Trying to fix bricked e3000 via serial connection, all garbled up?

wirednuts

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2007
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so i opened the router, soldered on the serial wires, and opened up hyperterminal.

i cant for the life of me get any output other then this garbled mess-

e3000.PNG




anyone know what i might be doing wrong? i have tried ansi emulation as suggested, and its the same result.

i bricked this router by flashing it with a wrt54g firmware. is this router kaput? btw, i have also tried the ethernet ttft or whatever, but i cant ping the router so thats a no go as well
 

disappoint

Lifer
Dec 7, 2009
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Did you solder the wires on correctly?
Did you solder near the legs of a silicon component without a heatsink with enough heat to burn it out?

If its not that then it might be time for a new router.
 

wirednuts

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2007
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Well I did try swapping the tx and rx wires, and I get no response at all.

I think it dead. Its a new refurb from newegg too... why didn't I just rma this? That one wrong click just cost me $50.. ugh

The only reason i keep trying is because when i power it on and it spits that stuff out, it will spill some text, pause, spill more, pause, then a bit more... and its the same everytime almost as if its loading the bootloader but i just cant read it in plain english... i tired realterm and its the same though
 
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Modelworks

Lifer
Feb 22, 2007
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The only reason i keep trying is because when i power it on and it spits that stuff out, it will spill some text, pause, spill more, pause, then a bit more... and its the same everytime almost as if its loading the bootloader but i just cant read it in plain english... i tired realterm and its the same though

I have seen that type of output many times whenever something is wrong with the serial connection. Are you using a real serial port or a usb one ?
For connecting with devices I generally use the circuit below.

make sure you connect the ground to the ground on the device properly. Check with a meter to make sure the ground you are using is really the device ground. I have found some grounds in the past that are slightly above ground for the device.

Baud rate - double check that as well to make sure, you probably already have.

Is the device 3.3V ? If so it might not work well with 5V interfaces and you will need to provide a 3.3V based one. This is the circuit I use and it can adapt to 5V or 3.3V by just changing the power you supply it.
SimpleRS232.jpg




Also give putty a try and see if it displays correctly.
 
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wirednuts

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2007
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Hmmm... i am using a usb to serial adapter.... and i did have a heck of a time getting the drivers to work

I guess its time to fire up a desktop machine and feed this into a real serial port

By the way, from all the guides ive seen, a direct connection is fine for the e3000.
 

pcgeek11

Lifer
Jun 12, 2005
21,952
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Hmmm... i am using a usb to serial adapter.... and i did have a heck of a time getting the drivers to work

I guess its time to fire up a desktop machine and feed this into a real serial port

By the way, from all the guides ive seen, a direct connection is fine for the e3000.

I do think you have to do a Ctrl +C when it starts to boot and it could take several attempts to catch it in the correct part of booting. And as stated earlier a USB Serial is never a good idea when attempting this.

Why would you RMA and pass on your mistake back to the company? The incorrect flash was your boo boo, you should eat the mistake.

I also bought one of these routers and tried DDwrt and Tomato, neither performed as well as the stock firmware. The heating issue was solved by gluing some 1 inch legs on the bottom and installing a USB Powered Fan under the router.
 

wirednuts

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2007
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I just get worried about the wps vulnerability, plus i know my way around ddwrt

Overheating is not an issue for the e3000s ive had....

I tried cntrlC because if that works then i should be able to ping and flash over ethernet at that point... but no luck so far

Im going to try again soon over real serial. Like i said earlier the activity makes it seem like its working, but i just cant read it.

Thanks for the help guys
 

wirednuts

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2007
7,121
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ok, put into a com1 port right off the motherboard. same. freakin. results.

what character code should i be using in putty? i tried this first and its the same thing that hyperterminal did through the usb adapter, just a garbled mess that comes out in clumps- almost like it really is booting and i just cant read the words on the screen.

video of what i am seeing (every time i change the character set, a different pattern of garbage comes out, but the timing is always the same)

http://www.youtube.com/embed/gNQE2PyVd9g
 
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wirednuts

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2007
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Is the device 3.3V ?


:/ ok... i think you nailed it. i did more research and now i think i completely missed this point. i might try your circuit as i think i have the parts, otherwise ill buy a cable

ill post back with a working router video soon ;)
 

Modelworks

Lifer
Feb 22, 2007
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:/ ok... i think you nailed it. i did more research and now i think i completely missed this point. i might try your circuit as i think i have the parts, otherwise ill buy a cable

ill post back with a working router video soon ;)

If you have connected 5V to the 3.3V serial pins you could have damaged the internal UART, all depends on for how long and how the chip was designed. Some tolerate 5V on the serial lines while others stop functioning completely.
 

wirednuts

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2007
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well the fact that it still boots up in a timing manner that *looks* like its still doing something is giving me hope. if i did ruin it, oh well. but im still going to try now that i know what proper connection to use.

ill post back in a couple days with results!
 

wirednuts

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2007
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DUDE LOOKS LIKE A LADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dfycjt.jpg


2drz62d.jpg

oops, this was pinging my main router. turn off wireless dummy!

6fmgdj.jpg


25kn9k5.jpg


:D

thanks for the help everyone. i fear flashes no more! (and will always buy routers that have serial connections :p)
 
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