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So like the genius that I am, I decided to mess with my Nexus S 4G. Right now, my PC will not detect my phone at all (won't show up at ALL, in my Device Manager or any toolkit that I've tried). Please note I had little experience and will probably look like a complete idiot, but bare with me.
So the steps I took were as followed (my phone came already unlocked)
1.) I first installed PDANet to get my computer to recognize my phone and install the right drivers
2.) After that, I flashed the latest, stable clockwork recovery mod
3.) Then, I downloaded the Hellybean ROM and installed it via clockwork recovery mod, with no problems
4.) I downloaded the Google Apps archive and dropped it onto my sdcard
5.) I then installed the google apps zip and then it all went down hill from then
Every time I turned on my phone, the nice Cyanogen mod logo popped up, and then once it was done booting up, it popped up with two error messages:
Code:
Unfortunately, the process com.google.process.gapps has stopped.
Unfortunately, SetUp wizard has stopped.
Both of these error messages will not stop popping up and my phone is currently useless at this stage.
So, I went back into fastboot mode, and tried to fix it with these steps:
1.) I downloaded the "Factory Image "sojua" for Nexus S (850MHz version, i9020a)" images, and followed the instructions on this thread
2.) Once I flashed the bootloader image, my PC no longer detected my phone. It won't show up on my device manages (not even as an unrecognized Android 1.0 phone)
I installed the bootloader image because it was apart of the tutorial on how to do a complete factory reset, I now know that was stupid and not necessary.
So, you can obviously see I didn't know what I was doing, and what I did was quite stupid and careless. So unless you have any suggestions or want to help me, please do not patronize me, I am already mad enough at myself.
With that said, I am unable to even flash anything to my phone anymore, and I don't know what I can do. I tried using Wug's Nexus Toolkit to try and install the drivers, but it won't detect anything. On top of that, I am not sure if I have even flashed the correct bootloader image. Any help or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Carbon131 said:
So like the genius that I am, I decided to mess with my Nexus S 4G. Right now, my PC will not detect my phone at all (won't show up at ALL, in my Device Manager or any toolkit that I've tried). Please not I had little experience and will probably look like a complete idiot, but bare with me.
So the steps I took were as followed (my phone came already unlocked)
1.) I first installed PDANet to get my computer to recognize my phone and install the right drivers
2.) After that, I flashed the latest, stable clockwork recovery mod
3.) Then, I downloaded the Hellybean ROM and installed it via clockwork recovery mod, with no problems
4.) I downloaded the Google Apps archive and dropped it onto my sdcard
5.) I then installed the google apps zip and then it all went down hill from then
Every time I turned on my phone, the nice Cyanogen mod logo popped up, and then once it was done booting up, it popped up with two error messages:
Code:
Unfortunately, the process com.google.process.gapps has stopped.
Unfortunately, SetUp wizard has stopped.
Both of these error messages will not stop popping up and my phone is currently useless at this stage.
So, I went back into fastboot mode, and tried to fix it with these steps:
1.) I downloaded the "Factory Image "sojua" for Nexus S (850MHz version, i9020a)" images, and followed the instructions on this thread
2.) Once I flashed the bootloader image, my PC no longer detected my phone. It won't show up on my device manages (not even as an unrecognized Android 1.0 phone)
I installed the bootloader image because it was apart of the tutorial on how to do a complete factory reset, I now know that was stupid and not necessary.
So, you can obviously see I didn't know what I was doing, and what I did was quite stupid and careless. So unless you have any suggestions or want to help me, please do not patronage me, I am already mad enough at myself.
With that said, I am unable to even flash anything to my phone anymore, and I don't know what I can do. I tried using Wug's Nexus Toolkit to try and install the drivers, but it won't detect anything. On top of that, I am not sure if I have even flashed the correct bootloader image flashed. Any help or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck. Flashed a sojua stock ROM on a sojus phone, bootloader and all. I don't know if you'll ever be able to fix this. :|
polobunny said:
Good luck. Flashed a sojua stock ROM on a sojus phone, bootloader and all. I don't know if you'll ever be able to fix this. :|
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully someone may know what to do.
Carbon131 said:
Hopefully someone may know what to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you can put it into download mode you might be able to use Odin with a factory image to bring it back to life.
polobunny said:
If you can put it into download mode you might be able to use Odin with a factory image to bring it back to life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I can't seem to do that.
Carbon131 said:
Yeah I can't seem to do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure your cable is connected when you try to put your phone in download mode. Turn off the phone, then hold both volume + and -, and press power. Continue holding volume buttons until you see download mode.
Right, I searched on numerous pages on these wonderful forums, but couldn't quite find what I was looking for. So I'll try my luck here. I'll describe my problem.
