Replacing the Firmware on the Linksys WRT54G V8

I have a Linksys WRT54G router and I want to do more with it than the original firmware allows. The key to this is replacing the firmware with a beefed up version. The first step will be identifying a new firmware and DDWRT it is. After looking through various router replacement firmwares I found that the best choice is going to be DDWRT.

• DDWRT Firmware
  • Start with the router database
• OpenWRT
  • Start with supported hardware Found to be not supported.
• Tomato Firmware
  • Not enough info on router compatibility to feel comfortable
  • Not supported according to this write-up
• FreeWRT
  • Not in english & not enough information
• X-WRT
  • Not enough information & homepage no longer exists.

What you should know before beginning 

• Review the DDWRT Wiki
• Use IE to flash, firefox has known issues, and use http not https
• Before & after each flash a hard-reset needs to be performed
  • While router is on, press & hold reset button on back for 30 seconds
  • Keep button held down while unplugging power and wait 30 more seconds while still holding down reset button
  • Keep button held down while plugging power back in for another 30 seconds

From DDWRT: V24 preSP2 Beta Build 13064 (check the DDWRT site for updates)

1. Hard Reset
2. Linksys CFE-Updater.bin – CFE-Updater-Gv8-GSv7-v3.bin
3. Hard Reset
4. VXWorks-killer : WRT54G v8.0 and v8.2 – vxworkskillerGv8-v3.bin
5. Hard Reset
6. VXWorks-revert : WRT54G v8.0 and v8.2 – vxworksrevert-Gv8-v3.bin
7. Hard Reset
8. Micro Generic – dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin
9. Hard Reset
10. Micro Generic – dd-wrt.v24_micro_olsrd_generic.bin
11. Hard Reset
12. TFTP-Client for Windows – tftp.exe

If all goes well you will end up with the following DDWRT interface.

Hardware Hacks for the future of my router
http://www.allaboutjake.com/network/linksys/wrt54g/hack/

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