Database Info

Alright guys I'm stuck :( (soft brick? ) please help

I did a lot of reading before I got into hacking my s3. I'm pretty new to the android development of Samsung phones, so the terms Odin and kexec are a little unfamiliar to me. I've owned and rooted and flashed 4 different HTC phones within the past 2 years successfully. But Samsung is a new ball game for me. And to my limited knowledge, I'm stuck and I'm hoping you guys can help me out.
Here's the process of what I did to my phone that got me to where I am.
1. I was able to root my phone and flash the custom recovery using using Adam outler's program successfully
2. I downloaded ez unlock boot loader from the play store and then successfully unlocked my boot loader
3. I tried to make a nandroid but I didn't know how to with the recovery I had. So I installed Rom manager and flashed cwm.
4. I downloaded the custom bean build 8 ROM, fully wiped, and attempted to flash the Rom with the Rom file sitting on the root of my phone's "sdcard"
- The zip seemed to flash correctly but then after I reboot from recovery, the screen would be sent back into recovery for some odd reason.
- I even tried to repeat the flashing process but it still resulted in sending me back to recovery after I hit reboot
5. So I restored my nandroid. Moved the Rom file to the root of extsdcard and then tried to flash it with cwm. It seemed to flash correctly once again but after I hit reboot, the phone shows the black splash screen with "Samsung galaxy s iii" in white letters then the phone shuts off. That's all that happens when I try to turn my phone on now.
Now normally if this were a HTC phone, I'd boot the phone to bootloader then recovery then restore my back up. But it's a Samsung. I know the volume down/home/power button trick but when I do that with my s3, the caution box pops up.. I hit volume up to by pass it then it just shows a big "downloading" sign that stays there forever. (I've literally left the phone sitting at the "downloading" sign for over an hour and nothing happened.)
So now I'm stuck. I no longer have a solution to get out of this situation. (I suppose this is a soft brick? )
Can anyone offer me any advice?

j0hnnyn said:
I did a lot of reading before I got into hacking my s3. I'm pretty new to the android development of Samsung phones, so the terms Odin and kexec are a little unfamiliar to me. I've owned and rooted and flashed 4 different HTC phones within the past 2 years successfully. But Samsung is a new ball game for me. And to my limited knowledge, I'm stuck and I'm hoping you guys can help me out.
Here's the process of what I did to my phone that got me to where I am.
1. I was able to root my phone and flash the custom recovery using using Adam outler's program successfully
2. I downloaded ez unlock boot loader from the play store and then successfully unlocked my boot loader
3. I tried to make a nandroid but I didn't know how to with the recovery I had. So I installed Rom manager and flashed cwm.
4. I downloaded the custom bean build 8 ROM, fully wiped, and attempted to flash the Rom with the Rom file sitting on the root of my phone's "sdcard"
- The zip seemed to flash correctly but then after I reboot from recovery, the screen would be sent back into recovery for some odd reason.
- I even tried to repeat the flashing process but it still resulted in sending me back to recovery after I hit reboot
5. So I restored my nandroid. Moved the Rom file to the root of extsdcard and then tried to flash it with cwm. It seemed to flash correctly once again but after I hit reboot, the phone shows the black splash screen with "Samsung galaxy s iii" in white letters then the phone shuts off. That's all that happens when I try to turn my phone on now.
Now normally if this were a HTC phone, I'd boot the phone to bootloader then recovery then restore my back up. But it's a Samsung. I know the volume down/home/power button trick but when I do that with my s3, the caution box pops up.. I hit volume up to by pass it then it just shows a big "downloading" sign that stays there forever. (I've literally left the phone sitting at the "downloading" sign for over an hour and nothing happened.)
So now I'm stuck. I no longer have a solution to get out of this situation. (I suppose this is a soft brick? )
Can anyone offer me any advice?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
aye. go here and look for the return to stock section. remember to read it all before you start at least once.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1762709

psycopanther said:
aye. go here and look for the return to stock section. remember to read it all before you start at least once.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1762709
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try this when I get home. Do you know where it is I messed up while flashing the Rom? Did I use the wrong recovery?
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium

volume up/home/power button is recovery try that
and you used rom manger to flash rom?

j0hnnyn said:
I'll try this when I get home. Do you know where it is I messed up while flashing the Rom? Did I use the wrong recovery?
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use EZ-Recovery to flash CWM 6.0.1.0 and just avoid rom manager next time. Does Beans still use kexec? Could be the issue since the cwm in rom manager doesn't support it.