My TF101 was rooted using the CWM recovery. After doing more research I found out I shouldn't be doing this. But, unfortunately the damage has already been done. After several succesful ROM installations I wasn't quite happy with, I tried one last CM10 install. That's when it all went to ****. My TF101 has been stuck on the Eee Pad splash screen for nearly 2 months now.
Normally when going into the recovery mode I can simply select install from SD card and install a new rom. Now it can't seem to mount and displays E:Can't mount \SD card or whatever.
Further on, I tried using the ADB tools to manually restore system files. Without luck. After which I tried to install the naked USB drivers using http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1426502. Without luck as well. I simply ran out of ideas.
The thing is, in Device manager I do see a device called Android. But, for some reason I can't seem to install any drivers for it. I guesse this would be the first step towards getting it back to work? Or perhaps I should just get it fixed at the computer store?
Any sugestions would be more than welcome!
Easy Flasher will get you back to stock as long as you can access APX. You will lose all data however.
1st mistake read forum before you do something, coz you would have learnt abt CWM issues, anyway thatsvan old story
You got Two options, find an flash able twrp.zip and flash it using current recovery if its still working otherwise as the other guy says easyflasher
To use easy flash you need
Easy flash software from forum
Universal naked driver installed
Asus firmware and PATIENCE
Follow the steps given in the forum and you should get back a tablet running stock rom, then if you want then use easy flash to root your device again but this time use TWRP recovery.....
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda app-developers app
Right, so far I've done everything I could find. I have installed the naked ADB files and thus was able to make a connection through USB. However, I wasn't able to push any files onto the tablet through ADB commands.
I entered the (what I assumed to be) APX mode and tried to use EasyFlasher. It seemed to have worked, because a DOS screen asked me whether or not I wanted to overwrite several files. After ending the procedure I rebooted my tablet. And guesse what: CWM is still there and the tab is still stuck on the Splash screen. Also the internal SD still can't be mounted.
What am I doing wrong. I'm slowly but surely going mad here....
hmmm, easyflasher should not prompt you to overwrite anything, it should just wipe it clean. The only prompt is when you select SBK1 or SBK2.
Can you post screenshots? It'd help us understand what exactly is going on...
Lethe6 said:
hmmm, easyflasher should not prompt you to overwrite anything, it should just wipe it clean. The only prompt is when you select SBK1 or SBK2.
Can you post screenshots? It'd help us understand what exactly is going on...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right. Apparently I didn't put it in APX mode correctly. Windows asked me to install APX drivers. Which I now did. I then (I assume) was able to install the new recovery. The screen says !!!!phone update succes!!!!!. As we speak I am trying to install the stock ROM. Fingers crossed.....
AlbertGJBos said:
Right. Apparently I didn't put it in APX mode correctly. Windows asked me to install APX drivers. Which I now did. I then (I assume) was able to install the new recovery. The screen says !!!!phone update succes!!!!!. As we speak I am trying to install the stock ROM. Fingers crossed.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll just sum up what I've been doing so far, because it still ain't working for me....
1) Put the TF101 in APX mode using POWER + VOLUME UP
2) Started up EasyFlasher 0.8.3 and selected "Flash Asus stock zip / Unbrick"
3) When prompted "file ..\temp\META-INF\MANIFEST.MF" already exists I selected "A(u)to rename all"
4) And then starts doing it's thing
5) Stuck at creating and formatting 15 partitions with several three letter codes.
I've ran the program three times now, but without luck. Any sugestions?~
[EDIT]Alright, managed to get it to work! Ended the tasks in through task manager about 4 times, but the 5th time was a charm. Exactly work as said. All thanks to EasyFlasher![/EDIT]
People that can't get the roms beyond stock to work, are your phones activated?
Is it possible to use the Pac Man Rom or CM10 on an unactivated phone?
I'm having similar issues to others trying to flash Pac Man and CM10.2. The first boot was fine and I can access everything on the phone fine, including settings. I rebooted and the activation screen (which I skipped as this phone doesn't have service) always pops up but I would like to use it without putting it on a cell network. I can skip the screen fine (until I decide to disable it) but then have issues like the keyboard (physical and touch), systemUI or NAV Bar crashing with a constant message pop up telling me it has crashed. I have returned to stock using RSD and reflashed Pac Man and CM10.2 MANY (15+?) times, doing a clean install 99% of the time but also trying a couple dirty installs to cover my bases. I should also note that I flashed the phone to Cricket but have no plans to activate it anytime soon.
Another thing to note is that I had issues getting the custom roms to boot at all as the initial setup would take hours. One time I though it was a boot loop but I left it on all night and it had booted in the morning. I believe it has something to do with the file check at boot (with my 32GB low speed class SD card) but that seems to be resolved and I can get the custom roms to boot fine (on the first boot) even with my 32GB (witch is fine and has no errors nor is generic, before you ask.) I also have tried 2 4GB cards and a 2GB card, all different brands, with no change in behavior.
