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WRT54G Firmware Documentation

Howto Flashing (Uploading) firmware to the WRT54G

CRITICALLY IMPORTANT NEVER EVER EVER INTERRUPT POWER IN A FLASH. WAIT AND THE ROUTER WILL RESTART AFTER THE FLASH
Upgrading Firmware Wirelessly (why in general you shouldn't do it/how to minimize its risk)

Before doing any of the upgrades it is recommended to do a 'long reset' of your WRT54G. You can do this by holding the reset button down for 10-15 seconds until the device reboots. This will reset everything to defaults. Reference: http://www.sveasoft.com/modules/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=956

Web Upgrade

  1. After Downloading the firmware 'bin' file.
  2. Point your browser at the linksys IP, 192.168.1.1 by default, and log in.
  3. Look for "Factory Defaults" in the adminstration menu, select "Yes" and then click "Apply".3
  4. Look for "Firmware Upgrade" in the adminstration menu,
  5. Click "Browse", select the 'bin' file and then click "Upgrade".
  6. Please note however at times the web upgrade can be a bit unstable.


OR/ TFTP1

  1. After Downloading the firmware 'bin' file.
  2. Rename the firmware 'bin' file to "code.bin".
  3. Point your browser at the linksys IP and log in.
  4. Look for "Factory Defaults" in the adminstration menu, select "Yes" and then click "Apply".
  5. Change the "boot_wait"2 parameter to "on" in Adminstration -> Management and make sure the tftpd daemon is "on" down the bottom of the same page. Save your Settings
  6. Run the linksys-tftp program and type in "connect {ip address of the linksys)".
  7. Type the command "put code.bin (linksys password)" BUT DON'T HIT ENTER YET!!
  8. Cycle the power on the Linksys and hit enter right when the first LED's light up.
  9. Tftp should tell you it transferred the file OK. If the unit doesn't boot, never fear. You can take a known good firmware image and repeat the process listed above.


After Updating

  1. Point your browser at the linksys IP again and log in.
  2. Look for "Factory Defaults" in the adminstration menu, select "Yes" and then click "Apply".3
  3. Once the "Factory Defaults" are complete, re-apply all your settings.
  4. Once all your settings are back in place, unplug the WRT54G, wait 5 seconds, then plug it back in.4


Here is an alternate guide to upgrading put together by digiblur, including configuration of the bandwidth management features in Satori: http://members.cox.net/wrt54g/

1 What is Tftp? Tftp is the client tool used to upload the firmware. You will also need to use a special version of tftp that has an embedded Linksys password Found Here.
2 How does Bootwait work? Boot Wait simply lenghtens the amount of time the linksys router waits to see if it should upload any new firmware from about 1/2 a second to roughly 2 seconds.
3 Resetting to factory defaults both before and after an upgrade is the best way to verify you have a clean start. With out following this step you may run in to corrupt settings, and other weird behavoir.
4 Unplugging the router is not required all the time, but it is a good step to verify all your settings have applied and you're running in a clean state. (to avoid the "no firewall" situation described here: http://www.sveasoft.com/postt491.html).

Upgrading Firmware Wirelessly (why in general you shouldn't do it/how to minimize its risk):
Wireless is less reliable than wired, hence more likely to have a problem like a disconnect, lost transfer, etc. due to interference, driver issues, the phase of the moon, the Ketchup Advisory Board, etc. If that happens you may have to start the firmware recovery procedures, and if you can avoid needing to do a recovery, that's all the better.

That said, if you have a remotely controlable PC at the site where the WRT54G is located, and that PC is wired to the WRT54G, I don't see why you couldn't use that PC via remote control over the wireless to perform an upgrade. This way you aren't at risk for a wireless disconnect as the actual firmware transfer would be going from the PC wired to the WRT54G.

Now how to remotely reset the NVRAM to factory defaults via the 'reset' button after flashing is another issue, but hopefully the reset method via menu outlined above will work.
Reference: http://sveasoft.cyberemail.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=83

5 pages link to SV-UpgradingFirmware: