CWWK/Topton/... Nxxx quad NIC router

[DerFred]

jumper?

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/cwwk-topton-n95-n100-n200-n305-quad-nic-router-5-bios-error-beeps-and-black-screen-error.40333/page-3#post-391252

Thanks Randycat - I didn't spot any jumpers on the board ... there are a lot of open pins, but I don't have (or did find) any documenation on the board details.
Just tried to reseat the 32GB DDR5 Ram (that was working before the BIOS upgrade) without luck:

• If I start the board without RAM, 3 Beeps.
• After reinstalling the memory, 3 beeps
• 

 

[snailrunner]

Hello,
Newbie here so not sure if I should create separate topic or post here.
So I am looking for a router for my house. I am torn between an out of the box solution like Unify UXG-Max or Tp-Link ER707-M2, or a miniPC running Pfsense/Opnsense.
My setup is nothing fancy, 1Gbps or 2.1Gbps fiber PPOE internet connection, one 16 port managed switch (main) (was thinking of SG3218XP-M2), 3 AP-s, one DS220+ NAS and with the possibility to add in the future one or two small switches in certain rooms, if needed.

One possible issue might be the heat, because of where the equipment will be installed. I want to put all the networking stuff in a small rackmount cabinent in the attic, which at the moment is not insulated. During the summer, I expect the ambient temperature to reach 40 degrees Celsius.

Do you have any advice? Thank you!

 

[h_m_b]

Thanks Randycat - I didn't spot any jumpers on the board ... there are a lot of open pins, but I don't have (or did find) any documenation on the board details.
Just try to reseat the 32GB DDR5 Ram (that was wroking before the BIOS upgrade) without luck:

• If I start the board without RAM, 3 Beeps.
• After reinstalling the memory, 3 beeps
• View attachment 37293View attachment 37292

Same problem here. Got also a VER 1.1A board from cwwk. BIOS was very barebone - my DDR5 was recognized but my M2 NVME wasn't. After BIOS Update I have the same three beep bootloop problem as you described.
Looks like the new board revision is very "sensitive". Hopefully it's not dead...
Maybe the SO-DIMM?? I use a Crucial 8GB.

 

[giffyy]

first time posting, long time lurking. After following this thread for year now, I ended up purchasing the N100 device from WooYi Store below. Device is on its way and I am just getting ready for the setup. I purchase this device with no NVME or RAM.

WooYi Store - N100

Just looking for some advice, I am planning on buying following items to setup my this device. Plan is to run Proxmox bare metal and OpnSense in VM.

RAM - Crucial RAM 16GB DDR5 4800MHz CL40 Laptop Memory CT16G48C40S5
NVME - Crucial P3 1TB PCIe Gen3 3D NAND NVMe M.2 SSD, up to 3500MB/s - CT1000P3SSD8

I am looking to install some sort of active cooling and need help.
- What are the fan options/solutions available for this unit?
- Is there any BIOS available for this unit? I often see posts about cwwk BIOS.

Thank you!

 

[pigr8]

after intense testing this little x86-p5 with the nvme expansion is ready to go in production, successfully running 5 nvme disks.. nvme0 is a temporary drive that will be replaced with another 4tb, nvme1-2-3 are in a mdadm raid5 with lvm and btrfs on top, nvme4 is the host boot drive.

no zfs.

 

[DerFred]

Same problem here. Got also a VER 1.1A board from cwwk. BIOS was very barebone - my DDR5 was recognized but my M2 NVME wasn't. After BIOS Update I have the same three beep bootloop problem as you described.
Looks like the new board revision is very "sensitive". Hopefully it's not dead...
Maybe the SO-DIMM?? I use a Crucial 8GB.

According to what I understood from the latest CWWK response there seem to be an issue with the BIOS version in conjunction with our board - therefore I would recommend people with our board version to stay away from the BIOS version "May 15th 2024" for now. I'll update the thread after I found a resolution with them.

 

[metlrise]

The problem is that CWWK support recommend the iso for v2/v3, when the board is actually v1.

I've bitten the bullet and flashed the CW-AL-2L-V1(X86双网N100-N200-I3-N305-V1出厂默认原始版本)2024.04.07.iso on my x86 p5 v1 (the sticker on the ram slot CWX86P5N100.11.F1) without the SSD connected, only HDMI+RAM+USB keyboard, ventoy, USB2.0 16GB stick and the iso renamed to CW-AL-2L-V1-2024.04.07.iso. And for the moment the board works fine.

Now there are 2 options:
a) CWWK warranty, in theory we all have at least 1 year, and (a big) maybe you will receive the v3 board or charge you money for the board repair...who knows.

But you can you can use this motive: the support recommended the wrong bios version and now the board is dead.

b) manually flashing with AS Programmer

If anyone needs the original bios for x86 p5 v1, I have a copy saved with sudo flashrom --programmer internal -r bios_p5.bin, and also CW-P5-ADNL-2L-V1-231110.iso (not tested).

