[Q] Removing CDFS partition without rooting? - Thunderbolt General

Is it possible to remove the CDFS partition (Verizon Mobile) without rooting the phone?
It is the company's phone, so no rooting for me but I would love to be able to use the TB as a USB stick on my JVC KD-AVX77 in the car. Right now it doesn't see any music and I suspect that's because of that CDFS partition.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

I'd like to know this as well...

Bumping this up. Even if it requires root, would still like to know how to do it period, as I can't seem to find any info anywhere.

you have to delete a file and you need to be rooted to do so because it is a system file.
/system/etc/cdrom.iso is the file that needs to be deleted

magneticzero said:
you have to delete a file and you need to be rooted to do so because it is a system file.
/system/etc/cdrom.iso is the file that needs to be deleted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, thanks!

magneticzero said:
you have to delete a file and you need to be rooted to do so because it is a system file.
/system/etc/cdrom.iso is the file that needs to be deleted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How big is the file "cdrom.iso"?

bignew67 said:
How big is the file "cdrom.iso"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont recall offhand...it isnt that big....more annoying than how big it is

The ISO is only about 6mb. However, after removing it, the CD drive still shows up when connected, just with no data. Any thoughts, or is this something a kernel dev/CM7(lol down with Sense!) is going to have to take care of?

In the programming menu the option was removed. Take the Incredible for instance, you could disable it, but not so on the TB for now. Unless someone figures out a way to change it Im out of ideas, but removing it worked for me.

magneticzero said:
In the programming menu the option was removed. Take the Incredible for instance, you could disable it, but not so on the TB for now. Unless someone figures out a way to change it Im out of ideas, but removing it worked for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well at least removing it gets rid of the autorun prompt. Good enough for now, and I'm sure the CM team will figure it out.

Root here. Didn't work for me. I can't mount my sd card through my phone after deleting that file.
I did flash adrenalyn's 1.9 kernal some days before which may be the cause of my having a different result from others in this thread however I think it's a good idea to DO A NANDROID BACKUP BEFORE ATTEMPTING!
or at least rename the file with a .old or .bak extension, whatever ya like... luckily I have the backup from before the kernal flash
would logcat be able to track down what's being accessed while the phone is mounting volumes while enabling disk mode?

Rather than removing it, I replaced it with an ISO of my own that has the Tether for Android setup exe and dmg, and a few other misc files I might need

