User NVRAM Save/Restore Utility (R26.2)

[hungarianhc]

Just wanted to say THANK YOU. I used this utility today. Super easy and straightforward. Very much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Fredgassia]

Newbie here, Just INstalled 378_57 and things looked really messed up. Especially the wifi Mac Address entries. SOmeone mentioned to use this nvram util. I have no idea what this does and even what to do with it. Any help would be appreciated

 

[Henk59]

Me either, until I study (over and over, couple of day's just to be sure) the QuickStart, which is included in the nvram util.
And the leftovers hard to understand, well I tried Google with succes.
So the first time ever I'd tried the nvram util. it was afterall easy todo...
The basics you must have is next to DOS is a tiny bit of Linux commands, and Google is (y)our friend.

 

[rickygao]

User NVRAM Save/Restore Utility
LATEST RELEASE: Release 22
27-October-2015
nvram-save-r22.zip
Download http://1drv.ms/16pENHc
===============================

Version 22 27-October-2015

Program Changes

• Changes to facilitate the release of ini file only updates
  • Show version numbers with -v in addition to consistency check
  • Print ini version to syslog
  • Add ini version to runlog
• Only set file permissions on non-FAT format drives
• Update Merlin/Fork unique vars in exception processing
• Update Quickstart guide with FAT32 info

INI file Changes

• Fix IPv6 settings for non-native modes
• Fix SMB/FTP access restore by adding index var
• Add support for syslog logging level and msg level
• Add support for reboot schedule
• Additional support for 3 radios
• Add support for up to 5 VPN servers/clients
• Add support for QOS bw limiting
• Add support for WTFast
• Add support for KeyGuard
• Update Merlin/Fork unique variables

Full Changelog history is available in the download directory
Some quick usage notes:

• Although new options/suggested improvements have been added to give greater control during execution, the default operation of the utility has
  not been changed. If you have used the utility in the past, you can continue to use it just like before.
• A help command has been added to the utility, nvram-save.sh -h
  

  NVRAM User Save/Restore Utility
  nvram-save.sh Version 22
  Options: -h  this help msg
    -v  Print version/perform consistency check
    -b  Backup mode - save for restore to same router (default)
    -m  Migration mode - transfer settings to another router
    -i inifile  Specify custom nvram variable ini file
    -clk  Include clkfreq/overclock setting (Backup mode only)
    -nojffs  Skip backup of jffs storage
    -nouser  Skip execution of user exit script

• When running the utility or using the print version option, nvram-save.sh, nvram-restore.sh, jffs-restore.sh, nvram-merlin.ini and nvram-excp-merlin.sh are consistency checked to make sure they are all the same version. A WARNING message will be printed on a version mismatch,
  but execution will continue if actually running to generate the restore script.
• You can now specify a custom nvram variable 'ini' file to use to generate the restore script. A sample ini,
  nvram-sample.ini, is included which is a stripped down version of the full ini containing only basic entries that people
  have mentioned in various threads.
• The generated restore scripts now take a single option, '-clean'
  This option will prevent the restore of unnecessary variables (variables removed, options no longer present if backleveling firmware) by only restoring those user variables which are initialized by a reset to factory defaults. The terminal window will list those variables which were not restored when you execute the restore. Restoring all the variables should not cause any problems except for wasted NVRAM space.
• nvram-restore.sh and jffs-restore.sh will now prompt you to load the last saved backups and to run a 'clean' restore if run without any input parameters
  NOTE: You can still run the individual nvram-restore-yyyymmdd-macid.sh scripts to perform a restore as in previous releases.
• The backup files may now be placed in a 'backup' subdirectory. Just 'mkdir /mnt/ASUS/backup' and the files will be placed there instead of in the main working directory.
• The default state is NOT to save clkfreq overclocking values (safest when moving to a new code level). If you wish to
  include this setting, specify the -clk option on the nvram-save.sh command.
• The nvram-save utility also creates two text files during execution that can be viewed or archived.
  • nvram-all-yyyymmdd-macid.txt (all nvram variables, including system variables not normally changed by the user)
  • nvram-usr-yyyymmdd-macid.txt (the nvram variables actually saved by the utility in their save categories)
• As a reminder, the restore process will make the following changes if moving from a 376 or earlier code to 378 or later
  • A single consolidated MAC filter list will be made from the 2.4 and 5 GHz lists
  • If jffs is not active, it will be set to be activated and formatted, jffs scripting will be disabled
  • If jffs is active, jffs scripting will also be activated
  • If you are using a VPN server, the settings will be migrated to the new nvram variable
• The utility is still valid for ASUS OEM as well as Merlin releases.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
SHA256 hash:

6ba9a62292d63729ceb9cbb8228d7dee38889fbfa9afbe4d3ec1758b2380f978 *nvram-save-r22.zip

Thanks again to everyone for their feedback and suggestions. Enjoy!

Hi John,
Should I use -m if I want to switch from Merlin back to Official ASUS firmware on the same router?

 

[john9527]

Hi John,
Should I use -m if I want to switch from Merlin back to Official ASUS firmware on the same router?