PJnc284 said:
Use EZ-Recovery to flash CWM 6.0.1.0 and just avoid rom manager next time. Does Beans still use kexec? Could be the issue since the cwm in rom manager doesn't support it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, kexec rom (kernel) using a recovery that doesn't support it.

not sure if this can help but read this post I made, it may help:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1842716
Make sure you have the right CWR version which is 6.0.1 or 6.0.2. Don't mess around with flashing things in rom manager.
To get to your recovery you need to use vol up+home+power.
The vol down puts the phone into Download/ODIN mode. It's like the bootloader/hboot screen of HTC phones.
I always super wipe)cache,data,dalvil,system) before any install, nandroid or fresh rom. And then install downloaded apps with tit backup.
To use Bean's nandroids after bootloader unlock, flash a fresh copy of bean first to install kexec, then flash your nandroid.

If I understand correctly, Bean's Custom Build 9 is out and no longer needs kexec. Therefore I can now use CWM 6.0.1.2 as I did earlier and I should have no problems now that kexec is no longer necessary. Can anyone confirm that?

j0hnnyn said:
If I understand correctly, Bean's Custom Build 9 is out and no longer needs kexec. Therefore I can now use CWM 6.0.1.2 as I did earlier and I should have no problems now that kexec is no longer necessary. Can anyone confirm that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1768209]
From what I have read in his original post for his new build, it does require an unlock and is running a custom non-kexec kernel, so it I would draw the same conclusion that you are and it should in theory work with the 6.0.1.2 version of CWM.

j0hnnyn said:
If I understand correctly, Bean's Custom Build 9 is out and no longer needs kexec. Therefore I can now use CWM 6.0.1.2 as I did earlier and I should have no problems now that kexec is no longer necessary. Can anyone confirm that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be able to use cwm6.0.1.2 to flash Imoseyons leankernel on any version of a custom touchwiz rom and enjoy no kexec
Im running beans 8 with imo's 2.2 kernel w/ no kexec...dont really like beans 9.

[Q] upgarde snaufu...

was running viperXL 3.2.5 and wiped and went to cm10.1 now i used goo manager to download xhata (sorry i butchered it) now i can only boot into spash screen and bootloader. i used fastboot to reflash twrp and still only boots to the custom spash... hboot 1.09 s-off..... im kinda lost here. should have syuck with viper, why screw with perfection.

What is xhata? Is it a rom?
I'm not sure we can install roms with Goo Manager on this phone.
If you installed a rom for the quad-core Tegra One X, your phone will not boot and you're lucky you didn't get a brick. You need to do a full wipe and reflash.

first off not a noob. it was the evita rom. i still have bootloader access and can get half way into recovery( spash screen then twrp spash...) then reboot into custom splash. it was the rom... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2075783 so if anyone has any ideas please help, just dont start with the usual u screwed up flashing roms i know better. and the odd part is after reflashing the recovery via fastboot i get Twrp spash before going back to the phone main splash and boot looping.... and yes im s-off

No need to be so defensive. If we don't know exactly what you flashed, all we can do is ask. Its not meant as an insult. But its always better to ask the seemingly "obvious" questions first, get them out of the way.
If there is a "usual thing" that gets mentioned, its because the mistake of flashing ROMs for the ENDEAVORU in fact happens so often. Downloading from GooManager is not a great idea either, and often a red flag that someone installed a ROM for the wrong version of the phone.
Did the phone operate properly when you were on CM10.1?
What version of TWRP, and what fastboot command did you use to flash it?

I asked the "usual" questions because:
-You have less than 100 posts. That's often a sign of someone who is new to this.
-You used a rom name I've never heard of, and suggested you weren't sure of the name yourself. That's usually a big red flag for someone who flashed some random rom they found via Google.
-You mentioned using Goo Manager. That's a non-standard method for this phone, and an awful lot of people have bricked their phones trying to flash roms through apps that aren't well-supported. CWM Touch was notorious for this when the One X first came out.
If you don't want people to assume things, you need to state them up front.
On topic: There appears to be a bug in the latest TWRP that causes issues for some people. Try rolling back to an earlier version.

iElvis said:
On topic: There appears to be a bug in the latest TWRP that causes issues for some people. Try rolling back to an earlier version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I saw that too, and why I asked the OP what version of TWRP.

