firmware restoration rt-n16

[jca001]

I have a rt-n16 that I installed DD-WRT on and now I am trying to install Asuswrt-Merlin on. I download the Asus Utility and the lastest Asuswrt-Merlin files. When I run the Firmware Restoration and hold the reset button and power on the route the power flashes slowly as it should.

In the Utility I select the Asuswrt-Merlin file and click on upload. The power light stops flashing and the port light the pc is connected to flashes real fast. The Utility shows the percent complete and after about 30 seconds it reaches 100% and the shows the status system recovery is in progress with the percent. The power light is still off and the port light blinks now and then.

It sits like this for about 3 minutes or so and then the status changes to:
Failed to connect to wireless router. Check if the router's power LED is blinking, which denotes the router is in rescue mode.

If I power the router off and on and then connect to 192.168.1.1 it is still running the dd-wrt firmware.

I was able to accomplish loading asuswrt-merlin on another n16 router with no problems.

So what am I missing and/or doing wrong?

Thanks.

 

[RMerlin]

Upgrading the RT-N16 through recovery can take a long time (the flash is rather slow, and the firmware size is quite large). Give it a good 30-40 minutes before giving up. You will know the process has completed because the router will have rebooted, and the wifi led will then be turned on.

 

[jca001]

Thanks for the reply.

Well I tried it again and let it set for over an hour and it never rebooted. The power light was off and port 1 light blinked now and then because of activity on the laptop I have connected to it and that is the only connected, no other cables at all.

While waiting I continued researching and ran across a post you did. In it you suggested doing the following:
1) Turn router off
2) Press reset button, turn router on
3) Wait 5 secs, then release reset and immediately press WPS
4) Wait 5 secs, release WPS, and see if you are in recovery.
5) If you are, proceed with reflashing.

The idea is to clear the nvram and immediately enter recovery mode without allowing the router to try to boot the FW (in which case it might recorrupt your settings).

So I did that and completed the FW restore as far as the Utility is concerned and now the router has been setting with the power light off and port 1 blinking now and then. Basically like before.

I will let it set a bit longer and see what happens.

Note: This is basically a new router I bought as a backup and had loaded DD-WRT on it, but never put it into service so to speak. The other RT-N16 that I stated I had no problem loading asuswrt-merlin on was a used one I brought on ebay. It is physically older as I said used and the information on the bottom for the MAC has a sticker over it like it was changed or updated in some way. Maybe it was refurbished or something.

Any other suggestions other than let it set longer?

 

[john9527]

There have been problems in the past trying to move from DD-WRT to ASUS/Merlin on the N16, but usually the code loads OK but then various pieces just don't work.

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=19167&highlight=mtd-erase

So, what I would try is to load an older version of ASUS/Merlin from the 374 series, and then follow the procedure in the referenced post (if you were able to get the code loaded). Then go to a more recent version.

 

[jca001]

Thanks for the information.

After reading the link you provided I did the following:

In DD-WRT I installed ASUS generic N16 FW. The router rebooted and came up on it. So then I was no longer running DD-WRT. Then I used the Admin FW upgrade option there and installed asuswrt-merlin and it worked like it was supposed to.

I have not done much with it yet, but will this evening.

Again, thanks for the help.