Related

Missing apps after HERO upgrade

I was wondering if anyone else was running into the problem I'm having, and if it has been covered before and I missed it in the search box earlier I apologize. I just recently tried to upgrade to JACHero2.6 and my market app (most important) along with several others are missing. The apps are automatically installed on all my other roms, it is only with hero that I end up missing alot of apps. I have a correctly formatted SD card and I did a wipe before I installed this and tried the whole process twice. If I am forgetting to do something special prior to installation or afterwards please let me know!!
darkphoenix2012 said:
I was wondering if anyone else was running into the problem I'm having, and if it has been covered before and I missed it in the search box earlier I apologize. I just recently tried to upgrade to JACHero2.6 and my market app (most important) along with several others are missing. The apps are automatically installed on all my other roms, it is only with hero that I end up missing alot of apps. I have a correctly formatted SD card and I did a wipe before I installed this and tried the whole process twice. If I am forgetting to do something special prior to installation or afterwards please let me know!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you may have gotten a bad download. try redownloading it again. do you have 3 partition (fat32 ext2/3 linux-swap) if not i suggest that for jac's 2.63 also make sure you check file extensions in recovery screen. hopefully this helps
Yes I have my card that exact format and I tried using the filesystem checker in the recovery screen it said filesystem check was complete!! I'll try doing the whole process over again but I'm not sure how that would help, and it is sad too this is the best damn hero rom i've tested to date, its fast as hell!! If it weren't for my apps not being here i wouldn't be planning on a future rom update in the near future or until some big release happens.
make sure you always check md5 sum of all your hero build download
you could of had a damaged downloaded rom and this could affect your rom.
Just tried to download a fresh copy of the rom, checked to make sure my sd card was working properly, wiped and re-flashed yet my market app and the same apps I was missing before is still missing. It should be included that apps on my ext2 were coming back like they should be just not all of them, and not a few apps that I thought should be included with the rom. Is there anything I should check that I may not have yet?
I would use Root Explorer to check if the apk files are still under system/sd/app if they aren't... well, there's no way you're going to see them again unless you re-install them. You can also look under system/sd/app_s if that's there. Other than that, if you can't find it, it's not there. (If you know the exact name of the file or at least part of the apk file name, under terminal type: find "file name" (w/o quotes ofc)
You can add wildcards (*) if you don't know the exact name of the file. If the apk file is still there... well... let's just see if its there first.
I checked using terminal, I typed "vending.apk" and tried to check the dir's you specified for the apks. If they are there I can't find them, although I am a bit limited as terminal is the only app that came loaded with which to check for files. If the apk files are indeed not there then why would the apps install on their own without a problem on any other build but hero??? I must be doing something wrong right? I am open to any suggestions at this point, even using a different rom to check for something, my goal is to have this rom flashed with my apps working soon!
heres the vending.apk from jachero 2.63 you can try and adb push it to /system/sd/app_s and see if it works.
Thanks, I'll try pushing that over but I'm still worried about the rest of the apps I'm missing. Would there be anything else I could try to make it possibly fix all the missing apps? What could be causing this problem in the first place? I did notice that my sd card has an ext2 rather than ext3 part, will that cause all of this to happen? I'm still pretty lost on this. I tried going back to another rom just to make sure my apps would still all pull up correctly, and they did so it has to be something related to this most recent build of jachero, or something
welcome to the club my friend (-;
i have the exact same problem and noone was able to help me yet.
It must have something to do with Jacs apps2sd method. i read some tweets between him and cyanogen that it might be a little 'rough'.
however - it's always the same apps that are missing, in my case it's (badly enough) launcher.apk AND rosie.apk which pretty much means that i can't solve it.
i also tried everything i could with ADB - without luck. I somehow have the feeling that theres something staying on the phone even when wiping and formatting.... I'll check this through ADB this evening.
look @ my recent posts:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/search_rop.php?searchid=25731882
for previous moaning from myself ( (-; ) and discussion with others in the JACthread. Basically the last 15 - 20 posts are about nothing else (-;
I will also do some logcating today - i've already seen the errors through install (rosie.apk couldn't be parsed etc) but i forgot to save it (and the command promt only saves 100 lines or something)
h.nocturna said:
I would use Root Explorer to check if the apk files are still under system/sd/app if they aren't... well, there's no way you're going to see them again unless you re-install them. You can also look under system/sd/app_s if that's there. Other than that, if you can't find it, it's not there. (If you know the exact name of the file or at least part of the apk file name, under terminal type: find "file name" (w/o quotes ofc)
You can add wildcards (*) if you don't know the exact name of the file. If the apk file is still there... well... let's just see if its there first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have used AndExplorer and put the APK's in the sys/sd/apps and it all worked fine. Very easy to do if you don't know how to push, just reboot after.
Can someone please tell me how i can get myfaves app on any mod im burning up my minutes thanks.
jivany said:
Can someone please tell me how i can get myfaves app on any mod im burning up my minutes thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to have the myfaves app for you myfave minutes to work. You are still calling them for free regardless if you have the icon or myfave compatible phone or whatever. If you want to manage the people just log on to mytmobile.com and make the changes there.
Hmmmmmmmm . I never realized thanks for pointing that out TurboTsi.
darkphoenix2012 said:
Thanks, I'll try pushing that over but I'm still worried about the rest of the apps I'm missing. Would there be anything else I could try to make it possibly fix all the missing apps? What could be causing this problem in the first place? I did notice that my sd card has an ext2 rather than ext3 part, will that cause all of this to happen? I'm still pretty lost on this. I tried going back to another rom just to make sure my apps would still all pull up correctly, and they did so it has to be something related to this most recent build of jachero, or something
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
open up your copy of the build and check in system/app_s to see if the .apks are even in the build. if pushing the vending.apk works i dont mind posting the other ones you are missing if you want to pm me or something
Just tried opening the update.zip file and verified that all the apks are there. Which makes me wonder what exactly is up. Im thinking it could be an apps2sd issue, like what was said above. I didnt have this problem with older hero roms that i can remember. TBH I could try pushing apps with adb but that wouldn't bring back my other 3rd party apps floating in ext2 limbo. So I'm out of ideas ;(
darkphoenix2012 said:
Just tried opening the update.zip file and verified that all the apks are there. Which makes me wonder what exactly is up. Im thinking it could be an apps2sd issue, like what was said above. I didnt have this problem with older hero roms that i can remember. TBH I could try pushing apps with adb but that wouldn't bring back my other 3rd party apps floating in ext2 limbo. So I'm out of ideas ;(
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try going to the recovery console and entering upgrade_fs and that will change your ext2 to ext3 and see if wiping and flashing change anything. also if you have root explorer you can check your /system/sd folder to see if all of your third party apps are there
Just tried upgrade_fs and it gave me a "unable to allocate block" I noticed there is little if any room left on the ext2 partition. Would that cause all of this? If not would it be worth a shot to resize the partition and give it more space from my fat32 then try to upgrade wipe reload again?
If you're out of ideas, then I would attempt to resize first (but backup your fat32 first) and then see if that solves it, if not, then I would format, wipe, and update...
but are you sure those 3rd party apps are not there? Try using Root Explorer to determine if the 3rd Party Apps are there, if they are, just pull them to your sdcard and try installing them again with ASTRO or something like that.

