[Q-SOLVED] Possible soft brick. No idea where to go from here.* - Samsung Galaxy S (4G Model)

I have ~13 tabs open right now trying to figure out what to download in order to repair my goof up with Odin. I'm pretty clueless when it comes to the terminology so some of these noob guides are starting to get me mixed up and I already can't boot the phone anymore so here goes..
tl;dr - Phone won't boot normally. Can get into download and Odin but no idea how to operate Odin.
I was originally trying to flash AOSP Style from airfluip1 here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1323973
I updated the usb drivers and ran the heimdall fix he suggests "(OPTIONAL STEP)Download this and flash through heimdall to remove the potential bootloader issues.Heimdall one click beta 2d and bootloaders" but it seemed to disconnect in the middle of the process so I assumed it ****ed up. It said "DISCONNECTED" and my phone screen was stuck on colored static pixels. At this point I resorted to the bible thread to find guides on fixing it. Odin wasn't recognizing the phone even though I followed everything to a T so I thought I messed something up somewhere. Turns out, I needed to use a different USB cable. For whatever reason, that cable I had wouldn't let Odin recognize the device. Unfortunately, before I figured out that the cable was an issue, I hit the power button in that colored static screen and there was an audible notification of repartitioning. (What? What did I do? Can't see the screen!)
I can currently get into download mode and Odin does recognize the device but I have no idea how to use Odin to restore the phone and start from scratch.
Can someone clarify how to restore the device using Odin?

.................

The clearest guide is here...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1223765
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda premium

@drywolf Not quite but I give thanks for trying to help.
@QUIETLYloud Perfect! Thank you kind sir. The way he spells out the specific steps within the Odin process is what I needed to get on the right track. I didn't know what to do when other guides were just saying 'flash with odin' or 'load such and such kernal in odin and then go into cwm'. I'm all set now. Phone has been restored to a working condition and I have an up to date rom that I wanted. +1 Thanks.

Can you mark the title of this thread [SOLVED]. Glad you got it working.

Related

I bricked my phone!!!!!!

HELP! I was trying to frehsly install a rom..
so i used odin to "master clear" everything
it deleted everything!
hoping that in recovery mode, it'll let me "mount storage" so i can transfer my new rom into the phone, that didnt happen!!!
so, then i tried to go with odin 1 click to install i896 stock...
and it doesnt work , so i unplugged phone, and now i get that mobile phone error..
please help, the only thing i can do successfully do is put my phone in download mode! D:
PLEASE! PLEASE!
THANK YOU!
Open Odin, turn off your phone, hold the volume buttons, and plug it in to get it in download mode. Then use Odin to get stock rom on, then go from there.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Read carefully.....
ags on board said:
Open Odin, turn off your phone, hold the volume buttons, and plug it in to get it in download mode. Then use Odin to get stock rom on, then go from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Go into the ODIN thread and read extensively. Since you can get into download mode, make sure that once you connect your phone you get the COM notification in ODIN. Mine always appears in the small box in the upper left portion of ODIN one-click (if you don't get this, reinstall the samsung drivers found in the ODIN thread and reboot. If you're running Win7, make sure you run ODIN as admin).
Master Clear does exactly what it says...it wipes all of your data. MC is only supposed to be used when your phone is on and fully booted up with USB debugging on.
Flashing back to stock should only take ~5 minutes max - if it halts unplug, pull your battery, wait a few seconds, and restart. If it continues to fail, try a different USB port. If using a PC, use the back USB ports. If it still fails, try a different system. (I had this issue this weekend and finally got it on the first run on my friend's laptop - not sure what happened, had flashed 5-6 times on mine previously).
Hope this helps. Once you're back to stock, be sure to thank designgears for his killer dev work!
EDIT:
PS It's pretty tough to brick a cappy - read extensively in the ODIN thread and you'll see what I mean.
Its always good practice to back everything up and know the step by step procedures before you ever do anything. Good luck!
Connexxions "how to" videos are VERY detailed and shows you step by step how to do just about everything on this phone. I highly recommend them.
don't panic, ur lucky that u can still get into download mode. that is just soft brick I think..
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Bricked... Read nearly every post available.

