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Revision as of 00:31, 15 June 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

USR5461 router has only 2MB of NVRAM Flash Memory which contains 128 KB compressed Boot Loader (CFE). The rest of it (1870 KB) contains the USR factory firmware. Therefore, you can use either DD-WRT micro builds (file size about 1700 KB) or DD-WRT micro-plus builds (file size less than 1870 KB) to upgrade the original USR factory firmware on USR5461.

Initially, DD-WRT builds were designed as a "factory (DD-WRT) default firmware". Installing such firmware onto an active/operative router, will "restore" the factory (DD-WRT) default settings on it. All currant router settings will be lost! A full router configuration is required after the installation.

The recent DD-WRT builds are designed as a "factory (DD-WRT) upgrade firmware". Installing such firmware onto an active/operative router, will preserve some unique router properties and currant settings: - Status: WAN MAC address: xxx ; LAN MAC address: xxx ; Wireless MAC address: xxx; - LAN: IP address: 192.168.x.x ; Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0 ; - Internet Login (PPPoE): User Name: xxx ; Password: xxx ; - Router Login: User Name: xxx ; Password: xxx . This makes much easier to complete router configuration after a successful DD-WRT firmware installation ("upgrade").

In the instructions bellow we will use the latest EKO NEWD build: dd-wrt.v24-14583_NEWD_micro-plus.bin 1.73 MB (1,814,528 bytes) 09-06-2010

Download link: http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/down.php?path=downloads%2Fothers%2Feko%2FV24_TNG%2Fsvn14583/

Preparing to Flash

This document is written assuming your USR5461 router is running an original USR firmware, and your PC is running Microsoft Windows XP or later. It is expected that Linux users and those already running DD-WRT firmware on USR5461 router can adapt these instructions to their situation.

Please, read and understand all instructions in this section and whichever flashing method you will use BEFORE starting the entire procedure.

1. Create a new folder on your computer Desktop and name it usr5461. Download/save the desired DD-WRT image file to Desktop\usr5461.

2. Connect your PC to a LAN port of the router with an Ethernet cable. DISCONNECT ALL OTHER ROUTER CLIENTS (WIRELESS AND/OR WIRED). Do not flash the router over a wireless connection!

3. Make sure you know the current LAN IP address of the router; it may still be the USR firmware default IP address - 192.168.2.1 or may have been changed. In the instructions bellow we will use the default IP address.

4. Your PC LAN interface/adapter will need a static IP address on the same LAN (192.168.2.x) to reliably load DD-WRT firmware image onto the router. To set such an address in Windows XP: Start - Control Panel - Network Connections; right-click on "Local Area Connection" icon and select Properties. In "Local Area Connection Properties" window, select "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)", click on Properties button and set the following static IP address for your PC:

- IP Address: 192.168.2.111; - Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0 - Default Gateway: 192.168.2.1.

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 install DD-WRT firmware onto USR5461 router using the "Upgrade" option of USR firmware's Web GUI. The trick is to make DD-WRT firmware image file look like an USR firmware image file, such that the original USR firmware on USR5461 would accept it. You have to create a custom "USR" firmware image file by: - Adding a special, 28-byte header "USR0…" to DD-WRT firmware image file; - Naming the new file with ".usr" name extension.

1. Download the header file usr5461_hdr.bin from http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/download.php?id=6958 . Save it at Desktop\usr5461 .

2. Open a Command Prompt window: Start – All Programs – Accessories – Command Prompt and ENTER the following commands:

cd desktop\usr5461

dir

copy /b usr5461_hdr.bin + dd-wrt.v24-14583_newd_micro-plus.bin usr-14583_newd_micro-plus.usr

dir

The "copy" command performs a binary (/b) copy of the USR header and (+) the DD-WRT firmware image file to make a single "USR" firmware image file. Bellow the last "dir" command, double-check that the new file is exactly 28 bytes longer than the original DD-WRT firmware image file.

In our case:

1,814,556 usr-14583_newd_micro-plus.usr

1,814,528 dd-wrt.v24-14583_NEWD_micro-plus.bin

3. Open USR5461 firmware Web UI at http://192.168.2.1 in your browser and click on "Device" tab: - In "Upgrade Router" section click on "Browse" button; find and select the new file created in Step 2 - usr-14583_newd_micro-plus.usr ; -Click on "Upgrade" button and WAIT FOR THE UPGRADE TO COMPLETE - an "Upgrade Router" window will open with the message: "The router has been upgraded". - Close your Internet browser.

4. CYCLE THE POWER to the router: - Unplug the power supply connector from the router, wait 30 seconds and then plug it back. The router will reboot with the new DD_WRT firmware.

5. Proceed to "After the Flash" bellow.

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.)