I have done everything below multiple times and in different orders.(If needed I can give a direct breakdown step by step but if you could do it with the files below, I have probably tried it)
Wipe the phone (including all storage internal and external SDs included)
Using RDS v6.15
RDS asanti_c_sprint-user-4.1.2-9.8.2Q-122_XT897_FFW-5-6-release-keys-cid9.xml.zip (Works 100% of the time and never has issues. I keep reverting back to this if I actually need to use the phone)
RDS ClockworkMod, TWRP, and Open Recovery without TWRP (Tried different versions when available)
Then used each recovery to install Pac Man or CM10.2 (tried 10.1 once but had the same issues and I didn't see the need to troubleshoot a rom people seemed to not want to develop for. So 10.1 was only tried once but has the same issues)
Installed GApps at this point but I also tried alternate versions of GApps and not installing it at all. All have the same effect and don't seem to be contributing to the problems at all.
A few installed I tried wiping the phone again or installing each zip multiple times. I also verified the zips were good when on the device to make sure there was no corruption at transfer.
I also tried multiple (confirmed working) SD cards and installing from the internal storage.
I have tried installing arrrghhh's Kernel too.
The issue ether seems to be boot loop (if it's doing a file check) or more often it works until I get one of the said crashes after a reboot.(blame Tyler message is getting SO old...) The time I see the errors seems to be accelerated if I mess with the settings a lot but I don't believe it is directly related to the settings.
My next recourse is to try and flash it back to Sprint (maybe check my Cricket settings) and see if that helps, without it being activated.
On a separate note.
If people need help I can help get you back to stock easily. The instructions/guides on here are all but useless if you don't know what you are doing already. I have seen down to "USE RDS" or "DELETE LINE MD5" like people would just know what that means. I understand RDS Lite is a standard tool for flashing phones but it's nigh impossible to find real explanations on what stuff does in context. I understand the basics though, so if anyone has any questions I can walk you through it.
To start with if you are stuck in a loop at the start of a new rom and it loops between the 'Welcome' Screen (Select your Language) and Activation screen just skip the initial setup by tapping the corners on your screen in a clockwise manor when on the 'Welcome' screen to skip the setup there is a video to explain it here
pocketnow(can't post links )com/how-to/android-quick-tip-how-to-bypass-touch-the-android-to-begin-video
Without doing this or activating the phone it seems to loop between those 2 screens forever (might indicate part of the problem with customs roms....)
I hope this is enough info to go off of I can give you a play by play with the actual files if you need. Maybe a video if needed and I'm feeling extra fancy.
Thanks for your time.
Hey buddy,
If you're trying to make a guide, make sure you call it what it is properly - RSD Lite.
Also, maybe clean up your post a bit so it's a proper guide (as you point out, it's needed) and make a separate thread for your question.
To answer your question, the unactivated phone shouldn't be an issue in of itself - you'll just get the nag screen like you were talking about.
I know there is an issue some are having with rebooting the 4.3 ROM's. Have you tried any 4.2.2 versions of anything? Carbon, CM10.1?
I wonder if your "flash" to Cricket is causing issue, I'm not sure. Let me know about 4.2.
Edit - I missed this part on my first read of your PM. Taking hours to boot is NOT normal. Perhaps remove the SD card entirely, flash using the internal SD... I've never heard of that. Anything over say 20 minutes is probably cause for concern.
Thanks for taking time to answer me.
In no way was I trying to make a guide yet but I guess I could. I just hate posting stuff without useful content so I figured throwing that in was better than nothing. I'll clean it up and set up some links later today. It's frustrating to try and make a full guide before I can post links that would be needed for it. You are totally right though! (complain about crappy guides and kind of make one... )
Part of my point there was that I can't post out of Q and A and this wasn't really a question so I made a question out of it and that's how my post ended up.
I have flashed many phones before but like I said I'll try and put it back on Sprint later today (probably will be a few hours) as I backed up the settings the phone came with. I know it was a wall of text and not the easiest to read so you probably missed it but I also said in my first post that I tried the internal SD card many times and the taking hours to boot isn't the standard and doesn't seem to happen at 99% of the time. It seems to be related to the recovery software I use as it happened a lot more when I was testing TWRP and none when I use clockwork.
What Recovery do you recommend? I swear they aren't made equal...
I tested CM10.1 once and it had the exact same issues as CM10.2 and Pac Man so I didn't test it further but if you want me to test it I can. I just didn't want the Rom.
I don't want Carbon either but I'll test that and AOKP next. It's just annoying that the stock rom works perfect but I can't get these to function at all. I almost wish I didn't get Pac Man to work at all. I'm very particular about my settings and NEED these features after I tried them Pac Man is AMAZING.
Thank you for the help and I hope I can get this worked out.