Is it possible to perm brick your phone? My phone got stuck somewhere in the middle of an Odin flash and I had to pull the plug. Since then I have been stuck at the "Phone...!....Computer" picture.
I can get the downloading "Do not turn off Target!!!" section with the cable plugged in and no battery. I also have it recognized by Samsung PSLite, but when I'm trying to flash the stock rom back on through PSLite it disconnects as soon as it goes to 0%.
Will it make a difference that I have Win7 64bit and the VIA drivers say 32bit on them? I'm pretty sure I have every other driver that's needed.
Any help is GREATLY appreciated. I'm a sad panda without my new phone :-(
Go to the dev section of this forum.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=14147928&postcount=3
Follows these directions exactly. Will recovery your phone for you.
Good part is, you are not bricked.
Yeah, I've been following a couple of forums that all show nearly the exact same directions. Been getting stuck on the same area...
I have very little knowledge of any of this other than following instructions (obviously not that well) but something tells me it has to be a driver issue.
The VIA drivers I installed say 32bit and my machine is Win7 64. Also, when I plug the phone in it is recognized by my computer with no errors. Once I start the install and it gets to "VIA download" I get the error - then my computer tells me the device was not recognized. I have to do a full reboot to get my computer to recognize my phone again.
Thanks for the directions
Hey man, if that isnt working for you (which I dont see how.) You can always call tech support and say your phone is not booting, even after you pull the battery out. Just say it stays stuck on the samsung screen. They will send out a new phone. Just saying but it should work regardless. Also try another USB port, see if that solves your issue and make sure you are using the OEM usb cable.
I'm assuming this will work for you. It did for me. I had the same screen.
Download first file.
Odin 1.82
Open Odin then hook up your phone and put into download mode with the battery out. Crucial part here. Put the battery back in. After flash the first file I linked you to but make sure you check the PDA option and do it through PDA only.
Should fix it I do believe.
If you follow that exactly like is says. from start to finish. forgetting that you have ever tried anything before. And still follow it. You will be fine. download everything it says download, and follow the instructions exactly.
Thanks for all the feedback everyone.
I've been trying everything suggested on here except getting a newer version of Odin. When I get in tonight I'll keep trucking along with different tweeks.
The good news is I accepted defeat (Grrr!) and have a warranty replacement on the way. It kills me that I couldn't get this on my own.
I've even installed everything on my laptop with the exact same results. As soon as I get to the downloading portion where it shows 0% the phone disconnects and my computer tells me it is no longer recognized. This was in PSLite. Odin simply says FAIL when I try to flash that method.
I have a week to return the first phone. I'll use that time to get all my drivers in order and get this figured out.
After you put the phone into download mode when it was hooked up to the computer did you put the battery back in? I had the same screen as you and when I tried to use Odin it would just say it failed every time. Put the battery back into your phone after it is in download mode before you try to flash with Odin.
Also for PSLite I had to plug in the phone (in download mode) before starting PSLite (opposite of ODIN).
Odin... OdinOdinOdinOdin!
That was my problem. I was using silly PSLite instead of Odin.
Thanks again everyone for the help! Now to see if I can break her again...
mikepic said:
Odin... OdinOdinOdinOdin!
That was my problem. I was using silly PSLite instead of Odin.
Thanks again everyone for the help! Now to see if I can break her again...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually PSLite worked for me and not ODIN, but for others ODIN worked. I guess it is good to try both. Too bad both seems so flaky! Rooting on the OG droid was a breeze compared to the charge. The OG droid was indescructible.
elucid said:
Actually PSLite worked for me and not ODIN, but for others ODIN worked. I guess it is good to try both. Too bad both seems so flaky! Rooting on the OG droid was a breeze compared to the charge. The OG droid was indescructible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then go back to the OG Droid. It takes literally 10 min to root a Droid Charge. If you follow the instructions like we tell you to, its not hard at all.
dragonstalker said:
Then go back to the OG Droid. It takes literally 10 min to root a Droid Charge. If you follow the instructions like we tell you to, its not hard at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree rooting was really easy. Several people have had issues where they needed to restore using and ODIN and it complete fails (this is after using ODIN successfully to flash ROMS, recovery, kernels). See the end of this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1108115
You can blame it on user error, but I can assure you that I didn't do anything that should have caused my /data partiion to not mount. Sometimes things happen and the last thing you want is ODIN failing to flash when you have a brick on your hands.
Hope you fix your phone :] It always pains me to see one of these posts where someone has a bootloop or even a dreadful brick.

