I decided to check out how to get the CG3000D to turn on the commercial mode without seizing up on me for changing the settings. The commercial version has more features and functionality. Plus I think it might have more commands in the SSH console as well. Here's how.

You'll need:

1.) A CG3000D configured with NetBeer or have the stockware (stock firmware) that will let you turn on the SSH connection. NetBeer is actually the stock firmware that does that, but I named it NetBeer as I was going to create my own firmware originally. However, it was released as a method of putting it onto your modem with USB JTAG NT. Time Warner doesn't push firmware for this modem like Cox used to and I'm currently with TW for the time being. So, I'm able to use my modem without them screwing it up like Cox did. (Thus creating the need for NetBeer)

If you don't have the correct firmware, you'll need to read the tutorial on installing NetBeer on the CG3000D.

2.) Connect using Putty to your CG3000D via SSH. (You'll need to log into the web interface on your modem to disable and then re-enable the SSH login through LAN under Remote Management as it won't let you in otherwise.) Once you're connected and it says "login as:" on your screen, type in MSO and then the default password is "changeme." (There isn't a period in the password or quotes, but I wrote it like that as per good grammar.) If you changed the password through the web interface for MSO, then you'll enter that one instead.

3.) Now type in the following commands:

cd mso
rg_mode_switch 1

Your system will switch its mode and then reboot.

4.) When your system is up again, go to the web interface and click the "Router Settings" link on the left. You'll need to fix this screen to go online. Right now it's set up as a router that's part of a large commercial network. It's designed to talk to a CMTS (Cable Modem Termination System) owned by you I think. That or it's just meant to talk to another router that talks to a remote router. I'm not a networking tech really, but I know my way around. I just know that the way this is set up is not how you connect to your ISP through a modem. You want to make it so it talks to the ISP's CMTS system, not your own. (As you don't own one most likely.)

5.) Now that you're on the router settings page, configure your private DHCP pool. This is the range of IPs you can give out. If you have your web interface at 192.168.0.1, then it will show that and ask for the last digits. Typically you can leave this alone, but it's there if you want to change it. It has to be correct, though. Configure your DNS servers. These are resolving servers, nit for hosting domains with. If you don't know what to put there, you can use Open DNS's servers below.

208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220

NAT Service and Private DHCP should be enabled. Leave Public DHCP disabled for now or you'll get an error stating that RIP won't setup. Click save and your system will reboot. Whatever you do, don't go to "RIP Setup" and shut off RIP or your system will seize up. This is what happened to me when I played with it a few months back. If you do that, just start the process over including replacing the firmware as for some reason, a 30/30/30 reset doesn't work.

6.) Once your system is up again, let the web interface be for now. We need to work directly with the modem and bypass the interface in order to get the public DHCP activated so you can go online. Log back into SSH via Putty and type the following.

cd mso
dhcp_enable 1

That last command enabled both the public and private DHCP server. You can type in any command and end it with a "?" to make it show the help for the command.

7.) Your modem will reboot once more and you will be able to go online. I'm not sure if RIP will suck up any bandwidth, but I was able to disable the RIP on the "RIP Settings" page after I did that last bit in SSH without my modem seizing up on me. I did disable it one step at a time, though, in case it doesn't work for you. I turned off "Routed Subnet" on that page before I switched the public and private DHCP stuff and then after I turned on both DHCPs (see last step) I disabled RIP completely.



Now you can play with your upgraded router. Enjoy!




Keywords: CG3000D, NetBeer, NetGear, rg_mode_switch, SSH, MSO, hacking, custom firmware

UPDATE: OK so I guess this method doesn't work. If you want to give it a shot, feel free. Also, I did wuite a lot of work on this, so if you want my work from playing with the firmware, let me know. The rest of the article is from when I first wrote it thinking it would work.

-----------------

OK, well after months of hard work, I decided the best way to make NetBeer is really just modifying some settings and spitting out flash images. lol NetBeer is now just a fancy word for the stock firmware that allows Serial, SSH, and Telnet access, but will never check for firmware updates. This means that you have complete access to your modem except for the elusive USB host port that doesn't ever seem to have firmware that supports it. It has its driver and MAC address, but it doesn't work even with that. You'll never loose any console access unless you change it back to allow firmware updates. It'll work on any cable provider's system as this is the stock firmware that comes with the unit. (Hence, stock, as it comes with the unit, it's stock. lol OK, I just felt like making that sentence even more redundant. )

Now, on with the show. Below is the tutorial on how to get it on your unit and attached is the archive with the image and software that you'll need. The project requires you to buy a USB JTAG NT device, though.