PS I saw that you were frustrated about working on a rom you don't have a device for. I hope you don't let a little thing like that stop you as, for the little time I have used it, it's all I want. Thanks again.
Blasz said:
What Recovery do you recommend? I swear they aren't made equal...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, OpenRecovery has probably the most work done for this device specifically. I liked TWRP, but it seems lately it has been unstable - you're not the first who has reported issues lately. I don't think CWM has been updated, unfortunately - but perhaps that's a good thing, it's stable that's for sure.
Blasz- I was just about to start a thread when I found yours, and it very accurately describes the issues I've been having. Here's my progress so far.
I got my Photon Q with Sprint and used it for a few months before Sprint started finding creative ways to take my "$79.99" bill and make it more like $140 a month. Naturally, I refused to pay. So I had a Photon Q with no cell service. This is fine, as I only need it to work on WiFi, not 2G/3G and there is no 4G in the area. Anyway.
At the time, I had Ice Cream Sandwich on it, using the (latest?) ICS firmware from Motorola. This worked very well, but I later tried to use a newer firmware, and all the custom ROMs had shown up while I hadn't been looking. All of these seemed to be based on JellyBean. First off, I tried CyanogenMod 10.2. Worked amazing well! I had literally no problems at all. However, while I was experimenting with different software for the phone, and wanted to see if "Arrrgghh"(sp?)'s kernels would give me some decent overclocking capability. Turns out, the kernel I picked wasn't compatible with the JB firmwares (I probably picked an older one by mistake.) Needless to say, it now wouldn't boot. It'd go to the "Unlocked bootloader" screen and stay there all night (literally, I tried that.)
So, I went back into CWM, which is the recovery I have installed. I erased /data, /cache and /system, and also the dalvik cache and battery stats for good measure. I also formatted /pds and /modem, I believe, which was probably dumb of me since I'm not sure what those do. Then I tried re-installing CM 10.2 from CWM. The installation went fine, and it works gorgeously. However, there's two weird issues:
1) WiFi and Bluetooth don't even BEGIN to work! Neither does Cell, as far as I can tell, because where CM used to be unable to make calls or access the internet (of course, I've not been paying my bill), it now shows an empty signal bar or "No Signal" (the little red X) in the notification bar ... When I try to turn on WiFi using the slider in Settings, it moves to "ON" (stays gray) and pauses for a few secs, then goes back to OFF. Same thing for BT. If I open the WiFi menu where you select an AP, it tells me to turn on WiFi. I do, using the slider up top, and the same thing happens. WiFi and BT simply won't turn on. Tried fiddling with every setting I can find.
Before this misadventure with the kernel/reinstall, WiFi worked great. I connected to a local AP and was surfing the net and downloading apps.
2) The system takes a VERY long time to boot up. It sits at the "Unlocked Bootloader" screen for up to a whole minute. Then it goes to the Cyanogen screen for about 30 seconds. Then it gets to the homescreen. It's fine so long as you let it boot up, but this doesn't seem normal.
Next I tried other ROMs thinking that might help. I installed AOKP, PacMan, CM1.0, Carbon, SlimBean, and I think a few others without results-- they all work but WiFi and BlueTooth are dead. PacMan is the only exception-- it boots up and then endlessly gives me "Blame Tyler" errors until I force the machine to shut off.
I also tried an older ROM, since these are all JellyBean ROMs and I wanted to get back to ICS (I'm not that fond of JB's interface) anyway. I was unable to find any ZIPs I could install through CWM of the stock firmware. I found some IMGs that it looks like I could install via Fastboot, but I don't currently have a PC with admin priveleges (it's not mine) so I can't install the drivers to use Fastboot or any part of the SDK. (I can, however, put files on my SD card, that doesn't require privleges.) The closest ROM I found to stock was "TwistedAsanti" beta-1 or whatever it's called. That installs fine, but again, it takes about 2 straight minutes to boot and it's useless after that:
It gets stuck at "Starting Services..." and will sit there forever, even left there all night. Behind this, a dialog pops up saying no cell networks were found and asking if I want to switch to GSM. (i've been trying GSM and CDMA ROMs all this time, I don't need cell access so I doubt it matters which I use. I'm in the USA.) You can pull down the notification bar and get into the Settings, and even launch a couple programs, but I can't find ANY way to get to a homescreen. Task manager shows Circles is running, which is a widget on the homescreen, so where the heck is that screen? .. I try, again, to turn on WiFi or BT without success. The friggin thing just won't turn on.
Did I eff it up by erasing the "PDS" or "modem" partition? Am I missing something obvious or is my phone just possessed?
