Recover from faulty .pit file - Captivate General

I was just attempting to flash a different kernel to my GB setup with Heimdall. In preparation for this, I used Heimdall's "Download pit file" feature, which has normally worked fine for me multiple times in the past. This time, it grabbed the pit file as usual.
However, when I went an flashed the new kernel, the screen was stuck on the white "AT&T World Phone" screen. I tried again, same results. I even tried flashing a few other kernels, and no luck. At this point, I realized that I had a faulty .pit file. I can't blame Heimdall for that - it's most likely my recent jump back to GB from ICS.
I was loading up the Apex 12.5 Heimdall package, getting ready to nuke my phone from orbit, when I switched over to the "customize" page in Heimdall. I realized that Heimdall was using a different pit file than the one I had just downloaded, and that there was a kernel file in the Apex flashable package.
So, I removed all items that weren't the kernel and hit "start". Within seconds my phone rebooted, and the Talon kernel was flashed. It went to the kernel loading screen, applied the lagfix, and I'm back in business.
To recap, if you have a faulty kernel flash because of a bad .pit file:
1. Grab Heimdall
2. Grab a Heimdall rom package (Apex 12.5 worked for me).
3. Load the Heimdall rom package, but don't flash yet.
4. Go to the "Customize" area, and remove all entries that aren't "kernel"
5. Flash
I don't know if this obscure incident will ever occur for anyone else, but I thought I'd share what worked for me.

Related

[Q] Accidentally Installed Wrong Voodoo Kernel

So... believe me, I know I'm an idiot for doing this. When trying to install Voodoo for official 2.2.1 I accidentally flashed the 5.5 for GT-I9000 that I forgot to delete when I was first starting to mess around with attempting to install voodoo, before doing much research.
When I tried to reboot it just sat at the I9000 boot screen forever and started to get hot so I pulled the battery.
I rebooted and came to a screen with lots of error messages from CWM on the bottom of the screen and the stock recovery options at the top.
When I try to reboot it just sits at the I9000 boot screen forever.
I tried reflashing 2.2.1 with ODIN as described in this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=881064 That doesn't seem to get very far.
<ID:0/007> Added!!
<ID:0/007> Odin v.3 engine (ID:7)..
<ID:0/007> File analysis..
<ID:0/007> All threads complete. (succeed 0 / failed 1)
Did I completely brick my phone or is there some way to get it working again? really desperate here... I don't want to have to go back to my RAZR2 for another year until I can get an upgrade.
Thanks in advance to any golden saint that can help me out!
Never mind, I got ODIN to work (I hastily left out the step loading the tar file) and all seems to be working fine now. Albeit minus a hundred apps or so...
I apologize to anybody who spent time reading this thread.
Fidelis83 said:
Never mind, I got ODIN to work (I hastily left out the step loading the tar file) and all seems to be working fine now. Albeit minus a hundred apps or so...
I apologize to anybody who spent time reading this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha glad you got it working. Hope you had titanium for your apps! If not lesson learned! I thought I trashed my phone a few times thank the Devs for Odin! And boot camp for my mac...haha
droidzach said:
haha glad you got it working. Hope you had titanium for your apps! If not lesson learned! I thought I trashed my phone a few times thank the Devs for Odin! And boot camp for my mac...haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, got Titanium first thing after I rooted.
A million thanks to phidelt82 for the ODIN writeup!
I also flashed Voodoo5.5 to my Epic! Please Help!
I obviously didn't do my homework and flashed the latest voodoo kernel to my epic. I'm running a Rooted Epic w/ Fyoyo and have clockwork mod. So here's how it went: The kernel flashed (said it installed )and phone returtned to clockwork mod. I rebooted and phone stuck in a boot loop just as yours was. I have to pull the battery to shut the phone off. I can get into clockwork mod....where do I go from here? I have the phone backed up with titanium, which is great if I can get it to boot up. Please Help. Thanks.
Cbisk said:
I obviously didn't do my homework and flashed the latest voodoo kernel to my epic. I'm running a Rooted Epic w/ Fyoyo and have clockwork mod. So here's how it went: The kernel flashed (said it installed )and phone returtned to clockwork mod. I rebooted and phone stuck in a boot loop just as yours was. I have to pull the battery to shut the phone off. I can get into clockwork mod....where do I go from here? I have the phone backed up with titanium, which is great if I can get it to boot up. Please Help. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash the correct kernel for your phone, that will fix you up. If you need any more help with that, you should post in the epic forum - since this is the mesmerize forum .
Fidelis83 said:
So... believe me, I know I'm an idiot for doing this. When trying to install Voodoo for official 2.2.1 I accidentally flashed the 5.5 for GT-I9000 that I forgot to delete when I was first starting to mess around with attempting to install voodoo, before doing much research.
When I tried to reboot it just sat at the I9000 boot screen forever and started to get hot so I pulled the battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You were even then a step ahead of me. Until I read this thread, I didn't even know that was the wrong Voodoo, in spite of it saying GT-I9000, I just figured that was the default behavior of Voodoo. XD I would have gone home tonight, maybe tomorrow, and kept beating my head against it, wondering why it wasn't working. XD
The Newbie Guide from bdemartino doesn't seem to specify---which version of Voodoo did you go with, and where did you get it from? The only Froyo Voodoo kernels I can find on the Project-Voodoo site are the 5.5 ones for the GT-I9000.
