AC68u stuck in rescue mode

[Ashish Gupta]

I just flashed 384.4 on a ac68u ( upgrade from 384.4b3 ) Upgrade was successful as per the message in the browser but upon reboot the router is stuck in rescue mode ( slow blinking power led )

I can access the cfe page on 192.168.1.1 and tried uploading the asus official firmware and 384.4beta3 trx files but both failed ( only 1 upload try per reboot )
I tried to TFTP both files in binary mode multiple times ( 1 attempt per reboot ) and transfer was successful ( lan port 1 blinked fast during transfer as well ) but after waiting for 5+ minutes and rebooting manually the router is still stuck in rescue mode.
I tried the asus restore utility and it is able to connect to the router and upload the f/w 100% but then it says failed to recover system.

I am using static ip of 192.168.1.10 ( able to ping router at 192.168.1.1 )

Tried to reset the router multiple times by holding the reset button and powering it up.

Please help

TIA

 

[RMerlin]

Give it more time, 5 minutes might not be enough. Flashing in recovery mode is always slower. You shouldn't manually reboot it - let it rest until it reboots on its own. Can take 10-15 minutes.

 

[Ashish Gupta]

Thanks. Resolved. Had to choose a flash <32mb for the restore utility to flash it successfully

 

[RMerlin]

Thanks. Resolved. Had to choose a flash <32mb for the restore utility to flash it successfully

Odd. Did you somehow prevent your bootloader from getting upgraded? I would expect an up-to-date bootloader to be able to handle 64 MB firmware images.

 

[Ashish Gupta]

I am not really sure if that's even possible. I am currently using 384 so it should be a 64mb rootfs. I tried various 380 / 382 / 384 trx before finally trying a 376 and it worked in first go.

Edit : Checked and it's a 32mb rootfs. Can you please tell me how to expand to 64mb ? I had already flashed 376.3626 a few months back so it should have been 64. Did the firmware restore yesterday affect the rootfs ? What do you suggest I do to fix it ?

 

[RMerlin]

Edit : Checked and it's a 32mb rootfs. Can you please tell me how to expand to 64mb ? I had already flashed 376.3626 a few months back so it should have been 64. Did the firmware restore yesterday affect the rootfs ? What do you suggest I do to fix it ?

The size you see is what's used by the firmware currently flashed, it's not its maximum supported size.

All you need is a bootloader capable of 64 MB support, and a firmware also capable of flashing it. 378.55 is all you need as an initial stepping stone, it will upgrade the bootloader, and will itself be 64MB-aware for future flashes. After that, any firmware newer than that will be directly flashable. If you go back to an older firmware, you will first need 378.55 to jump back up to anything newer again.