i had problems with that rom on version 4.0.1 and 4.1.0 had alot of errors and trouble. i haven't tried 4.2.0 though, i have been having better luck with rom after clearing out recovery cache running "fastboot erase cache" and running only twrp 2.3.3.1.

i flashed the second to last release of twrp (latest gave mount issues), viper was running great, cm 10.1 avatar was running fine just didnt like how plain it was so i used goo manager to download hatkaXL and when the download finished i picked select and flash.. then the usual warning about flashing and it rebooted, hit spash screen where it still is hours later. i then tried manually boot into recovery, it hit the bootloader i selected recovery and it seemed to try and load. next step was back to fast boot and to reflash twrp (fastboot flash recovery recovery.img ) flashed 100% success and still wont boot into recovery just the bootloader, and i wasnt trying to get all defensive, i sent first post using the wifes phone and posted quick, had a guy hooking up my satellite at same time as phone crashed. has anyone tried the new version of cwm for the evita? maybe flashing that may get me back, i have roms and backups on the pc that i can seem to side load but never boot as well.

well after repeated flashing of recovery and (fastboot erase cache) it finally booted to recovery, now to see if my backup will load.

[Q] Complete Newbie - Need help to start flashing

Dear all,
I own a rooted Samsung Galaxy S 4G, but in terms of flashing I'm a total newbie. I've been reading around for a while but, paradoxically, there are so many informations it's hard to keep up with them. I'm wondering if someone could help me out with setting up the process.
My device is 2 years old, it is legally unlocked but coming from T-Mobile, and it was fairly loaded with bloatware. I've removed some of the stuff with titanium, but the system is pretty slow, and it reboots way too often. Through Kies I upgraded to Gingerbread, then unfortunately upgrades were discontinued.
What should be the first steps if I want to flash a different rom? I know there's a step to step guide here, but I'm scared to damage things if I simply follow directions without fully understanding I'm doing things right.
For example, first question: backup. I know I need to backup. What's the most efficient way to do it, so that I can recover the whole thing should the flashing go south?
Thank you for your patience.

This app would help you backup your entire phone. You will need to get onto a custom recovery to restore, but that comes with every ROM.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2040507
Sent from my Xoom using xda app-developers app

Excellent advice, thank you. Unfortunately though, leads to a bad start. I installed the app, but it seems unable to perform a backup. I've tre three times, with no luck. It ends the process saying the use cancelled it, but I didn't. In the logger it report /boot not found and /recovery not found, it then move on til the end of the backing up until the verification, and then doesn't conclude the backup.
Tips?
Cooptx said:
This app would help you backup your entire phone. You will need to get onto a custom recovery to restore, but that comes with every ROM.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2040507
Sent from my Xoom using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Okay, if you have Titanium Backup running, you must be rooted. At this point, your best next step is doing a full backup and then using a one-click to get to a custom recovery. OBackup is probably failing because you're still on stock recovery, not CWM or TWRP. Not that you REALLY need the second backup, but... hey.
After your one-click (no need to double-flash because you already have the GB bootloaders from your Kies upgrade), you should be able to flash... whatever you like. Note that if you're going to try a JB version, you should flash ICS first to set up the MTD partition.
Basic steps, stop at whichever even number you want:
1) One-click to rooted GB with custom recovery.
2) Check to make sure the phone boots and has a working IMEI.
3) Flash CM9 (or other ICS version, such as UltraGen 1.01) to set up proper MTD partition.
4) Check to make sure the phone boots and has a working IMEI.
5) Flash SlimBean (or other JB version, such as PACman or CM10) to try out JB.
6) Check to make sure the phone boots and has a working IMEI. Note that JB 4.2 versions still require workarounds for wifi (JB 4.1 has fully-working wifi) and no JB has working GPS yet, so those not working are expected.

