Re: Linksys BEFSX41 v1 router locking up?

Ant wrote:
> On 10/8/2009 11:40 PM PT, 1PW typed:
>
>> This may be a bit premature but have you given thought to what your
>> next router might be if you replace your BEFSX41?
>
> I am thinking of getting those Linksys WRTG that I kept reading about
> that is stable, cheap, and can use custom firmwares (e.g., Tomato). Are
> those still good?

I too am thinking along those lines. Our 3 kids need routers for
Christmas. Maybe the WRT54GL...

> I don't need wireless either, but it's OK to have it
> as long as I can turn it off without affecting the wired part. Wireless
> is rarely used (Linksys WAP11 v1).

--
1PW

On Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:45:54 -0700, 1PW <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Ant wrote:
>> On 10/8/2009 11:40 PM PT, 1PW typed:
>>
>>> This may be a bit premature but have you given thought to what your
>>> next router might be if you replace your BEFSX41?
>>
>> I am thinking of getting those Linksys WRTG that I kept reading about
>> that is stable, cheap, and can use custom firmwares (e.g., Tomato). Are
>> those still good?
>
>I too am thinking along those lines. Our 3 kids need routers for
>Christmas. Maybe the WRT54GL...

I'm running 5 WRT54GL's here and I'm very happy with them. All were
immediately flashed to run dd-wrt firmware when they were new, but I
have also tried the Tomato firmware several years ago (on an older
WRT54G v2) and liked it. Feature-wise, Tomato falls somewhere between
the stock firmware and dd-wrt, but there are also other firmware
choices out there.

One of my WRT54GL's is acting as a wireless router. Two are acting as
wired routers, (wireless and DHCP disabled), and the other two are
acting as wireless clients or wireless client bridges, depending on
the specific requirements at the time. With third party firmware, such
as dd-wrt or others, these little pieces of hardware are extremely
flexible.

>> I don't need wireless either, but it's OK to have it
>> as long as I can turn it off without affecting the wired part. Wireless
>> is rarely used (Linksys WAP11 v1).

'Click' and the wireless is disabled. The other functions are not
affected.

Ant wrote:
> On 10/9/2009 2:45 AM PT, 1PW typed:
>
>>>> This may be a bit premature but have you given thought to what your
>>>> next router might be if you replace your BEFSX41?
>>> I am thinking of getting those Linksys WRTG that I kept reading about
>>> that is stable, cheap, and can use custom firmwares (e.g., Tomato). Are
>>> those still good?
>>
>> I too am thinking along those lines. Our 3 kids need routers for
>> Christmas. Maybe the WRT54GL...
>
> Am I understanding correctly that all WRT54 are good and easy to find in
> local retail stores (want to buy one right away if my old router blows
> up!)?

Linksys is now pushing their latest releases that have "High Speed"
enclosures. Right now, I'm testing a Linksys WRT310N & I too have
little use for the WLAN portion. The WRT54GL is the only one that
comes to mind that has three completely different suppliers of
firmware written for it. I suppose their are others though.

Fry's carries the WRT54GL in their City of Industry (Avocado Heights)
store. $60+tax. I don't know if they are in stock. Would they be
close enough to you?

> Is Linksys the only that makes them?

Linksys is the only one who makes the WRT54GL. Belkin, D-Link,
Netgear and Linksys/Cisco are the big name players.

Best wishes Phil.

--
1PW

1PW wrote:
> Ant wrote:
>> On 10/9/2009 2:45 AM PT, 1PW typed:
>>
>>>>> This may be a bit premature but have you given thought to what
>>>>> your next router might be if you replace your BEFSX41?
>>>> I am thinking of getting those Linksys WRTG that I kept reading
>>>> about that is stable, cheap, and can use custom firmwares (e.g.,
>>>> Tomato). Are those still good?
>>>
>>> I too am thinking along those lines. Our 3 kids need routers for
>>> Christmas. Maybe the WRT54GL...
>>
>> Am I understanding correctly that all WRT54 are good and easy to
>> find in local retail stores (want to buy one right away if my old
>> router blows up!)?
>
> Linksys is now pushing their latest releases that have "High Speed"
> enclosures. Right now, I'm testing a Linksys WRT310N & I too have
> little use for the WLAN portion. The WRT54GL is the only one that
> comes to mind that has three completely different suppliers of
> firmware written for it. I suppose their are others though.
>
> Fry's carries the WRT54GL in their City of Industry (Avocado Heights)
> store. $60+tax. I don't know if they are in stock. Would they be
> close enough to you?
>
>> Is Linksys the only that makes them?
>
> Linksys is the only one who makes the WRT54GL. Belkin, D-Link,
> Netgear and Linksys/Cisco are the big name players.
>
> Best wishes Phil.