If you are on an i500 (fascinate, mesmerize, or showcase) you can flash any of the EC10 based kernels in the fascinate forum here on xda. Just remember that if you are on a touchwiz based rom (stock, PnP, etc) you need to make sure you use a touchwiz compatible kernel. Off you are running AOSP you must use an AOSP compatible kernel.
Sent from my voodoo froyo Mesmerize
Like the OP, I too flashed the wrong Voodoo kernel, the one for the GT-I9000. When I flashed it, I got the robot voice, and then it wouldn't complete the boot process.
So I panicked. I followed the instructions in the post titled "Files to get your Mesmerize back to stock 2.1 and 2.2.1", with the exception of disabling lagfix.
Everything seems to be working okay now, with one exception. I can't get the correct Voodoo lagfix working. I can get the kernel installed, but I never get the robot voice for the conversion.
I have BLN working so it seems like voodoo is installed, but my quadrant scores seem to indicate that it is not.
Help?
If that were me, and I'm certainly no expert, I'd start by taking a Titanium backup of all your apps. Next I'd boot into recovery and disable lagfix if you still can; even if the actual lagfix itself isn't working, just turn the setting off. Then I'd try to flash the stock 2.1 (or 2.2.1 as you prefer) with stock kernel and stock recovery, to treat it like a brand new phone (not sure if you did that or grabbed the stock + custom recovery). Then, just start the customization process over from scratch. Finally, once you've got it tweaked, load up Titanium again and bring over all your apps.
That is IF I understand it all correctly; if I'm telling him wrong, someone please chime in and correct, or confirm. XD (jrusch, I might wait till someone can confirm or deny my instructions, but I figured I'd least give you some food for thought)
I just can't get it to work. I disabled lagfix (even though it didn't seem to be running), and then I used Odin to flash the stock 2.2.1.
I tried a few Voodoo kernels (EC10_ulv_voodoo.zip, TW_kernel-0327-2.zip, and ec10_voodoo.zip) all with the same results. They install, I get the goofy startup screen with the flashing "android" in the middle, but no robot voice announcing the conversion process. After installing the Voodoo kernel I verify it creates the Voodoo folder in the root of the phone's memory and on the sdcard and no disable_lagfix folder exists.
jrusch said:
I just can't get it to work. I disabled lagfix (even though it didn't seem to be running), and then I used Odin to flash the stock 2.2.1.
I tried a few Voodoo kernels (EC10_ulv_voodoo.zip, TW_kernel-0327-2.zip, and ec10_voodoo.zip) all with the same results. They install, I get the goofy startup screen with the flashing "android" in the middle, but no robot voice announcing the conversion process. After installing the Voodoo kernel I verify it creates the Voodoo folder in the root of the phone's memory and on the sdcard and no disable_lagfix folder exists.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure your system is either still in EXT4 or it thinks it is, and that's why disabling voodoo through CWM isn't doing anything for you - what has worked for me in the past is injecting the empty file named "disable-lagfix" into the clockwork folder on your SD Card, then rebooting. It should then disable it, then I would do a clean odin flash to make sure everything is working properly, then you should be able to pick up where you left off (adding voodoo, custom ROM etc.)
This has happened to me in the past when I've forgotten to disable lagfix and tried using odin to go to stock (this returns your kernel to stock and gives you issues because the internal file system is still formatted in EXT4 but the odin flash tries with the stock RFS format, and that's where the problem occurs.)
I used Root Explorer to create a new file named "disable-lagfix" in the clockework folder and rebooted. I then did a clean odin flash, etc.
I still can't get voodoo lagfix to work. When I boot to recovery (CwM Voodoo Lagfix Recovery v2.5.1.x) the voodoo menu shows:
Voodoo lagfix is actually: disabled
next boot: enabled
But at the next boot it doesn't do the conversion.
jrusch said:
I used Root Explorer to create a new file named "disable-lagfix" in the clockework folder and rebooted. I then did a clean odin flash, etc.
I still can't get voodoo lagfix to work. When I boot to recovery (CwM Voodoo Lagfix Recovery v2.5.1.x) the voodoo menu shows:
Voodoo lagfix is actually: disabled
next boot: enabled
But at the next boot it doesn't do the conversion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if creating the file with root explorer will work, I had to create an empty file in my linux box and renamed to "disable-lagfix" (no quotes) once that file is in the clockwork folder and you reboot you should hear the sound of it being disabled - if you don't hear the voice then something is wrong with the file or where you put it.
right now you're stuck with it enabled, if you have the voodoo control app you can check to see if using the toggle in that app will work, but I'm guessing you're going to have to do it the manual way as stated above.
I still can't get it to work. I created the "disable-lagfix" file on a linux box and then copied the file to the sd card into the clockwork folder. I still can't get lagfix to disable/enable.
When I boot a voodoo_log.txt file is created, does this give any clues:
2011-04-12 13:03:18 model not detected
2011-04-12 13:03:18 manage fat.format in /sbin
2011-04-12 13:03:18 fat.format wrapper installed in /sbin
2011-04-12 13:03:18 fat.format renamed to fat.format.real & symlink created to fat.format_wrapper.sh
2011-04-12 13:03:18 running init !
