Well now that we have a set IP we can TFTP the DD-WRT image to the router. To do this we need to open the Linksys TFTP tool we downloaded earlier. When you open it you will be presented with this:

We need to enter the Server name as 192.168.1.1 and the password will be blank. The file is the dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin that we downloaded earlier, or the update micro generic version you downloaded from the DD-WRT website. Go ahead and leave the retry to 3 times, when you have all the info in it should look like this:

With that all in go ahead and click upgrade. DO NOT REBOOT OR POWER CYCLE THE ROUTER. It will do so itself after it has upgraded. It will take anywhere from 1-10 minutes to complete the flashing process. If the power is interrupted before the router reboots itself, you've got a 60 dollar paperweight. After the router reboots itself, you will have access to the DD-WRT interface at http://192.168.1.1. The default login and password for DD-WRT is User : root and Password : admin . After doing this proceedure you can update to future versions of DD-WRT with the DD-WRT web gui, much the same way we uploaded the first file in the Linksys web gui. At this point you should revert your IP address settings we changed earlier to Obtain an IP address automatically. Well have fun with your new linux running Linksys WRT54G!

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Matias From:192.168.1.xxx | 2006-09-27 22:24:25 hi, im flash my wrt54g with this tutorial but, after de first reboot my wrt54g dont boot up and the power led is flashing. what happen? i kill it? have i a new brick?? Please help me! Reply | Quote

Frederico Melo From:192.168.1.xxx | 2006-09-27 22:25:03 Man, it worked greately. You missed a detail, though: In my specific case, I had to power cycle the router again at this point (I've got the version 6 one), otherwise the IP 192.168.1.1 would not reply. Try this out if you've got all the leds on but the router won't reply. Reply | Quote

aase - re: From:193.19.234.xxx | 2006-11-08 08:05:08 Frederico Melo wrote: Man, it worked greately. You missed a detail, though: In my specific case, I had to power cycle the router again at this point (I've got the version 6 one), otherwise the IP 192.168.1.1 would not reply. Try this out if you've got all the leds on but the router won't reply. Reply | Quote

Mettlog From:192.168.1.xxx | 2006-09-27 22:26:19 Hi, it's funny because it shouldn't be so difficult, but I have a WRT54G V5.1 Firmware 1.00.6 here where even the first step, flashing 'vxworks_prep_v03.bin' doesn't work. I can choose the file and start flashing, but when I power cycle the router I'm back in the original Linksys firmware, so there's no chance to proceed. Is that a problem with the 1.00.6 firmware? Any ideas? Reply | Quote

thefirstM - HTTPS From:71.76.162.xxx | 2006-10-22 08:29:43 Reply to Mettlog: This could be because you are accessing the router over HTTPS. You cannot upload firmware or settings to a WRT54G v5 over a HTTPS connection unless you have Linksys firmware v1.00.9 or later. Try accessing it using just plain HTTP. Reply | Quote

mAineAc From:192.168.1.xxx | 2006-09-27 22:26:52 I installed and it seemed to go great but when I make changes it goes to a white screen and no changes are saved. Any ideas? Reply | Quote

dp - Re: white screen and no change From:206.248.157.xxx | 2007-02-21 13:06:56 I had the same issue, I was using firefox. Try using IE 6.0 i think firefox doesn't recognize the .cgi. Works great now. Excellent tutorial btw. Reply | Quote

Adam - Re: white sceen (apply.cgi) From:207.190.65.xxx | 2008-01-19 09:12:19 I had this issue too, but there was no way I was going to use IE every time I wanted to access my router. After looking at the FAQ on dd-wrt.com wiki, I figured out it was stale cookies or cache in firefox. So, clear your browser cache / cookies and it started working fine for me! Reply | Quote

Zork From:192.168.1.xxx | 2006-09-27 22:27:11 I'm having a difficult time just trying to find a list of actual features this new firmware has. I just want to see what all it has compared to other one so I'll know which suits me, but the site seems horribly designed, and completely lacking in documentation. Reply | Quote

