DD-WRT on a Netgear WNR-2000v2

I stopped by a Goodwill store the other day on a whim. I happened upon a Netgear WNR-2000v2. A quick search on the phone showed it was DD-WRT compatible. And it was only 99 cents! Not really. It was $1.99. Which is pretty much free in my book. 

Once I got it home and plugged in, though, nada. Then I looked at the power supply. 9V 200mA. For a device that requires 12V 1A. Huh. So was that why it was at Goodwill? Sucks if someone just mixed up a plug. I wonder where the 9V device ended up? After the smoke got out. I was able to scavenge the exact power supply I needed from another $2, 4 port wired router I found a few months ago at another thrift shop. And that's how I got a $4 router. Perfect!

Anyway, there are some tricks with the flashing of the router. It took me a bunch of tries, and I managed to brick it a couple of times. Here is what ended up working along with some notes about what caused my problems.

Important links:

• DD-WRT page for WNR-2000v2: http://www.DD-WRT.com/site/support/router-database
• DD-WRT WNR-2000v2 wiki: http://www.DD-WRT.com/wiki/index.php/Netgear_WNR2000V2
• peacock thread for Broadcom based routers: http://www.DD-WRT.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=51486
• DD-WRT forum post about WNR-2000v2: http://www.DD-WRT.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=72269&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
• DD-WRT forum post for unbricking WNR-2000v2: http://www.DD-WRT.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=81013
• One of my posts on unbricking other routers. See step 5, in particular: http://chickenlinux.blogspot.com/2014/09/revert-DD-WRT-to-other-firmware-on.html
• Older DD-WRT firmware images: http://dd-wrt.com/site/support/other-downloads?path=others%2Feko%2FBrainSlayer-V24-preSP2%2F

Based on the DD-WRT WNR-2000v2 wiki, the router has limited RAM, so you have to pay attention to the size of the firmware image you are installing. You will need images that are LESS THAN 3.4 MB. NOTE: The main DD-WRT WNR-2000v2 page has a link to a file that is too large for this router. You will brick it. It is easy enough to recover, but it's not necessarily for the faint of heart.

The wiki page has a corrected, yet older link for the .chk firmware required for the initial flash. You have to find the subsequent .bin image. I used the same build as the .chk for reliability with the initial flashing. The latest firmware from r18777 is here: 18774.chk and 18774.bin. The wiki states that 18777 is the last that won't brick the router.

The process for updating the firmware is as follows:

1. Connect to the router with a network cable and make sure your computer is set up with the right network address.
2. Update the router with the .chk version of the DD-WRT firmware using the standard web interface.
3. Let the router sit for 5 minutes after it appears it to have finished.
4. Do a 30-30-30 reset (hold the reset button for 30 seconds while the router is on, turn off the router for 30 seconds while still holding the reset button, power on the router and continue holding the reset button for 30 seconds).
5. Power the router off and on (I always have to do this twice to get it to boot up, no matter the firmware).
6. Set your computer's network address to 192.168.1.x (x needs to be some number higher than 1).
7. Point your browser to 192.168.1.1
8. You will need to set up an admin user (name and password).
9. Configure your router.

If something goes wrong, and your router is bricked, follow the steps here and here to get it unbricked. I had to do this a few times. I haven't tried it on Windows, but it's a trivial process with Linux.

Here we go!

I have been threatening to post my Linux struggles, errr... I mean experiences, for some time now. I haven't. I think that it is only fair, since I have gotten so much from other peoples' pages, blogs, and wikis.

Here are some caveats to what will show up here:

1. I am lazy. I want you to have done it for me so I can copy it. Sometimes that doesn't work.
   
2. I am currently a faithful SuSE/openSuSE user. I have used it for years in spite of Novell. I plan to keep using it for the time being. I have used Mandrake in the past. I quit using it when each release got buggier and less functional (ca. 2002) I hate RedHat/Fedora as an OS. I love what they have done for Linux in general. Debian is cool because it has spawned so many useful distros, but I am not that hardcore.
   
3. I am not a real programmer. I know some BASH scripting and Python. I have worked in industrial automation for years, so I know how to think like a programmer, and I know enough low-level, industrial languages (SFC, CFC, Ladder Logic, SCL (like PASCAL), etc.) that I can typically sort through scripts and C source to change/fix things. I am more likely to do this the more I work on a specific project. I try to avoid it when possible (see item 1).
4. I am competent with networking. I have written my own firewall rules in the past, but I am lazy. I see myself having to do this again in the near future due to some planned projects.
   
5. I am not a web developer. I can make simple little pages, but I gave up around the time CSS became a big thing. I want to learn XML to make some things at work easier, but I don't have a really good reason yet.
6. I speak German (as a second language), so I will be linking and/or including German help and references when I find it useful. I will be able to answer German questions or translate to English if requested. I am not planning on doing this as a rule. My advice to SuSE users is to learn German. There is a lot of German SuSE support.

I am currently in the middle of a handful of projects. I will be writing about these experiences. These projects involve:

1. MythTV with a Hauppauge PVR-350 in Germany. I have it functioning, and I will write up a summary soon. This is very pressing because my kids finally have "Channels" again. It has been 6 months with no TV.
   
2. mediaWiki. I want to get a series of HOWTO's written for my wife along with some calendar capabilities. I will focus on security with this because I want it accessible from outside, and I don't want any Tom, Dick or Harry futzing with it.
3. Running and securing my own Apache2 server.
4. Learning a little more MySQL (for my wiki and MythTV).
5. I am keen on the whole LAMP idea, so I might follow up with that.
6. I want to get Bugzilla working. I manage a software test team for the R&D division of my company. I use bug tracking software at work, and it is useful to keep track of what isn't working. I would like to carry that concept over to day to day crap at home (i.e. my laptop is crashing all of the time, accessing the guide on MythTV seg faults, the bathroom toilet isn't flushing, I have a flat tire on my bike, etc.).
7. I managed to get a bootable system using Linux From Scratch back in 2002. I would really like to do that again. I haven't decided how I am going to pull it off, but I am hoping to.
   

That is the current plan. I will be summarizing my MythTV stuff very soon. Mainly so I don't forget what I have done. I have a feeling I will be reinstalling/reconfiguring in the near future.