I was trying to install the Voodoo kernel. I had the stock+froyo one installed just fine using Odin3. Then I went to their main page, and saw the 5.5 version. Titled Voodoo lagfix for Froyo stable. I used Odin to install it from the Download Mode. everything went fine till the voice said something about not enough space on the partition.
Then the T-Mobile pink screen appears, then the Samsung Vibrant S screen, then it goes black. Nothing happens after that except the bottom lights come on if I touch them. Odin3 still sees my phone as plugged in. I have a really hard time trying to get into the Recovery screen, but when I do, I have no idea what to do once I'm there.
I've tried using Odin3+Download Mode to reinstall the stock+voodoo-froyo-t959-UVKA6.tar which worked fine the first time, but I can never get back to the main home screen.
Any advice would be much appreciated, I'll be online for the next few hours refreshing this page, so my responses should be fairly quick. Thank you in advance.
Update: I tried searching for solutions, came across a post in the samsungvibrant.c o m forums with a youtube video.
I followed the instructions, everything worked as intended, until after the S screen, I just got a black screen. Never went to the home screen. This where I am currently at.
rtekbillabong said:
I was trying to install the Voodoo kernel. I had the stock+froyo one installed just fine using Odin3. Then I went to their main page, and saw the 5.5 version. Titled Voodoo lagfix for Froyo stable. I used Odin to install it from the Download Mode. everything went fine till the voice said something about not enough space on the partition.
Then the T-Mobile pink screen appears, then the Samsung Vibrant S screen, then it goes black. Nothing happens after that except the bottom lights come on if I touch them. Odin3 still sees my phone as plugged in. I have a really hard time trying to get into the Recovery screen, but when I do, I have no idea what to do once I'm there.
I've tried using Odin3+Download Mode to reinstall the stock+voodoo-froyo-t959-UVKA6.tar which worked fine the first time, but I can never get back to the main home screen.
Any advice would be much appreciated, I'll be online for the next few hours refreshing this page, so my responses should be fairly quick. Thank you in advance.
Update: I tried searching for solutions, came across a post in the samsungvibrant.c o m forums with a youtube video.
I followed the instructions, everything worked as intended, until after the S screen, I just got a black screen. Never went to the home screen. This where I am currently at.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WTF? Do you even have a Mes/Showcase?
Sounds like someone didn't check which forum they were in after they Googled.
You probably need to look around in this forum instead.
To all i500 users.... don't go to the project voodoo site looking for voodoo kernels. Those are generic or made just for OTHER phones. Any and all voodoo kernels you flash should be found either in this forum or the fascinate forum. This goes back to the old DO NOT FLASH PACKAGES FROM OTHER PHONES…
just trying to be helpful.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
I have a question regarding Voodoo flashing methods, specifically relating to Odin & CWM. The Voodoo website (which contains the INCORRECT kernels for our I500s, I DID gather that already ) recommends placing the file directly onto the SD card, renaming it "update.zip" and using stock recovery to flash it. I have noticed that this sentiment is not reflected here are all - everyone seems to recommend using CWM Recovery and/or flashing everything with Odin. What gives?
If someone with a stock EC10 ROM just wanted the benefits of the Voodoo conversion, and isn't really interested in flashing a new ROM, is it really necessary to install CWM and Odin, or will the stock stuff work? From what I've gathered, this is all the OP was really trying to do from the start.
BTW, yeah, it's my first post, and yes I've been reading a lot, but definitely not nearly enough. I'm very impressed with the level of assistance forum members are willing to provide, but I, like many others, want to make sure I have it 100% correct before I turn my phone into a very fancy, very worthless piece of silicon, glass and plastic. Thanks, everybody!

[OLD] Outdated MIUI Thread

UPDATE: This ROM is now outdated. Please use Dfgas's newer MIUI port, located here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1152518
Original Post:
You've watched. You've waited. You've sat impatiently looking for an update. I know I have. The wait is over.
Gingerbread AOSP MIUI 1.6.24 MTD Port
Ported to: Mesmerize (still having issues with Showcase port)
Please note: The 1.6.24 links currently posted are not my work! I just couldn't correct the eri.xml in framework-res.apk to remove "Verizon Wireless" from the top bar (cosmetic I know, but it bugged me--I'm picky like that), and... BDE sorta had his port done several hours before mine anyway. I can't take any credit whatsoever for these links, this is all his porting work.
WARNING: READ BEFORE FLASHING!!
This ROM was designed using the newer (for us) yaffs2/ext4 filesystem. Excepting CM7MTD, no other ROM uses this filesystem. As a result, this ROM uses CWM 4, and once you flash, you CANNOT flash any other ROM from Recovery. Should you have issues with the flash, or want to return to a different non-MTD ROM, you will need to Odin all the way back to stock. See post #2 for instructions.
SHOWCASE USERS: This is especially critical for Showcase users, as Cell South has prevented Odin flashing packages for the Showcase. IF YOU USE A CELLSOUTH SHOWCASE AND WANT TO FLASH BACK TO A DIFFERENT ROM, FIND A WORKING ODIN PACKAGE FIRST.
As always, the standard warning applies: I am not responsible for what may happen to your phone as a result of flashing this ROM, properly or improperly. No warranty whatsoever. You have been warned.
Credits
The biggest thanks go out to jt1134. NONE of this (including CM7MTD) would be possible if it weren't for the work he's done for the Fascinate, Mesmerize, and Showcase.