Shawn From:192.168.1.xxx | 2006-09-27 22:27:40 Now, are you saying my website seems horribly designed or the dd-wrt.com website is horribly designed. I make no claim as to documenting this firmware or anything, I just provided a, in my opinion, rather simple, step-by-step tutorial on how to install it. If you would like any documentation for the firmware try http://www.dd-wrt.com. Shawn Reply | Quote

Luc - vxwork_prep does not work From:84.72.82.xxx | 2006-09-28 12:28:43 Hi! I have a v5.1 and tried different times to upload the prep file. After the browser get blank and a power cycle, there is still the usual linksys firmware, not the maintenance mode for firmware upgrades.... What did I made wrong? rgds Luc Reply | Quote

Luc - re: vxwork_prep does not work From:84.72.82.xxx | 2006-09-29 14:52:35 Luc wrote: Hi! I have a v5.1 and tried different times to upload the prep file. After the browser get blank and a power cycle, there is still the usual linksys firmware, not the maintenance mode for firmware upgrades.... What did I made wrong? rgds Luc I was too impatient, after powering down the router for longer time it worked. The next problem was the imagetool. The created image failed to upload. After using the generic one, it worked perfectly. Thanks a lot for the great work! Reply | Quote

mnemonix From:213.105.224.xxx | 2006-12-13 20:31:36 You shouldn't go to the https site Reply | Quote

giwrgos - i forgot to change mac adress. From:87.202.156.xxx | 2006-10-01 18:04:13 i change the firmware from ap wrt54g v5 and i forgot to change mac address now what happen? can i change it now? Reply | Quote

admin Super Administrator | 2006-10-01 18:28:25 1) reset to factory defaults a) administration>factory defaults, or b) hold reset button for 30 seconds 2) telnet 192.168.1.1 default username is root, default password is admin or 2a) go to administration>commands 3) enter these commands: nvram set et0macaddr=(mac on bottom of router) nvram set il0macaddr=(mac on bottom of router + 1) nvram commit note: replace the mac address in the 1st line with the mac address that's stamped on the bottom of your router... for the 2nd line, increase the last number by 1 but keep the rest the same. 4) exit telnet or exit the admin page and wait 5 minutes 5) reload the config page (192.168.1.1 and look for your mac address. it should be there. if its not, unplug the router, wait a minute, plug it in, wait a few minutes, and reload the page. it should be there. Also you should note that everytime you do a hard reset on the router (the reset button on the back for 30 seconds) you will have to redo these settings. Hope it helps Shawn Reply | Quote

spawn27 - WRT5G v5 Firmware 1.00.6 From:59.92.54.xxx | 2006-10-02 03:05:31 Hi, I must say the instructions are very easy and simple. However I have this one question before proceeding further, like the Mettlog's post, my firmware is 1.00.6, he had mentioned that the 'vxworks_prep_v03.bin' does not work. Is there any update on this issue? if there is I would be obliged if an update provided. thanks Spawn Reply | Quote

admin - Sorry . . . Super Administrator | 2006-10-02 07:05:07 To tell ya the truth, I am not sure. I looked around dd-wrt.com and on the wiki and I didn't see anything relating to this problem. You might try a different browser, or perhaps using the TFTP program to send that file instead of the web-admin flashing util. Let me know how it pans out. Sorry for my lack of help. Shawn Reply | Quote

Walt Scrivens - Cant get TFTP to work From:74.231.200.xxx | 2006-10-02 13:28:13 I followed teh suggestion here and returned my WRT54GS and got a WRT54G. All I could find was version 6. I followed the instructions at bitsum and scorpiontek - they are essentially the same, but I cross-checked my work between them as I went along. Everything went fine until the point ot TFTP'ing the actual router software. I used dd-wrt.v23_micro_generic.bin, and I tried both the GUI and the command-line version. The GUI tried 3 times and failed. The CL version gave a "Timeout occurred" message. I power-cycled the router before each try. I have set a fixed IP address on my NIC, and set it to 10/half, and disabled the firewall. Currently the router power LED is blinking, the Ethernet port 1 LED responds to connections, and I can ping the router. Help, please. I know this isn't bricked, but at this point it may as well be, for me. I need help to try whatever is next, either to get the DD-WRT software working or to restore the Linksys firmware so I can return it. TIA Walt Reply | Quote