[Q] Rebooting to Bootstrap

I have been trolling the forums for awhile and I never post but this is something that I have not been able to come across. Why after I used the bootstrap app and load into the recovery menu that now every time I go to reboot my phone I automatically go into the recovery menu even after a successful boot? Hope I worded that right. Please help and thank you!!
just realized I am in the theme section. Can this be moved to the appropriate board. THANKS!!
That's the way it works, it hijacks the bootloader, trust me its a good thing. Bootloop, battery pull, recovery, restore backup. Several times I've been glad it works that way.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
Wait. I have a normal reboot. Maybe mine is messed up?
Yeah I got that but I thought it was only if I pulled the battery after it bootlooped. It does it every reboot except after I flashed a "rom", but I didn't like the rom so I reverted back to stock. I mean its awesome to have the security blanket but it can also be a bad thing if my 14 yo cousin gets ahold of my phone then formats my system an then reboots. Thanks for the help by the way.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
The recovery works by looking for a file : /data/.recovery_mode
If it's there, then it goes into recovery mode, if not, then it allows for a normal boot.
However, if doing normal boot, it actually places the /data/.recovery_mode file and then erases it once the system is fully booted. I know this is confusing, but this is how it knows to go back into recovery if you did a battery pull (ie, the file was created, but never erased since you didn't complete the boot process).
All of this is supposed to happen automagically, but I've heard of that file sometimes getting 'stuck' and not deleted. Thus, causing you to reboot into recovery every time.
There is nothing inside the file, just an empty marker. You may want to delete that file and reboot. Should help.
-Z
If you want to remove bootstrap, you can do SBF flash, which I did several times and it perfectly works.
Zaphod-Beeblebrox said:
The recovery works by looking for a file : /data/.recovery_mode
If it's there, then it goes into recovery mode, if not, then it allows for a normal boot.
However, if doing normal boot, it actually places the /data/.recovery_mode file and then erases it once the system is fully booted. I know this is confusing, but this is how it knows to go back into recovery if you did a battery pull (ie, the file was created, but never erased since you didn't complete the boot process).
All of this is supposed to happen automagically, but I've heard of that file sometimes getting 'stuck' and not deleted. Thus, causing you to reboot into recovery every time.
There is nothing inside the file, just an empty marker. You may want to delete that file and reboot. Should help.
-Z
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I understand completely I knew the process but did not quite understand. Now the last question, is the only way to remove it to flash or can I use a file manager to remove it?
Oh and thanks for the help by the way.
UPDATE:
So I think I found it.
Unroot and Remove Recovery Via RootExplorer
jkpair said:
Ok I understand completely I knew the process but did not quite understand. Now the last question, is the only way to remove it to flash or can I use a file manager to remove it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can just delete it with a file manager (I am not sure about the permissions though .. you may need rootexplorer?)
I generally just do things like that from adb shell.
I KNOW I can delete it that way
Zaphod-Beeblebrox said:
You can just delete it with a file manager (I am not sure about the permissions though .. you may need rootexplorer?)
I generally just do things like that from adb shell.
I KNOW I can delete it that way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so for adb shell it would be something like:
Code:
adb shell
cd /system/bin
rm -r hijack
If thats right I won't try unless I know for sure. I don't know why but I have just got into a habit of googling after I ask. Lol I think this is it: Easy way to remove Koush's recovery?
So the logwrapper is the main file that matters not the hijack file and the original logwrapper was renamed to logwrapper.bin so I just replace Koush's recovery logwrapper with the previous one by copying over it.
Once again thanks for the help. Seems the answer is always 42.
jkpair said:
so for adb shell it would be something like:
Code:
adb shell
cd /system/bin
rm -r hijack
If thats right I won't try unless I know for sure. I don't know why but I have just got into a habit of googling after I ask. Lol I think this is it: Easy way to remove Koush's recovery?
So the logwrapper is the main file that matters not the hijack file and the original logwrapper was renamed to logwrapper.bin so I just replace Koush's recovery logwrapper with the previous one by copying over it.
Once again thanks for the help. Seems the answer is always 42.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry, I misunderstood you goal here. I thought you wanted to keep the recovery, just fix it so it didn't come up on each reboot. If you are looking to completely remove the recovery, then I yes, I would follow the directions in the post you referenced, not the code section.
If you are only looking to 'fix' your reboot issues, I would suggest looking to see if /data/.recovery_mode exists on your phone. If it does, delete it. That's likely what is causing you to reboot into recovery each time.
Zaphod-Beeblebrox said:
I'm sorry, I misunderstood you goal here. I thought you wanted to keep the recovery, just fix it so it didn't come up on each reboot. If you are looking to completely remove the recovery, then I yes, I would follow the directions in the post you referenced, not the code section.
If you are only looking to 'fix' your reboot issues, I would suggest looking to see if /data/.recovery_mode exists on your phone. If it does, delete it. That's likely what is causing you to reboot into recovery each time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh wow now I feel dumb. I thought I got it. So this would allow me to reboot and keep the recovery without it going into recovery every time I reboot. I hate asking noob questions lol
jkpair said:
Oh wow now I feel dumb. I thought I got it. So this would allow me to reboot and keep the recovery without it going into recovery every time I reboot. I hate asking noob questions lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming that is the problem. There may be another reason that you are getting dumped into recovery each time, but I suspect this is it. I will say that it's not 'normal' for recovery to come up each time. It should only come up if you somehow stop the boot process mid-way (Battery pull, etc) or use the Bootstrap recovery program to set it to reboot in recovery (which basically just creates the data file in question).
I would suggest you work through fixing this problem rather than just getting rid of the recovery. It's quite a powerful tool.
Zaphod-Beeblebrox said:
Assuming that is the problem. There may be another reason that you are getting dumped into recovery each time, but I suspect this is it. I will say that it's not 'normal' for recovery to come up each time. It should only come up if you somehow stop the boot process mid-way (Battery pull, etc) or use the Bootstrap recovery program to set it to reboot in recovery (which basically just creates the data file in question).
I would suggest you work through fixing this problem rather than just getting rid of the recovery. It's quite a powerful tool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I really don't want to rid myself of it. I do believe I have an understanding now I am going to give it a shot when I can leave work. I will come back and post results.
Awesome It worked like a charm. Deleted the .recovery_mode file and am now happy.
Thanks for replying so quickly before I decided to just go ahead and remove the recovery menu all together.
jkpair said:
Yeah I really don't want to rid myself of it. I do believe I have an understanding now I am going to give it a shot when I can leave work. I will come back and post results.
Awesome It worked like a charm. Deleted the .recovery_mode file and am now happy.
Thanks for replying so quickly before I decided to just go ahead and remove the recovery menu all together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is this file located? Im having the same problem.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
DrewDanger said:
Where is this file located? Im having the same problem.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From my earlier post:
The recovery works by looking for a file : /data/.recovery_mode
If it's there, then it goes into recovery mode, if not, then it allows for a normal boot.
However, if doing normal boot, it actually places the /data/.recovery_mode file and then erases it once the system is fully booted. I know this is confusing, but this is how it knows to go back into recovery if you did a battery pull (ie, the file was created, but never erased since you didn't complete the boot process).
All of this is supposed to happen automagically, but I've heard of that file sometimes getting 'stuck' and not deleted. Thus, causing you to reboot into recovery every time.
There is nothing inside the file, just an empty marker. You may want to delete that file and reboot. Should help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went through Astro and searched "/data/.recovery_mode" but it didnt bring up that file. I guess Im just confused at what exactly Im supposed to be looking for...
Yeah I ended up using a root file manager to do this was really easy. Just go the root menu and browse to data find recovery_mode and delete then reboot.
Oh and astro will not show what is in the data folder you have to get a root explorer app I think the one I used was android mate.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
Ok cool I'll check that out. When I use Astro and go under "system" and scroll down it has a "recovery from boot" folder. Any idea what that is? When I open it there is a bunch of code script in it
Ok I deleted that file and it fixed it. I think Im just gonna un-root it when I get off work. Im over all this, lol. I'll wait until the Droid has more development as far as root access and what you can do. Can I just do the un-root through the one -click-root I used?
DrewDanger said:
Ok I deleted that file and it fixed it. I think Im just gonna un-root it when I get off work. Im over all this, lol. I'll wait until the Droid has more development as far as root access and what you can do. Can I just do the un-root through the one -click-root I used?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it has an option to unroot, but I can't state whether or not this is the best method to remove the root. I acctually am keeping my root and bootloader. Yeah I will be glad when there is a true rom as well but progress is progress.