In a few days I should have access to a computer where I can hopefully use Fastboot and see about installing a stock firmware (wish me luck). Until then, does anyone have a ZIP file I can flash from CWM to get back to an ICS firmware? I managed to find a copy of the stock firmware, in the form of a dump done from TWRP (in .win files). But as far as I know the only way to install TWRP is using Fastboot, and I've explained why I can't do that. I don't know a way to install TWRP from CWM. Maybe I can do it from CM10.2, if I can put APKs or something on my SD card. I can't get it on the network, so I have to copy all the files manually. Needless to say, it's a pain.
After my frenzy of ROM installing, I got frustrated and decided to see if TwistedAsanti would do SOMETHING if I let it sit at "Starting Services" overnight. To my mistake, I left it under my pillow and the system was quite toasty, and the battery had run dead. Plugging it back into the charger, it made a few worrying clicking noises from the speaker, then the green LED came on. This LED seems to mean "I'm charging, but the battery is too dead to turn on for a while." After it sits there a while, the green LED turns off and it just goes black. Or it goes to BOOTLOADER UNLOCKED and bootloops, or goes to black untilyou fiddle with the power button some more. I can once in a blue moon get to CWM. Sometimes it gets to the homescreen. It will charge up to about 4-7% and no further (battery got damaged by the heat?) It doesn't reliably work when plugged in, it likes to shut off at random anyway.
So now I'm stuck with a phone I can't seem to charge, or turn on reliably, and if I *do* get it to boot up, there's no way to connect it to a network.
Needless to say I'm pretty darn frustrated..
Thanks for any advice.
Epicenter714 said:
So now I'm stuck with a phone I can't seem to charge, or turn on reliably, and if I *do* get it to boot up, there's no way to connect it to a network.
Needless to say I'm pretty darn frustrated..
Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try to use RSD Lite and flash the device back to stock?
arrrghhh said:
Did you try to use RSD Lite and flash the device back to stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Currently, I have no PC to use that has Admin priveleges, so I can't install the USB drivers or RSDLite. I also can't use fastboot to install TWRP to use the TWRP .win backups I found.
I did get a roommate to let me use his laptop for 10 minutes to try RSD Lite, but I had this result: Loaded the ".xml.zip" file for the 4.0.4 and 4.1.2 firmwares (after removing the 'getvar' line that causes problems) and it says the phone reported "FAIL". No further details. MiniRSD gives no info from the phone other than the model (it all stays blank), is that supposed to happen? I have the phone in "AP Fastboot" mode so I don't see the problem.
The guy who let me use his PC momentarily is computer-illiterate and thinks anything will break it, so he only let me use it momentarily, and won't let me touch it because I accidentally left an icon on his desktop. I'll have to ask someone else, I think I may know somone..
If I do, how do I get around this error in RSD Lite? Will keep doing research on my own .. thanks!
Epicenter714 said:
Currently, I have no PC to use that has Admin priveleges, so I can't install the USB drivers or RSDLite. I also can't use fastboot to install TWRP to use the TWRP .win backups I found.
I did get a roommate to let me use his laptop for 10 minutes to try RSD Lite, but I had this result: Loaded the ".xml.zip" file for the 4.0.4 and 4.1.2 firmwares (after removing the 'getvar' line that causes problems) and it says the phone reported "FAIL". No further details. MiniRSD gives no info from the phone other than the model (it all stays blank), is that supposed to happen? I have the phone in "AP Fastboot" mode so I don't see the problem.
The guy who let me use his PC momentarily is computer-illiterate and thinks anything will break it, so he only let me use it momentarily, and won't let me touch it because I accidentally left an icon on his desktop. I'll have to ask someone else, I think I may know somone..
If I do, how do I get around this error in RSD Lite? Will keep doing research on my own .. thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well remember - if you are on JB and you are downgrading to ICS, there are additional lines to remove.
Other than that, not sure why it would fail. Make sure 'fastboot devices' works in the command line before doing RSD perhaps.
arrrghhh said:
Well remember - if you are on JB and you are downgrading to ICS, there are additional lines to remove.
Other than that, not sure why it would fail. Make sure 'fastboot devices' works in the command line before doing RSD perhaps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm trying to wipe the device clean and install ICS. Are there any other lines I need to remove? ..
As for Fastboot.. I did 'Fastboot Devices' and got no devices listed. How come it shows up in MiniRSD? .. I have the drivers installed, Windows says it installed an ADB device successfully. What are some reasons that might not work? Is there any sort of guide for this? Thank you
---------- Post added at 05:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:29 PM ----------
Oh, as far as the weird booting problem, it seems the battery is fine and the charger died coincidentally at the same time as the overheating did. So my only problem is software now.. thanks.
Epicenter714 said:
I'm trying to wipe the device clean and install ICS. Are there any other lines I need to remove? ..