Give this link a viewing. It allows you to view what routers are currently
working with the dd-wrt alternative software.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database

The site does require scripting be turned on in order to use the Router
Database.

With some models, it's the revision level that determines if the hardware is
supported. An example is the Linksys WRT54G model, not the GL one,
Revisions 1.0-6.0 work but not revision 7.0 but then again 8.0 to 8.2 will
work with dd-wrt. It pays to look up the brand, model, and revision of the
router you plan to purchase if you really plan to install an alternative
operating software before you actually order it. If the seller won't
identify the revision level of the box they are selling go somewhere else
and try again.

On Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:29:12 -0700, 1PW <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Linksys is now pushing their latest releases that have "High Speed"
>enclosures. Right now, I'm testing a Linksys WRT310N & I too have
>little use for the WLAN portion. The WRT54GL is the only one that
>comes to mind that has three completely different suppliers of
>firmware written for it. I suppose their are others though.

GlowingBlueMist already provided a link to the various hardware pieces
that are supported by dd-wrt, so I'll take a different angle and reply
to your statement about "three completely different suppliers of
firmware".

These are some firmware choices that I'm aware of for the WRT54GL.
There may be even more floating around out there.
* Tomato - http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato
* DD-WRT - http://www.dd-wrt.com/
* FreeWRT - http://www.freewrt.org/
* HyperWRT - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HyperWRT
* OpenWRT - http://www.openwrt.org/
* Tarifa - http://tarifa.sourceforge.net/
* X-Wrt - http://x-wrt.org/

On Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:30:15 -0700, Ant <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>On 10/9/2009 8:35 AM PT, Char Jackson typed:
>
>> I'm running 5 WRT54GL's here and I'm very happy with them. All were
>> immediately flashed to run dd-wrt firmware when they were new, but I
>> have also tried the Tomato firmware several years ago (on an older
>> WRT54G v2) and liked it. Feature-wise, Tomato falls somewhere between
>> the stock firmware and dd-wrt, but there are also other firmware
>> choices out there.
>>
>> One of my WRT54GL's is acting as a wireless router. Two are acting as
>> wired routers, (wireless and DHCP disabled), and the other two are
>> acting as wireless clients or wireless client bridges, depending on
>> the specific requirements at the time. With third party firmware, such
>> as dd-wrt or others, these little pieces of hardware are extremely
>> flexible.
>>
>>>> I don't need wireless either, but it's OK to have it
>>>> as long as I can turn it off without affecting the wired part. Wireless
>>>> is rarely used (Linksys WAP11 v1).
>>
>> 'Click' and the wireless is disabled. The other functions are not
>> affected.
>
>Click as a physical button or via an URL?

By default, it's a mouse click on a button in the web-based GUI, but
you can also access the radio's on/off capability via the command
line, if you're so inclined.

I believe you can also assign the front panel SES button, which is a
physical switch normally used for one-button wireless security setup,
to act as an on/off switch for the wireless function.

In dd-wrt, go to the Services tab, by default you'll be on the
Services sub-tab, (yes, I know the names are redundant), and about
halfway down you'll see the following:

SES / AOSS / EZ-SETUP Button: Use this button for turning off radio
Enable Disable

On Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:42:49 -0700, Ant <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>On 10/10/2009 8:09 AM PT, Char Jackson typed:
>
> > These are some firmware choices that I'm aware of for the WRT54GL.
>> There may be even more floating around out there.
>> * Tomato - http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato
>> * DD-WRT - http://www.dd-wrt.com/
>> * FreeWRT - http://www.freewrt.org/
>> * HyperWRT - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HyperWRT
>> * OpenWRT - http://www.openwrt.org/
>> * Tarifa - http://tarifa.sourceforge.net/
>> * X-Wrt - http://x-wrt.org/
>
>Wow, so many now... I only heard about Tomato and DD-WRT. Is there a
>chart on which one is the best, feature-wise, stability, bugs, etc. and
>comparisons including Linksys' stock firmware?

I don't know of such a chart, but I'm sure each fork has its fans. I
have only used Tomato and dd-wrt and both were perfectly stable for me
across several revisions of the firmware. Of those two, dd-wrt is my
current favorite, but my reasons won't be the same as your reasons, so
you could feel free to try several of them before you settle on the
one you like best. It's very easy to switch from one to another.