Infuse EFS Folder (Request for someone's backup)

Hi guys,
One miraculous day, my efs folder became corrupt, when it just so happened to be the week after the hard drive on my computer took a dump! What a week this has been.. I was wondering if it is possible for someone to zip their EFS folder and send it to me to see if I can't get this phone to connect back to the network again. I honestly think there are applications on androids marketplace that will wipe things if you have superuser installed.. because it was like BAM, one morning I wake up and my efs folder was deleted the day after I had installed some new apps.
So my question is - Will someone send me a backup of their EFS? If that won't conflict with their phone of course -- I would send it back to Samsung, but their 3rd tier support has no idea what I'm talking about - they just hear root and think I'm a piece of trash.
Any help would be greatly appreciated - I have not seen anything about trying someone elses efs so I thought it could be a bit experimental as well.. Thanks
-Brett
Salmiery said:
Hi guys,
One miraculous day, my efs folder became corrupt, when it just so happened to be the week after the hard drive on my computer took a dump! What a week this has been.. I was wondering if it is possible for someone to zip their EFS folder and send it to me to see if I can't get this phone to connect back to the network again. I honestly think there are applications on androids marketplace that will wipe things if you have superuser installed.. because it was like BAM, one morning I wake up and my efs folder was deleted the day after I had installed some new apps.
So my question is - Will someone send me a backup of their EFS? If that won't conflict with their phone of course -- I would send it back to Samsung, but their 3rd tier support has no idea what I'm talking about - they just hear root and think I'm a piece of trash.
Any help would be greatly appreciated - I have not seen anything about trying someone elses efs so I thought it could be a bit experimental as well.. Thanks
-Brett
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an interesting request, Brett.
I thought the efs.rfs file contains one's phone imei number/network id etc.
idk for sure...
I thought using someone else's imei is kinda like "let me borrow your ss# so i can check the ss office to see if mine is working.
I didn't know if you found this link and tried it?
http://forum.samdroid.net/f28/complete-imei-restore-how-1817/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=882039
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=953436
Fortunately for me, I had a efs backup on my hd.
I think I also saw scripts in Zeus and Doctor ROM that backs up efs also prior to flash..
good luck
I wasn't trying to steal anyone's IMEI.. I just have tried multiple techniques, but I have not tried the first link..
I've been having trouble getting a shell with adb, does it need to be in download mode?
I was trying to see if it were possible to copy someone's existing files, and use a hex editor to change things, but reading into it, the IMEI is not able to be edited easily without knowing the encyrption type.
I'm just frustrated and have been back and forth with both at&t and also samsung (Their support is a joke, no one I spoke with even knew what the EFS folder was..)
I will try this technique and will report back later when I get home from work tonight. I've been reading a lot of similar issues with the null/null IMEI in the infuses and the guy at the AT&T store said that this was the reason they stopped selling the phone in their store.
Thanks for the help, I'll let you know what happens.
-Brett
Goodluck.
From the tone of your post, I didn't suspect any malice...I had a gist of what you were trying to do.
From reading some of links, there may be some method of recovery.
I hope that you're able to get it back.
I posted one a while back. I think it was in the q&a section. I won't be at my computer for a couple of days or I'd upload it for ya. Try searching or scrolling thru there.
Edit: I just uploaded an EFS.zip, unzip and flash the included efs.tar thru Odin or heimdall.
I had the same problem but i fixed it through Odin. There is an option in odin where you can click on the side (sorry i just reformated the comp so i dont have odin installed) that says something about the EFS. Try that, it fixed it for me.
On a related note. I thought I read somewhere that typical backups such as tibu and nandroid do NOT back up the efs folder. Is this correct? Should we all be doing this manually to protect against corruption?
Try searching here or on market. I remember there was this app called "nitrality" something. This app backs up EFS that we can restore in case we mess it up.
diablo009 said:
Try searching here or on market. I remember there was this app called "nitrality" something. This app backs up EFS that we can restore in case we mess it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did try to dl that app and ran it. It didn't work for me. The app hung up the system until you fc it.
If you're versed in linux or Term emu, you can use script to back up your efs.
If you had flashed zeus or doctorz, there are scripts build in that backs up your efs.
if you had root explorer, you can find efs folder in your root. long press on the folder allows you to create zip or tar of this as well.
Any harm in just copy/paste the whole folder to external SD with root explorer? Then copy paste to windows over USB? Will permissions get messed up?
I think I've already backed it up but there have been a couple threads on this. Wonder if it should be part of superthread or a sticky...do this first :...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
rxnelson said:
Any harm in just copy/paste the whole folder to external SD with root explorer? Then copy paste to windows over USB? Will permissions get messed up?
I think I've already backed it up but there have been a couple threads on this. Wonder if it should be part of superthread or a sticky...do this first :...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no problem with copy/paste that I know of.
