Install custom firmware on Asus WL500G Premium
If you are one of the Asus WL500G Premium owners than it is possible to have problems with an USB drive connected the the unit: the HDD won’t respond after a few MB written on disk and the unit restores it’s factory settings.
Maybe you don’t have problems like the one above but I am having problems with an Western Digital 500GB Essential Edition connected to the router so I decided to upgrade it’s firmware to a DD-WRT version (v24 std final). It’s a small Linux distribution that can be installed on many routers.
It brings a lot of new features:
- Advanced banwidth management
- DDNS support
- Ad network support
- Hotspot support
- MAC Address Clone
- Advanced DHCP options
- Advanced Wireless configuration (mode, frequency, encryption, mac filter, etc)
- XBOX and PSP connection
- System log, traffic log, network map
- SSH connection
- A lot of filters for MAC, hostname, IP, etc.
- Overclocking (!)
- New web UI
- Wake On Lan
- etc.
See the difference between the classic Asus firmware and DDWRT:
This guide is for Asus but a similar process can be applied to any router from the Supported Hardware List. Step 1 and 2 are different but the others are the same.
Very important: Before you read any further and/or try a firmware upgrade note that I am not responsible for any hardware/software/human (hope not) damages/injuries. Try to be sure that you have a backup supply for the router and PC because a power shortage in the middle of the upgrade process makes your router useless!