I've been wanting to upgrade my router for sometime now, and I've previously attempted to install OpenWRT on my router. It resulted in a semi-brick, which I fixed using the Asus  Firmware Recovery utility. My router is an Asus WL-500gp V2, and I have a few questions to ask..

- Is there a bootloader of some sort I can use? One that can act as a failsafe that will allow me to recover my router?

- The way I flashed my router last time was doing it through an SSH session. I had a firmware image downloaded onto the flash memory, and then I used a command I think was called "write"(I forget since it's been a whole month). Would TFTP be the best method for this?

- If I compile an OpenWRT image myself, is there any specific way to doing it other than entering in "make kernelconfig" in the sources directory?

- How would I include X-WRT packages within my OpenWRT image?

That's all :S. I just don't want to go bricking my router again. Normally, I'm the adventurous type but this is an exception. Thanks!

That only configures Linux kernel.

Try to reconfigure using make menuconfig.

I'd not recommend using X-Wrt. Try to build 8.09.1 with the LuCI WebUI.

Alright. Now, does OpenWRT works fine on the Asus WL-500gp? Is TFTP the best update method with DD-WRT? I just want the damn firmware running on my router without bricking it again =\.