Being cautious, I have a zip, a tar, and the whole folder on my PC, USB and box.net.
Hypothetically,
I have access to another Infuse on the same family plan at that, if i were to copy the efs folder to mine what would that do?
I want to make sure not to have the same IMEI number on the network though, but this could save me a lot of hassle...
any thoughts?
Read the threads on the links I provided...you will get more understanding.
I have multiple times, but the first post that seemed like it would be the best fix, I have to get him to send me a fixed nv_data file and he seems to be unresponsive at the moment.
I think I'm going to root the 2nd infuse, back up her efs folder (MULTIPLE times lol) and fix it so it's generic and not an exact replica of hers..
Do you see any problems there? I'm definitely not an expert at all with this.
Salmiery said:
I have multiple times, but the first post that seemed like it would be the best fix, I have to get him to send me a fixed nv_data file and he seems to be unresponsive at the moment.
I think I'm going to root the 2nd infuse, back up her efs folder (MULTIPLE times lol) and fix it so it's generic and not an exact replica of hers..
Do you see any problems there? I'm definitely not an expert at all with this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In order to see what is on the root of a phone, you may need to root it.
Once rooted, you can look for the efs folder.
I haven't used z4root in a while on an unrooted phone, I don't know if this program will let you see the root folder or not. It's possible.
The efs on my phone shows several programs and folders.
One of the folder is /imei. I suppose this is where the unique id is located.
read the thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1372455
as you can see, the efs contains unique id...i'm not sure of even how to make up a different imei file from using someone else's efs folder.
if your phone boots up but does not connect, if you go to settings/about phone/status
does it list the imei?
if it does, are you able to use a script in terminal emulator to back it up?
if you can't find the script, you can try flashing doctor or zeus rom, they have scripts to back up your efs folder. then try locating it on your phone.
the other thought i had was for you to call your provider to see if they can give you your previous imei number.
I'm only reasoning from what I have read...these are new territory to me.
Right, I have rooted my phone and for whatever reason the EFS folder is completely empty... The folder is there, but completley empty.
I have the IMEI number, its on the back of the phone as well as AT&T gave it to me.
The fact that my entire folder is empty, and I hadn't backed anything up because I never flashed the kernel or rom makes me think that the android marketplace does have malicious code that simply says:
if(phone==rooted){
wipe efs foler
}
continuing to pull my hair out and attempt new things, if anyone has any ideas let me know.
Salmiery said:
continuing to pull my hair out and attempt new things, if anyone has any ideas let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out Post # 5, I just edited my post.
its not simply a folder its actually a partition, on Linux you can mount drives/partitions however you like so it can appear to be under another directory and be an entirely different device.
you can make a .rfs image from the dd command through adb or terminal emulator.
if it is corrupt you "may" be able to salvage it through options of the dd command.
I gotta look up the device path and whatnot but if there is anything on there, visable or not, you might be able to recover the unique files and paste them over the files from someone else's efs backup. if not I have heard but never tried it, but I heard that fromatting the partition will cause the system to generate a generic efs, but I don't know for sure.
edit: the device location is /dev/block/stl3
you can dump it to the SD card with
dd if=/dev/block/stl3 of=/sdcard/efs.rfs bs=4096
if there are bad blocks I think but not quite sure you can add noerror to the end
dd if=/dev/block/stl3 of=/sdcard/efs.rfs bs=4096 noerror
but if the information has actually been deleted unless it was overwritten it is mostly intact. it is not well known that delete doesn't actually delete the data, even after a format data can be recovered with the right program. if the dumps come up empty there is also dd_rescue and foremost but I don't know if those commands are available on android, but you may be able to loop mount the dump on a Linux box or in cygwin and try the ddrescue or foremost commands.
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-newbie-8/learn-the-dd-command-362506/
hopefully you can recover something. and learn something along the way. this is also useful for recovering deleted files and securely deleting stuff you want gone for real.
i remember I lost my efs on my captivate. There are tools in the forum to get it back.
Salmiery said:
Hi guys,
One miraculous day, my efs folder became corrupt, when it just so happened to be the week after the hard drive on my computer took a dump! What a week this has been.. I was wondering if it is possible for someone to zip their EFS folder and send it to me to see if I can't get this phone to connect back to the network again. I honestly think there are applications on androids marketplace that will wipe things if you have superuser installed.. because it was like BAM, one morning I wake up and my efs folder was deleted the day after I had installed some new apps.
So my question is - Will someone send me a backup of their EFS? If that won't conflict with their phone of course -- I would send it back to Samsung, but their 3rd tier support has no idea what I'm talking about - they just hear root and think I'm a piece of trash.
Any help would be greatly appreciated - I have not seen anything about trying someone elses efs so I thought it could be a bit experimental as well.. Thanks
-Brett
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh, NO than you. My EFS folder has nothing to do with yours. Don't know how that would work...

