Hacking the Linksys WRT54GL

So I recently purchased a Linksys WRT54GL, hopefully to solve my lagging problem when the old Belkin router was ever overloaded with packets and connections. At which then I’ll have to unplug the router and power it back on.

There are several open source firmwares that work with this mode:
Sveasoft
dd-wrt
HyperWRT

The one I decided to use was dd-wrt. Sveasoft decided to charge for their newest firmware ($20/yr for support). Talisman, their old firmware which works on the WRT54G and WRT54GS, is still free, but Alchemy, their firmware that works on the WRT54GL is not. HyperWRT is the enhanced version of the existing Linksys firmware with bonuses, but has only a limited feature set. DD-WRT on the other hand is trying to replace what Sveasoft’s has done with Alchemy and to continue the project freely.

I finished upgraded the firmware to DD-WRT v2.3 (Standard Generic). The firmware upgrade went through fine, and I started customizing the settings and adding port forwards. However, I noticed that websites were loading awfully slow and when I tried to download a file, it would only get 4KB/s and eventually disconnect. I thought maybe I got the wrong version of the firmware, so I tried to installing the newest firmware from Linksys to see if the problem still occured. The firmware reverted back fine, but now I can’t seem to even go online. DNS resolving works, but no sites would connect. I made sure my connection worked on my old Belkin router and it did. So I was back to square 1.

I thought maybe I enabled some settings in DD-WRT that is causing problems in the Linksys firmware. Since DD-WRT v2.3 is rather new and may have bugs, I downloaded and installed v2.2 (Final R2). Since they never listed WRT54GL, I went for the Generic last time, but this time decided to give the WRT54G version a try. While upgrading the firmware, it reported the upgrade had fail. I was like oh shoot! But I was still able to connect to the router and decided to try the Generic v2.2. The one installed fine and I thought that’s good, until my router wouldn’t ever exit out of diagnostic mode. The power light would keep blinking. Pinging 192.168.1.1 didn’t get any response either.

I thought, crap, I broke my new toy. Started searching online for a way to hard reset the firmware like what I could do to my Linksys PAP2. There were suggestions of holding the reset button for 10 minutes, but it turns out that only resetted the settings and not the firmware. I finally found a site that taught me how to do it. It required opening the router and shorting 2 pins on one of the flash roms. This in turns allows you to force upload a firmware to it.

At first I was stumped on how to open up the router. I couldn’t find any screws and it looked like I’d break the rubber feet if I tried to pull on it any harder.

linksys wrt54gllinksys wrt54gllinksys wrt54gl

So I searched online on how to open it up and it turns out it was just as simply as pulling it apart. No screws involved. There is a warranty sticker which will be detached if you open the box, so do note by opening the router, you void your warranty.

linksys wrt54gllinksys wrt54gllinksys wrt54gl

Next was finding the chip and then the associated pins. It turns out I was doing this the hard way. I could’ve saved myself a lot of time and trouble trying to search for this pins with the handicap of part of the case was covering it. I won’t put you through the same headache, so lets continue for now.

linksys wrt54gllinksys wrt54gllinksys wrt54gl

You can unscrew the 2 antennas and then pop out the remainder of the case.

linksys wrt54gllinksys wrt54gllinksys wrt54gllinksys wrt54gllinksys wrt54gllinksys wrt54gl

Finding the chip was easy. It has the big word “FLASH” on it. On one side, you’ll see pins marked from 1 to 24 and on the other side, you’ll find pins marked from 25 to 48. The 2 pins we want to short are pins 15 and 16. You can enlarge the last image and the click on FULL SIZE to see which pins exactly. I’ve made them red so it can be found easier. Finding the pins were awfully hard, especially when 15 and 16 are smack in the middle. So if you CAN NOT ping your router (by default set to 192.168.1.1), unplug your router, find a sharp metallic object and short those 2 pins, and plug the power back on. I used a small screwdriver and that worked out fine. You should be able to ping the router now.

