In electronic systems and computing, firmware is a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and/or data structures that internally control various electronic devices.
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OpenWrt vs DDWrt
I have a TP-Link Wr1043ND router and I want to install one of these two firmwares:
OpenWRT
DD-WRT
I read that I can install custom packages and do much more than I can with the original firmware.
...
8
votes
4answers
2k views
What differences are between firmware and software/OS?
I was wondering what differences are
between firmware and software?
What differences are
between firmware and OS?
Are boot-loaders firmware? Bios is.
How about GNU grub? Is grub software or firmware?
...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
Alternatives to dd-wrt?
I'm looking for alternatives for the popular dd-wrt router firmware. I don't really like the look of it. It seems like it was quite good 2 or 3 years ago, but I have a feeling some better things have ...
6
votes
4answers
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How do I set up a proxy server for home with bandwidth control, download limit options?
3 room mates share a single 2 Mbps connection. Have a 40GB per month download limit beyond which speed drops to 256Kbps which is annoying.
One of the roommates abuses the connection by downloading ...
6
votes
4answers
265 views
Is there a way to run Windows without installing it?
Is there a way to run Windows without installing it?
Something like a Linux Live-Boot CD would very useful. I need it to run a command line tool which upgrades the firmware on my Blu-Ray burner.
I ...
5
votes
5answers
938 views
Simple, powerful and stable Firmware for LinkSys WRT54GL
I have just bought a Linksys WRT54G router, which has the ability to load custom firmware.
As there are lots of them around the web, Can anyone recommend a FOSS simple, powerful and stable firmware ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
Could installing DD-WRT speed up my Internet?
I believe that my router's firmware is causing me to get much lower Internet speeds than I should be getting. This is true for general browsing, downloading large files and uploading files. Would ...
5
votes
4answers
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Make a USB drive read only
I have a 1.5TB USB drive with many important files that I want to give to a friend (they have Windows7) for reading only purposes. thumbscrew appears to flip a registry switch but it seems to be on ...
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8answers
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Linksys Router/Tomato Firmware DNS issues
I've got a WRT54GS that I've loaded the current version of Tomato onto. I entered static DHCP addresses in for the devices on my network, released and renewed the address on my desktop and tried to ...
5
votes
1answer
172 views
How to discover true identity of hard disk used in counterfeit external hard disk?
I have 2 fake external hard drives that claim to have a storage capacity of 2TB. I pulled the enclosure apart and the hard drives seems to be refurbished ones with their labels replaced as Barracuda ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
What's the difference between .img and .bin files for router firmwares?
OpenWRT and DD-WRT for example supply two files:
factory (.img)
sysupgrade (.bin)
Why is one a .img and the other a .bin?
Does it matter which one I just and if yes, when should I choose ...
4
votes
3answers
281 views
What hardware is at physical address 0x80000000 on powerpc New World Macintosh?
Open Firmware device tree gives no clue what device might decode at physical address 0x80000000 to 0x8008200 on a G4 New World Macintosh. The mmu has three adjacent Virtual=Real translations for that ...
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2answers
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Routers with decent parental monitoring / traffic logging?
I'm looking for consumer router / firmware recommendations with reasonably robust remote URL / hostname logging & reporting functionality.
Most logging functionality I've seen is terrible - ...
4
votes
2answers
830 views
What is firmware and what happens when I update it?
I've seen the phrase "firmware update" a few places before. Why and how do I update it? What changes are made to my computer?
EDIT: I originally wrote "what it firmware?" but I'll save someone the ...
4
votes
1answer
5k views
How to change the firmware of my NETGEAR WGT624 v2 to DD-WRT
In reference to my previous question: I can't find the appropriate firmware for my NETGEAR WGT624 v2 router. I went on the dd-wrt web site and I read the wiki, but I didn't see any files or ...
4
votes
1answer
137 views
Comparing BIOS firmware dumps to check for tampering
I don't know much about this subject, but I imagine that I could compare the BIOS contents against official firmware to check whether it has been tampered. Is there any tool that can help me with ...
3
votes
4answers
767 views
What firmware should I use on my router?