If it's on the same router, you should be able to use a normal save/restore. Do the factory reset, then when it asks if you want to do a clean restore, answer yes, and it won't restore any nvram variables that may be unique to the Merlin firmware.

 

[GGavan]

Hi John,
As you requested, these are the three settings that I have done manually.
I upgraded from HGG 380.57 to 380.57.1 on AC87U.
Used "Y" for clear question
1. AdaptiveQoS_WebHistory.asp - Found "Enable Web History" on off. It was on before
2. Advanced_System_Content.asp - Found" Save syslog to JFFS partition" on yes. before it was N
3. Advanced_Wireless_Content.asp, on 5GHz - Found channel on automat but with on the right side of control it was written the that is running on channel 40 which it was previously. This one is a bit tricky because I saw that it depends on that 20/40/80 MHz selection.

Thank you for asking!

 

[HawkInOz]

Will I be able to use this utility to migrate all of my current settings from an RT-N66U [Fork V15E5] to a RT-AC88U, RT-AC3100, or RT-AC5300 (still deciding which) [ASUS/Merlin]? Not sure if the newly released routers are fully supported. Thanks.

Bump. Thanks.

 

[Khanh Tran]

Hi John,

A newbie to your tool and forgive me if my question already answered somewhere in this thread. Can I use your tool to restore NVRAM settings saved when having Merlin FW to stock FW? Thanks

Oops, found answer. Please ignore my question.

 

[john9527]

Will I be able to use this utility to migrate all of my current settings from an RT-N66U [Fork V15E5] to a RT-AC88U, RT-AC3100, or RT-AC5300 (still deciding which) [ASUS/Merlin]? Not sure if the newly released routers are fully supported. Thanks.

Sorry I missed responding sooner. The code base is essentially the same, so existing options should be successfully moved using the -m (migrate) option (save for the caveat on the MAC list filter I mentioned in a previous post). Any new options obviously wouldn't be set.

If you wanted to use the utility to save/restore on the 'latest' levels for those routers, there may be some variables that aren't yet accounted for and would remain at their defaults after the factory reset.

I'll be making another update pass to try and pick any new things up and account for the MAC filter difficulty once I get my latest fork release out.

 

[john9527]

Hi John,

A newbie to your tool and forgive me if my question already answered somewhere in this thread. Can I use your tool to restore NVRAM settings saved when having Merlin FW to stock FW? Thanks

Yes, just make sure to say yes to the Clean restore prompt.
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/user-nvram-save-restore-utility-r22.19521/page-20#post-229736

 

[Khanh Tran]

Yes, just make sure to say yes to the Clean restore prompt.
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/user-nvram-save-restore-utility-r22.19521/page-20#post-229736

Thank you John. Your utility is great. It saves me lot of time.

 

[HawkInOz]

I'll be making another update pass to try and pick any new things up and account for the MAC filter difficulty once I get my latest fork release out.

Awesome! This really is a great utility! Thanks a lot!

 

[Rango]

Hello guys. I'm sorry for being a noob but how do you use this utility?

In readme it list features but no single line how to use it, load it or else. I tried to load it threw kitty ssh by opening .sh file but that didn't work. Mapping to that folder also didn't work.

I know i'm making mistake somewhere but few instructional steps would be awesome. Thank you in advance.

 

[gffmac]

Hello guys. I'm sorry for being a noob but how do you use this utility?

In readme it list features but no single line how to use it, load it or else. I tried to load it threw kitty ssh by opening .sh file but that didn't work. Mapping to that folder also didn't work.

I know i'm making mistake somewhere but few instructional steps would be awesome. Thank you in advance.

If you read the quick start guide it does indeed tell you what to do and what commands to use.

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

 

[Rango]

If you read the quick start guide it does indeed tell you what to do and what commands to use.

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

Cool that part i get. But i can't use the commands unless i load nvram utility first or activate it. I fail at step 1 and you're telling me about step 4 or 5.

How do i load or active this utility. Once i get it activated i'll use the commands to back. I get that step, problem is step 1.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Download the zip file.
Copy it to the routers USB drive and unzip it.
Telnet/SSH onto the router.
Change directory to where you unzipped the file.
Make sure the script is executable and then run the script.

 

[Rango]

Thanks you sir. I found the quickstart.txt where instuctions were. Thank you and sorry for being a noob. Two more questions so i understand the details.

Just did backup with overclock parameter ./nvram-save.sh -clk

Two questions.

1. If i keep backing it up as i go along it will overwrite existing files or create new backup file name?

2. If i want to restore including the overclock values do i run ./nvram-restore.sh which will restore entire directory including overclock or do i do ./nvram-restore.sh -clk ?

 

[ColinTaylor]

1) The backup files are put in a directory named with the current date.
2) -clk is only used for the backup

 

[Rango]

1) The backup files are put in a directory named with the current date.
2) -clk is only used for the backup

Thank you so when i restore i have to specify the date correct?

Also when i restore it will include overclock backup by default correct?

Thank you for your help

 

[ColinTaylor]

Sorry, my mistake. The jffs backups are put in dated sub-directories. The NVRAM backups are put in dated files in the current directory.

Instructions for restoring from a particular date are included in the instructions, i.e.

./nvram-restore-yyyymmdd-macid.sh