Question regarding odin (solved)

Ok I have looked at thread after thread and saw some similar issues but no real solution that has worked for me. Long story short, my brother tried updating his SGS4G and "says" the cable came out during update. Basically phone was stuck in communication with pc screen. After tons of trial and error button combos, jig, etc. I was about to give up as I couldn't get it into download mode. Well got bored so tried again and somehow got Odin to recognize the phone and started to flash the K1. Unfortunately, it failed before completing and now I can get the phone into DL mode but Odin nor the PC will recognize it. It sort of boot loops a couple times then loads up to home screen for a few seconds during media scanning then trips right back to Galaxy S 4g screen and starts the boot loop deal over again. I was able to check before it cut off and it has unknown baseband. Is there any other way to get Odin to recognize while in download? I have done all the steps then plug in phone etc. Odin just sits there and PC said usb not recognized. Tried 3 different PCs with XP, Linux, and Win 7. Is the baseband the issue for getting it recognized now? If I can ever get Odin to recognize I was hoping to manage a full backup to stock and then worry about the baseband issues but for now I am stuck and would have pulled all my hair out by now but I am bald. Any advice or pointing in the right direction would be great.
Edit: Thanks for the help. After tons of attempts I got Heimdall to recognize and got it flashed back to stock.. Still isn't recognizing all the time but hopefully it will enough to allow me to root it before I give it back to him. Thanks again I read and read and tried all sorts of stuff multiple times.
If you can get into download mode. Just start ODIN whether it recognizes phone or not and see what happens. And double check your settings are correct in ODIN. Make sure u have latest version as well. Or try Heimdall.
EDIT: Go ahead and tell us whether you were on FROYO or GB. And why were you flashing K1? And what is K1? KC1?
Are you using FB's GB Ext4 Starter Pack?
Odin can sometimes be a pain. If the computer gives you the "un recognized device" keep trying. Tried different cable and USB port and reinstalling drives and such? Lots of others have had luck using the one click.. Heimdel package. But, I'm an Odin fan... If you get any sign of life from PC while it loops, that's a start.
if you have adb loaded, have you tired to spam the reboot download command while the phone loops?? Its another way to see if it does/can get into download mode..
Did you get it working? If so mark the the title [SOLVED].