On a side note, your cfg image is where your mac addresses, serial number, and root cable certificate are stored. Keep your cfg partition in tact.

PREREQUISITES:
In order to install this firmware, you'll need to buy a USB JTAG NT adapter and be comfortable soldering to your modem's board.
If you can't do this or ather have me do it, I will install the firmware for you for a service fee and I'll also need the return
shipping costs as well as a waiver stating that I'm not liable for any damages. I accept paypal for payment, or you can send a money
order for the correct amount agreed upon after discussing this with me. I need to solder a connector to your board to install it
and that takes about 20-30 minutes as they're small peices.

Contact me on this page: http://thelifemaster.com/Main/Contact

If that link doesn't work, go to http://thelifemaster.com and look for the contact link.


INSTALLATION:

DO NOT DO THIS AT 2AM! (Unless your coaxial cable is unplugged.) If you do it at 2AM, your modem might try to pull new firmware
before you have a change to block it.

1.) Follow the tutorial on the link below in order to JTAG your CG3000D or CG3100D unit.
http://thelifemaster.com/Main/Blog&ShowPost=347&postname=Here-s-how-to-JTAG-the-CG3000D-to-change-your-firmware

If that link is down, look at the guide on this one.
http://www.usbjtag.com/jtagnt/modem/CG3100D.php

2.) Now we need to install the CG3000D XML file. The USB JTAG NT software is included in this archive, but requires
registration with http://www.usbjtag.com and you get thefree registration info after you buy the required hardware. Install
that software and open the program files directory for usbjtagnt. Open the config directory in there and copy the XML file
to that directory.

3.) After you install your USB JTAG NT properly and have the unit connected to the board, open the software and on the config
screen, select Modem -> SPIFLASH -> CG3000DSPI and click OK. Click the ID button on your software to detect the chip. It
should say the following in the Output tab.

-flshdct 0
Found Address= 00000000 25FL064A

If not, check the wires. See the tutorial above for more help or contact me.

4.) Now go to the AllFlash tab and click the read button that's next to the button that says ID. It should read all the data
from the chip, onto your screen. Be sure to back up the data from each tab. (You really only need the AllFlash tab backed up,
but it makes it more convienient to have a copy of each section of the ROM.)

5.) Keep the read data in the software and then switch to the Image0 tab. In the left pane of the software is a way to browse
for another directory. Browse for the directory with the Image1.bin file in it from this archive. Now in the lower part of the
pane, you'll see Image1.bin. Double click that and it will fill the Image0.bin with the contents of that file.

6.) Switch to the Image1 tab and double click Image1.bin to fill Image1 with that data as well. This makes both images the same.

7.) Go to the AllFlash tab and click the write button at the top. Write the data to the chip and then when it says "Program pass"
at the bottom, you can unplug the modem, then the USB cable from the computer, then disconnect the USB JTAG NT device from the modem.

8.) Plug your modem back in and while its booting up, install PuTTY and run it. Click the SSH radio button for the connection type
and enter 192.168.0.1 for the Host Name/IP. Make sure its at port 22 and then type a name in "Saved Sessions" and then click "Save."

9.) Before opening the SSH console, you'll need to go to 192.168.0.1 and log in as user MSO with password changeme. Go to the "Remote
management" tab on the side and make sure that "through LAN interface" is checked under the Telnet and SSH options at the bottom.
Click apply.

10.) Now open PuTTY and double click your saved session. It will open a console window. Enter MSO for the user and changeme for the
pass. You'll see the prompt show up. Type the following commands.

cd /non-vol/snmp_cm
max_dload_tries 0

The default is 4 for max_dload_tries, but setting it to 0 will disable it from getting firmware updates that lock your modem down. You
can copy and pase the lines above. Just copy 3 lines including the blank line after max_dload_tries 0 and it will automatically execute
that for you. I don't think you need to reboot, but now you have permanant SSH, Telnet, and Serial port access. The USB Hub I couldn't
get to work. Sorry.