And for everybody who have an itch, if the board works, leave it as it is.


As a side note, this is the video I used to create the usb drive

Once again, if the board works, leave it as it is.

 

[MadPup]

I recently purchased a Topdon N100 variation C of the machine is the first post, same as the CW-AL-4L-N100 I think. Does anyone have a working link to an English version of the user manual... or even a Chinese version?

 

[h_m_b]

According to what I understood from the latest CWWK response there seem to be an issue with the BIOS version in conjunction with our board - therefore I would recommend people with our board version to stay away from the BIOS version "May 15th 2024" for now. I'll update the thread after I found a resolution with them.

I've also updated the VER1.1A board with a new BIOS, but the v1 version from April 07 2024 with the same disappointing result. So i think it's a general error thing with this board.

How did you contact cwwk (contact page?). I did not get any answers till now...

 

[DerFred]

The problem is that CWWK support recommend the iso for v2/v3, when the board is actually v1.

I've bitten the bullet and flashed the CW-AL-2L-V1(X86双网N100-N200-I3-N305-V1出厂默认原始版本)2024.04.07.iso on my x86 p5 v1 (the sticker on the ram slot CWX86P5N100.11.F1) without the SSD connected, only HDMI+RAM+USB keyboard, ventoy, USB2.0 16GB stick and the iso renamed to CW-AL-2L-V1-2024.04.07.iso. And for the moment the board works fine.

Now there are 2 options:
a) CWWK warranty, in theory we all have at least 1 year, and (a big) maybe you will receive the v3 board or charge you money for the board repair...who knows.

But you can you can use this motive: the support recommended the wrong bios version and now the board is dead.

b) manually flashing with AS Programmer

If anyone needs the original bios for x86 p5 v1, I have a copy saved with sudo flashrom --programmer internal -r bios_p5.bin, and also CW-P5-ADNL-2L-V1-231110.iso (not tested).

And for everybody who have an itch, if the board works, leave it as it is.


As a side note, this is the video I used to create the usb drive

Once again, if the board works, leave it as it is.

I originally wanted to return the board and get a new one - CWWK recommended originally that I should buy and use a "CH341A USB Programmer" which I originally didn't want to do as I haven't done it before. Looking at the fact that I would need to ship the device from germany to china (& back) I just bought such a USB programmer and give it a go flashing the ROM myself. Asked CWWK for the latest working BIOS today - lets see how that goes - in the worst case I would come back to your generous offer and get your old 2023 ROM.

 

[DerFred]

I've also updated the VER1.1A board with a new BIOS, but the v1 version from April 07 2024 with the same disappointing result. So i think it's a general error thing with this board.

How did you contact cwwk (contact page?). I did not get any answers till now...

I wasn't able to get eMails through via support@cwwk.com which they mention on their website (somehow couldn't get delivered to the mailserver of that domain). Therefore I used the form on the homepage to get in contact.

 

[h_m_b]

I originally wanted to return the board and get a new one - CWWK recommended originally that I should buy and use a "CH341A USB Programmer" which I originally didn't want to do as I haven't done it before. Looking at the fact that I would need to ship the device from germany to china (& back) I just bought such a USB programmer and give it a go flashing the ROM myself. Asked CWWK for the latest working BIOS today - lets see how that goes - in the worst case I would come back to your generous offer and get your old 2023 ROM.

I don't think this BIOS version could be used here. We have a v1.1a board and @metlrise a v1. The Initial BIOS of our board has a version date from 03-11-2024. So I'd rather be carefull.

I wasn't able to get eMails through via support@cwwk.com which they mention on their website (somehow couldn't get delivered to the mailserver of that domain). Therefore I used the form on the homepage to get in contact.

I've also used that page but no reaction yet...

 

[DerFred]

I don't think this BIOS version could be used here. We have a v1.1a board and @metlrise a v1. The Initial BIOS of our board has a version date from 03-11-2024. So I'd rather be carefull.

I've also used that page but no reaction yet...

I've ordered a USB programmer for the BIOS chip and will give that a go (

).
You might be right about metrise version not being compatible altough our boards label seem to indicate some sort of V1 version (V1.1). After asking CWWK about the last correct version for myboard they always come back with the link to the version from 15/5/2024 ("CW-AL-2L_V2-V3(X86 N100-N200-I3-N305_V2-V3 4M.2)2024.05.15.iso", the one that started the issue for me). Will try to flash that again without the nvmes installed and see how that goes.
To avoid boring the audience of this really useful thread I suggest we chat privately until we find a way to resolve the issue.