Matt - uhhh.. From:67.220.7.xxx | 2008-08-03 13:21:42 awesome guide, thanks! Reply | Quote

Walt Scrivens - Fixed It! From:74.231.200.xxx | 2006-10-02 14:43:52 Well, I'm answering my own post. Maybe this will be useful to others. I decided (in my frustration) to try using another PC to flash the ROM. The original PC was Windows XP Pro, SP2, with all updates installed. It is running IE6, although I tried other browsers to no avail. As I said, I turned off the firewall, used a fixed IP, set the NIC to 10/half... I moved the router to an old laptop I use for network management - it is running Windows 2000, also up to date with patches, and also IE 6. The TFTP went perfectly in a couple of seconds, and the router re-booted with the new firmware. So all I can say is, if you're having trouble with an XP machine, try Windows 2000, or Linux and you may have better results. Walt Reply | Quote

Dan - TFTP for Windows XP SP 2 From:71.143.15.xxx | 2006-10-02 21:36:37 Something about that TFTP tool in the download link for me as well. Windows XP SP 2 has a tftp.exe with it, no need to download that if you have Windows XP... Simply follow this step 1. Create Command Prompt Shell (Start - Run - CMD.EXE) 2. Change directory to the location where you have downloaded the DD-WRT image 3. Type this command (where %Filename is the DDWRT image) tftp -i 192.168.1.1 PUT %filename% 4. Allow a few seconds and wait ... the router will reboot on its own, back into DDWRT... worked for me Thanks for everything else - this is great Reply | Quote

admin - True Super Administrator | 2006-10-02 23:40:33 This is true, I just used the GUI program for simplicity in explaination. Its alot easier for most users to understand instructions for a GUI than type this command and this command. Thank you for the additional information, it will probably be useful for some users. Shawn Reply | Quote

Shawn G - Same thing happened to me From:216.195.166.xxx | 2008-10-22 10:49:24 I had the same symptoms as described above. Only I did not have a machine that I could use that had linux on it. My only linux box at the moment is my PBX system. Anyway I tried it from another machine running xp with all the updates and it worked fine. Reply | Quote

Shawn G - re: Fixed It! From:216.195.166.xxx | 2008-10-22 10:52:43 Walt Scrivens wrote: Well, I'm answering my own post. Maybe this will be useful to others. I decided (in my frustration) to try using another PC to flash the ROM. The original PC was Windows XP Pro, SP2, with all updates installed. It is running IE6, although I tried other browsers to no avail. As I said, I turned off the firewall, used a fixed IP, set the NIC to 10/half... I moved the router to an old laptop I use for network management - it is running Windows 2000, also up to date with patches, and also IE 6. The TFTP went perfectly in a couple of seconds, and the router re-booted with the new firmware. So all I can say is, if you're having trouble with an XP machine, try Windows 2000, or Linux and you may have better results. Walt I had the same symptoms as described above. Only I did not have a machine that I could use that had linux on it. My only linux box at the moment is my PBX system. Anyway I tried it from another machine running xp with all the updates and it worked fine. Reply | Quote

VN - good job! From:24.240.26.xxx | 2006-10-03 07:15:17 Your instructions are fantastic! Thanks. I installed DD-WRT 23/SP2 micro on a WRT54G v6. Couple of comments: 1. I first tried installing dd-wrt.v23_micro_wrt54g.bin which I got from http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/dd-wrt.v23 SP2/micro. For some reason that did not work. Then I tried dd-wrt.v23_micro_generic.bin as suggested in your writeup and that worked perfectly. I am a little perplexed though. 2. It may be a good idea to suggest (as a setup step) a wired connection between the router (with no internet connection) and the computer with a static IP (your step 3). Thanks again -- your instructions were very useful. Reply | Quote

