I had a mostly functional[1] RB951-2n that was running firmware 5.20 since that release came out.
I downloaded v6.0rc6 about two weeks ago, and decided to upgrade today. The upgrade went well, and after several reboots (1 to enable IPv6, 1 to upgrade the boot loader), I decided to add a partition. When I created the second partition, the system told me that I needed to reboot, so I did.
It never came up to the place where I could use the web interface (I waited ~30 min). I rebooted it again, twice. Nothing.
I reset it about 3 or 4 times.
And, I’ve tried to use the netinstaller 5.17, 5.22 and 6.0rc7 on it, but it never seems to boot up, even when directly connected to the PC in question.
What are my options, because I have no means of managing it if NetInstaller doesn’t work.
To trigger Netinstall mode, you must push the small reset button when device is turned off, then plug in the power cable while keeping the button pushed, wait for 20 seconds and release. Only then it will find the Netinstall server.
Yes, I have pushed the reset button with a paperclip, screwdriver, other metal object, and held it as I plugged the power back in… I waited for the ACT light in the back to begin blinking and then stop blinking. Once it stopped, according to the directions, it is supposed to find the NetInstall server.
It doesn’t.
I’ve done this about 12 or 13 times now, with the cable in port 1 of the device. (I also tried a few other times with the cable in other ports).
I’ve been connecting the device directly to a server, using its second NIC. I managed 3 other devices from that configuration over the past week, so I know that the NIC is fine, the machine is fine and the cable is fine. And, yes, the firewall is configured to allow all traffic on that subnet for the NetInstall app.
Did you plug the Ethernet from PC to 951 directly? Did you plug it into the first ethernet port of the 951? Did you disable any antivirus/firewall programs on your PC?
Yes, Normis, as noted in my two posts above, the PC is directly connected to the RB951. It is connected to ethernet port 1 (and I also tested with other ports). It is tested with the firewall allowing ALL traffic to that connection. Additionally, there is NO antivirus running on that box. I’ve also tested with 3 different versions of NetInstall.exe
Push the button not before powering, but some half-second after powering. Keep the button 20 sec, then release. See if it works then. Use only v6rc7 files (netinstall and NPK)
This is slightly off topic… however I do agree that it is sometimes nearly impossible to put these devices into netinstall mode. I had an incomplete upgrade on a 751 and took me several hours to get it working. I tried with switch, direct connection, cross cable, straight cable, pushing button before power, after power, for 20 second, for 30 seconds and after at least 50 tries it worked. The point is that some extra help like a fancy flashing pattern (running lights over the ports etc..) would really help a lot of people.
Typically, on the RB951, the ACT light starts blinking after a few seconds, and then goes out after about 20 seconds. I’ve used this in the past to determine when to release the buttons depending on if I needed a simple reset (which I did a whole bunch of times previously) or the NetInstall (which I don’t remember trying before).
Thanks, normis, for your most recent suggestion. I tried a couple of variations with when I pressed the reset button and when I let go. I counted to 20, 25 and 30. Finally, I was able to get in. Let’s see how the install goes…
Sometimes it may help to watch an actual clock with seconds indicator rather than counting. Humans are notoriously bad timepieces. Our time sense is subjective and variable. We get impatient…
Does anyone know if the router will exit netinstall mode if you hold the button too long?
After changing cables, changing machines and playing around with various delays before pressing the reset button, I was able to get in, and successfully (according to the NetInstall dialog) install the 6.0rc7 build on the machine. The status message goes from “Ready” to “Installing…” to “OK”. It claims to reboot. However, when I reboot the device, one of two things happens:
– I see via PING that it gets its old IP address (good), but I cannot connect to the web interface of the IP address via HTTP or HTTPS
– It doesn’t get any IP address that I am aware of, and so I cannot connect to it at all.
So far, I have used NetInstall to install the complete v6.0rc7 package (routeros-mipsbe) on 3 different occasions, and I’ve tried to install all of the individual packages (17 in total) on two occasions. No difference in final outcome.
Please Note: I am NOT selecting “Keep old configuration”
It does not appear to exit NetInstall mode, even if I hold the button down for 5+ seconds after it shows up in the NetInstall window. Not sure what would happen with a longer hold, but I’ve got enough troubles to worry about figuring that particular thing out.
Once you netinstall it switch to port 2-5 then use winbox(via the mac) to configure it. When you set the IP via netinstall it sets that IP on port 1 which normally has all of the services firewalled.
Thanks for the suggestion, but what ultimately got it back and operational for me is this:
After trying to apply v6.0rc7 a whole bunch of times (I lost count), I finally tried to apply v5.22.
When I booted it, it still wouldn’t come up with DHCP, so I reset it at this point (again). This time, it came up under the default IP – but running v6.0rc7. I’ll bet that something got borked with the partitioning from the very beginning, and “reverting” to v5.22 fixed my partition issue. Partition 0 is unnamed (I suspect that is where v5.22 ended up), but partition 1 is running 6.0rc7.
Now to restore my most recent config and see what grief that causes. (Yes, I do have a v6 config)
v5.22 doesn’t support partitions. You should install v6.0rc7, then go to partitions menu, repartition it back to one partition, then proceed to install v5.22 if you want.
Some other observations:
Ether1 is firewalled by default (ie. after reinstall) so use 2-5 after netinstall is complete
if DHCP doesn’t work and you don’t know the IP, use the Winbox discovery button to see the MAC address and connect to that (again on ports 2-5)
Partitioning is supported only in v6.0rc7 and newer
Netinstall only reinstalls the active partition, it doesn’t restore your router to original one partition
The v6 config (created under v6.0rc6) was restored just fine under rc7. Everything is back up and running. I’ll test the effectiveness/stability of the wireless over the next few days.
Hopefully, it works better under v6 than under v5.
As indicated, I got it working with the procedure I had listed above. I realize that partitions are a v6 feature, as I first tried it under v6.0rc6, but reapplying the v5.22 firmware is what enabled me to be able to boot the device again. I am now at the place I wanted to be from the very beginning of this saga (at least at it pertains to partitions), which is, having v6.0 installed with 2 separate partitions, so I can upgrade in a less risky manner going forward.
Ironically, moving to the new partitions was the riskiest part of this whole endeavor.
But, it is all good now. Hopefully, this exercise helps someone else.