The next thing you want to do is rename the firmware you want to replace with to code.bin. Open up a command prompt (Start -> Run -> cmd) and type the following:
tftp -i 192.168.1.1 put code.bin
BUT DO NOT HIT ENTER YET

The next instructions I got didn’t work out exactly for me. I was told to reset the router and when my system was connected to the router, to push that binary through immediately. But by resetting the router, I wasn’t able to ping the router any more. So what I ended up doing was shorting the pins again, and made sure I could pin my router, and then I pushed the firmware through (hitting enter on the command prompt). If you get a timeout message, that means it can’t connect. If you get a transmission complete or successful, then means the firmware is in.

However, with the original firmware back in, it still wasn’t able to connect to the internet, meaning no webpage would load. I then tried installing DD-WRT v2.3 (Mini Generic). After the router rebooted, which took a few minutes, everything was fine and dandy. I didn’t have the lag which I saw initially and everything just worked. I had to reset my wireless setting and my port forwardings. I even boosted my wireless transmission power from 28mW to 251mW, which I don’t think I’m technically allowed.

But so far, life is once again good.

pya! FLOOD

Yet another pya! FLOOD.

You might see a lot of chocolate photos, the reason being that this section of pya! occurred around Valentine’s day.

Here’s some preview:


「壁掛け時計」をインスパイヤ – “Wall Mounted Clock” Inspire – the clock actually displays your system clock time

(vid) ぞうさん – Elephant Surprise – why you should never risk being test subject for stage performers, especially when they’re elephants
(vid) さわれないnya… – Can’t Touch… – cute cat shown a series of cat funnies
(img) 現在増殖進行中 – Currently Multiplying – amazing at the number of 7-11s in Japan
(img) 5匹のnya – 5 kittens – pretty cute
(img) (nya)ぱくっ♪ ぴとっ♪ zzZZZ zzZZZ – Singing and Sleeping Kittens
(img) 液晶テレビ? – LCD? – haha, a ghetto rig to get the TV mounted inside the wall, or in this case, through it
(img) 不可能物体(自作編) – Impossible Object (Original Structure) – is there a trick to this?
(img) 手芸 – Handicraft – even my funky hands can’t do that, maybe Mechy can
(vid) 実写スーパーマリオ – Real Super Mario Bros. – haha, this is hilarious!!
(img) カードの切り方が人生だ。- Cuttng the Card is Life. – if photo is real, amazing what this guy is capable of doing simultaneously
(vid) pya!更新5分前キターー!! – 5 Minutes of Anger – my guess is he’s playing some MMORPG
(img) ヘイ!タクシー! – Hey! Taxi! – I find this an interesting way to get cars to slow down. when drivers see what resembles to be human-like figures, we tend to slow down as if t was instinctual
(img) 看板の思う壺 – Look at the Poster*NOT WORK SAFE* interesting advertisement for a lingerie store (or what I think is a lingerie store…)
(img) マトリックス – Matrix – sprite version of the garage scene where Morpheus battles the twins
(img) 巧の業 – Carving Skills – you know you’re famous when a doll is based off of you
(img) おっぱい – Breasts*NOT WORK SAFE* chocolate breasts
(img) 二人の愛が溢れ出るクマー – 2 People’s Overflowing Love Bear – i thought the knife was a nice addition and the heart shape blood was nice
(img) クッキー – Cookie – in the shape of Mario sprite and mushroom sprite
(img) 何人用ですか? – How many people can it fit? – limosine version of the motorcycle
(vid) 不可能物体 – Impossible Object – here’s the video showing of how the card is actually interlaced. I wonder if it was actually created like that
(img) 恋人用 – For Sweetheart – a second straw hole that says: For Your Partner
(vid) 一瞬で水から氷に – Instantly from Water to Ice – that’s just how cold it has to be before they’re allowed to cancel a dog race
(img) マリオ64 – Mario 64 – 64 different Mario sprites
(img) 小さな獲物nya – Small Insect – the picture has a nice tone about it with everything white including the cat, but the ladybug is red
(img) SAMURAI – the Star Wars version of The Last Samurai
(img) ドキドキハラハラ・・・ – CHU CHU… – puppy moter monorail
(img) 寒すぎて頭に来たので… – Coldness has reached the Head – -18° fucking cold
(img) 芸術家 – Artist*NOT WORK SAFE* female trouble – when kids learn to draw nude woman
(img) パラソル – Parasol – a choclate umbrella!
(img) 脱糞 – Samurai Statues