[Q] Can Someone Help? I'm Stuck In Recovery<3e>

​I hope there is a way for me to fix this. I am a noob but, I have been successful flashing things a few times in the past (and not so lucky a few times). This time I had flashed my Infuse back to stock 2.2 Froyo UCKD5 after having Zues w/ Aries HellFire running for a couple weeks. I decided to try another ROM because I was bored. Then I screwed something up thinking I knew more than I do. As I was trying to clean things up in my files to get ready to do a back-up,something happened and about half of my apps,factory and 3rd party had no files or ?? They didn't show any MB in cache / data,in TIBU or App Mgr, only "computing...", and obviously things didn't work right. So I hit the phone's Factory Reset,went into Odin3 thinking I would try doing something I never tried before,stupid me, and installed through the PDA button, zimage root tar file, success, saw the Fugu fish and then reset Odin, turned off/ on. Pulled battery from phone, usb jig to download mode, because three button method wasn't working. I thought it had something to do with the residual kernel or bootloader from Zeus. The kernel that was running is 2.6.32.9 and I don't know what that is. Any way I thought I would install KF1 .tar Odin3 installed it but it got stuck on the Samsung power-up screen,black background white Samsung letters. I usb jigged into download mode , thinking maybe I had the wrong drivers possibly and did the Heimdall Zadig driver install, nothing changed. So, I thought that I better just reflash to stock using GTG's Ultimate Unbrick, used the UCKD5 tar and it passed. Then I unplugged the phone when it shut off to reboot, it booted into blue recovery and I hit reboot and it came right back into blue recovery. I am able to get into download mode or into the ever looping blue recovery<3e>,but nothing else. No programs,Odin, Kies, Heimdall,GTG's, recognize the phone,the laptop does and says the device may not work correctly..., but I did notice what the fails were in the recovery boot-up. So I snapped pics with my Captivate and uploaded them and I will paste them here (I think XDA lets idiots like me paste in this area?). they are readable, but if I need to type everything out I can, but not until someone asks so as to keep this already lengthy story a bit shorter. Thanks in advance,KK13/khkaiser13. sent in using my Rooted Captivate on APEX12 through XDAPremium View attachment 899419
View attachment 899420
Did you try clicking flash in Heimdall, sometimes it looks like it doesn't see the phone, but you click flash and it works. Also, have you tried clearing user data and cache? (I know you said you had factory reset at one point but now that you are stuck might be worth a try.) Looks like a boot loader issue, not sure why Heimdall doesn't see the phone, I've had good luck in the past with it.
I'm tempted to tell you to format the internal sd and try heimdall again, but maybe someone with more experience would have a better idea.
khkaiser13 said:
​I hope there is a way for me to fix this. I am a noob but, I have been successful flashing things a few times in the past (and not so lucky a few times). This time I had flashed my Infuse back to stock 2.2 Froyo UCKD5 after having Zues w/ Aries HellFire running for a couple weeks. I decided to try another ROM because I was bored. Then I screwed something up thinking I knew more than I do. As I was trying to clean things up in my files to get ready to do a back-up,something happened and about half of my apps,factory and 3rd party had no files or ?? They didn't show any MB in cache / data,in TIBU or App Mgr, only "computing...", and obviously things didn't work right. So I hit the phone's Factory Reset,went into Odin3 thinking I would try doing something I never tried before,stupid me, and installed through the PDA button, zimage root tar file, success, saw the Fugu fish and then reset Odin, turned off/ on. Pulled battery from phone, usb jig to download mode, because three button method wasn't working. I thought it had something to do with the residual kernel or bootloader from Zeus. The kernel that was running is 2.6.32.9 and I don't know what that is. Any way I thought I would install KF1 .tar Odin3 installed it but it got stuck on the Samsung power-up screen,black background white Samsung letters. I usb jigged into download mode , thinking maybe I had the wrong drivers possibly and did the Heimdall Zadig driver install, nothing changed. So, I thought that I better just reflash to stock using GTG's Ultimate Unbrick, used the UCKD5 tar and it passed. Then I unplugged the phone when it shut off to reboot, it booted into blue recovery and I hit reboot and it came right back into blue recovery. I am able to get into download mode or into the ever looping blue recovery<3e>,but nothing else. No programs,Odin, Kies, Heimdall,GTG's, recognize the phone,the laptop does and says the device may not work correctly..., but I did notice what the fails were in the recovery boot-up. So I snapped pics with my Captivate and uploaded them and I will paste them here (I think XDA lets idiots like me paste in this area?). they are readable, but if I need to type everything out I can, but not until someone asks so as to keep this already lengthy story a bit shorter. Thanks in advance,KK13/khkaiser13. sent in using my Rooted Captivate on APEX12 through XDAPremium View attachment 899419
View attachment 899420
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before you go any further,
Read my how to..click on the first link on my sigs.
Read through several times.
There is a BIG difference b/t download mode and recovery.
Thanks, I did clear Data/Cache. I also did format the sd as a last resort but, it didn't help. I don't know if you looked at the screenshots I posted but, it says Checksum Fail and Movinand Checksum Fail. I dont know what either of those are but, willing to bet if someone knows it might be repairable. Thanks Again, to both, enochpc and qkster for the helpful info which I did not know before. khkaiser13/ kk13
khkaiser13 said:
Thanks, I did clear Data/Cache. I also did format the sd as a last resort but, it didn't help. I don't know if you looked at the screenshots I posted but, it says Checksum Fail and Movinand Checksum Fail. I dont know what either of those are but, willing to bet if someone knows it might be repairable. Thanks Again, to both, enochpc and qkster for the helpful info which I did not know before. khkaiser13/ kk13
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Put your phone in download mode. Odin or heimdall back to stock and start over.
Don't worry about anything else as long as you can get into dl mode
Hey, thanks for responding. I know the difference b/t recov. and dload. I am stuck in recovery<3e> blue, it just returns the recovery screen no matter if I press reboot, clear cache, or clear data, or try install zip. But if I usb jig it, it goes into download mode. Thats it. What I have and don't know what or how to fix is during the reboot attempt (you can read it if you click on my screenshots) it says Checksum Fail, Movinand Fail, and lfs undone. I'm gonna try to find out more about those files ( I guess thats what those would be ???) Thanks Bro.
khkaiser13 said:
Hey, thanks for responding. I know the difference b/t recov. and dload. I am stuck in recovery<3e> blue, it just returns the recovery screen no matter if I press reboot, clear cache, or clear data, or try install zip. But if I usb jig it, it goes into download mode. Thats it. What I have and don't know what or how to fix is during the reboot attempt (you can read it if you click on my screenshots) it says Checksum Fail, Movinand Fail, and lfs undone. I'm gonna try to find out more about those files ( I guess thats what those would be ???) Thanks Bro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You borked something in the ROM. That's why it won't boot. Files mismatch and don't add up. That's why you're in blue recovery.
You've to get into dl mode and flash a stock ROM img. Then start over.
qkster said:
You borked something in the ROM. That's why it won't boot. Files mismatch and don't add up. That's why you're in blue recovery.
You've to get into dl mode and flash a stock ROM img. Then start over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to add this to what qkster said! I know you said you know the difference but be sure to have proper drivers installed I personally used GTG’s Ultimate Unbrick with 100% success. If there is any doubt about bad drivers I would also suggest reinstalling them there is a very easy to use Utility called usbdeview that lets you uninstall drivers and start fresh.