Andmer has also been critical to making this happen. He was the one to take JT's work, use his AOSP source, and build a working MIUI port for the Fascinate. Both he and JT continue to modify the ROMs and Kernels for MTD that we enjoy to work towards getting that hardware working.
Without these guys, there would be no port for us.
I'd like to thank lmartin92 for his tremendous help and knowledge. He worked tirelessly with me to get this working. Similarly, bdemartino has been a huge help in all around, as well specifically making sure we could get the "fascinatemtd" SMS padding code implemented into CM7MTD, and therefore MIUI MTD. Lastly, I'd like to thank Akellar for getting some Framework-res cosmetic edits working when I could not.
1.6.24 Note: Again, these are actually BDE's ports, not mine, I can't take any credit.
ROM Details
Update Schedule: MIUI receives weekly official updates, and Andmer has said he intends to port them to the Fascinate on that same schedule. I intend to port from his work on that same schedule, and once my overlay is fully worked out, it should take me only as long as it takes to apply it and upload. This thread will be updated every time a new ROM is released. I'll try to keep one or two previous week's ROM links just in case.
Radio: This ROM does not flash a radio, so it should use whatever radio you had before you flashed. This ROM is built for a Mesmerize/Showcase radio (making it an actual Mesmerize port), so if you're using the Fascinate EC01 radio, you'll want to either flash the EC10 or EE19 radios (typically by flashing the stock versions of those ROMs). Don't worry if you flash those ROMs; everything else (except the radio) will get overwritten.
Recovery: In order to support the yaffs2/ext4 filesystem, this ROM uses CWM 4. As a result, the normal "three finger Recovery" method does not work. Similarly, although the ROM includes a "Reboot into Recovery" menu option after holding power, that does not boot into recovery. The only method of getting into recovery at this point is to either use ADB or a Terminal Emulator app.
Within Terminal Emulator, type the bolded, underlined text:
su (enter; this grants SuperUser rights to Terminal Emulator)
reboot recovery (enter)
This should properly reboot the phone into Recovery mode.
Working:
Calls
Bluetooth!!
3G / Data
WiFi
SMS
Camera/Camcorder!!
USB mass storage / sdcard
GPS
ALL Sensors!!
Not Working/Known Issues:
MMS
Calls/SMS during deep sleep mode are not waking up the device to ring.
This app will prevent your device from deep sleep which is of course a battery drain, but you will receive calls. Whether its worth it or not is up to you.
https://market.android.com/details?id=otis8.softlocker
How to Flash
Copy the ROM to your SDcard.
Reboot phone into recovery, flash ROM as normal.
Make sure to wipe data, cache, and dalvik cache if you are coming from a non-MTD ROM, and possibly even CM7MTD.
Flash MIUI ROM from SD card.
The "MIUI" branded flash script will appear, and quickly disappear. THIS IS NORMAL. This verifies if CWM 4 is installed (on the first time through it will not be), and if not, installs it. The phone should reboot once again into recovery, but it will be standard CWM 4 Orange recovery.
Flash the ROM from your SD card once more. Note that the softkeys have changed; use the Search key as "Enter". The flash should proceed as normal.
1.6.24.1: Flash the 1.6.24.1 patch to correct all sensors.
Reboot phone when complete.
When your phone reboots, you should see the normal Samsung logo, and then a Galaxy S/CyanogenMod 7 logo. This will be followed by the MIUI.us boot screen, which is a moving starfield with a spinning globe.
Welcome to GB MIUI!
Mesmerize Download
http://olvisfoundation.com/xdadump/bdemartino/ROMS/MIUI/MIUI.us_mesmerize_1.6.24.1_Eng_Deo_ZipA_Signed_0627.zip
Showcase Download
((Still broken))
1.6.24.1 Patch Download - Fixes ALL sensors! (for both Mesmerize and Showcase, once later is released)
http://olvisfoundation.com/xdadump/bdemartino/ROMS/MIUI/MIUI.us_patch.zip
HOW TO GO BACK TO NON-MTD ROMS
Kanged from the Fascinate forums with immense thanks to kidserious, and referencing the "Files to get your Mesmerize back to stock 2.1 and 2.2.1" guide from Phidelt82
Things you'll need:
Odin
Working Odin package for your phone model
If you don't already have these, here are some links (sorry, Mesmerize stock ROM only):
Odin: http://download1422.mediafire.com/ii578172dylg/429fcpdtpckkcea/Odin3+v1.83.exe
EC10 Odin Package: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N6JNT1ZE
Whatever Odin package you use must have a full bootloader included in the flash. EC10 should work, EE19 may not. I'm unable to advise which Showcase Odin package would work, I'm not familiar enough and they're not generally available.
STEP-BY-STEP
I'm writing these for the Odin newbie in mind. Experts, as long as you check "Repartition", you know the drill.
Open Odin. This does not need to be installed, simply run.
Pull off the back from your phone, remove the battery.
Connect the USB cable (best with the Samsung one that came with your phone), and hold Volume Down until you see the phone say "Download Mode". A little box should turn Yellow in Odin, signifying it detects the phone and is ready to flash it.
Click the PIT button. Locate the path to the PIT file extracted from the ZIP you downloaded above (or previously) to populate that field.
Click on the PDA button. Locate the path to the TAR.MD5 file extracted from the ZIP you downloaded above (of previously) to populate that field. Do NOT click on PHONE, Phone should be empty.
