Problem upgrading bootloader

HishnGA · September 17, 2011, 3:02pm

Hello everyone. I am having a problem upgrading the bootloader on my 750G.

I have updated the RouterOS to 5.7 and it says there is a bootloader update available

[admin@MikroTik] > system routerboard print 
       routerboard: yes
             model: 750G
     serial-number: 268E01AD1365
  current-firmware: 2.27
  upgrade-firmware: 2.36

I can issue the command to upgrade the bootloader and it does not return an error, but after I reboot the router the firmware version does not change.

I have also checked the logs after the upgrade and after the reboot but there is nothing about a failed bootloader upgrade.

Suggestions and recommendations appreciated.

tjc · September 17, 2011, 4:05pm

Similar issues reported in this thread http://forum.mikrotik.com/t/rb750g-firmware-upgrade-problem/50151/1 and the 5.7 announcement thread. Using a different path (i.e. CLI/Winbox/Webfig) or doing the upgrade step wise may help.

zervan · September 17, 2011, 6:44pm

And what file did you save to RB750G before upgrade? There is no firmware on http://routerboard.com/RB750G! I think that’s because RB750G is “unsupported” now Don’t use firmware from RB750 nor RB750GL, they have other CPU (AR7240). AFAIK there is no newer firmware for AR7161 CPU on the website.

tjc · September 17, 2011, 11:28pm

I’m pretty sure that is misinformation, since my RB750G is working just fine with the latest 5.7 and boot loader 2.36.

[admin@MikroTik] > /system routerboard print
       routerboard: yes
             model: 750G
     serial-number: 268E0173081C
  current-firmware: 2.36
  upgrade-firmware: 2.36
[admin@MikroTik] > /system resource print   
                   uptime: 1d21h45m41s
                  version: 5.7
              free-memory: 17504KiB
             total-memory: 29708KiB
                      cpu: MIPS 24Kc V7.4
                cpu-count: 1
            cpu-frequency: 680MHz
                 cpu-load: 0%
           free-hdd-space: 30468KiB
          total-hdd-space: 61440KiB
  write-sect-since-reboot: 8446
         write-sect-total: 3290101
               bad-blocks: 0%
        architecture-name: mipsbe
               board-name: RB750G
                 platform: MikroTik

zervan · September 18, 2011, 5:00am

Well, I like to hear that it is possible to use newer firmware, but I think it’s risky. Could somebody of Mikrotik’s staff confirm if it is safe to use AR7240 firmware for AR7161 unit? Are they fully compatible?

fewi · September 18, 2011, 5:06am

What are you talking about?

You virtually never need to download a firmware file. New firmware gets distributed with RouterOS upgrades. See this link: http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Manual:Bootloader_upgrade

Upgrade to 5.7. Issue “/system routerboard upgrade”, confirm, and reboot. That’s it. It’s 100% safe to do. If it wasn’t there’d be thousands of users right now posting in these forums about how it bricked their router.

zervan · September 18, 2011, 6:26am

I’m talking about this:

Second method

If for some reason routerboard.npk package is not, and can not be installed for your RouterOS version, you can upload the Bootloader file directly to the Files folder in RouterOS, and do the command then. Bootloader FWF files are available on the RouterBOARD homepage.

I have always used his method only - I didn’t know it should be enough to enter the command only. Pressing “Upgrade” button in WinBox has never worked for me (as far as I remember, I don’t know in which versions) when the file was not uploaded.

But thanks for information! Now I’ve tried not to press button, but write command directly - and firmware is upgraded to 2.36 on one of mine RB750G That really surprised me, so I connected to second RB750G immediately, pressed “Upgrade” button in Winbox, rebooted and … firmware is upgraded to 2.36 as well!

It’s a shame for me, but the first method was really not working for me in the past (maybe it was in 4.x versions), so I was using the second all the time since then

Well, 2.36 really does work in RB750G and sorry for confusing!

LeChat · September 19, 2011, 3:28pm

Are you sure it has actually done it. I bascially have the same issue you had

/system routerboard print 
       routerboard: yes
             model: 750G
     serial-number: 219XXXXXXXXX
  current-firmware: 2.23
  upgrade-firmware: 2.36

but even if I upload the fwf file, and do the upgrade:

 /system routerboard upgrade 
Do you really want to upgrade firmware? [y/n] 
Y
firmware upgraded successfully, please reboot for changes to take effect!
[admin@rbgw] > /system routerboard print   
       routerboard: yes
             model: 750G
     serial-number: 219XXXXXXXXX
  current-firmware: 2.36
  upgrade-firmware: 2.36

Looks good right? After a reboot it just reverts to

/system routerboard print 
       routerboard: yes
             model: 750G
     serial-number: 219XXXXXXXXX
  current-firmware: 2.23
  upgrade-firmware: 2.36

And I can’t get the bootloader to update. btw updating from the 5.7 npk doesn’t work either. Will no console there’s no way to see why, and logging shows nothing at all.

Any clues as to the next step?

Le Chat

zervan · September 19, 2011, 3:43pm

I’ve rebooted once more just for sure - and firmware is still 2.36, so it really works for me. Perhaps you may try to use “downgrade” instead of reboot. I never use System - Reboot, because WinBox “forget” my open windows. I use System - Packages - Downgrade all the time.

MCT · September 19, 2011, 5:12pm

Try this, worked for my 450G that didn’t want to upgrade

/system routerboard settings set force-backup-booter=no

then upgrade

bulat · September 19, 2011, 7:37pm

I also had this problem on my RB750GL. Then I uploaded 5.7 OS via FTP to router, and type into terminal

/system routerboard settings set force-backup-booter=no

/system routerboard upgrade

Then reboot

everything updated nicely

LeChat · September 19, 2011, 9:30pm

I’ve tried all of those things multiple times.

I’ve tried downgrading to 4.17 and updating from there, no change.
I’ve tried setting force-backup-booter=no, no change.
I’ve tried the fwf from the 750GL, no change.
I’ve tried upgrading from the 5.7 fwf (in the npk), no change.

I have no idea what to try next

Arlic · September 25, 2011, 6:19pm

Hi, i have solved this problem
Try this:

log-in to winbox
then: system>routerboard (pls from GUI, not console)
and then click “Upgrade” (from GUI of course, not console)

This work, i think console commands are bugged.

tjc · September 25, 2011, 7:55pm

My successes were more or less the same only with webfig rather than winbox. I don’t think I’ve ever tried to upgrade the bootloader from the CLI.

LeChat · October 6, 2011, 8:57am

Doesn’t make any difference. This is how I tried to do it in the first place

Le Chat

rotten777 · November 30, 2011, 8:29pm

I’m stuck at 2.25 on my RB750G…