I've been given an old 2wire 1701HG ADSL modem/router, which I wanted
to test as a possible spare for my aging Cayman 3546. The 2wire has
a case with a vaguely bowtie-like profile, not the more modern rounded
cigarbox shape of the later models.

The unit powers up and the lights make sense: Power flashes, then settles
on steady green, LAN flashes at first then settles on steady green, DSL
flashes a while, then turns red and eventually turns off since there's no
DSL cable connected. The device was working when taken out of service, so
I don't think it's fried, but it hasn't been used in at least five years.

I was able to do a factory reset, connect a computer and ping the default
address of 192.168.1.254. However, a web browser pointed at that address
brings up nothing useful. An old browser simply stops, a later version of
chromium reported "connection refused". That seems odd, one would expect
the controller to answer, even if DSL is down. Could it require a DSL
connection to fire up the admin web server?

As a last resort I decided to examine the board for physical faults, like
bad/cracked solder joints and leaky capacitors. Alas, the case has no visible
means of assembly. I think it snaps together, but can't find any tabs that
might release it.

If anybody's got a hint how to make further progress please let me know.

Thanks for reading!

bob prohaska