Make sure Re-Partition is checked. We want to overwrite the previous MIUI flash, and Re-Partition is what lets us do that fully.
Click the Start button. Let it proceed through the whole flashing process, which is approximately 10 minutes. You'll see "Complete!" in Odin and your phone's screen will go blank once it's finished.
For thoroughness' sake, I'm including the below steps. Again, experts could potentially circumvent, but below is the failsafe way.
Re-insert battery, boot phone. Allow it to boot into Blue (stock) recovery. it's okay if it says it can't mount "HIDDENSDCARD"; it's done the rest of the setup it needs to. If you're just staying with the stock ROM and recovery, you're done.
If you want a custom recovery:
Follow steps 1-7 above, skipping over step 4 (no PIT file needed), and flash your recovery of choice. You should now be able to flash whichever custom ROM you were on before, or restore from a Nandroid backup.
It is absolutely mandatory that you follow these steps exactly to properly get off of GB MIUI MTD (or CM7MTD for that matter) so that you can flash another ROM. Attempting another method or not following these steps implicitly will result in a bricked phone and you will have to follow this guide to fix it.
#3 reserved for me also.
Good for you man. Way to go!!!!!!
Tap-a-Talked from my Mesmerize
is there anyway u could port the cm7 releases to id really love to be running cm7 instead of having to flash fascinate radios and all tht crap..
Outstanding.
I'd love to test on my showcase. I have everything I need to go back via odin, and this is the rom I've been waiting for.
Congrats man, I know how much time/effort you put into this!
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
O and thx my pants are wet now good rom
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
hold of on tht keeps boot looping on the miui bootupscreen any thoughts?
I got the same thing, but I think it's because I forgot to wipe data/cache/whatever... So I'm trying again.
Edit:
Yeah, it's just looping the spash.
Im also getting boot loop. Im on the ee19 radio, should i do the 10 and retry it?
i tryed both and it bootlooped
godofwar762 said:
i tryed both and it bootlooped
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes me very worried about flashing this.. I was just going to do it.
I wonder if flashing to the cm7 then trying to flash this would work better. Using the cm7 you can use rom manager to install the miui, so im gonna try that.
Edit: Unfortunately same thing that route also. Boot loop
That's what I came from, then the second time I went from the latest offical froyo.
seishuku said:
That's what I came from, then the second time I went from the latest offical froyo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With no issues?
It did the same thing.
Well imma go try it ill report back when I'm done.
Are you guys flashing the Rom twice like the op says to?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

Bricked

Strange issue, phone I have has been rooted and different ROMS installed since Froyo to GB many times without issues. Weird thing, up to the day I switched to iphone it was working. Decided to sell this phone and a week later wanted to get in to do factory reset, phone won't boot - all it does is Samsung logo flashes on and off forever. I've tried two different batteries, tried to enter recovery mode, won't work. I tried ODIN on two different ROMS also, including PIT option with PIT file, etc. Still phone won't boot.
What else to try? I don't understand why it won't work. Each ROM I tried, passed in ODIN with no errors.
use Samsung PST and the EP4P stock VZW file with the pit. You can find instructions laying around, and the file you're looking for is something like VZW_EP4P_bloated.tar or something
Sent from my SCH-I510 using xda premium
You could also try and re download the files maybe they got corrupt somehow. If you cant find the EP4P file you could do a EE4 or even ED2 and it would update from there.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1111486
http://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/...harge-full-factory-tar-flashing-software.html

[HELP] Splash Screen Bootloop, Heimdall One-Click doesn't work

A few more things you should know before I get into it. First off, this is my mother's phone, and about two days ago, she went to unplug and use her SGS4G after it had been charging overnight, and it wouldn't respond to the Power/Lock Button (It appeared simply stuck). So, naturally, she did a battery pull on it, and tried to turn it back on. After she hit the Power Button though, the Splash came up like it normally does, except instead of progressing with booting, the screen went black for a second and then went back to the Splash and it did/does this indefinitely (An obvious sign of a Bootloop).
Now. What doesn't make sense to me is that this was running the Stock ROM (I don't know if it was Froyo or Gingerbread), yet this still happened. I haven't tampered with the Phone at all, and my mother isn't too fond of the idea of Rooting, so unless the previous owner (Yes, it is a used phone) tampered with it and then restored it to Stock, then I have no idea.
Things I have tried:
Heimdall One-Click For Dummies (With and Without flashing Bootloaders)
Juls317's Noob Guide's "Potential Problems" section (With both Heimdall and ODIN)
A few Kernels (bhundven's Kernel, drhonk's KG4 Kernel)
sygee's ODIN/Heimdall Flashable ROM
hailthetheif's Step by Step Rooting Thread
Also, after I flash anything, whether it be with ODIN or Hiemdall Suite, or Hiemdall's One-Click, if I leave the phone plugged into the computer afterward, it will go to the Splash Screen and then to the Battery Screen (Which doesn't work, it just freezes with the Loading Wheel) and it'll Bootloop with the Battery Screen. If I unplug it after Flashing, it goes back to the classic Splash Bootloop that has been happening since Day 1. It doesn't even get past the Kernel.