I've got a Linksys something or other router. I've never had any issues with the default firmware but have always wondered what I'm missing out on by not changing to a 3rd party more configurable ...
3
votes
2answers
309 views
Can my home router firmware be compromised by malware?
For a while now I've been almost certain this is the case. Definitely, at some point, malware on my stepkid's laptop gained access to the home network and managed to change some settings.
Router is ...
3
votes
2answers
89 views
What firmware updates should I be tracking?
Seems like everything has possible firmware updates these days. Not just PC BIOS, but network cards, routers, printers, monitors, etc.
The other day I heard about a firmware update for a mouse. I ...
3
votes
2answers
160 views
Recommended devices upgradable with open-source firmware [closed]
Having bought a lot of tech stuff during these years, the best devices I've enjoyed the most are the ones upgradable with open-source firmwares.
To name some of these:
Two Xbox (first version) with ...
3
votes
2answers
250 views
Catastrophic HDD performance degradation
A Seagate Barracuda 500GB hard drive has recently (a few weeks ago) undergone a firmware upgrade. (from CC38 to CC49 firmware version)
There were also lightning storms in the area during the last week ...
3
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2answers
847 views
Tomato Firmware on Linksys WRT54GS Firmware Version: v1.50.6
I'm trying to install Tomato and get "Upgrade Failed". Any idea why it's failing?
3
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5answers
8k views
How to recover a Linksys WRT54GL router that has a blinking green power LED and no response from the web interface?
I was flashing the router with the Tomato firmware, but something went wrong; I'm not sure what. Now, the router responds to ping at 192.168.1.1 (my Mac's on a static IP 192.168.1.21), but the ...
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votes
2answers
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Explain TRIM, and are all SSD's going to support this with firmware updates?
I just bought a Kingston 64GB SSD to install an OS on, but after purchasing it I noticed a review that said it doesn't support TRIM and that this isn't good to install an OS. So, I did a bit of ...
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3answers
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Difference and relation between firmware and device driver
How are firmware and device driver
different and related? I think both
control devices?
Is firmware always self-booting,
while driver must be run/booted by OS?
2
votes
4answers
515 views
How do I fix a router which often reboots in high-load conditions?
I have a Linksys WRT54G v8 with DD-WRT micro installed. I find in high load situations (downloading a torrent for example) the router will simply restart several times.
Any ideas what's wrong? Should ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
Running a LinkSys WRT400N router with 3rd party firmware
Does anyone have any experience with the LinkSys WRT400N router and installing 3rd party firmware on it? Is there a more stable choice between DD-WRT and Tomato? Any benefits one way or the other? ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
Bricked Linksys E1000 V2
I bricked my Linksys E1000 v2 router by trying to install a third party firmware. I have tried most unbricking tutorials and none work. I tried connecting it directly to my computer, assinging my ...
2
votes
1answer
932 views
How to update firmware of my iPod Touch in Ubuntu?
As far as I know iTunes doesn't support Linux OS, though it is very strange. I need to update a firmware of my iPod Touch and don't know how to do that.
Could anybody help me to solve this problem ...
2
votes
1answer
1k views
Is is possible to update BIOS to UEFI?
I just ran the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant on an older machine (just for fun) and was informed that due to lack of UEFI firmware, Secure Boot would not be supported. What I want to know is, is it ...
2
votes
1answer
151 views
Locking down firmware to keep stolen laptop from being formatted?
On the Mac laptops there are ways through the terminal to lock down the computer so that if someone tries to format the computer they won't be able to do it without the password. This way locks down ...
2
votes
1answer
87 views
Is it possible that a firmware update made startup slow?
I have a 2011 MBP w/ 8 gigs of RAM and a 128 gig solid state drive. I was just notified that updates were available. I briefly glanced at the details of the update and remember seeing updates for ...
2
votes
1answer
1k views
How can I add a boot up password to my Intel Mac?
Back in the PowerPC days, you used to be able to use OpenFirmware to set a boot up password. This would prevent someone from being able to use, for example, single user mode or target boot mode ...
2
votes
2answers
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Freeze on boot: firmware bug
When I boot Mint in recovery profile it says something about a bug, then it freezes on the line:
Firmware bug DOD is defined but not DOS
I want to access it because I need to restore it like ...