Enjoy!

3 Day Weekend!

We were supposed to get Firday off, but due to some build problems, what we expected to start testing on Tuesday, ended up to the point where we could only start testing on Friday. This was also the first time I saw my lead so pissed that he actually used f********* in an email. Though I haven’t been there quite as long, my other teammates said this was the first time they’ve seen him that angry. My lead is a pretty laid back guy and to see him that upset actually scared me.

Anyway, this extra day off is to compensate for the extra weekends we came in to work. I’m happy, though I have been working 10-12hr days this week. I got in before 10 this morning and left at 9 something. We did hold a morale event for the team this Thursday and we went bowling again. My scores for the 3 games were 91, 118, and 67. My 3rd game was horrible. My 1st 4 boxes were: X 1 X 0. But our team did manage to get a free lunch by winning the 2nd round. The description was iffy, but the rule was a decent place, no fast food, but no Met either (Met = Metropolitan Grill, apparently the best steak house in Seattle).

But I’m glad this RC0 push for InfoCard is finally over. We also got a new teammate and he’ll be helping me on the UI aspect which I’ve been lagging. Yay!

Logitech Customer Service Experience

I had a very good RMA experience recently with Logitech. I had purchased the Logitech Wireless Headphones for iPod through one of the recent deals. These are the bluetooth headphones I spoke of recently. Apparently, they’re prone to crack and once cracked, they stopped working completely.

I had purchased the headphones back in late August. Headphones started to crack in mid-October, but they were still functional. Several emails went back and forth, but we didn’t get anywhere. But as their website stated, RMAs can only be done through the calling into their customer service center. Since they were still working, I didn’t bother pursuing it further. Finally, in mid February, they got completely cracked and stopped working, so I got over my phone-phobia and called in. 10 minutes later, the guy said I should be receiving a new set of headphones in 7-10 days and then to toss the old pair away. He did remind me to keep the transmitter as that wasn’t going to be included.

I asked if I had to send anything in or if I needed any provide any proof of purchase. All he had me do was confirm the crack was in the dead center and to read off a secret number hidden underneath the ear cushion and everything was fine and dandy. Didn’t have to send the old pair back. Didn’t even have to fax in my receipt or proof of purchase.

Just got my headphones yesterday and now I’m one happy camper again.

iPod and iTunes communication error

So for the first time today, I got this error message:

“Another user on this computer is using the iPod software, so iTunes is unable to communicate with this iPod. Please ask the other user to log out.”

This error isn’t really documented well as Google only found 3 sites and only 1 with a useful answer: iLounge

I’m pretty sure it has to do something with my converting from Admin to User, but I made sure no other user was logged on besides me and even killed iTunes.exe. Didn’t really help. I tried undocking the iPod Nano and redocking it. Didn’t help either.

Apparently, there’s a process called ipodservices.exe that runs under SYSTEM. After killing that process, I was able to load my Nano into iTunes. I do have to admit I upgraded my iTunes yesterday to the latest version and had to install it with my Admin account. Maybe that was why this error occured.

pya! FLOOD

Another round of pya! FLOOD!