As for Fastboot.. I did 'Fastboot Devices' and got no devices listed. How come it shows up in MiniRSD? .. I have the drivers installed, Windows says it installed an ADB device successfully. What are some reasons that might not work? Is there any sort of guide for this? Thank you
---------- Post added at 05:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:29 PM ----------
Oh, as far as the weird booting problem, it seems the battery is fine and the charger died coincidentally at the same time as the overheating did. So my only problem is software now.. thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no clue what MiniRSD is - you mean RSD Lite?
If it doesn't show up in fastboot devices, sort that out before trying to use RSD.
As I stated previously, if you were on JB and going down to ICS you have additional lines which are needed to remove.
Yes, RSD Lite. I don't know where I got MiniRSD from.
I got it to show up in fastboot devices, but adb devices doesn't show it. Weird. Is that OK?
I was able to flash TWRP to the phone with Fastboot. RSD Lite was unable to find the phone. However, I opened the XML file and was able to figure out the flash commands to enter from a command prompt, so I did that:
I got these results... all of the files flashed successfully to stock, except for two. I forget the first, haven't got it in front of me, but here's the big one: SYSTEM! (Important, no?) Here's the error from fastboot:
>> fastboot flash system system.img.ext4
fastboot said:
target reports max download size 31457280 bytes
Invalid sparse file format at header magi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
(then, Fastboot crashes.)
Does anyone know how to fix that? Also, the system image is way bigger than 31.4 MB. What is it talking about?
Thanks!
Epicenter714 said:
Yes, RSD Lite. I don't know where I got MiniRSD from.
I got it to show up in fastboot devices, but adb devices doesn't show it. Weird. Is that OK?
I was able to flash TWRP to the phone with Fastboot. RSD Lite was unable to find the phone. However, I opened the XML file and was able to figure out the flash commands to enter from a command prompt, so I did that:
I got these results... all of the files flashed successfully to stock, except for two. I forget the first, haven't got it in front of me, but here's the big one: SYSTEM! (Important, no?) Here's the error from fastboot:
>> fastboot flash system system.img.ext4
(then, Fastboot crashes.)
Does anyone know how to fix that? Also, the system image is way bigger than 31.4 MB. What is it talking about?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would NOT recommend entering those fastboot commands in the XML file manually unless you KNOW what you are doing.
Sort out why RSD isn't working. adb and fastboot are two different things. If fastboot devices shows the device, RSD Lite should work fine. Try again.
I'm going to try and encapsulate everything that's going on into this initial thread but I'm sure I'll miss something.
Basically, I undertook to root my phone last night. I followed all the steps in the root thread, and I thought it worked, but then when I went to the root checker to see if I was successful. The test couldn't get a result the first time, and then failed the second time. I've known my phone to be a little temperamental when it comes to stuff like that, so I shrugged it off. Then, everything started running with so much lag that my only option was a reboot. It came back up just fine, but then, apps wouldn't open anymore. Since a reboot fixes everything, I rebooted AGAIN... except no I didn't, because I couldn't move past the white splash screen.
After some time hacking around with TWRP, system restoring my phone and the like, I finally managed to actually load the OS again. I think the phone was rooted at that time, but I don't know for sure, because this was the drawback: I couldn't install ANYTHING. My idea is that the system was rebooted into read-only mode. I tried everything I could think of to revert the system to rewriteable again, but nothing ever panned out. There was just one thing that stood out to me: "Your phone worked properly when it wasn't rooted." So, I got the brilliant idea to use SuperSU to unroot my phone. Stupid, stupid move, because now my phone can't boot past the white splash screen again. As a last ditch effort, I decided that it was time to flash the stock system to the phone. Except I probably did it wrong.
Code:
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
Code:
fastboot flash recovery system.img
Code:
fastboot flash recovery boot.img
And where I stand now is that my phone will not boot past the white splash screen, and I can no longer access either TWRP or Fastboot.
Is my phone fooked, or can anyone save this?
#1 You can't flash system image via fastboot - it's semi-locked.
#2 You can't use 'flash recovery' command for boot and system images.
#3 For restoring your phone use SP Flash Tool - there's a thread in the General section called 'How to unbrick'.
Try it and let us know.
Cheers
Yeah, I realized afterward that if I were trying to flash the image of the system, I should not have used the "flash recovery" command because I disabled access to the other recoveries, lol. I have tried to use the SP Flash Tool in the past few days, but I could never get any download progress. I think my computer isn't making the VCOM drivers accessible to be able to flash those things to my phone. Do you have any advice on that end? Because I have seen that thread and tried those steps but I'm just not successful.
You should also read all replies to this thread - there are people who solved their problems with SPFT in their own way, that's how I've revived my phone from hardbrick.
Make sure you're phone is disconnected when you start the flash. AFTER you hit the download button in SPFT... then connect your phone...
Fantastic advice from both of you. I'm ready to revive my phone!