>Doesn't using third party
>firmwares void router's warranty (e.g., what if one bricks a new router?)?

I assume it does void the warranty, but that has never been a concern
to me. I think the last time I used a manufacturer's warranty on an
electronic item was in about 1983, on a Yamaha car stereo. It just
seems a shame to use the stock firmware, so limited like it is.

And yes, it's possible to brick the unit, but in about 99% of the
cases it can be recovered. You won't need to know too much about that
until it happens to you.

On Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:37:49 -0700, Ant <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>On 10/10/2009 8:17 AM PT, Char Jackson typed:
>
>>>> 'Click' and the wireless is disabled. The other functions are not
>>>> affected.
>>> Click as a physical button or via an URL?
>>
>> By default, it's a mouse click on a button in the web-based GUI, but
>> you can also access the radio's on/off capability via the command
>> line, if you're so inclined.
>>
>> I believe you can also assign the front panel SES button, which is a
>> physical switch normally used for one-button wireless security setup,
>> to act as an on/off switch for the wireless function.
>
>Which WRT54G routers can do that?

The short answer is any WRT router that can run dd-wrt and has that
button on the front panel. I know that my WRT54GL units are included,
but I haven't done it since I usually leave my wireless enabled.

>I still have wireless devices that can
>only do WEP. I only use wireless when I am using them. I unplug WAP11's
>power when not using them for security reasons.

That works, kind of. Vulnerable, but not 24x7.

>> In dd-wrt, go to the Services tab, by default you'll be on the
>> Services sub-tab, (yes, I know the names are redundant), and about
>> halfway down you'll see the following:
>>
>> SES / AOSS / EZ-SETUP Button: Use this button for turning off radio
>> Enable Disable
>
>That will require passwords and don't want computer illiterates accesing
>the router settings.

Not sure what you mean by that.

>I guess I will still have to keep WAP11 even if I
>get a router with wireless feature (hard to find any router only device
>these days).

Not sure what you mean by that, either. Why would you have to do that?

On Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:40:55 -0700, Ant <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Are there multiple WRT54 models? Or is GL the only one out there?

Linksys is pretty shameless about capitalizing on the success of the
"WRT54G" model name, introducing at least 8 different versions of
routers over the years that had that exact name. Only the revision
number, in fine print, would be different. The WRT54GL is very similar
to the older WRT54G v4. The "L" in the model name indicates that it
runs Linux, which is very desirable.

On Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:22:30 -0700, Ant <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>On 10/10/2009 1:17 PM PT, Char Jackson typed:
>
>>> Wow, so many now... I only heard about Tomato and DD-WRT. Is there a
>>> chart on which one is the best, feature-wise, stability, bugs, etc. and
>>> comparisons including Linksys' stock firmware?
>>
>> I don't know of such a chart, but I'm sure each fork has its fans. I
>> have only used Tomato and dd-wrt and both were perfectly stable for me
>> across several revisions of the firmware. Of those two, dd-wrt is my
>> current favorite, but my reasons won't be the same as your reasons, so
>> you could feel free to try several of them before you settle on the
>> one you like best. It's very easy to switch from one to another.
>
>Ah then I will just stick with the two popular ones. I would need to
>figure out which one is better for me. I also can't spend too much time
>with them. Do they both get updated often? That could be a pain to me
>with lack of free time.

I wouldn't say "often", but no matter how often, you'd be free to
upgrade as slowly as you like.

>>> Doesn't using third party
>>> firmwares void router's warranty (e.g., what if one bricks a new router?)?
>>
>> I assume it does void the warranty, but that has never been a concern
>> to me. I think the last time I used a manufacturer's warranty on an
>> electronic item was in about 1983, on a Yamaha car stereo. It just
>> seems a shame to use the stock firmware, so limited like it is.
>
>Really? I had stuff broke down within warranties like ASUS motherboard,
>an EVGA GeForce 7950 GT KO video card, Kingston memory, etc.

I hope you didn't just jinx me. I suddenly feel a bit lucky.

>> And yes, it's possible to brick the unit, but in about 99% of the
>> cases it can be recovered. You won't need to know too much about that
>> until it happens to you.
>
>Cool. I hate it when things get bricked and you can't undo/reflash! I
>have done that before.

You have options with tftp, telnet, and as a last resort and method
that nearly always works is the trusty old jtag method. There are
guides for the do-it-yourself types, like me, and I've also seen
services where you can send it off to be debricked. I'd much rather do
it myself.