Introduction

Netinstall is a tool designed for Windows operating systems to reinstall for installing and reinstalling MikroTik devices running RouterOS (except for non-MikroTik x86 devices). Netinstall re-formats the device's disk and copies over fresh files on to the system's disk, this can solve multiple issues when your device is not working properly. Always try using Netinstall if you suspect that your device is not working properly. The tool is available for Windows (with a graphical interface) and for Linux (as a command line tool). 

In short, the Netinstall procedure goes like this: Connect your PC directly to the boot port (Usually Ether1, the port labeled BOOT or as otherwise indicated in the product manual) of the device you will be reinstalling. Turn on the device while holding the reset button until it shows up in the Netinstall tool.

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Instructions for Windows

• Download Netinstall from the downloads page. If you are not sure which version you need, then you can always select the version that is marked as Current (stable);

• Download the RouterOS Main package from the downloads page;

  Tip
  You must choose a RouterOS version. You can always select the version that is marked as Current. You must also select the architecture (ARM, MIPS, SMIPS, TILE, etc...), but if you are not sure, then you can download the RouterOS package for ALL architectures, Netinstall will choose the right architecture for you.

  
  

• Disconnect your computer from WiFi, Ethernet, LTE, or any other type of connectionsconnection! Netinstall will only work on one active interface on your computer, it is highly recommended that you disconnect any other network interfaces in order to be sure that Netinstall will select the right network interface.

• Configure a static IP address for your Ethernet interface, open Start, and select Settings:

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• Open Network & Internet and select Change adapter options

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• Run Netinstall.exe. If you followed the guide precisely, then you should not have any Internet connection on your computer, Windows 10 wants to verify all apps that it runs, but will not be able to do it since lack of the Internet connection, for this reason, a warning might pop up, you should click Run.

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• Connect your device to your computer using an ethernet cable directly (without any other devices in-between), plug the Ethernet cable into your device's Etherboot port. Most commonly, RouterBOARD
• MikroTik devices are able to use Netinstall from their first port (Ether1), or from the port marked with "BOOT".

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If the installation does not start (progress bar is not moving or no status is shown), then you can try closing the Netinstall application and opening it up again or try to put the device into Etherboot mode again. If you are still unable to get Netinstall working, then you should try using it on a different computer since there might be an operating system's issue that is preventing Netinstall from working properly.

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Instructions for Linux

The Linux version is a command line tool, which offers nearly the same parameters as the Windows counterpart. 

Download the tool from our download page (links not literal): 

wget https://download.mikrotik.com/routeros/[VERSION]/netinstall-[VERSION].tar.gz

Extract it:

tar -xzf netinstall-[VERSION].tar.gz

Run the tool:

./netinstall -a 192.168.0.1 routeros-arm64-[VERSION].npk

The available parameters are as follows: 

admin@ubuntu:~$ sudo ./netinstall -a 192.168.88.3 routeros-mipsbe-6.48.1.npk
Using server IP: 192.168.88.2
Starting PXE server
Waiting for RouterBOARD...
PXE client: 01:23:45:67:89:10
Sending image: mips
Discovered RouterBOARD...
Formatting...
Sending package routeros-mipsbe-6.48.1.npk ...
Ready for reboot...
Sent reboot command

Etherboot

Etherboot mode is a special state for a MikroTik device that allows you to reinstall your device using Netinstall. There are several ways to put your device into Etherboot mode depending on the device you are using.

Reset button

The Reset can be found on all MikroTik devices, this button can be used to put the device into Etherboot mode. An easy way to put a device into Etherboot mode using the Reset button is by powering off the device, hold the Reset button, power on the device while holding the Reset button and keep holding it until the device shows up in your Netinstalll window.

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RouterOS

If your device is able to boot up and you are able to log in, then you can easily put the device into Etherboot mode. To do so, just connect to your device and execute the following command:

/system routerboard settings set boot-device=try-ethernet-once-then-nand

After that either reboot the device or do a power cycle on the device. Next time the device will boot up, then it will first try going into Etherboot mode. Note that after the first boot up, the device will not try going into Etherboot mode and will boot directly of NAND or of the storage type the device is using.

Serial console

Some devices come with a serial console that can be used to put the device into Etherboot mode. To do so, make sure you configure your computer's serial console. The required parameters for all MikroTik devices (except for RouterBOARD 230 series) are as following:

115200bit/s, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity, flow control=none by default.

For RouterBOARD 230 series devices the parameters are as following:

9600bit/s, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity, hardware (RTS/CTS) flow control by default.

Make sure you are using a proper null modem cable, you can find the proper pinout here. When the device is booting up, keep pressing CTRL+E on your keyboard until the device shows that it is trying bootp protocol:

RouterBOOT booter 6.42.3

CRS125-24G-1S

CPU frequency: 600 MHz
 Memory speed: 175 MHz
  Memory size: 128 MiB
    NAND size: 128 MiB

Press any key within 2 seconds to enter setup
Ethernet link absent...
trying bootp protocol.....................

At this point your device is in Etherboot mode, now the device should show up in your Netinstall window.