[Q] Failed Valhalla Final flash

Hello all, any help would be greatly appreciated.
My wife's phone has been rather buggy so I decided to root and rom it. Rooted the phone with the oneclick method. Moved on to getting CWM up and running (it is what I'm familiar with from my G2x). I liked what I was seeing with the Valhalla Final rom OP and decided to give it a try. Read the instructions to install but things have steadily gone down hill.
I am comming from stock. I did a NANDROID backup. Wiped, wiped, wiped and then flashed the ROM. I do believe that I just didn't read carefully enough where it says I "must have pre-installed kernel" . When I rebooted I got a pixelated screen unreadable screen. There was a voice in the background describing what was going on but I plugged along and waited the 5-7 minutes. Figured if it didn't work correctly I would just go back into CWM and restore my nandroid backup. However I can no longer get back into CWM or the recovery prompt that comes before CWM. I just get the Galaxy S 4g screen which then goes to the weird pixelated screen and then it continues in a boot loop.
I tried to follow this debricking thread but got stuck a couple of times. First, that I can't find the boot.bin and sbl.bin files. I google around and found this but the download link no longer works. Does anyone have the boot.bin and sbl.bin files handy?
Also, the Zadig program to install the Heimdall driver doesn't show me any driver options. I suspect that this is because Heimdall or Zadig had not run on the computer before I had the phone properly connected. I saw that it was the Samsung Composite driver that was being asked for. Not sure if I found the correct one but either way it didn't work. I was unable to get the computer to recognize the phone (also phone would continue on its boot loop, also it doesn't change anything whether I am holding down the volume buttons when I turn the phone on or not).
I have stayed up half the night looking for something but am wondering if I just straight up bricked the phone and need to send it to someone with JTAG experience. Let me know if there is something I am missing or some suggestions you have.
Go here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=21953878&postcount=2
The problem is that you tried flashing a gingerbread rom even though your phone still had Froyo bootloaders. If you flash a gingerbread rom using one of the one click files mentioned in the guide, you'll be able to flash more GB custom roms.
Don't worry your phone is fine, you just need to read a little more and you'll be good to go.
Thank you very much for the link, the post is very through. I am getting stuck because my phone appears to not want to go into "Download Mode." Every time I press the up + down vol buttons and plug in the usb I just get the attached images and they go in an infinite boot loop.
I have tried every usb port on the computer and followed the instructions near the first of the post and uninstalled all ports which had Android or Samsung associated with them. I also tried all the different ways I could to get into download mode based on this link.
I am currently in the process of uploading a clip of the infinite boot loop I am in on Youtube and will post it if it helps.
Again thank you all for your help. The XDA community is the best!
That is the rainbow screen indicating you need GB bootloaders. Just pull your battery. You need to flash twice - second time checking the 'flash bootloaders'.
For the driver issue/phone not recognized by the computer - There is a tool in the guide called USBDeview (in the notes). Use it to make sure you have uninstalled all android related/unknown drivers. Go into uninstall programs and make sure you uninstall Samsung drivers. Restart your computer. I also run the CCleanner reg cleaner. Then restart computer again.
For Download Mode - Pull battery. Plug your USB into your computer only. Make sure you are pushing both the volume up and down buttons simultaneously. Without putting battery back in, plug your USB cable into your phone while continuing to hold volume up and volume down buttons. Keep holding volume buttons with USB plugged into phone and computer and put the battery back in.
Start guide over and read thoroughly.
Fb that's the screen I got coming back from nand back up!!! I had to flash a diff kernel with Odin to fix it
Thanks for all your help. Ironically I was doing everything correctly, but my usb cable had gone bad on me the night that it all happened. So thanks all, espicially lumin30 for the excellent guide and for FBis251 pointing me to it. After switching to a working cable and completing lumin30's guide all is now working great!
As a random side note the driver section showed up slightly differently for me (the device I had to pick was [usb composite] but once I figured that out everything went well).
Glad you figured it out

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