Some previews:

gif action
Click image to start the animation or view it in the gallery.
GIFAction

(img) フェニックス – Phoenix – a pretty drawing
(flash) BARBARIAN BOB – a fun flash game where you whack your sword against some soldiers
(img) 暗黒の祖 – Ancestor of Darkness – pretty lifelike figurine of Anakin Skywalker (well, besides the muscles)
(vid) ノータッチ – No Touch – is this allowed in ping pong (table tennis)? I was totally expecting it too! I’m guessing ping pong doesn’t have the serving rule where if it’s a fault if it doesn’t going to the opposite side
(img) クルッ – Crazy Flip
(flash) 変形 – Transformation – pretty neat little transformer
(vid) 11.75sec – amazing how he was able to determine his course of action just by studing the Rubiks cube for a few seconds
(img) 路上駐車 – Parking – sweet way to park a car in a tiny spot, especially with a Mini Cooper
(img) 連結nya – Connected Kittens – they’re cuddled up!
(img) 一筆書き(ドラえもん) – 1 Stroke Drawing (Doraemon)
(flash) Прачка – fun little game
(img) 昇龍 – Rising Dragon – as the sun rises…
(img) ママ~、こっち!こっち!- Mama, this! This! – cute bunny!
(img) チェス – Chess – nuts and bolts chess set
(flash) DE-ANIMATOR – fun little game where you shoot zombies
(flash) N Game – another fun little game where you jump around to collect coins
(img) ねずみとり – Rodent Trap – Parrot and mouse friends
(flash) storm the house – yet another fun little game where you defend your fort and fire at enemies
(flash) 爆発船 – SeaWar – yet another fun little game where you sink other ships
(img) 氷炎 – Ice Flame

Final one for awhile.

A Little Piece of India

A little Piece of India (from MS newsgroups):

coca colacolgatemastercardibmnikeindian railwaysseat beltfine for spittingcomplaints and suggestions box


Random Crap:

Funny quotes:

(from /.) But maybe people WANT something to be stolen. Many years ago, the garbagemen (sanitation workers) in NYC went on strike, and garbage was piling up in the streets. A relative of mine in Brooklyn still managed to get rid of his: he put it in big boxes, wrapped the boxes in gift paper with bows, and left them in his car with the doors unlocked. They always got stolen.

Makes me wonder why they didn’t steal the car too… unless it was a piece of crap.

(from MS newsgroup) But really, stop signs are just yield signs that are red, octagon and have the word “STOP” written on them.

(from MS newsgroup) [names have been altered to protect the innocent AND guilty]
John [4:02 PM]: hullo
Albert [4:02 PM]: sup dude
John [4:02 PM]: i like men
John [4:02 PM]: whoops, wrong window
Albert [4:03 PM]: we know you like men
John [4:03 PM]: albert
John [4:03 PM]: i have a crush on you

pya! FLOOD

Another round of pya! FLOOD!

Some previews:

try defeating me
Click image to start the animation or view it in the gallery.
わたしを倒してみろ!! – Try Defeating Me!!

sumo fighting
Click image to start the animation or view it in the gallery.
スモウグラップラーズ – Sumo Fighting

boxer kiss
Click image to start the animation or view it in the gallery.
チュウ♥ – Kiss♥

