RT N66U - unable to upload John's Merlin Fork

[jakeio012]

I just tried to upload John's merlin fork on my ASUS RT N66U router however when I clicked upload nothing happened... It would say please wait while we apply the settings then nothing. It would return to the administration page with the file still in the upload area (un-uploaded).

The firmware I downloaded is the latest one released Dec 2020 - RT-N66U_374.43_46E8j9527.trx

The router is currently running ASUS firmware 3.0.0.4.382_52272

Could anyone help me with this?

Thank you!

 

[L&LD]

You can't flash @john9527's RMerlin fork like that.

Release - [Fork] Asuswrt-Merlin 374 LTS release 46E8 (Superseded)

LATEST RELEASE: Update-46E8 24-December-2020 Merlin fork 374.43_46E8j9527 ============================ Update-46E8 Highlights Update OpenVPN to release 2.5 (see additional notes) Fix OpenVPN configurations for some service providers (see additional notes) Update OpenSSL to 1.1.1i Update libmnl...

www.snbforums.com

 

[Jerom7]

It worked fine for me & my N66U with Asus restoration tools and a win10 laptop wired with network cable (as it is a version downgrade 382 to 374 LTS)...
I can help you if you're stuck.
Best,

 

[wh7qq]

You may need the Asus restoration tool or alternatively, the Mini-CFE Web server. An earlier upgrade of Asus-WRT complied with FCC dictates and removed the ability to upgrade (or downgrade, if you will) to forks using the older kernel (earlier versions allowed one to upgrade the transmitter power so they made it nearly impossible). Merlin, based on current Asus-WRT followed suit. I don't use Window$ or even have a copy of XP any longer so had to use the Mini-CFE...worked a charm. But please don't ask me how I got it...aging memory. It had something to do with button presses and powering down and up. I suppose I could get it by "hunt and peck" if I had to.

 

[sebaaalecha]

I just tried to upload John's merlin fork on my ASUS RT N66U router however when I clicked upload nothing happened... It would say please wait while we apply the settings then nothing. It would return to the administration page with the file still in the upload area (un-uploaded).

The firmware I downloaded is the latest one released Dec 2020 - RT-N66U_374.43_46E8j9527.trx

The router is currently running ASUS firmware 3.0.0.4.382_52272

Could anyone help me with this?

Thank you!

Hi, you can do it work with the last version of John's Merlin fork?

 

[Adooni]

You can do that. You need to look in internet for firmware for your router older than soft on official Asus web. Asus removed all those soft that did not have protection. You can out old AsusWRT soft via Asus Firmware restoration and then from it just do what you want.

 

[FCM]

You may need the Asus restoration tool or alternatively, the Mini-CFE Web server. An earlier upgrade of Asus-WRT complied with FCC dictates and removed the ability to upgrade (or downgrade, if you will) to forks using the older kernel (earlier versions allowed one to upgrade the transmitter power so they made it nearly impossible). Merlin, based on current Asus-WRT followed suit. I don't use Window$ or even have a copy of XP any longer so had to use the Mini-CFE...worked a charm. But please don't ask me how I got it...aging memory. It had something to do with button presses and powering down and up. I suppose I could get it by "hunt and peck" if I had to.

Hello, What is this Mini-CFE Web server and how can I a access it? Is it an alternative to putting the router in firmware restoration mode or ar they related?

I'm running N66U on the latest official firmware from Asus and I want to switch to merlin. Is there any step by step guide showing how to use the Mini-CFE Web server.

I have found the official Asus guide to put the router in recovery and then use the asus tool to write the merlin trx, but I'd like to understand the CFE method, which is maybe better in that it shows some feedback (upgrade notes from John's fork indicate the process can take 40 mins to 1h).

Thanks!

 

[ColinTaylor]

Hello, What is this Mini-CFE Web server and how can I a access it? Is it an alternative to putting the router in firmware restoration mode or ar they related?

I'm running N66U on the latest official firmware from Asus and I want to switch to merlin. Is there any step by step guide showing how to use the Mini-CFE Web server.

I have found the official Asus guide to put the router in recovery and then use the asus tool to write the merlin trx, but I'd like to understand the CFE method, which is maybe better in that it shows some feedback (upgrade notes from John's fork indicate the process can take 40 mins to 1h).

Thanks!

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/386-3_2-killed-my-rt-ac68u.75376/post-720440

The minWeb Server method is the same as the normal restoration apart from you're using the web interface rather than the PC utility. Neither of them show any meaningful progress while the installation is happening, you just have to wait.

 

[FCM]

Ok, how can it be accessed then? I assume it gets you some kind of prompt and then you upload the firmware?

 

[ColinTaylor]

Ok, how can it be accessed then? I assume it gets you some kind of prompt and then you upload the firmware?

I explain that in the link I posted for you above.

 

[FCM]

Thanks, will come back.

Just to verify once more: I'm on latest asus firmware, there should be no problem upgrading to the latest merlin fork from John. I plan to put in rescue, connect via web server, clean nvram, upload firmware, wait for complete, reboot.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Thanks, will come back.

Just to verify once more: I'm on latest asus firmware, there should be no problem upgrading to the latest merlin fork from John. I plan to put in rescue, connect via web server, clean nvram, upload firmware, wait for complete, reboot.

After that you need to factory reset the router and format the jffs partition (Administration - System).

 

[FCM]

All done, I've upgraded the firmware via the asus tool, then did a factory reset, formatted jffs, factory reset again.

Now running: 374.43_52E3j9527

Follow up questions:
- I couldn't reset nvram before upgrading, I guess that's no longer a problem since I did a factory reset?
- Do I need to "Enable JFFS custom scripts and configs"?
- JFFS is listed as 10MB, is that ok?

Thanks.

 

[ColinTaylor]

That all looks fine. You only need to enable custom scripts and configs if you're, er... using custom scripts or configs.