How to replace one file when failing to boot

Hey guys
I screwed up my vold.fstab trying to get "_ExternalSD" back.
Unfortunately! I did not run a nandroid before I made the change.
Now, I can dirty flash my rom on top, or go back to a nandroid from a few days ago, but I'd really just like to recover and go on my merry way. And maybe learn something in the process.
Only thing is, I can't figure out how to access the phone other than the External SD card through CWM.
Can I mount the internal /system and access through USB? Is there some facility to copy a file from one point to another? Any other methods? I guess the phone has to be up to run ADB, right?
I don't know how to generate a flashable zip but I could extract the original version of the file from the original rom. I assume that its non trivial to create a flashable zip, but maybe someone can comment? It looks like there is signing and certificates involved..
thanks for any ideas
bluenote73 said:
Hey guys
I screwed up my vold.fstab trying to get "_ExternalSD" back.
Unfortunately! I did not run a nandroid before I made the change.
Now, I can dirty flash my rom on top, or go back to a nandroid from a few days ago, but I'd really just like to recover and go on my merry way. And maybe learn something in the process.
Only thing is, I can't figure out how to access the phone other than the External SD card through CWM.
Can I mount the internal /system and access through USB? Is there some facility to copy a file from one point to another? Any other methods? I guess the phone has to be up to run ADB, right?
I don't know how to generate a flashable zip but I could extract the original version of the file from the original rom. I assume that its non trivial to create a flashable zip, but maybe someone can comment? It looks like there is signing and certificates involved..
thanks for any ideas
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is why i hate it when people make those guides.
messing with the vold.fstab is dangerous (even though its only a few lines) if your trying to recover your data, give up. its not going to happen. (sorry)
when you edit the vold.fstab it messed up the partitions on your internal SD card and most likely did the equivalent of wiped your /system partition. (or another important one.) your actually lucky it did not completely brick your phone.
your post was a little vague, but if you can, just restore an older nandroid, or wipe everything and install another ROM. (you can try dirty flashing but i dont think itll work)
if you cannot access CWM, then follow the steps in This guide. it should get you back up on your feet. after you follow that guide flash a gingerbread ROM (any gingerbread rom will do fine) then you can reboot and flash any ROM you want. (it needs this to fix a quirk in that script)
Hope you get it fixed
EDIT: re read your post, if your feeling adventurous and want to give it a shot, boot into CWM and connect it via usb. you can now get into an ADB shell on your phone by typing 'adb shell' if you have adb all setup and working. (im working from memory here so dont quote me on any of this)
now, you should be able to access your /system folder from that shell. be very careful though, i dont have much experience right here, and if i remember correctly you might not be in the full root directory yet)
if you can get into it try replacing your vold.fstab with a stock one,
if you dont have a stock one lying around, make a nandroid of the current state of the rom, then flash another rom, pull the vold.fstab, then re-restore back to the broken one and restore it (id upload mine but my phone is OOC right now )
after that just reboot and hope it resolves itself, if not then just follow my advice above
and keep that guide i linked to handy, messing around in CWM has the ability to brick your phone, if it does, then just follow that guide.
Klathmon said:
this is why i hate it when people make those guides.
messing with the vold.fstab is dangerous (even though its only a few lines) if your trying to recover your data, give up. its not going to happen. (sorry)
when you edit the vold.fstab it messed up the partitions on your internal SD card and most likely did the equivalent of wiped your /system partition. (or another important one.) your actually lucky it did not completely brick your phone.
your post was a little vague, but if you can, just restore an older nandroid, or wipe everything and install another ROM.
if you cannot access CWM, then follow the steps in This guide. it should get you back up on your feet. after you follow that guide flash a gingerbread ROM (any gingerbread rom will do fine) then you can reboot and flash any ROM you want. (it needs this to fix a quirk in that script)
Hope you get it fixed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How bout adb and pushing the file back in? Or cant you access the phone via adb?
Sent from my LG-P970 using XDA
N00BY0815 said:
How bout adb and pushing the file back in? Or cant you access the phone via adb?
Sent from my LG-P970 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
re read your post and updated my last post right after you posted
after dealing with noobies all day, i forget sometimes people want to try big things
Thanks guys. The info I was missing was there's no special trick to attaching adb while in CWM! Just plug in!
My phone is back up and running and partitions are fine as far as I can see after just booting up.
Hi there! I messed up with the vold.fstab filfe on my tablet – I replaced it with a downloaded file with the intention to transfer apps to my external SD card.