I know that at least the Kernel and the Bootloaders can be Flashed however, by how they act on the Device. For example, if I flash certain Gingerbread Bootloaders, I can only get into Download Mode with PWR + VOL-, whereas on the Froyo Bootloader (Includes Stock), you use VOL+ + VOL-. With the Kernel, for example, if I flash a TeamAcid Kernel, their Logo comes up on the Splash Screen, but it still does the Splash Bootloop no matter what.
One final thing, if I flash a Kernel/ROM that includes a Recovery Mode, I can't access it at all (PWR + VOL+). I couldn't/can't access the Stock Recovery at all either.
One final thing, if I flash a Kernel/ROM that includes a Recovery Mode, I can't access it at all (PWR + VOL+). I couldn't/can't access the Stock Recovery at all either.
Pull the battery, hold power& both volumes, drop the battery back in. Should bring you to recovery (gb, not sure, can't remember froyo same or not). Wipe data & cache etc.
On the heimdell, awesome threads that you quoted. Follow directions and it should get you there. Kj6.. you may have to flash it twice to get the bootloaders for gb(it's setup that way so you can't fubar it without trying really hard). You would have to check the load boot loader box on second flash.
I just had this same exact issue. No matter what I flashed, it wouldn't work. Just kept with the boot loop. Now the difference with my issue was, I was still able to get into CWM and/or Download mode. (I was running custom rom). Heimdall wouldn't work for me because it was a driver issue. Odin, well, all the links I found for Odin were dead..
Anyway, when you're working with Heimdall, does it recognize your phone and flash? I had to flash it over twice for it to get to work. It is possible she was on Froyo and you're trying to flash it over with a GB stock rom could be causing an issue. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
I'd say try sourcing a Heimdall to Stock Froyo ROM and see what happens from there.
This thread helped me out the most:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2042927&highlight=frozen+at+boot
LiangChi said:
I just had this same exact issue. No matter what I flashed, it wouldn't work. Just kept with the boot loop. Now the difference with my issue was, I was still able to get into CWM and/or Download mode. (I was running custom rom). Heimdall wouldn't work for me because it was a driver issue. Odin, well, all the links I found for Odin were dead..
Anyway, when you're working with Heimdall, does it recognize your phone and flash? I had to flash it over twice for it to get to work. It is possible she was on Froyo and you're trying to flash it over with a GB stock rom could be causing an issue. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
I'd say try sourcing a Heimdall to Stock Froyo ROM and see what happens from there.
This thread helped me out the most:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2042927&highlight=frozen+at+boot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does recognize the phone, and it does Flash (As far as I know). I used Zadig, so there shouldn't be an Driver problems. I flashed it several times with a lot of different things, however, I just now flashed it twice with the Heimdall One-Click again to see if that made any difference. It did not. I'm still stuck in that Splash Bootloop.
Also, what did you mean by, "I'd say try sourcing a Heimdall to Stock Froyo ROM and see what happens from there."? I haven't ever seen that suggested anywhere, and I have no idea where I would find a Stock Froyo ROM that is flashable via Heimdall.
Able to get in to recovery and wipe? Wipe data & caches. Got cwm? Which one click? Eilleo(sorry for the spelling) put out a one click that was to be used as stepping stone to ics only.
WinterPhoenix96 said:
It does recognize the phone, and it does Flash (As far as I know). I used Zadig, so there shouldn't be an Driver problems. I flashed it several times with a lot of different things, however, I just now flashed it twice with the Heimdall One-Click again to see if that made any difference. It did not. I'm still stuck in that Splash Bootloop.
Also, what did you mean by, "I'd say try sourcing a Heimdall to Stock Froyo ROM and see what happens from there."? I haven't ever seen that suggested anywhere, and I have no idea where I would find a Stock Froyo ROM that is flashable via Heimdall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm honestly not to sure if a Froyo ROM for Heimdall exists. I do believe seeing one for Odin, though. Not sure if that link is still alive. I'll see if I can find it again.
We do have a Froyo One-Click but if KJ6 One-Click is not working for him I do not know why you think the Froyo One-Click will.
lumin30 said:
We do have a Froyo One-Click but if KJ6 One-Click is not working for him I do not know why you think the Froyo One-Click will.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured if the phone was still running on the Stock Froyo when this happened, that it may work as opposed to forcing the phone to accept a new ROM while it's still clashing with itself.
It's worth a shot at this point.
Stuck on Froyo
LiangChi said:
I figured if the phone was still running on the Stock Froyo when this happened, that it may work as opposed to forcing the phone to accept a new ROM while it's still clashing with itself.
It's worth a shot at this point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate to hijack this thread but it describes my current situation and symptoms perfectly and I never saw a conclusion / fix.....
I just got a used phone from ebay (verified SGH-T959V in battery compartment) and have run into the same exact problems described in the start of this posting. Phone was running Froyo and I attempted to upgrade to Gingerbread with Heimdall One-Clicks. I was actually successful at one point but then it crashed when I tried to install boot loaders to get rid of rainbow screen at startup.
Now all I ever get is a splash screen bootloop whenever I try any of the Heimdall One-Click gingerbread variants. I have also tried Odin and the Gremlin remover with same results of splash screen bootloop (Linda always completes). I was however able to access the new kernel CWM recovery and try to flash other gingerbread ROMs - splash screen bootloops on all attempts.
