Firmware

Hello forums this is my first post here

im having an old adsl modem ZYXEL Prestige 660R

i want to changet he firmware.it is using openwrt.but i have an inclination that incase i change the firmware then i will be no longer be left with the default user menu of the modem but i will have to perforce use openwrt menu

are their any suggestions/tutorials to solve my problem?

I'm not quite sure what your question is. I can't even tell whether you have OpenWRT or just want it.

i have been using these firmware for quite sometime now..

I am using openwrt.I need to add some features provided by openwrt but not by the vendor of the router.

For that i need to compile my own firmaware. Hence prepare my own image file so that I can use it to update more than one modems

The only hitch is that once i log into 192.168.1.1 I am presented with a user interface to configure my modem. Incase i compile my own firmware this interface will change to openwrt terminal driven interface.

I want to maintain the same interface and customise my own firmware.:confused:

So, you want to reformat yet keep everything exactly the same. Sorry, doesn't work like that; the image file contains nearly everything except nvram, so replacing it replaces the interface too.

Do you really need to re-image it, though? What features are you missing, that you'd get?

i want to use it in a mesh topology which as of now it is not working

incase i go in for off the shelf then those routers are going to be heavy on my pocket..but using openwrt and little time I can do that

???? But...!

I think you're using the wrong tense and confusing everyone. You will use OpenWRT but don't have it yet. Yes/no?

If you want OpenWRT and a web interface, Web interface for OpenWrt and more - X-Wrt.org might be right up your alley.

ok now i am clarifying

i have open-wrt/dd-wrt/tomato

i can use them to make my own image

BUT

the exact problem is what i wrote that i will loose the default interface of the vendor

INCASE

the forum is aware of any modems in which the entire nvram is also open source I am open for suggestions

PS: thanx for the link Corona

If you want the vendor's interface, use the vendor's image. If you want OpenWRT's image, you get OpenWRT's interface. The interface is part of the image, they're not separable.

The closest you can get is something x-wrt which, while not the same web-interface, is at least a web interface and not typing cryptic commands into a terminal prompt.

I think it's possible to reinstall the vendor's original binary later, at least on some routers, though the procedure on how to do so may vary, and you'll need to download the firmware from the manufacturer.

well I am sure I will loose the vendor's interface once I put in my customised version...

or even if i update the vendor's image with mine then also the results are likely to be that i will loose the default interface

Well, of course. That's the entire point -- replacing the vendor's programs with your own to get capabilities the vendor didn't give you. Did you think the interface wasn't a program?

i am aware its a program but...

I was just hoping that there are any open source nvram images

If you're confusing nvram with ROM: OpenWRT isn't open source? And if you're not: Why would you want someone else's nvram settings?

We may be reaching the point of confusion. Tell me exactly what you mean by 'interface', exactly what you mean by image, and exactly what you mean by nvram. As I see these terms:

  • image: The 4MB or 8MB block of ROM the router boots from. This is replaced to install OpenWRT. There may also be a special separate boot ROM which amounts to a BIOS, which is not replaced when OpenWRT is installed.
  • Interface: The mini-webserver interface you login to to change router settings. OpenWRT has none, but X-WRT does.
  • NVRAM: Another ROM area not part of the main ROM dedicated to storing device settings. OpenWRT may use this area differently than the factory image does.

image is mine
||
||
the interface i need it to be default so that the other users who are trained on the default interface need not worry about the new interface of openwrt and hence are not shocked once they get in mesh network
||
||
for nvram we can postpone as we need an fpga board or something to dump it and use it

You already know the answer then, and are just reaching. I repeat:

You can't just use the vendor's interface with OpenWRT's core. It just doesn't work that way. The factory interface isn't hardwired, it's part and parcel of the files and programs in the image: Once you overwrite it with OpenWRT it's gone. Even if you extracted it from another image somehow they won't be compatible. OpenWRT isn't the factory image and that's that.

You probably don't need to worry about the nvram. OpenWRT can take care of that itself.

Give x-wrt's web interface a try. Its core is OpenWRT but it has a decent web interface. It might not be as bad as you fear. Worst case, you write up a page of instructions for your users.

i am aware

but the only issue is the interface.........which i will loose incase i update the software

That can't be helped. There's no magical way to get the interface you want and the features you want without writing it yourself.

You are just repeating yourself now, so I am done with this topic.

well i guess we can close this thread