(img) 力こぶ – Biceps – when you’re born with natural guns
(vid) 起きてるよ~ – Waking up – haha, this energy bar commercial almost had me for a moment
(img) ウォッカパン – Vodka bread – I guess the Real McCoy is hidden bottle of Vodka
(img) 雨どい – Rain Gutter – quite elaborate I must say
(img) ハート – Heart – made with a bunch of birds
(img) ダイエットしなきゃ – Off your diet – guy must be crazy to think his car would fit
(vid) ウエイトリフティング – Weight Lifting – a bunch of funny home videos
(img) 自由の女ゴミ – Trash Statue of Liberty
(img) ダンスの踊り方 – How to Dance – learning the tricks when you’re young
(vid) 釣るより釣られろ – Fish Fishing Human
(img) 間抜けな電車事故 – Stupid Cable Car Accident – I wonder who had the right of way
(vid) 手品ではありません – Not a Magic Trick – disappearing Rubiks cube
(img) プリン – Purine – burnt toast
(img) いい味出してます – Yummy – Windows computer sushi
(img) リアル Zガンダム – Real Gundam Z
(img) たっぷり入れないでね – Stirring without a spoon
(img) 未来のマチュピチュ – Future Machu Picchu – turns out to be a place in Peru.
(img) ナイフキーパー – Knife Holder – also seconds as a stress reliever
(img) マイPC – My PC – built with Legos!
(flash) What is Love! – tons of hilarious renderings of the SNL skit
(img) (wan)舌長っ – Long Tongue
(img) 時代の変遷 – Change of Times – See how Alice of Wonderland has evolved!
(vid) エリーゼのために – Because of Elise – playing Fur Elise on a scanner
(vid) 手品ではありません – Not a Magic Trick – took me awhile to figure out how he did that with the Rubiks cube
(flash) スターウォーズ – Star Wars – why is Chewbacca a mop?
(mp3) マッチ – Match – some cool 3D surround sound
(img) 一筆書き – 1 stroke drawing – Totoro girl and Cat Bus
(img) これは便利!- Convenience! – toilet docking station for iPods and iPod Shuffles
(img) くねくね – Wavelike – fun or unfun drive?
(img) オーダーメイド – Custom Made – Face or Vase?
(img) 食べてchu – Please Eat – hamster is trying to feed bunny
(img) しまった! – Oh Shoot! – statue is trapped!
(img) よい子は – Good kids – why it’s great to have a little brother, until it’s his turn
(img) 整列 – Straight Line – Pikachu train

More to come tomorrow!

pya! FLOOD

Here comes the long awaited pya! FLOOD!

Some previews:

exercise
Click image to start the animation or view it in the gallery.
運動??? – Exercise???

big battle
Click image to start the animation or view it in the gallery.
大決闘 – Big Battle

try defeating me
Click image to start the animation or view it in the gallery.
わたしを倒してみろ!! (俺なら倒せる!!!) – Try Defeating Me!! (You will fall!!!)

(img) トイレットペーパー – Toilet Paper – reminds me of the Ferguson from Married With Children.
(img) X-Wing – is that photoshopped or is it really flying?
(vid) 人間スケボー – Human Skateboard
(img) 壁掛け時計 – Wall Clock – this clock has an awesome hour hand
(img) 遠い昔、ある美術館の中で・・・ – In a future art musuem… – Star Wars version of Temptation of St. Anthony by Salvador Dali
(img) 5匹のnya – 5 meows – a bunch of cute kittens
(flash) スーパーマリオボタン – Super Mario Button – an audiosound super-synthesizer which allows you to generate in game music and sound effects
(img) 次世代兵器 – Next Generation WeaponMitsubishi-Anaheim “PROTOTYPE 16” MSZ-006 Special Squardron Japan Imperial Navy Air Force at Okegawa airbase in Saitama Japan 1945
(vid) マスゲーム – Mass Game – a pretty neat commercial for Budweiser
(img) 【怪奇】見ると勝手に首が曲がってしまうwan画像 – [Weird] When you look at this puppies photo, your neck would tilt automatically – cute puppies!
(img) キラーwanサー – Killer Dog – reminds me of Red XIII from FFVII
(img) 今が買い時 – Time to buy – would you like your Pepsi served hot?
(img) スーファミ – Super Famicon – wonder if this is real and or if it’s just a shell. it’d be sweet if it can play SNES games on this portable system.
(vid) ハンティングゲーム – Hunting Game – spider tries to attack the mouse pointer on screen
(img) ニモ – Nemo – some neat 3D tilings. I always wished they’d show what it looked like from the other side
(img) トリックアート – Trick Art – another one of those where you have to look from a particular point to see
(vid) んんんんんんッ(((`・ω・´)))プルプルプルプル – Sumo Robots
(img) ヒトフデ・ジブリ – Nausicaa – drawn w/o lifting the pencil
(img) 抱きしめたい – Want to hug – cute baby kangaroo!