Correct, I am rooted and have titanium backup running.
When you say having a full backup you mean with Titanium? And by full you mean app by app?
Also, what do you mean by saying "using a one-click to get to a custom recovery?"
Sorry to be such a pain, but I'm truly a newbie, and part/most of what you say sounds like arabic to me... (and no, I don't speak arabic
Thanks a lot though! The more I read, the more I learn I guess.
Theraze said:
Okay, if you have Titanium Backup running, you must be rooted. At this point, your best next step is doing a full backup and then using a one-click to get to a custom recovery. OBackup is probably failing because you're still on stock recovery, not CWM or TWRP. Not that you REALLY need the second backup, but... hey.
After your one-click (no need to double-flash because you already have the GB bootloaders from your Kies upgrade), you should be able to flash... whatever you like. Note that if you're going to try a JB version, you should flash ICS first to set up the MTD partition.
Basic steps, stop at whichever even number you want:
1) One-click to rooted GB with custom recovery.
2) Check to make sure the phone boots and has a working IMEI.
3) Flash CM9 (or other ICS version, such as UltraGen 1.01) to set up proper MTD partition.
4) Check to make sure the phone boots and has a working IMEI.
5) Flash SlimBean (or other JB version, such as PACman or CM10) to try out JB.
6) Check to make sure the phone boots and has a working IMEI. Note that JB 4.2 versions still require workarounds for wifi (JB 4.1 has fully-working wifi) and no JB has working GPS yet, so those not working are expected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I'll throw in the "make a backup of your /efs folder, store on pc for safe keeping".
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using xda app-developers app

This would be the Scriptures.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1470716
First post is to get to gingerbread second post is about one-clicks.
If you're already rooted you need to just check which version of recovery you're on (power button+both volume buttons, let go of power when second splash screen comes on)
If you're on 5.x.x then you can go download any ics or jb rom and follow their instructions to flash it.
If you're on 3.x.x you need to flash blastoff kernel or basic with a twist to get the proper recovery. Both of which are packaged in one-clicks or flashable zips. Somewhere in the dev section.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1358498
This is where we keep the one-clicks. Eollie's comes with blastoff kernel and stock rom.
---------- Post added at 11:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:41 AM ----------
Just noticed you've used kies. This is likely to cause driver problems with heimdall. Maybe try one-click gremlin remover from Thomas.Raines first instead. It uses the kies drivers. I never used it before though.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1500427

Thanks, the scriptures work very well, I followed them thoroughly, and I now need to understand which is the one click I need to choose.
Unfortunately I am unable to understand which recovery version I'm. I entered Android System Recover as you suggester (power button, etc) but it doesn't say number, so I still don't know if I'm on 5.x.x. or 3.x.x
Any suggestion?
One more thing; as for the gremlin remover, should I do it before I flash the kernel?
Thanks!
TwitchyEye said:
This would be the Scriptures.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1470716
First post is to get to gingerbread second post is about one-clicks.
If you're already rooted you need to just check which version of recovery you're on (power button+both volume buttons, let go of power when second splash screen comes on)
If you're on 5.x.x then you can go download any ics or jb rom and follow their instructions to flash it.
If you're on 3.x.x you need to flash blastoff kernel or basic with a twist to get the proper recovery. Both of which are packaged in one-clicks or flashable zips. Somewhere in the dev section.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1358498
This is where we keep the one-clicks. Eollie's comes with blastoff kernel and stock rom.
---------- Post added at 11:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:41 AM ----------
Just noticed you've used kies. This is likely to cause driver problems with heimdall. Maybe try one-click gremlin remover from Thomas.Raines first instead. It uses the kies drivers. I never used it before though.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1500427
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

If you're already rooted and have cwm recovery when you boot into recovery at the top of that screen it will either say clockwork mod version 5.x.x or 3.x.x.
If not then you'll see the stock recovery which ...I don't remember what it looks like. Sorry. I assume it won't say clockwork anywhere though.
If you have cwm 3.x.x then you can just grab this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1828171
And flash in recovery. That will give you the right version of cwm so you can then move on to ics or jb.
Used to be a rule about flashing cm9 first and then moving on to whatever rom you were after. Probably better safe than sorry there. It's been a while for me so I dunno if it's still best practice.
---------- Post added at 03:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:19 PM ----------
As far as gremlin remover, if you're not rooted that would be where to start. It will give you a rooted kernel with cwm recovery.

I am rooted, but I assume I don't have CWM Recovery, as it doesn't mention it when I boot into recovery mod.
What should be my next step?

Gremlin remover or Eollie's heimdall one-click. The reason I lean towards gremlin remover is because you should already be set up with kies drivers and it should go smoothly. I use heimdall though..so.. maybe someone with odin experience should jump in if I missed some important stuff.