So I gave up on Gingerbread and tried using CWM recovery from gingerbread ROMS to install CM9 / CM10 / Slim Bean. I was able to upgrade almost perfectly but had same problem for each one of these. Not the bootloop thankfully but instead the headphone speaker (if that is the right description) doesn't work. No sound for phone touchpad, screen selections, and when receiving a phone call (have to switch to speaker phone as back/big speaker works or plugin headset to hear whoever was calling).
All of the other features were great but I really needed to be able to use my phone as a phone! The Heimdall One-Click worked to return me to Gingerbread with same problem of splash screen bootloop (gets to pink welcome letters every once in a while). Then I used the Heimdall One-Click for Froyo (as suggested by LiangChi) and got a perfectly working version of Froyo.
Used Froyo CWM recovery to switch to ICBINB ROM which works fairly decently.... Am I doomed to stay at Froyo though? I tried to follow all of the guides to a T but not sure what I might be doing wrong or if I might have purchased a damaged phone - can't recall ever testing camera and it still doesn't work on current stable Froyo. At various points I tried different cables, SD cards, USB ports, removing/reinstalling drivers, etc... Even tried Kies when I got back to stock Froyo to upgrade - went to Splash Screen Bootloop!
You have so much info here... let's see what we can figure out.
grovernyc said:
I hate to hijack this thread but it describes my current situation and symptoms perfectly and I never saw a conclusion / fix.....
I just got a used phone from ebay (verified SGH-T959V in battery compartment) and have run into the same exact problems described in the start of this posting. Phone was running Froyo and I attempted to upgrade to Gingerbread with Heimdall One-Clicks. I was actually successful at one point but then it crashed when I tried to install boot loaders to get rid of rainbow screen at startup.
Now all I ever get is a splash screen bootloop whenever I try any of the Heimdall One-Click gingerbread variants. I have also tried Odin and the Gremlin remover with same results of splash screen bootloop (Linda always completes). I was however able to access the new kernel CWM recovery and try to flash other gingerbread ROMs - splash screen bootloops on all attempts.
Ok... when you flash the "stock" rom... have you tried to wipe cache, data etc???
Are you letting it boot up before appling any of the kernels??
So I gave up on Gingerbread and tried using CWM recovery from gingerbread ROMS to install CM9 / CM10 / Slim Bean. I was able to upgrade almost perfectly but had same problem for each one of these. Not the bootloop thankfully but instead the headphone speaker (if that is the right description) doesn't work. No sound for phone touchpad, screen selections, and when receiving a phone call (have to switch to speaker phone as back/big speaker works or plugin headset to hear whoever was calling).
All of the other features were great but I really needed to be able to use my phone as a phone! The Heimdall One-Click worked to return me to Gingerbread with same problem of splash screen bootloop (gets to pink welcome letters every once in a while). Then I used the Heimdall One-Click for Froyo (as suggested by LiangChi) and got a perfectly working version of Froyo.
Try wiping data and such, still bootlooping??
Used Froyo CWM recovery to switch to ICBINB ROM which works fairly decently.... Am I doomed to stay at Froyo though? I tried to follow all of the guides to a T but not sure what I might be doing wrong or if I might have purchased a damaged phone - can't recall ever testing camera and it still doesn't work on current stable Froyo. At various points I tried different cables, SD cards, USB ports, removing/reinstalling drivers, etc... Even tried Kies when I got back to stock Froyo to upgrade - went to Splash Screen Bootloop!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope, it sounds like dirty flashes to me...
I would start with entering cwm and disabling lagfix & wiping data & caches.... linda needs to do her thing after the first boot up...
Then, I would reflash the germlin remover, If I remember correctly, you will have to do this twice (second time will allow you to check the add bootloaders)...
After the phone hits the think-pink, then you can battery dump, reenter download and flash the kernel.
Dirty Flashing
Champ - I think you might be on to something...haven't read about dirty flashing but it sounds right. I have been wiping data and caches (even tired reformatting system with a few roms). I do remember running into problems trying to following a few instructions sets that asked to disable the voodoo lagfix - hit option it just doesn't disable. After hitting disable see below Voodoo lagfix is actually: enabled next boot: disabled but even if I reboot back to CWM it is still enabled.
I might try the Odin Gremlin remover again. I was just getting frustrated after several days of failed upgrades. Second opinion on if it might be hardware/memory vs user error. I really didn't understand why even Kies (which everyone disparages) upgrade from stock Froyo also caused same loop.
champ1919 said:
You have so much info here... let's see what we can figure out.
nope, it sounds like dirty flashes to me...
I would start with entering cwm and disabling lagfix & wiping data & caches.... linda needs to do her thing after the first boot up...
Then, I would reflash the germlin remover, If I remember correctly, you will have to do this twice (second time will allow you to check the add bootloaders)...
After the phone hits the think-pink, then you can battery dump, reenter download and flash the kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Retry the gremlim remover. Redownload it incase of a bad download.
Lumin30 has a good guide in his signature for the heimdall one clicks.
I use Odin, I have used his one clicks without problems though.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1470716
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda app-developers app

[Q] I can't load CWM on my SGS 4G (T-Mobile)

Hello all,
Okay, I admit that I am gonna get a lot of "use the search tool first" replies, but please hear me out. I have done my fair share of searching. Its not that I haven't found anything, its just the things I found are useless for this SGS 4G. I really wanted to install Cyanogen Mo on the SGS (its not actually mine, a friend asked me to do it since he saw my old SGS GT-I9000 running CM).