 

[pigr8]

I've ordered a USB programmer for the BIOS chip and will give that a go (

).
You might be right about metrise version not being compatible altough our boards label seem to indicate some sort of V1 version (V1.1). After asking CWWK about the last correct version for myboard they always come back with the link to the version from 15/5/2024 ("CW-AL-2L_V2-V3(X86 N100-N200-I3-N305_V2-V3 4M.2)2024.05.15.iso", the one that started the issue for me). Will try to flash that again without the nvmes installed and see how that goes.
To avoid boring the audience of this really useful thread I suggest we chat privately until we find a way to resolve the issue.

you should be able to recover it flashing the correct version but beware that the clamp for the bios chip will not work properly on the x86-p5 because the chip is really close to the hdmi port shield.. you probably will have to mod the clamp cutting a grove until it touches all the pins of the chip.

and btw you can flash any bios dump and dont worry about mac addresses and such because there are 2 other chips for the nics on the board, the main bios chip handles the rest.

 

[metlrise]

And a few words of advice from me:
- my board has the flash memory 25Q128JVSQ that works with a minimum of 3V, please check if you have the same flash memory, if not search for the datasheet
- check CH341A USB Programmer with a voltmeter that you actually have 3,3V, if not move the corresponding jumper on the board and measure again with a voltmeter
- if the CH341A its an older model search for "ch341a 3.3v mod"
- ask CWWK support how to write the flash memory
- remove all from the board
- make a backup of the contents of the memory
- write the contents and keep the fingers crossed
- the page with all the ISO files for x86 p5 is here CWWK BIOS , once again check the version
- the BIOS file is named 1.bin
- extra reading ASUS laptop won't start after BIOS update
- extra reading part 2 Winbond W25Q128JVSQ memory

 

[h_m_b]

And a few words of advice from me:
- my board has the flash memory 25Q128JVSQ that works with a minimum of 3V, please check if you have the same flash memory, if not search for the datasheet
- check CH341A USB Programmer with a voltmeter that you actually have 3,3V, if not move the corresponding jumper on the board and measure again with a voltmeter
- if the CH341A its an older model search for "ch341a 3.3v mod"
- ask CWWK support how to write the flash memory
- remove all from the board
- make a backup of the contents of the memory
- write the contents and keep the fingers crossed
- the page with all the ISO files for x86 p5 is here CWWK BIOS , once again check the version
- the BIOS file is named 1.bin
- extra reading ASUS laptop won't start after BIOS update
- extra reading part 2 Winbond W25Q128JVSQ memory

The board design has changed with the new version.

There are 3 Winbond chips on it:
1 - 25Q128JVSQ
2 - 25Q80DVSIG
3 - 25Q80DVSIG



As you explained with the 25Q128JVSQ the BIOS chip should then be #1, right?

 

[metlrise]

let's investigate:
1 - 25Q128JVSQ Density 128Mb
2 - 25Q80DVSIG Density 8Mb
3 - 25Q80DVSIG Density 8Mb

if we download any of the iso files from CWWK and look inside the files:
auto.nsh

cd CW-ADLNT-2L
cd bios
EfiFlash.nsh

and now inside

EfiFlash.nsh
Fpt.efi -f CW-X86-P5.bin
pause
reset

the size of the CW-X86-P5.bin file is 16,0 MB, so the only flash that can fit 16MB is 25Q128JVSQ

Please double and triple check the position of the flash memory pins with the test clips that are connected to ch341a. Look at page 5 chapter 3.1 Pin Configuration SOIC 208-mil from the datasheet https://www.winbond.com/resource-files/W25Q128JV RevJ 04252024 Plus.pdf

I recommend that you measure with a voltmeter pin 4 GND with the rest of the pins on the test clips to find the exact orientation


I don't want to discourage you, but last time I flashed a Winbond flash from a Tp-Link router, the only way to write data to the flash memory was to de-solder the flash from the PCB, a brand new flash, a adapter like this SOIC8 SOP8 to DIP8 and a resistor on the /CS pin to force the flash memory into write mode. But that was a router and this is a mini pc.....maybe it will work and there will be no BEEPS just 2..3 minute of silence until it learns about the "new" RAM

 

[pigr8]

oh thats really different from the v3s i have, the 2 lan bios are on the back side and the main near the hdmi port.

i successfully read and flashed the onboard main bios without issues just using the dip8 clamp, i dont think you will have problem doing it.

 

[Octopuss]

they will always send you the latest one available, and if you have specific problem they will look into it and try to fix it and give you the new bios (also beta versions if you ask).

Not my experience. They sometimes to respond in the chat, but they didn't send me anything despite asking several times.

 

[cperka]

Here is a new version with also Power and Performance menu unlocked. I have not been able to flash this one myself yet but it should be good if the other mod worked for you



I think this is as to be expected somehow as the other users who tried this also had a diff. I do not know why it is there...

I flashed this bios4.bin version but no result.
No new option in bios available.

My unit is being extremely throttled. Stress --cpu 4 running but frequency is 800MHz and power consumption around 10W.