TwitchyEye said:
Gremlin remover or Eollie's heimdall one-click. The reason I lean towards gremlin remover is because you should already be set up with kies drivers and it should go smoothly. I use heimdall though..so.. maybe someone with odin experience should jump in if I missed some important stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd go with Gremlin remover I think, but I have two questions:
1) Should I use the remover before flashing the kernel, or should I first flash the kernel?
2) In the link about the gremlin remover it says:
"4 Odin will do it's magic and your phone will reboot
7 Reboot into recovery mode
8 Perform a factory/data reset and flash ROM of choice per the OP of the ROM"
If I do factory reset won't I go back to be unrooted and to the OS before gingerbread?

Gremlin remover comes with it's own kernel that's already got custom recovery. I'm not sure which version of clockwork comes with it. If it has the older version then you'll have to flash blastoff afterward. Factory resetting won't mess up your root, it'll just wipe out all your data and apps so whatever you flash next won't bootloop.
So... In order:
1. Run gremlin remover
2. Reboot recovery
3. If you end up with cwm 3.x.x, flash blastoff kernel. Otherwise skip this step.
4. Reboot recovery, wipe caches and data.
5. Flash whatever rom you want. Maybe cm9 first.

Thanks for the help so far.
Unfortunately I'm stuck with adb, trying to floow the directions of this page, following the gremling remover: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1551542
If I boot the phone in recovery, as the above page says, adb doesn't found the device. If I leave the phone on it does found the device, but it gets stuck at the first command line "cp /sdcard/tune2fs /tmp" saying: "cp: not found."
What am I doing wrong?
Thanks

Try download mode
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda app-developers app

siddharta1979 said:
Thanks for the help so far.
Unfortunately I'm stuck with adb, trying to floow the directions of this page, following the gremling remover: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1551542
If I boot the phone in recovery, as the above page says, adb doesn't found the device. If I leave the phone on it does found the device, but it gets stuck at the first command line "cp /sdcard/tune2fs /tmp" saying: "cp: not found."
What am I doing wrong?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that's some stuff I never dealt with. If you already ran gremlin remover you don't gotta mess with that. What recovery do you have?

his litylawf
TwitchyEye said:
Yeah that's some stuff I never dealt with. If you already ran gremlin remover you don't gotta mess with that. What recovery do you have?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I haven't, I wanted to get a little more acquainted with adb before doing more damage.
I'm in download mode, but it didn't work out, as it doesn't detect the device in download mode. How do I get out of it? Just switch it off?

Battery pull. So.. what you're saying is your phone is not recognized in download mode by your pc?

TwitchyEye said:
Battery pull. So.. what you're saying is your phone is not recognized in download mode by your pc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. unless I did something wrong, since I rebooted it in download mode through adb (Maybe didn't pull the usb cable quickly enough? is that possible?)

Gremlin remover is supposed to be used as a cleanup if your phone starts acting lame, but it also flashes a custom recovery so you can start flashing your stuff. For basic flashing and stuff you're not gonna need adb. Not to say you shouldn't learn to use it.. just saying.
---------- Post added at 12:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:46 PM ----------
Oh yeah and if you boot to download mode via adb for some reason it confuses your pc and it won't see the phone. Easier to just power off, hold volume buttons and plug in to pc.

i...umm..kinda of messed up? I couldn't get out of Safestrap or stock recovery...so..