Ken - passwords From:24.83.90.xxx | 2006-10-04 00:04:04 I did not reset my Router before I flashed mini files. I reboot the computer. Now I could not get in administration. I also reset on my router many times but still will reset. I also used command and still won't work. Reply | Quote

admin Super Administrator | 2006-10-04 01:59:13 What exacly are you asking? You are supposed to use the dd-wrt micro build, and the default login/password for the admin is root/admin. Shawn Reply | Quote

Louis - Router Rebooting constantly From:69.163.102.xxx | 2006-10-05 00:57:04 Thanks for the great guide! I encounterd a problem after the flash though. I noticed that the router reboots itself every 17 min. I tried setting up the scheduled reboot to 1 a week but it will still reboot at 17 min on the dot. Is this a firmware related problem? If so is there any work arounds? Reply | Quote

ljheidel - re: Router Rebooting constantl From:66.65.68.xxx | 2006-10-31 17:35:29 Louis wrote: Thanks for the great guide! I encounterd a problem after the flash though. I noticed that the router reboots itself every 17 min. I tried setting up the scheduled reboot to 1 a week but it will still reboot at 17 min on the dot. Is this a firmware related problem? If so is there any work arounds? Check to see if the watchdog timer is enabled. I'm not sure of what's behind it, but with my watchdog timer enabled, as soon as it's sleep process died (at 1000 seconds...16:40), it would reboot even when the watchdog IP was reachable. I suspect that the lack of the ping binary in the micro firmware might be the culprit, but I haven't looked into it any further. Reply | Quote

Rahul - can we load tinypeap From:158.144.49.xxx | 2006-10-05 23:19:07 This is a great site. Shawn u r a amazing person. Thanks. I would be obliged if u can answer a query of mine. Actually i wish to load Tinypeap (as i want inbuilt RADIUS feature on my router) and not DD-WRT. Can i do it. Hope i can. Thanks in advance. Rahul Reply | Quote

admin Super Administrator | 2006-10-06 00:44:31 Actually I did some digging around and Tinypeap is no more. They violated the GPL, they used open source in a closed source project. The tinypeap.com domain is dead. I couldn't find anything about wether or not the image would fit on a WRT54G v5 or not, but if it is around 1.5~1.7 megs it should. Sorry for my lack of assistance. Shawn PS. DD-WRT has a radius server in it I believe. Reply | Quote

Dave - Unable to save any changes From:24.131.164.xxx | 2006-10-07 17:22:39 The tutorial is great! I have a WRT54G v6, I followed the steps perfectly, waited longer than i needed to for the reboots and the software loaded fine. Im having the same problem someone else was having, I cant save any changes. I change the routers IP, click save get sent to a white screen wait a minute, powercycle the WAP and the IP is still the old address. I cant seem to change it to client bridge or change the router password either! Suggestions? Reply | Quote

Dave - Fix for unable to save changes From:24.131.164.xxx | 2006-10-07 17:35:22 I was able to save the settings using Internet Explorer, i was unable to save using firefox! Reply | Quote

Thinkpad - Can i install standard dd-wrt? From:60.50.84.xxx | 2006-10-08 02:38:54 Hi is it the installation with chillispot? can i install standard dd-wrt? thanks Reply | Quote

admin Super Administrator | 2006-10-08 14:38:21 The only way to install dd-wrt standard is to have a version 4 or older wrt. The newer ones simply do not have enough memory to store the standard or mini versions of dd-wrt. Sorry Shawn Reply | Quote

Anonymous From:69.242.29.xxx | 2007-02-15 21:02:12 you ekk saying that only has 2 MB of mrmory but mine shoows this in web interfacce Total Available 6.2 MB / 8.0 MB Free 0.5 MB / 6.2 MB Used 5.6 MB / 6.2 MB Buffers 0.3 MB / 5.6 MB Cached1.4 MB / 5.6 MB Active1.1 MB / 5.6 MB Inactive0.6 MB / 5.6 MB Reply | Quote

