WAP54g 3.04 firmware bad

[bloobooger]

I also have a very strange problem with Linksys’ WAP54G’s 3.04 firmware version. I’ve recently flashed it with this new version and it became completely unresponsive. First I did a soft restart by reseeding the power to it, but with no avail. So I then did a hard restart, plugged it into a router setup to accommodate the factory settings – my laptop too. Strangely, I cannot still cannot connect to the AP. The diag light is not lit up so I don’t think there is anything seriously wrong. The link lights for wifi and lan both light up, but netstumbler doesn’t believe that there is any signal whatsoever. I can’t ping it, nmap, or anything (the setup utility is equally useless). Totally disregarding these signs, I’ve even attempted to tftp an old firmware version to it. Nothing. Any suggestions?

 

[blue68f100]

I hate when that happen, been in your shoes before. I assume you have done a reset to factory settings. Which means the IP address is proably not where you expect it to be. You will need to access it through the browser Interface. But inorder to do that you must know it's IP. If set to factory, use a crossover (if not MIDX) cable and do a direct connect. You will need to set your pc to a static IP in the same subnet as the AP. Then you can do the initinial setup.

 

[zwischenzug]

Since you resetted the WAP54G it's LAN IP address will return to 192.168.1.245

Try to set static IP on your PC let's say 192.168.1.x and ping it and see if you get replies. If you'll get a reply chances are you'll be able to access the setup page of WAP54G and reconfigure its settings.

 

[bloobooger]

Sorry, either I wasn't clear enough when I said that I had tried these basic things or neither of you folk picked up on that. What I didn't mention was that yes, I have also tried what you suggest zwischenzung - my laptop's NIC is MDIX -- no dice.
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Later today I'm going to follow some instructions found on a Seattle Wireless forum on de-bricking the WAP54Gv1 (which involves shorting out some pins on the flash chip). I'm certian though that this is an extreme measure because clearly judging from the led's, it is responsive to the lan and the diag light isn't on (which I understand to be a tell tale sign of a brick).

If anybody has any other suggestions before this point of no return PLEASE let me know.

 

[blue68f100]

Ok, Leave the power un-plugged over night with the power socket shorted. That should bleed down any ram and capacitors. The try again in the morning.

If the AP have a reset Button on it.

Press and Hold the reset while the router is powered up for 20 sec, then unplug the power while still holding the reset in for 20 sec, then connect the power still holding the reset for 20 sec THEN RELEASE the Reset. Total Time 1 minute.

What hardware version of the WAP54G do you have?

 

[bloobooger]

I mentioned in my previous reply that it's v1. This one uses an AMD flash chip instead of an intel, which seems to be more popular. I've just tried your restart technique, which seemed to be ineffective. Shorting the power over night is worth a try I guess.
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did i mention that the link/act light blinks intermitenly?
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oh, and shorting out pins 16 and 17 on the AMD flash, as suggested on Seattle Wireless didn't seem to work either.

 

[blue68f100]

Which AMD Flash chip, Want to see what the shorting is suppose to do. I do know on some chips that will clear the chips. I have a programmer.

USR has a back door for clearing out the flashram.

Have you contacted Linksys on this problem. They may be able to give you the back door sequence if one exist.

 

[bloobooger]

Let's see here. The AMD flash chip is an "AM29LV320DB" the following lines read "-90E1" and the last line, "0250CBB H"

Here is where I got the idea to short 16 and 17
http://wiki.openwrt.org/WAP54GHowto#head-aa6781a5f30cb21963997fde2799430957272a41

Somehow I think that these are the incorrect pins to short in order to erase the flash. If you have some sort of schematic that tells you how to do it (with ease), please let me know.

I've found another resource that suggests that i ground pin 14 to clear the flash, but that doesn't affect any change either. I've also got the specs for the chip from AMD: pin 12 is labeled 'reset'. i tried grounding that too (all during boot) but also, no avail.

 

[zwischenzug]

If its still under warranty, call Linksys and have it replaced. 😀

 

[blue68f100]

Got the data sheet on the flashram. Hope this will help you.

Reset is pin 12

RESET# = Hardware Reset Pin, Active Low

Device Ground is on pin 27 & 46

Dot is 1 counting CCW

RESET#: Hardware Reset Pin
The RESET# pin provides a hardware method
of resetting the device to reading array data.
When the RESET# pin is driven low for at least
a period of tRP, the device immediately terminates
any operation in progress, tristates all
output pins, and ignores all read/write commands
for the duration of the RESET# pulse.
The device also resets the internal state machine
to reading array data. The operation that
was interrupted should be reinitiated once the
device is ready to accept another command sequence,
to ensure data integrity.
Current is reduced for the duration of the RESET#
pulse. When RESET# is held at VSS±0.3
V, the device draws CMOS standby current
(ICC4). If RESET# is held at VIL but not within
VSS±0.3 V, the standby current is greater.
The RESET# pin may be tied to the system
reset circuitry. A system reset would thus also
reset the Flash memory, enabling the system to
read the boot-up firmware from the Flash
memory.
If RESET# is asserted during a program or
erase operation, the RY/BY# pin remains a “0”
(busy) until the internal reset operation is complete,
which requires a time of tREADY (during
Embedded Algorithms). The system can thus
monitor RY/BY# to determine whether the
reset operation is complete. If RESET# is asserted
when a program or erase operation is
not executing (RY/BY# pin is “1”), the reset operation
is completed within a time of tREADY (not
during Embedded Algorithms). The system can
read data tRH after the RESET# pin returns to
VIH.