Updating from john's fork to Merlin.

[Max-H]

Currently my ASUS RT-AC68U (Rev A1) on johns 3.0.0.4.374.43_53D7j9527. Working great btw, but is it possible to update to the latest Merlin 386.x without reformatting? (JFFS is enabled. Don't know the necessity for it.)

 

[mistercoffee1]

It's been a while since I've done that on my AC68U, but I recall just resetting to factory defaults, and then configuring manually. I didn't do a JFFS format.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Currently my ASUS RT-AC68U (Rev A1) on johns 3.0.0.4.374.43_53D7j9527. Working great btw, but is it possible to update to the latest Merlin 386.x without reformatting? (JFFS is enabled. Don't know the necessity for it.)

Do you really mean "reformatting" or do you actually mean "factory reset"? There are significant changes between 374.x and 386.x so a factory reset is very much advised.

 

[Max-H]

I meant reformatting. A factory reset is no problem. Expected that one.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I meant reformatting. A factory reset is no problem. Expected that one.

If the JFFS partition size changes going to the new firmware then it will be reformatted automatically, you don't need to to it manually.

IIRC there isn't any change in size coming from your current firmware so the question ought to be moot. But I'm confused why you care whether it's reformatted or not as you don't appear to be using JFFS for anything ("JFFS is enabled. Don't know the necessity for it.").

 

[Max-H]

There is so much to read, so many tips and tricks on this forum. In some cases the JFFS needs a reformat, some don't. As far as I can remember, I never enabled it. That's why I asked. But if it's not important, good. A second doubt was the difference is file size. johns fork is ca 23.3Kb and Merlin 94.3Kb.

 

[ColinTaylor]

There is so much to read, so many tips and tricks on this forum. In some cases the JFFS needs a reformat, some don't. As far as I can remember, I never enabled it. That's why I asked. But if it's not important, good.

After the router boots up for the first time after installing the new firmware I would do a hard factory reset. This will wipe the JFFS partition automatically.

[Wireless Router] ASUS router Hard Factory Reset - Method 1 | Official Support | ASUS Global

A second doubt was the difference is file size. johns fork is ca 23.3Kb and Merlin 94.3Kb.

I think you mean MB not Kb. The Merlin firmware contains two separate firmware images, one for the old models and another for the newer model. That's why it's twice the normal size.

 

[Max-H]

Colin, thx for your answers. I will give it a try.

 

[Max-H]

@colin, just to let you know, update went surprisingly smooth. So, after the stable version, updatet to the new alpha version. No problems so far. Also both USB (HD and printer) connections working fine.
Again, thanks for taking away my concerns .