Q. to the experts:
I'm not an expert but I play one on the Internetz
if I reflash latest firmware - will all settings be kept in place?
There is so many settings, options, etc, which I may not properly understand (even half of them)
if you use the web interface: System -> Backup / Flash Firmware
and you tick the "Keep settings" radio button then you will keep your general settings like root passwd, network config, cgminer config (which is what you probably want)
Keep in mind that upgrading from a very old version (like Batch #1) to the latest version of cgminer might result in conflicting parameters that will prevent you from launching cgminer, so for older systems I always do a complete reload (don't keep settings) and reconfig the system from scratch
Should i take the risks to upgrade the FW???
Yes, the latest image from ckolivas is rock solid and offers many advantages like fan speed control and automated overclocking (--avalon-auto)
http://ck.kolivas.org/apps/cgminer/avalon/20130703/https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.2643818Unfortunately the official Avalon software maintainer just got his first born so he'll be busy and ckolivas is away for 6 weeks traveling Greece. Talk about a summer dip ;-)