Download NetBeer




Keywords: NetBeer, download, CG3000D, firmware, console access

I think I found out an easy way to make NetBeer work! I'm no longer trying to compile firmware for it, but the point of NetBeer was to allow console access, USB host port access, and not allow the cable company's software to be downloaded to replace NetBeer.

Console access - Check! Serial port, Telnet, and SSH are all enabled in the stock firmware.

No firmware downloading to the unit to replace NetBeer - Check! It took me a bit, but as dload allows your modem to start pulling new firmware, I needed to disable it. I logged into the serial console and did:

cd /non-vol/snmp_cm
max_dload_tries 0

max_dload_tries was originally set to 4, but in setting it to 0, it disables dload altogether. I tested it by doing dload and it says that its max tries were exceeded.

USB host port access - This one is the last bit to do and it has a mac address and a driver on the stock firmware. I need to figure out how to make it fully work, though.


After I make the USB host port work, then I'll release NetBeer as a flashable image via USB JTAG NT. I'll provide a tutorial and I'll also be allowing people to send me their units to flash it on there for them for a $20 service fee and return shipping. I'll also require a waiver to be signed to say that I'm not responsible for any damages. This way people who don't know how to flash it on, can have me do it for them.

I also made the firmware the commercial version using rg_mode_switch.




Keywords: NetBeer, release

I've been working on Netbeer for a a few months now and I wanted to post my findings. I discovered that NetGear's open source firmware doesn't include the files for its web interface and it doesn't seem to have all the files that they use in the stock firmware, but much of its there from what I can tell.

In order to compile the NetGear firmware, you need to obtain payware software from Broadcom. While you can get the software from them (for free?) to evaluate it, you need a license to distribute it. Here's what its missing, how to get around this, and what I'm stuck on.

CFE: CFE is the Common Firmware Environment and its the firmware's bootloader. Without it, you have no way to boot the firmware. The workaround that I found is that if you use JTAG, you can copy the bootloader from the stock firmware by saving it as cfe3380.bin or the like. This means you don't need to rebuild the bootloader.

Broadcom SDK: Its a nice to have thing (I think) as it seem to be optional in make menuconfig. It could be useful for easing some troubles in the programs that cause errors.

BFC: The Broadband Foundation Class is most likely required to build this, but I'm not sure.

BRCM 3380 - This is where I fell short big time. The Broadcom Library is a needed component to compile the system with eCos properly and the BRCM is what creates the ecram_sto.bin file. Without it, I have no easy to create a compatible firmware with the CFE bootloader.

As I do have an EIN still, I can use it with the default business structure of a Sole Proprietorship, along with my dead business's DUNS number in order to be seen as a business in order to obtain the software needed. (Assuming I can figure out who has it and how to order it. I tried distributors and I'm trying a manufacturer's rep.) However, if I do get a hold of it, I'll need to buy the license to make NetBeer public and I can only do a little more than NetGear does in that I couldn't ship the BRCM and other stuff with the source code.

So, that being said, I'm looking into alternative firmware that I can use for making NetBeer. Open-WRT is currently incompatible with the BCM3380 chip, so I'm not sure how well it will work. Broadcom stuff isn't open source, so its difficult to write new firmware for it. Below are some things I created along the way.

The GCC 3.2.1 MIPS compiler and other Gnutools are needed to build eCos 2.0 and the only way to compile that toolchain is with GCC 3. I compiled it on Fedora Core 3. Below is the download link and you just need to put the /gnutools directory in your root directory and put /gnutools/bin in your $PATH variable. That should allow you to use those compilers. Put it at the head of your $PATH by doing:

export PATH=/gnutools/bin:$PATH

This will make it find those tools before any other ones that might be present in the directories in $PATH.

Download MIPS32 GCC 3.2.1 toolchain

As you can't compile GCC 3 with GCC 4 since they were too lazy to make it backwards compatible, I can help you out by compiling it for you for other architectures if you really can't do it yourself. They said that they intentionally made part of it not backwards compatible because it was a security issue.

Also, the CG3000D has 2 image partitions and I made it show up that way in USB JTAG NT by creating a modified config file for it. Here it is below. Extract the XML file to your USB JTAG NT's config directory and open it up. Select it on the config settings for USB JTAG NT.