Thinkpad - Chilispot From:60.50.87.xxx | 2006-10-09 04:17:45 After in installing the micro.. is it sufficent if im installing chillispot manually?.. or there is not enought for any other sofware additional installation? thanks Reply | Quote

Rahul - loading Tinypeap From:158.144.49.xxx | 2006-10-09 07:30:21 Hi Shawn, Well i luckly got to download Tinypeap from a site after doing lot of searching. U too can download it from there. http://www.wrtrouters.com/firmware/wrt54g/ Please let me know if i can load this tinypeap firmware on my router without any proplems by following ur method. I suppose lot of people like me are waiting for ur reply. Thanks in advance Rahul Reply | Quote

admin Super Administrator | 2006-10-10 06:36:01 Unfortunately you will not be able to install TinyPEAP on a WRT54G v5-6 the image itself it 3.1 megs and the v5-6 only has 2 megs of flash. Shawn Reply | Quote

Thinkpad - Chilispot From:60.50.87.xxx | 2006-10-10 07:09:01 Shwan, If im installing micro image.. is it possible for me to install chilispot manually?.. please advised.. thanks in advance Reply | Quote

admin Super Administrator | 2006-10-10 22:44:41 Unfortunately I don't believe it is possible to install chillispot. The router just simply doesn't have the storage space to store it. Shawn Reply | Quote

Howie69 - Czar From:148.64.202.xxx | 2006-10-11 02:41:12 Ah, for this reason, we can only use the micro flashes ( the fact they only have 2mb of flash? ) and cannot use the full flashes ( MRT54G v5, v6)? Reply | Quote

jackmunch - master of none From:67.33.58.xxx | 2006-10-11 22:46:31 I don't care about my ip address since I'm in a hotel room, but is it cool for everyone else's addresses to be showing in their posts? Reply | Quote

admin Super Administrator | 2006-10-12 00:27:37 In all reality it doesn't matter. If you really want to avoid your ip being revealed, sign up for an account. Takes a whole 20 seconds. Then it says Registered or something of the likes. Really though, your ip addy being revealed on a comment system like this isn't much of a security risk or anything. There are numerous ways to obtain someones ip addy. Shawn Reply | Quote

Rahul - Radius Server From:158.144.49.xxx | 2006-10-12 05:06:06 Hi Shawn, Thanks for pointing out the practical difficulty of loading Tinypeap on my router. At the same time is it possible for u to suggest any firmware which has the inbuilt feature of Radius Server in it. This is the ony thing i need...... AN Inbuilt RADIUS SERVER in a firmware. Thanks Rahul Reply | Quote

Newcomer - Thank you. From:68.116.249.xxx | 2006-10-13 15:58:37 If you hit apply and nothing happens, it's because Firefox doesn't work very well with dd-wrt. You need to use Internet Explorer to apply new settings. Thank you very much shawn for making a very easy to read and follow guide to run linux on my piece of shit WRT54G Ver. 6. I had a version 2 that I RMA'ed recently and they sent me a V6 instead. So this guide is seriously a life saver. And, there are so many options in DD-WRT it makes it a very elite router. Reply | Quote

Haz - Great stuff From:69.172.65.xxx | 2006-10-14 21:12:12 I have one question, I have a wrt54gs-v6 and i flashed it to the latest dd-wrt v23 sp2 micro but now im trying to upgrade the firmware to a standard dd-wrt v23 sp2 firmware, but everytime i do it, it still shows me that it is still micro. The question is can i use anything else other then the micro for v.6? Any help is greatly appreciated. thx.. Reply | Quote

Davil - Works Perfectly!!! From:201.231.74.xxx | 2006-10-14 23:07:32 The process work perfect with the router. Thanks!!! Reply | Quote