So, I've been screwing around with ROMs and I might have gotten a little overzealous when I was really too tired to have been messing with it, and I need some help reversing it.
Once upon a time I was rooted on NCG, and I was bored, so I followed the instructions for upgrading to OK3 without losing root. From there, I flashed AllianceRom V10 port. I'm pretty sure I did it through Safestrap, but I can't even remember. Everything was going great, lots of reboots and no issues. I installed all my apps without any problems, and then at some point I got the bright idea to wipe dalvik. So there was an app already installed called Lollipop Safestrap, and I"m not 100% sure what that was, because it appears that Safestrap doesn't support Lollipop, but who knows? I installed it and rebooted into Safestrap, did a full backup and then wiped Dalvik. From there, it would only reboot into Safestrap or into the stock recovery. I still don't understand why. I read that Safestrap sometimes had issues rebooting from the stock rom and I tried every combination of battery pull and rebooting that I could.
This is where things went badly. It was late and I was tired and I just wanted my phone back. I thought that I read somewhere in one of the threads that if you're seeing Safestrap when you reboot, it's because you didn't flash the right kernel. I know that that wasn't the right answer, because up until then it had been rebooting fine, and I also am pretty sure that I should have just loaded the backup that I had just made onto the stock rom slot, although I had read that there's lots of issues with that. So.... I had "G900V_OK3_Stock_KERNEL_SafeStrap-Flashable.zip" on my SD card, and I thought, screw it, I'm in Safestrap, so it must be a good idea to flash that! I did, rebooted, and made it past the recovery screen, but then all that happened was the AllianceROM logo sat forever and ever. It was spinning, and I let it go for up to a half hour before I battery pulled. That's all it will do now, other than being able to boot into download mode or stock recovery.
THEN, I thought... well I'm not really sure what I thought, but what I did was ODIN G900V_OD5_Bootloader.tar.md5. I'm not really sure why I thought that would help. But no real changes, so I guess it didn't hurt.
The stock recover is OK3, and in the recovery.log that's in the backup folder, it says:
ro.boot.bootloader=G900VVRU1BOD5
ro.bootloader=G900VVRU1BOD5
ro.build.display.id=AllianceROM_VZW_V10_G900V_XXU1BOH4
ro.build.version.incremental=G900FXXU1BOH4
ro.build.description=kltexx-user 5.0 LRX21T G900FXXU1BOH4 release-keys
ro.build.fingerprint=samsung/kltexx/klte:5.0/LRX21T/G900FXXU1BOH4:user/release-keys
ro.build.PDA=G900FXXU1BOH4
ro.build.hidden_ver=G900FXXU1BOH4
I copied lastlog to the SD card that this is what it says now:
[ro.boot.bootloader]: [G900VVRU1BOD5]
[ro.bootloader]: [G900VVRU1BOD5]
[gsm.version.baseband]: [G900VVRU2BOK3]
[ril.official_cscver]: [G900VVZW2BOK3]
[ril.sw_ver]: [G900VVRU2BOK3]
[ro.build.PDA]: [G900VVRU2BOK3]
[ro.build.description]: [kltevzw-user 5.0 LRX21T G900VVRU2BOK3 release-keys]
[ro.build.display.id]: [LRX21T.G900VVRU2BOK3]
[ro.build.fingerprint]: [Verizon/kltevzw/kltevzw:5.0/LRX21T/G900VVRU2BOK3:user/release-keys]
[ro.build.hidden_ver]: [G900VVRU2BOK3]
[ro.build.version.incremental]: [G900VVRU2BOK3]
So I think that maybe I just need to somehow flash something to do with OH4 on there, since thats what was in the original recovery? But I decided that before I continue to just flash random things like it's spring break, I should stop for a second and consult with you folks and make sure that I'm on the right track. Help?

You are running a Lollipop ROM, but you couldn't have booted into SafeStrap without a KitKat kernel being flashed. The SafeStrap reboot menu by jrkruse flashes one automatically.
It's impossible to boot into a Lollipop ROM with a KitKat kernel installed, so you have to flash the SafeStrap-flashable Lollipop kernel before exiting SafeStrap.
If you can only get into stock recovery, try clearing Cache from there. That may allow you to boot. In any case, it's easy.
You can try using Odin to flash a KitKat kernel, and seeing if that lets you get back into SafeStrap. From there, flash the Lollipop kernel and try booting again.
Do not under any circumstances flash a newer bootloader than BOD.
If you absolutely can't boot, you can start over by flashing an NCG stock image with Odin, root, then upgrade the way you did before to keep root, then install SafeStrap and restore your backup. Just make sure your SafeStrap backup is on the external SDcard and not internal memory before you flash a new stock image!
It's time-consuming, but it should get you up and running.

OMG! I used ODIN and flashed the NI2 kernel and I finally got back to Safestrap!! Thank you for that!!!
Now I"m back to my initial problem, which is that on boot, it comes up with the Safestrap flash screen, I hit continue, and then the screen goes black. After about... maybe 60 seconds, it reboots on it's own and boots into stock recovery right away. If I choose Reboot System Now from the stock recovery, it starts the cycle again. Safestrap flash screen, hit continue, black screen. Obviously I've tried battery pulls from Safestrap and stock recovery, and same thing. I appear to be able to do anything I need from Safestrap, but I'm not quite sure what needs to happen. I can try installing the AllianceRom zip from the external SD? But I feel like there's an easier solution.
This is what was happening from the very beginning, and I can't figure out why, because all I did was wipe dalvik and take a backup in Safestrap. There were no other changes before that.
I do have a full backup that I made in Safestrap, but I'm on the stock ROM slot, and I read that if you try to restore a backup from the stock rom slot, it will brick.

