E4200 is probably bricked and I need help

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cchhat01
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 05 Jan 2008
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 16:40    Post subject: E4200 is probably bricked and I need help Reply with quote
So I saw some movement over at out friends at openwrt.org regarding 4716 based chips. I got awfully ambitious and decided to make some changes in broadcom based diags and netconfig and flashed my local build of openwrt... should have known better ::sigh::

I had initially a Tomato build running on the linksys e4200v1 and used its web based upgrade page within Tomato to upgrade to Openwrt.

After that no avail. Here's what happens.
When I power on the device, the Cisco led and the ethernet activity leds comes on and almost immediately.
The Cisco led (after coming on) flashes slowly 2 times and then stays solid for about 20-22 seconds, then just goes off. The ethernet activity lights stay on.

I tried pinging the router, and its unreachable. I've tried to force a "management mode" as i've read on another thread (where the Cisco led flashes rapidly) so that I can tftp the linksys firmware. Doesn't work. Infact, its just intermittent in the sense that sometimes I can get it to the point where the led flashes rapidly by holding the reset button down immediatly at power-on, but the router isn't responding.

What does happen and I find strange is that I've tried sending off the firmware via tftp as soon as the router is powered on (and the only thing that is connected to the router is my desktop via ethernet on port 1), and it starts to accept the firmware update however, the linksys firmware is too big and after accepting about 8MB the transfer is aborted.

received ACK <block=15743>
sent DATA <block=15744, 512 bytes>
received ACK <block=15744>
sent DATA <block=15745, 512 bytes>
received ERROR <code=3, msg=transfer cancelled>
Error code 3: transfer cancelled
Sent 8060928 bytes in 17.0 seconds

during this process the cisco led blinks slowly (not rapidly) and it continues doing so even after the process completes. Throughout this process the router is responding to PING.
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=1 ttl=100 time=0.582 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=2 ttl=100 time=0.296 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=3 ttl=100 time=0.260 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=4 ttl=100 time=0.254 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=5 ttl=100 time=0.260 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=6 ttl=100 time=0.246 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=7 ttl=100 time=0.282 ms
I've even tried uploading tomato firmware which happens to be less than 8MB and it still fails... I've tried stripping out the first 32 characters from the bin file (essentially the trx file) and that too fails.

What are my options. Does anyone have any knowledge on reviving the router via JTAG or serial cable that can help me revive this device?
All help will be appreciated greatly.
Thanks,
cchhat01
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barryware
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 13049
Location: Behind The Reset Button

PostPosted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 16:47    Post subject: Reply with quote
there is lots of information on THIS forum to help you fix your router.

Let me get this straight just so I understand..

You went from tomato, to openwrt, and you are posting on the dd-wrt forum for assistance..

you need to erase nvram assuming your flash of openwrt was good and you flashed a compatible build.

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slobodan
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 03 Nov 2011
Posts: 1555
Location: Zwolle

PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 23:13    Post subject: Reply with quote
See http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=51486 under 6.

You could set a static IP, use tftp2.exe from Windows XP and upload the following file, after storing it on your computer: http://desipro.de/ddwrt/r19277/kingkong-nv60k-broadcom.bin

If you think that file is too big, use this: http://desipro.de/ddwrt/r19277/usb-ftp-samba3-vpn-nv60k-broadcom.bin

If necessary, do a 30/30/30 to reset NVRAM after the firmware gets recovered and the router reboots itself.

_________________
2 times APU2 Opnsense 21.1 with Sensei

2 times RT-AC56U running DD-WRT 45493 (one as Gateway, the other as AP, both bridged with LAN cable)

3 times Asus RT-N16 shelved

E4200 V1 running freshtomato 2020.8 (bridged with LAN cable)

3 times Linksys WRT610N V2 converted to E3000 and 1 original E3000 running freshtomato 2020.8 (bridged with LAN cable)


cchhat01
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 05 Jan 2008
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 14:40    Post subject: Reply with quote
barryware wrote:
there is lots of information on THIS forum to help you fix your router.

Let me get this straight just so I understand..

You went from tomato, to openwrt, and you are posting on the dd-wrt forum for assistance..

you need to erase nvram assuming your flash of openwrt was good and you flashed a compatible build.


Yes, I've fudged up left and right and I need help. However, each instance of me trying to FTP *ANY* firmware (>8MB) to this router is just cancelled.

I came here in the hope that someone has gone through the painful task of connecting to the router via "serial console" or jtag and can bless me with some knowledge. I can buy the appropriate cables and perform any soldering if I am properly advised. I'll even make a small donation to the one who can successfully helps me understand the recovery process.

I know i have to erase the nvram however, with the current state of the router, its impossible to do anything but upload a file that is less than 8MB (and even then it just sits there doing absolutely nothing).
cchhat01
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 05 Jan 2008
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 14:45    Post subject: Reply with quote
slobodan wrote:
See http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=51486 under 6.

You could set a static IP, use tftp2.exe from Windows XP and upload the following file, after storing it on your computer: http://desipro.de/ddwrt/r19277/kingkong-nv60k-broadcom.bin

If you think that file is too big, use this: http://desipro.de/ddwrt/r19277/usb-ftp-samba3-vpn-nv60k-broadcom.bin

If necessary, do a 30/30/30 to reset NVRAM after the firmware gets recovered and the router reboots itself.


As I stated, with the current state of the router, I can upload a file which is 8MB or less, which the 2nd bin file is. However, the process isn't fruitful. What happens is that the cisco led just slowly blinks afterwards and the router is pingable. No matter how long I wait (5/10/15 minutes), it just sits there pingable and the cisco led flashing.

I'm a developer but not such a low level developer. If someone can guide me in recovering through serial cable/jtag, that would be greatly appreciate. I don't even know where the serial console is on this router.

thanks,
cchhat01
slobodan
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 03 Nov 2011
Posts: 1555
Location: Zwolle

PostPosted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 14:14    Post subject: Reply with quote
This file is less than 8 MiB: http://desipro.de/ddwrt/r19277/usb-ftp-samba3-vpn-nv60k-broadcom.bin

(6.3 MB)

_________________
2 times APU2 Opnsense 21.1 with Sensei

2 times RT-AC56U running DD-WRT 45493 (one as Gateway, the other as AP, both bridged with LAN cable)

3 times Asus RT-N16 shelved

E4200 V1 running freshtomato 2020.8 (bridged with LAN cable)

3 times Linksys WRT610N V2 converted to E3000 and 1 original E3000 running freshtomato 2020.8 (bridged with LAN cable)


barryware
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 13049
Location: Behind The Reset Button

PostPosted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 16:07    Post subject: Reply with quote
cchhat01 wrote:

I'm a developer but not such a low level developer. If someone can guide me in recovering through serial cable/jtag, that would be greatly appreciate. I don't even know where the serial console is on this router.

thanks,
cchhat01

looking at the router from the front, with the top removed, you will see 5 holes on the right side / edge of the pcb closer to the back than the front.

that is the serial connection point. You will need a 3.3v ttl adapter.

pin one will have a square solder pad if not marked as pin one. This is vcc.

The pinout is a standard linksys pinout.

vcc, tx, rx ,n/c, ground

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