Jan - Problem with WRT54GS V5.1 From:80.164.27.xxx | 2006-10-16 13:17:09 Same problem as Haz. Have installed DD-WRT SP2 micro and can not upgrade from this? So is it a one way upgrade? Reply | Quote

admin Super Administrator | 2006-10-17 01:18:58 Allright, ya see the thing is that anything after v4 or the G or GS is castrated to be blunt. They only have 2 mb of flash. This is about half of what the standard distro of DD-WRT needs. Sorry folks, but if you have a V5, 5.1 or 6 or the G or V5 or 6 of the GS your stuck with the micro version. Check ebay or something for an older one. The best version is a GS version 3. It has 32 mb of ram and *i believe* 8 mb of flash. If you really want a powerhouse router go and drop about $100 on an Asus WL-500G deluxe. That is really about a good as you can get for DD-WRT unless you want to go the MagicBox route. Shawn Reply | Quote

fw - save settings problems From:83.81.23.xxx | 2006-10-17 10:14:42 had a lot of problems before with a vpn connection. Now all is OK! Also had problem to save settings in the router with the new firmware using mozilla. Problem does not occur with IE. thanks Reply | Quote

Ide Bugalla - Good!! From:205.200.57.xxx | 2006-10-17 23:08:47 Did as described and worked great! Thx!! Reply | Quote

braza - syslog problem sp2 micro From:200.159.101.xxx | 2006-10-18 09:54:39 The syslog not found on SP2 micro.... I have downgrade to SP1 and found ...BUG ? I have setup LOG=HIGH all 3 options is on and remote syslog set to my IP LAN CARD ! BUG! BUG ! help me ! Reply | Quote

admin Super Administrator | 2006-10-19 22:05:07 wow killer slow down. You have to have a linux box for syslogd to work, and if you wanna view the actual log file, telnet to the router. You can do this by going to start, Run ... then running 'telnet 192.168.1.1' . Login and then type 'cat /var/log/messages' This will display the log files. I've never been able to get it to display the log files in the web interface. Shawn Reply | Quote

turpindm - Me too - syslog problem w/SP2 Registered | 2007-01-22 09:43:47 I installed v23 SP2 micro on a WRT54G v6 router this past weekend. The upgrade went flawlessly. I also installed WallWatcher on a Windoze machine to monitor router logs. When I look at the logs, there is plenty of info about router status, but nothing about in/out connections. In/out logging is enabled on the router and the level is 3. I was going to look at the logs in router memory as suggested above, but telnet wouldn't accept my username/password. I tried both the username/password that I had [successfully] used to configure the router via the web interface and I also tried root/admin. Neither worked. So, I have two questions: (1) Will the micro version of DD-WRT generate and send connection log info to a syslog server? (2) What could be wrong with telnet authentication on this box and how can I fix it? Reply | Quote

jurgencachia@gmail.com - "Management Mode Firmware Upg From:194.158.46.xxx | 2007-03-15 13:23:42 mine is stuck on any solutions? pls msg me on jurgencachia@gmail.com Reply | Quote

jurgencachia@gmail.com - "Management Mode Firmware Upg From:194.158.46.xxx | 2007-03-15 13:25:20 mine is stuck on"Management Mode Firmware Upgrade" any solutions? pls msg me on jurgencachia@gmail.com Reply | Quote

Alan - Fixed a brick from ebay! From:12.201.44.xxx | 2006-10-20 17:28:59 I got a WRT54G v5 on ebay, but when I turned it on for the first time I was presented with the "Management Mode Firmware Upgrade" screen! I found your instructions and realized that the person I bought this from must have tried this and thought they failed... So I downloaded your utilities and the latest dd-wrt-micro-generic, and voila! Wow! Awesome, thanks! Reply | Quote

Jon - You're awesome! From:24.141.225.xxx | 2006-10-24 13:10:04 Worked just like you said it would! You rock my linksys-free firmware rooter! I love you! Reply | Quote

Ken - half a brick From:64.233.221.xxx | 2006-10-25 09:26:26