CG3000D config file for USB JTAG NT






Keywords: NetBeer, CG3000D, ecram_sto.bin, GCC 3.2.1, MIPS, MIPS32, download, NetGear, Broadcom, BCM3380, firmware

I'm hoping to get some feedback on this as to what you feel I should do. I'm living with my boyfriend, Ed, and his daughter Brianna treats me like garbage. I tried being nice to her, but she's still mean to me. So that I could have some alone time and also work my job, I installed an electronic lock on our bedroom door. I work from home making Isochronic tones and posting them on YouTube. That's where most of my income comes from and it takes quite a while to make those videos.

Aside from YouTube videos, I'm a programmer and a robotics inventor. My scientific studies and implementation also take up a lot of my time and I want to create NetBeer as an open source firmware to open up all the things on lock down on CG3000D modems so that people can benefit from this new technology. (A LOT of people want new firmware for it as its a popular modem.)

On top of that, I want to design an open source AI person and show people how to design their own AI person. I'm still in the beginning stages of creating that and I'm working on getting more tools, but I have most of them. It will consume a lot of time as well.

In my life, I have a LOT of projects that take quite a lot of concentration and time to complete and I need time to do them. In that, Melia is 8 years old and sometimes I need to help her out as well. Ed wants to spend time with me too.

So, here's my problem. As I don't have a lot of time for my own projects if I work on them for only 4 hours a day and give all my time to Ed and Melia, I can't finish my projects. Ed complains liberally about my not spending time with anyone very much. My focus is on my work as that's my passion in life.

Ed takes MANY things personally and is a bad judge of character much of the time in my opinion and I find myself being told that I'm selfish when he doesn't realize that we just have opposing viewpoints. We both can see each other as being selfish when we examine it from our own viewpoints sometimes.

Today I helped make burritos with him in the kitchen and when I finished doing the part that I was able to help out with, I asked him if he wanted me to stay there with him while he fried up the burritos. He told me no, so I decided to work a bit on my projects and asked him to get me when they were done.

Later, when I came down, I was greeted with an argument from not coming down every once in a while to check up on him. I didn't know that he wanted me to, especially with him stating that I didn't need to stick around. I tried to get him to understand that I had no idea that he wanted me to do that and he told me that its part of being human.

He's had me forgo much of my needs for his needs and complains that I'm selfish when I don't give in, but that when I try to have him compromise, or ask him to respect my needs, that's also selfish.

For instance, I told him that I would schedule work hours so that I would have designated times I can get things done, and then have family time after that, but that wasn't good enough for him. He stated that if Melia is needing something at 4PM, but my work hours are until 5PM, then he wants me to handle it. I said that if its an emergency, then I would. I brought up the fact that before I lived here, he was at work until 5PM. (Granted he was a heavy drinker and spent most of his time at the bar instead of at home, which is no different than my spending time in a locked up room in terms of not spending time with people.) I asked him what would happen if I wasn't here at 5PM, what would he do. He said she would call him.

So, in other words, because I'm at home, its convenient for him to dump all the duties onto me instead of giving me office hours. Heck, I even told him that I'd take the weekends off. That means that I'd work 5 -7 hours a day. (10AM or 12AM - 5PM) I'd be working about 35 hours a week max and that's less than his full time job. He won't accept it. He still maintains that I'm being selfish for not spending my time with the family. I'd be spending more time with the family than I'd be spending at work. (5PM - 12PM M-F and all day on the weekends.)

He demands things of me and yet says he's not trying to control me. He allows Brianna to act like the parent of Melia and Milan and even sometimes boss him around, but maintains that she doesn't control anyone. He said I came into this house and tried to act like the queen of it all, but I said that Brianna does that and he disagreed. Then he turns around and says that before I came in, he was the king and Brianna was the queen. (Mind you, every time he'd contradict his self, I'd call him out on it, but he maintained that he was right with whatever seemed the best end of the contradiction at the time.)

I'm sick of talking in loops with him and he refuses to see anything from my perspective. I want to know what you think of this. As Ed reads this blog too, I'm hoping he'll write his side of the story in a comment or an email that I can update this post with. Maybe 3rd party input will help fix the situation.




Keywords: family, ed, troubles, work