Okay, I think I'm making good progress on recovering my phone. I have managed to get back the stock recovery onto my phone, which I then used to install TWRP. But I'm not out of the woods yet. I used fastboot to flash the boot image onto my phone also, but when it came to the system image, I'm having a lot of trouble. The only ROM I can find for the Blu Pure XL is a 7z file. Now, I know how those work, I have 7zip and I extracted it for the system image. When fastboot was available to me, I couldn't push the system image to the phone. Now that I have TWRP and I have no more access to fastboot, I've tried to load the system file onto my phone through my SD card in four different ways:
As a .img file
As a .7z file
As a .zip file that I created by zipping up the image file
As a .zip file that was .7z, but I changed the extension
None of those methods worked. The Blu development thread doesn't point me to a zipped ROM file. One person there said that they had a backup of their files and provided a link, but those images seem to have been removed.
I'm so close, I can see this phone working again in the near future, I just need your help to get me there. Please! :'(
Edit: Also, keep in mind, I'm dumb. I don't think I really did anything super wrong, but I may be missing something ultra obvious. So if you could just keep your answers dumb for me, it would help even more.
I would stop trying to use all of the methods you are using I believe you are slightly confused by them at this time..
At this point what you have done with the random image flashing is get damaged partitions..
Get SPFT. Turn off you phone completely.
Download the full Scatter file for you phone. (put it aside).
Download a file called ALL MTK driver install. ( or something to that effect). Search for it on Google. You will find it. Run it and then reboot your PC completely.. (if you have windows 8 or higher look online on how to install unsigned drivers) --THIS IS THR BIGGEST PROBLEM PEOPLE HAVE--
Extract your full downloaded scatter image to a directory.. (you can download the Gionee E8 image if you want) it is what I am running on my Blu..
Run SPFD read the thread that they pointed out to you. Find the scatter and point SPFD.. Once it is loaded on the program UNCHECK the PRELOADER check box.. (if not you can cause problems) ..
click download and after 10 seconds or so plug in (you completely powered off) phone into the computer..
.Then wait..... and wait... It will tell you it's progress..
Keep trying it, it WILL work.. and ALWAYS unchecked preloaded when flashing with spdf...
I did follow all the steps in the original guide, and I followed the steps that you gave me too, down to using the advanced device manager to remove any MediaTek drivers from the computer and restarting the computer with disabling the driver signature verification, but when I click download, wait, and plug my phone into the computer, just nothing happens. The computer says it's an unrecognized device, and the download never progresses.
I see also that you said keep trying, but every time I try the SPFT, it never sends anything to my phone. And I don't even know how to tell if I'm missing some important step.
OK this happens sometimes. plug the phone in with device manager open.. plug the phone in when it is off..
When it says unrecognized device double click on it really fast( it will disappear fast, try it a couple of times if you don't get it the first time) then hit update driver.. point it to the MTK drivers folder (unzip the MTK drivers folder). It will pick the proper driver. on some computers it loads up so fast it has no time to recognize the driver..
After you load the drivers power off your phone again and follow the instruction I gave.. After you do this once it will load the drivers right after this..
When I double click on the unrecognized device button, it just brings up a notification that my device wasn't recognized because it malfunctioned. I don't have an option to install any drivers.
My problem is finally solved. After starting up SPFT and clicking download, I held Vol - and Power and then connected it, and that pushed the download forward. I got to the Blu animation screen, and it stayed up FOREVER, but then the next time I looked over, it was on the initial setup screen. Good as new.
Thank you guys for all your help. This forum really is an amazing place.
I'll give you the whole story so bear with me. First off, I'm very new to the Android OS and tinkering with phones and tabs. I'm a computer network administrator and pc mechanic. I'm mainly a hardware guy though, no programming experience at all. But I'm not afraid to jump right into the inner workings though, especially if it's already broken.
And that's probably why I find myself in this position today with this device.
I recently bought this Tab 7.7 to use as a display for my new drone. When it arrived I tried to download the flight control app and it refused to install. No error messages, it just did not install. In looking, the unit was on Honeycomb 3.0. My guess was it was WAY behind in upgrades so off I went to make it bigger and better. I downloaded a zip file for Lollipop 5.1 onto my SD card and was able to load that. Upon reboot I had a screen and an OS. I went into settings and saw where it had upgraded. Success, right? Well, then I went into Wi-Fi settings to add my network. The keyboard would not come up on screen. So I did a bit more research and tripped over the fact that I needed to also load a GAPPS file to add the apps and drivers back. THAT is when I went down the rabbit hole.
The install did not go well and I somehow wound up with no OS at all. Probably after thinking I was following the correct process of resetting and clearing caches before installing the new files. Then this 3 day journey of learning began. I have downloaded Odin, Notepad++ to edit files, Minimal ADB and Fastboot, Samsung KIES and all manners of ROM builds and GAPP files. As of this moment I have absolutely no OS on the unit. Upon turn on it goes directly into the CWM Recovery v6.0.4.5 screen. I am able to boot it to the download screen and Odin can SEE the unit. But I can't get any further with that program other than seeing the unit listed as detected. I'm not able to get anywhere with KIES. No detection or anything.
