aximbigfan

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anyone who uses the linksys nslu2 knows that the stock f/w is horrible. not only does the nslu2 freeze at the moment when you need it most, but it also doesn't allow you to install packages
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!!warning!! flashing a device (any device) is risky stuff. i wrote this guide for people who have at least a very little bit of knowledge about computers. if you do not then eather A. do not attempt this, or B. have a more experienced person do it for you. in the event that somethingdoes go wrong i will cover that a little later in the guide. i may not be held responsible for damages.
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first, you need to download a few things. download all things below to a folder on your desktop. and one important thing... do not use your Internet connection while these things are being download. if something gets corrupted, you will be in trouble...
list of things to download
-unslung 6.XX (scroll down to accpet the lisence agreement and download)
-sercom utility (DO NOT DOWNLOAD ERASEALL.EXE IT IS ALMOST THE SAMETHING AS THE SECOM UTILITY ALTHOUGH IT ERASES THE BOOT LOADER WHICH SPELLS TROUBLE IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG!!)
-linksys stock r63
-nslu2 setup wizard (you'll need to find this one)




now that we got that out of the way it is tiem to prep the neslu2 for flashing. first back up ALL data o nthe disk(s) attached to the nslu2. if they are formatted ext3 then you may need to install (______) to read them from your computer as the nslu2 with stock f/w will drop a file copy over 10gb. now disconnect ALL drives connected to the nslu2. hard reset it. and power it on. use the linksys setup wizard to find the nslu2 on the network (first set your ip address static as 192.168.1.67) now set the nslu2s ip address as 192.168.XXX.XXX (your subnet) reboot the nslu2 and log on to its web ui by typing 192.168.XXX.XXX (x represents what ever ip you set your nslu2 as) and when the promtcomes up enter the username as "admin" and the password as "admin". next once you are in the web and confirm that you have access to it exit out of it.

next we will safeguard things a bit

unplug all connections from your network except your nslu2, you Internet connection and the pc that you are upgrading from. reset the switch/router.
pluig your nslu2 into a UPS (if you have one)


ok, good.
now unzip all files that you downlaoded previusly while the pc is unzipping do not use it, something could get currupted

reboot the pc.
now while your pc is rebooting, i might say that, if there is a chance that the power will go out (ie if there is a storm comming) dont proceed. wait until you have confimed that the power will not go down while you are upgrading.
ok your pc should have rebooted by now.
wait until you are sure that the pc is done booting. then give it 5 minutes more to stableize.....

now, log into the nslu2s web gui. an navigate to the firmware upgrade page... (administraon>advanced>upgrade)
click brows and go to the folder where yiou downloaded "unslung" in the unslung folder there is a bin file. selct that and press open.

click upgrade.
do not use your pc while it is upgrading, do not use your internet connection while upgrading. do nothing but stare at the wall while it is upgrading!!
when it is done (lets say 5-10min or more to be safe) you will see a message saying that the upgrade was succesfull. if the message sys soemthign else, then we have a problem. go to the end of the guide for the sulution.

the nslu2 will reboot after you see the messgae and then once you hear the happy beep attempt to enter the web gui. if you get in then thats great. shutdown the nslu2 and reconnect the drives.

turn the nslu2 back on again.
reset all of your settings back...

enjoy
if you upgraded sucsesfully, then you may delete all the files you downloaded.

if somethign went wrong (power outage, ect) power the nslu2 on. intsall the sercom utility. find the nslu2 with "find target" on the promt open up the linksys stock linksys fimware bin file. fllash it (use common sense to find the button) after it flashes restart and return to the start if my quide...



chris