing a few seconds between them:

    erase nvram
    reboot

This clears the NVRAM in place of the "30/30/30 reset". (The reboot is necessary here because after the erase, some outdated parameters are retained in RAM which might be written to NVRAM during a subsequent operation, but the reboot prevents this.)

4. After reboot, telnet into the shell again (as in Step 2 above). Issue these commands:

    nvram set et0macaddr=00:C0:49:YO:UR:N1
    nvram set il0macaddr=00:C0:49:YO:UR:N1
    nvram set wan_hwaddr=00:C0:49:YO:UR:N2

where 00:C0:49:YO:UR:N1 = the lowest MAC listed on the bottom of YOUR router and 00:C0:49:YO:UR:N2 = 00:C0:49:YO:UR:N1 + 1.

These commands configure the unique MAC addresses reserved for your router, since DD-WRT on the USR5461 series defaults to a generic (possibly non-unique) MAC. Double-check that your numbers are correct; only digits 0 (zero) through 9 and letters A through F are allowed. Take care with the hexadecimal math; for example, 89+1=8A, not 90 here.

5. Now issue these commands, pausing a few seconds between them:

    nvram commit
    reboot

After the router reboots, you may access the DD-WRT router configuration webpages at DD-WRT's default of http://192.168.1.1. Further configuration options of a more general nature are beyond the scope of this device-specific page at this time.

6. Enjoy!

For More Information

The steps above were gathered from various threads in the dd-wrt forums. These threads in particular contain much helpful information:

[USR5461 compatibility]

[USR 5461]

Thank you to all who contributed. (SiliconWarrior, modervador, many others whose forum posts must not escape recognition.)