Now I'm admitting I messed this unit up. I'm not blaming any written procedure or ROM developer. I'm not stupid but evidently don't know all I NEED to know about this process. So I'm here asking for guidance. I really would like to revive this unit and get it back to where I can use it as my monitor as originally planned. But one step at a time. Please give me the correct steps to do to get an OS reloaded and revive this unit.
I'm thinking that my best bet would be to use a TWRP image file to rebuild it. But I need the step by step process for that to make sure I do it correctly.
MANY thanks for this board and the help AOT!!!
Dave
Being the impatient type as well as a DIY'er, I pressed on with trying to revive it myself. I downloaded TWRP as a zip file and added it to the SD card. Booted and installed from the zip file. Screen said it loaded successfully. I rebooted and tried going into recovery (holding power and volume up) expecting it to go into the TWRP console. Instead it went into the regular CWM Recovery screen. Oh well, another frustrating dead end for me. I'll just set it aside until I get some good instructions from someone that knows what they're doing. Best I do that rather than brick it. I can at least access the recovery screen. Odin sees the unit but I cannot find the right file to load from there.
Okay, I'm truly stopping now. Another dead end. I was able to find a couple of files for restore using Odin. Loaded one and now I boot into Android system recovery <3a> instead of the CWM Recovery screen as before. I tried loading a recovery image from a zip file and it failed signature. That seemed to be telling me the tab is now not rooted. So I downloaded SuperSU to the SD card and tried to load it. No joy, it fails signature too.
Arrrggghhhh.........
Can't even shut it down.
Told you I'm impatient. Now have used Odin and installed TWRP 3.0.2-0. Going slowly now. Taking it one step at a time. This is the first positive step I've had so far in 3 days.
:silly:
Baby steps. LOL
Used TWRP to flash SuperSU. Now the unit is rooted and rebooted to TWRP. I still have no OS on there as of yet. I'm guessing my next step is finding a good stable ROM file and use TWRP to flash onto the tab.
Downloaded OmniROM Marshmallow 6.0.1 (https://androidfilehost.com/?w=file...69dc16313bf0332c8794621c6c7f505edf855e0d499d8) and the Open GApps ARM 6.0 stock file (http://opengapps.org/).
Will try to flash those through TWRP and hope for the best.
Joy...at last. The downloaded OMNI 6.0.1 worked when loaded using TWRP. The GApp file failed. Will try another one to see if it works.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software/app-minimal-gapps-gapps-lp-20150107-1-t2997368
Booted to TWRP and was going to install the GApps file. I had left OMNI 6.0.1 on the card too and by mistake selected it. Dooohhh......
I'm an accident waiting for a place to happen. LOL
So, after REloading Android 6.0 I proceeded to load the gapps base file. Reboot and all appears to be going smooth. Apps updating and such. After about 2 minutes I get a message onscreen that unfortunately setup wizard has stopped. Hit okay but the message persists to pop up.
So.....
I guess I'll take a short break then do a wipe and reload of the OMNI and the working gap file and see what happens. At least I got to see it actually boot and let me get into setup. I went to add my Wi-Fi network, added the credentials but it never connected. Something else to look into.
More fun ahead....but at least I'm moving forward now.
A happy camper. Because I was able to revive this tab and because I had the patience to figure it out myself. And my wife swears I have no patience.
LOL
So...the key was downloading Odin and the Samsung drivers on my laptop.
Then download the TWRP.tar file to the laptop.
Boot the tab into download mode by holding power and volume down button. Select yes to continue.
Connect the tab to the laptop with the USB cable. See that Odin can communicate with the tab.
Select AP and find the TWRP file location and start. After it finished, rebooted and since there was no OS installed, TWRP recovery opened.
The next thing was download SuperSU file and drop it onto the SD card. You CAN go ahead and find the correct ROM you want and download the file as well as the GApp file. Drop all 3 onto the SD card.
Then insert it into the tab and select Install. Just be very observant WHICH file you load in what order.
You will need to install the SuperSU, reboot and then install the OS ROM followed by the GApp file.
Select SD card and the SuperSU file. Wait for it to complete then reboot.
After loading SuperSU and reboot, you need to get back into TWRP Recovery program by rebooting while holding power and volume up. This time when you select Install, pick the ROM file first then pick additional files and select the GApp. This way TWRP will first install the OS from the ROM file and immediately load the apps file. Then reboot and you are done!!!
And it took 3 days of round about to figure this out.
LOL
I just downloaded my flight control app and I'm off and running with Marshmallow.
Hope this helps at least one person that is new to this whole process as I was!!!
Dave