2
votes
1answer
285 views
How to install Mac OS on Quicksilver PowerDesk G4 with blank hard drive
I have a Quicksilver PowerDesk G4 and the hard drive is blank and also I have no boot disc.
What should I do then? Would burning a Mac OS 9.2.1 installion disc using a Mac computer and the IS960 ...
2
votes
1answer
209 views
Updating SandForce SSD on JMicron controller in AHCI mode
I would like to update my A-Data S599 drive using ASUS P5V-VM DH board. The board have 2 controllers one is VIA and the other is JMicron. Only JMicron supports AHCI mode which is required to update ...
2
votes
1answer
678 views
Where can I find Samsung SP1203N 120gb internal hard drive firmware update?
I am trying to update the firmware for this drive. I ran a program which messed up the SMART readings on the drive and want to get a newer version of the firmware to fix the issue. My current firmware ...
2
votes
2answers
314 views
8051 MCU debug board function
In school I have written many programs for an 8051 compatible CPU. But I never actually knew how our "debug" sets worked. I mean, we test our programs in special sets, which actually allow you to very ...
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votes
3answers
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Can't find newer DLINK Router DIR-400 firmware
If you're here, it means you also have a Dlink 400 router.
I asked DLINK but they didn't answer my question. I asked DLINK support again, but this time no answer (2 weeks later).
In DLINK FTP site ...
2
votes
0answers
392 views
Third party firmware for WPN824?
My router recently developed some sort of DHCP malfunction so I decided to flash the firmware. And being the geek that I am I figured, while I'm flashing it, why not upgrade it? However, finding a ...
2
votes
0answers
809 views
How do I upgrade Intel SSD firmware from USB? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do I place a bootable ISO on a USB drive?
Ok, here's the thing. I have one of those Intel 320 SSD drives that is prone to suddenly shrink to 8 MB in size. Two days ...
2
votes
2answers
3k views
How to monitor the network traffic on a router?
Here's my current network set-up: we have 3 users connecting to a Thomson Gateway router (TG585 v8) provided by my ISP. We are connecting over an ADSL line.
The problem is that we have a limited data ...
2
votes
3answers
826 views
MacBook (late 2008) EFI Firmware Update 1.8 Problem
Last night I applied EFI Firmware update 1.8 to my Macbook (late 2008). After installing EFI Firmware Update and rebooted my computer and installed SuperDrive Firmware Update 3.0. After that my ...
2
votes
1answer
4k views
WRTU54G-TM router with 3rd party firmware; Can custom firmware include stock binary portions?
I've been doing a lot of reading online about the Linksys WRTU54G-TM router model that I now own. It seems getting a custom firmware onto it is not a problem. But no one is talking about retaining the ...
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4answers
1k views
Software to find firmware of hard disk?
does anyone know of a tool that can display the firmware of a hard disk?
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3answers
5k views
Linksys WRT54GL Reset to factory firmware?
I just purchased a WRT54GL that I want to flash with dd-wrt. On the dd-wrt wiki I read that I should first upgrade the linksys firmware to v.4.21.1 so I did so, but now the web gui is messed up. I ...
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2answers
3k views
Monitoring a Linksys WRT54G v8 network activity
Is there a way to monitor my router's network traffic, without having to replace the standard firmware? I want to be able to see each network host's network activity, but I don't want to replace the ...
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2answers
1k views
Snow Leopard 64 bits mode (EFI64 Firmware)
How do I get the EFI64 firmware on my iMac 20" (late 2006) with Intel Core 2 Duo?
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vote
1answer
559 views
Does DD-WRT improve reliability?
I recently bought a Netgear WNDR3400v1 router, and have been having reliability issues (devices constantly being disconnected and reconnected).
My router is supported for DD-WRT. I understand that ...
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vote
1answer
2k views
SSD Firmware update = loss of data?
I recently got a new SSD (OCZ Vertex Plus) and after reading the helpful answers for my post Disk Corruption = Failing Drive/Bad sectors? I would like to try updating the firmware but the OCZ Firmware ...