You need to flash a lollipop kernel to boot back into lollipop. Flash this, then you'll have a directory called .1Stock_Kernel_Zip. Go in there and flash whichever lollipop kernel you want.
---------- Post added at 11:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:19 AM ----------
After you do that, I recommend @jrkruse newest modified safestrap that automatically flashes the OK3 kernel when you exit. http://forum.xda-developers.com/ver...bsfreelollipop5-0rombok3based-t3292572/page15

Stuck on Samsung logo screen after flashing bootloader!

Hey guys,
I was previously on xtresolite 2.4 lollipop rom and saw that he had a new rom out based on Marshmellow 6.01.
The instructions for the installation the new rom said to flash the new bootloader, modem and recovery before installing the new rom.
I flashed the bootloader with Odin using the BL button as instructed and how it's stuck on the Samsung Screen. I can still boot into download mode, but that's about it. It won't let me boot into recovery. Doing a bit of research it says to boot into download warning screen and cancel. Then quickly do the recovery buttons (volup, home, power), but it still won't go in.
So now I'm stuck! i'm trying to download the new stock Marshmellow firmware to see if I can install that, but aside from that I'm not sure what else I can do.
Any suggestions? Since I'm still able to use Odin, can I try to re-install the correct bootloader or is that too late? I'm not even sure which bootloader to install now. :crying::crying::crying:
Any help is much appreciated!
Thanks,
kc

as long as you can boot into the download mode, everything's alright. try flashing the latest stock rom for your model. then a new recovery, and then the new xtrestolite rom.
if something fails. do it again.... flash the latest stock rom, and so on.

Just make sure you have the correct model software for your phone and there won't be any issues. Did you backup your imei way back when you rooted on lollipop? If you did then everything will be fine if you didn't, Restore stock ROM and root, then backup your imei, hopefully you won't have any issues with your modem

Try pressing on power + vol down untill the phone shuts down then quickly press home+power+vol up before the phone starts . you will be in recovery try a factory reset then wait for the first boot. Voila !

hey all, just wanted to update. I still couldn't get into recovery, but was able to flash the stock rom and it's working as stock right now. Been using it for the past week or so and no major issues noted. I'm a bit scared to mess around again
Now that I'm on stock Marshmallow 6.0.1 rom, do I still need to try and flash the modem and boot loader for it?
Also, now that i'm on stock do I need to unroot again to install the twrp recovery? or can I just go into odin and flash it right away?
Thanks again for the help and suggestions!!!

tnimk said:
hey all, just wanted to update. I still couldn't get into recovery, but was able to flash the stock rom and it's working as stock right now. Been using it for the past week or so and no major issues noted. I'm a bit scared to mess around again
Now that I'm on stock Marshmallow 6.0.1 rom, do I still need to try and flash the modem and boot loader for it?
Also, now that i'm on stock do I need to unroot again to install the twrp recovery? or can I just go into odin and flash it right away?
Thanks again for the help and suggestions!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock rom overrides everything so your root is long gone & you now have the latest bootloader & modem already - don't stress & no need to do anything else! If you want custom recovery simply flash with latest TWRP using Odin in download mode (in tar format using AP button). Don't root with TWRP if asked to - instead download latest recovery flash-able SuperSU (ZIP) onto your device & then flash it using TWRP. This will be the safest option for you (with root if you want).
AFAIK one always uses the "AP" button if you wanna flash <anything> with Odin - not the BL button (I've never used this). The rest are for pro's only (of which I'm not one). I'm simply a regular rom flasher & read/study/compare several guides before attempting anything I've never done before with my device. If the overall feeling is not a good one, rule of thumb is I don't proceed until I feel confident enough about what I'm attempting to do.
Good luck.

On my sm-G920I
I flashed the xtresolite ROM without first flashing the bootloader and modem and it worked fine for me, if you back up everything with an otg cable onto a USB then flash the ROM everything should work fine but you will have to wait around 5 minutes for it to boot. If your still waiting after 10-20 minutes then you did something wrong and you can just wipe your entire phone then recover everything from your backup on your USB ????????