Now my tablet is only showing the startup logo and won’t continue loading. I can access recovery mode. Now I want to restore the original vold.fstab file.
My questions:
1. Using the Android SDK, the file explorer does not show any files, though my tablet is recognized.
2. Using adb push, it yields an error: permission denied, how to successfully push the original vold.fstab and replace the existing vold.fstab?
3. If I dump an image of my tablet and edit the dumped image, would this be easier compared to the steps above?
Thanks!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1646108
Try this.
If this doesn't help you should ask in the section for your tablet to get more specific advice.
TwitchyEye said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1646108
Try this.
If this doesn't help you should ask in the section for your tablet to get more specific advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I will try it later when I got home. My tablet is not found here. I have a Skyworth S71(3G) with RK3066 chipset.
BryanF said:
Thanks, I will try it later when I got home. My tablet is not found here. I have a Skyworth S71(3G) with RK3066 chipset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to do an adb remount before you can push. Was it rooted before?
-- The noob says:
This just in... my IQ has increased 50 points thanks to the g2x!
Mansa_noob, yes, my tablet is rooted. I followed some instructions about adb but had an error saying access denied, and also no files are displayed at file explorer. See my posts above. I also mounted it successfully. I will post some sreenshots later.
Please if you have some instructions, I am willing to try.
---------- Post added at 07:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:02 AM ----------
TwitchyEye said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1646108
Try this.
If this doesn't help you should ask in the section for your tablet to get more specific advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi twitchyEye, it did not work. It attemps to install (using the install update from ext sd card) but then says installation aborted.
Any more suggestions? Thanks
What recovery are you using? I suck with adb so I got nothing on that front.
It was the stock recovery from my Tablet. I don't have it on hand right now, I will post later. The chipset is RK3066. My problem is my tablet has no official support on the internet (maybe becaue it's still new). Model is Skyworth S71(3G).
I see. Yeah this is over my head man. I thought for sure you were running a custom recovery and it was an easy answer. I'm actually struggling right now with adb myself with a similar issue something about permissions whenever I try to do anything to my phone. So I guess right now would be a perfect time for somebody to chime in with a smarter answer!
TwitchyEye said:
I see. Yeah this is over my head man. I thought for sure you were running a custom recovery and it was an easy answer. I'm actually struggling right now with adb myself with a similar issue something about permissions whenever I try to do anything to my phone. So I guess right now would be a perfect time for somebody to chime in with a smarter answer!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you doing adb remount and still getting permission denied?
-- The noob says:
This just in... my IQ has increased 50 points thanks to the g2x!
mansa_noob said:
Are you doing adb remount and still getting permission denied?
-- The noob says:
This just in... my IQ has increased 50 points thanks to the g2x!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I did adb remount and still access denied
BryanF said:
Yes, I did adb remount and still access denied
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is strange. A properly rooted phone would adb remount to r/w system. Something is fishy. Is it rooted+
-- The noob says:
This just in... my IQ has increased 50 points thanks to the g2x!
mansa_noob said:
This is strange. A properly rooted phone would adb remount to r/w system. Something is fishy. Is it rooted+
-- The noob says:
This just in... my IQ has increased 50 points thanks to the g2x!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sure it is rooted, because I downloaded an application from Google play to check it it is rooted or not. It is really rooted. I alvo confirmed this as I can now fully backup and restore my apps using Titanium backup before the tablet is messed up.
BryanF said:
I am sure it is rooted, because I downloaded an application from Google play to check it it is rooted or not. It is really rooted. I alvo confirmed this as I can now fully backup and restore my apps using Titanium backup before the tablet is messed up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. Odd or not, it is what it is. Is it possible for you to load a custom recovery?
-- The noob says:
This just in... my IQ has increased 50 points thanks to the g2x!
mansa_noob said:
OK. Odd or not, it is what it is. Is it possible for you to load a custom recovery?
-- The noob says:
This just in... my IQ has increased 50 points thanks to the g2x!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to try, but the stock recovery is my last hold as I have no stock ROM. If I overwrite the stock ROM, I cannot reinstall it as I don't have a copy of it.
So why not flash cwm with nvflash and then make a backup of your current stock rom? I did exactly that.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium

HELP Forgot Pattern in Android 6.0

Thats the problem...Android Device Manager is useless cuz there is already a pattern...I tried almost 100 times and there is no "forgot your password?" option...I need at least do a copy of my pictures.
Is there any solution to this? I feel like a real idiot...I was trying a different pattern and I forgot It...I cant believe it...
I think there's a file not sure if it is directly under /data/system or one of it's sub directories, but basically what I did was to boot to TWRP , use the built it file manager and delete that file. I could then access my phone. I will search maybe I kept the file name somewhere.
EDIT:
Just remove this file /data/system/gesture.key
and reboot.
wizardwiz said:
I think there's a file not sure if it is directly under /data/system or one of it's sub directories, but basically what I did was to boot to TWRP , use the built it file manager and delete that file. I could then access my phone. I will search maybe I kept the file name somewhere.
EDIT:
Just remove this file /data/system/gesture.key
and reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How I do that? my phone is not rooted, the bootloader is locked and debugging mode is off :S
Jerber said:
How I do that? my phone is not rooted, the bootloader is locked and debugging mode is off :S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That could be a problem. I think that it might be done using adb but not sure if it can be done without root/bootloader secured
If cracking an Android device were as easy as deleting a file then I doubt that there's much value in any security on a device at all, no?
Surely this has to be a reinstall of the ROM...? Maybe with no-wipe to preserve the data?
Genuine question - I don't know for sure.
dahawthorne said:
If cracking an Android device were as easy as deleting a file then I doubt that there's much value in any security on a device at all, no?
Surely this has to be a reinstall of the ROM...? Maybe with no-wipe to preserve the data?
Genuine question - I don't know for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Testing it would be really easy. just set a pattern and then delete that file.
Lets us know is it is that easy to hack it or not.
Since obviously you know better, share your findings with us.
dahawthorne said:
If cracking an Android device were as easy as deleting a file then I doubt that there's much value in any security on a device at all, no?
Surely this has to be a reinstall of the ROM...? Maybe with no-wipe to preserve the data?
Genuine question - I don't know for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone has to have an unlocked bootloader and twrp installed, so you already compromised its security yourself. You could relock the bootloader, flash a stock recovery and encrypt the phone, that would solve the issue.
"Since obviously you know better, share your findings with us."
Look, guy, just because you're a senior member there's no need to be offensively sarcastic.
Maybe you didn't get as far as my last comment: "Genuine question - I don't know for sure."
dahawthorne said:
"Since obviously you know better, share your findings with us."
Look, guy, just because you're a senior member there's no need to be offensively sarcastic.
Maybe you didn't get as far as my last comment: "Genuine question - I don't know for sure."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not being Sarcastic at all. Making a point. If you got offended, sorry about that.
I posted what I have , after testing it myself. Had the same issue on Lollipop.
Further more, I will share another piece of Info in here.
When You are able to access any Solaris/Linux server using a console , and boot it from DVD, you can simply edit the /etc/shadow file and reset even the root password. Does that mean Unix/Linux aren't secure OS's ?
When you have access to OS level files you can practically hack every OS.
Same goes here. When you have unlock bootloader and modified recovery you can access system files that otherwise would be inaccessible. if he can have access to that file and remove it, he will gain access to his system.
Well, I tried everything that I could because my phone is no rooted, and the bootloader is locked, plus, the debugging mode is off too... so I was close to give up, BUT finally I remembered that my phone was connected to Airdroid!; if Airdroid is connected to the phone It can bypass the lockscreen and you can access to the internal memory anyways with the Airdroid website!, so I did a full backup of all my pictures and then I did a factory reset!, the copy was a kinda slow but I didn't care of course!. What a relief!!!
So, I really recommend use Airdroid (and have the app connected of course), it saved my life!, I was really frustrated about this, I cant believe Google doesnt provide the old way the restore the pattern like in Kitkat and Jelly Bean.
wizardwiz said:
I think there's a file not sure if it is directly under /data/system or one of it's sub directories, but basically what I did was to boot to TWRP , use the built it file manager and delete that file. I could then access my phone. I will search maybe I kept the file name somewhere.
EDIT:
Just remove this file /data/system/gesture.key
and reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It worked like a charm!
I have a fingerprint enabled phone. forgot my pattern, followed your suggestion and presented in my phone are data/system/gesture.password.key and gesture.pattern.key so I deleted the pattern.key (guided by forgotten pattern) I rebooted and my apps were optimized and voila the phone is unlocked.
However, I tried accessing the fingerprint menu on my phone but refused access. I then used root explorer, browse to aforementioned location, copied and renamed gesture.password.key to gesture.pattern.key as it was before deletion.
went back to the security setting of my phone, setup pin option (scared of forgetting the pattern again) and phone screen locked. I try using my fingerprint to unlock (which I am accustomed to) and voila! it says pin required for additional security. entered Pin and the fingerprint menu became functional again and all previously stored fingerprints remained unaltered....QED

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