More to come tomorrow!

SNL – Natalie Portman – Gansta Rap

I posted the Lazy Sunday video in a previous entry. Apparently this week, SNL got Natalie Portman to do a rap (from FuzzyWuzzy). It was first posted on YouTube, but has since been removed. After my search online (which actually took longer than I expected), I finally found the video at MissPortman (2nd to last video at that link).

You can also stream it from PutFile: SNL – Natalie Portman – Gansta Rap (direct download). The rap was okay and mildly funny, but I’m just not into Natalie Portman after she cut her hair short. Some find her sexy though (i.e. FuzzyWuzzy).


Random Crap:

Court says California oral sex law violates rightsA 22-year-old Californian man who received oral sex from a sixteen-year-old girl should not be forced to register for life as a sex offender, the California Supreme Court ruled on Monday. … In the case, Hofsheier pleaded guilty and received probation after meeting the teenager in an Internet chat room and sharing rum and orange juice with her at a beach.

Conn. City Hopes Music Will Clean Up ParkActivists propose playing recordings of classical music in Barnard Park in hopes of annoying petty criminals so much that they’ll leave. They also hope the music will make the park more pleasant for other people once it is cleaned up. … “Beethoven is not going to save you,” he said. It’s ironic that “some of the greatest composers in history are now being viewed as some kind of bug spray or disinfectant.”

Complexity causes 50% of product returnsHalf of all malfunctioning products returned to stores by consumers are in full working order, but customers can’t figure out how to operate the devices, a scientist said on Monday. Here I’m thinking half the returns made by people who purchased computers are people who can’t figure out how to turn it on. Hahaha.

Lost Ring Found in Fla. Home 23 Yrs. LaterMarlene Kiraly asked her husband to hide the 3 1/2 karat, uninsured diamond ring her mother had given her just before she died 23 years ago. Problem was, he did such a good job no one could remember where it was. … “I went to a psychic a month ago to find out where the ring is, and she said my husband hid it really well and I would find it,” Kiraly, 48, of Lake Worth said.

The Oracle of Bacon at Virginia (from FuzzyWuzzy) – “now that’s my kind of cs project” – FuzzyWuzzy. A CS project to determine the smallest Bacon Number (the number of movies to link 1 actor to Kevin Bacon) from any other actor. Their main database the used with from IMDb. Actually sounds like a lot of fun.

C.S.A. The Movie (from CDMCC) – C.S.A. stands for the Confederate States of America, a funny comedy describing what if the South had won the Civil War. Currently only playing in selected cities like New York and San Francisco.

The Simpsons come to life (from /.) – MAKERS of the hit cartoon The Simpsons have a filmed the show’s opening titles using real actors. In the hit viral going around the world we get to see what Bart, Homer, Marg, Lisa and Maggie would look like if they were humans. And you can be among the first to watch the hilarious titles, filmed over 18 months in Britain: The Real Simpsons.

the real simpsons

Japanese Make Gasoline From Cattle Dung (from /.) – Scientists in energy-poor Japan said Friday they have found a new source of gasoline — cattle dung. Finally! A never ending supply of renewable energy! People need to eat hamburgers => cows will poop => cars that can move!

Fight graft with fat cat slimming drive, China urgedIn a country where people often complain that police officers seem too well fed to catch villains, Miu Shouliang said limiting the weight of officials would stop them spending government money on wining and dining, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Professor Allegedly Shows Explicit VideoA criminal justice professor at Grand Rapids Community College has resigned after showing a video in class of a man having sex with a pig, students and a faculty representative said. … The video appeared on a projection screen and students begged Naves to show the 10-second footage, according to the accounts. Says quite a bit about the curiosity of college students.