I am gonna try and give a detailed report . The phone was originally from T-Mobile and now unlocked permanently. Its running firmware version 2.3.3 that I installed just recently. I found out that I can't install CWM on the stock kernel or bootloader or whatever and I needed a new of the thing. So I went on searching and searching....found a handful of help but none work. Every method breaks at some point and I go to the "firmware update failed" thing on the phone, which I then install 2.3.3 again using ODIN and try another method. I have tried a lot of things. Hemidall, ODIN, SuperOneClick, and a lot of gibbrish-sounding methods. None work. I am now running 2.3.3. Here are some infos:
ABOUT PHONE:
Model Number: SGH-T959V
Firmware Version: 2.3.3
Baseband Version: T959VUVKF1
Kernel Version: 2.6.35.7-T959VUVKF1-CL270364
Build Number: GINGERBREAD.VUVKF1
The files I used to flash to 2.3.3 using ODIN v1.85:
PIT: Hawk_Sidekick_VibrantPlus_831.pit
PDA: CODE_T959VUVKF1_CL270364_REV00_user_low_noship.tar.md5
PHONE: T959VUVKF1-Phone-CL1020302.tar.md5
CSC: SGH-T959V-CSC-TMB-VIBRANTP.tar.md5
I hope the above infos are enough. So, can anyone help me and point me to the right direction on how to install CWM and then install CM10 or 9 on my friends SGS 4G?
Thanks,
Tamrat
Hmmm, an interesting set of binaries, ones that don't ring a bell with me. I'm used to seeing T959VUVKJ6.
Where did you find those? Half curiosity, half trying to understand the problem, half since much of the "old" images for the phones got lost when Multiupload and what have you were shut down.
For the SGS4G, the kernel, root file system, and recovery file system are all in "boot.img" -- flash one, you flash them all. They can be flashed through Odin (assuming you really like Windows), heimdall (multi-platform), through recovery, or from a root command line (for the adventurous only).
I would say the most robust way to get where you need to be would be to use Lumin's guide to make sure you've got a viable Gingerbread set-up going, then flash something reliable to get you to MTD, like TeamAcid's CM9.
From there, you should know that some of the KK ROMs use slightly different MTD partitioning and aren't a "just flash this ROM and keep your data" kind of thing.
jeffsf said:
Hmmm, an interesting set of binaries, ones that don't ring a bell with me. I'm used to seeing T959VUVKJ6.
Where did you find those? Half curiosity, half trying to understand the problem, half since much of the "old" images for the phones got lost when Multiupload and what have you were shut down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A long day Googling... and then a site turned up. One thing I forgot to mention was, before I installed this firmware, I had to use the "remove battery->plug usb->press the button combos->insert the battery" to enter download mode, but now I juts have to press vol down and power button.
Thanks for the reply,
Failure again
UPDATE:::
I tried to update to 2.3.6 as the guide suggests and I also wanted a clean stock OS in case the old one was not. But once again updating to 2.3.6 has been a pain. Kies Mini recognizes the phone but it doesn't recognize the firmware running on the phone. And also, firmware update is impossible since the button is greyed out.
I googled again and found the official 2.3.6 firmware for the phone (file name: T959VUVKJ6-REV00-home-low-CL694130.tar.md5) and tried flashing it using ODIN; absolutely no luck. It fails at the stage which says Slb.bin. Restarting the phone after that gives a "firmware upgrade failure" display. Only way to wake up the phone is to flash the previous OS back.
I am really confused here.
*********************EDIT***************
Some how, after like 10 retires and fiddling with ODIN, it finally flashed 2.3.6 to the SGS 4G. Still, fingers crossed.
*********************EDIT 2***************
Finally, its all working fine now. Thank you @jeffsf, thank you very much.
F*****************K
forgot an important step and now my IEMI number is gone........
do i throw the phone now, or is there any other way???
Don't throw your phone away! How do you know that you have "no IMEI" on your phone? We'll go from there.
Hopefully, you've backed up your data before starting to play around with ROMS. If so just load your backed up efs folder onto your storage & use Root Explorer to drop it over your existing one , it will overwrite your imei file & you will be good as new.
========================================================================================
I'm also in need of help, I have been running SlimSaber since last weekend, was wanting to try out Beanstalk. First full wipe, install & reboot wipe again, reinstall etc as per Dao's OP, but after the first install, it won't boot past the kernel splash. Tried again with same result. Decided to click it back to stock & start over, using Gremlin Remover (odin). Then saw that others were having similar issue so I tried to load in build from April1st.
But now it only boots back into recovery, won't boot to the OS ( everything indicated install was complete & no errors.)
1 clicked back again & just tried to put SlimSaber back on again, but have the same problem, will only boot into recovery.
I had to first load CM9 to get CWM 6.xx so I could install kk using TWRP
What am I not doing correctly? Thanks for any suggestions.
Flash kernel
Reboot recovery
Wipe all partitions
(Reboot recovery for good measure and wipe again if paranoid)
Install
Boot
If that doesn't do it, it is likely ROM or hardware.
---
Posted from whatever phone booted today
Since this is running GB VUVKG4, could you recommend a kernel that would work & get me to TWRP (or CWM 5.xx+)?
Either the Team Acid CM9 or Hefe Kernel should work.
---
Posted from whatever phone booted today

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