A while ago i installed an app called "Boot Animation Lite" and it just swaps the boot animation. I decided i no longer wanted it because it was slowing down my boot time. After deleting it, the animation i installed was still there. I emailed the dev about it and he said to reinstall & put the stock anim back on. I did this, and the mario-bros one i had installed was still there. So i imported a stock one, tried that, with no success. Loaded the "AndroidStock" one from the app menu, and that didnt work.
After becoming furious about it, i applied the stock, then uninstalled the app, used RootExplorer to remove the directory for this app (including the mario-bros boot) and its still F'ING mario!!!!
WTF?
This is irritating as hell, since ive swapped to TelusLite-v4 it takes my phone roughly 20 seconds to complete the boot sequence, but the Mario animation sticks around for about 2-3 minutes. So i want some help removing this, because im bout to pull my hair out over this!
If anyone knows how to restore the stock animation that would be GREAT!
See either /data/local/ or /system/media (look with RootExplorer). There you'll SURELY find a bootanimation.zip, which you can delete
awesome.
deleted both .zip files, then removed the folder as well off the SDcard & it worked.
many thanks!
ROFLMAO you had to see freaking mario for 3 minutes before booting your phone ahahahaha sorry but this made me laugh
i´m glad your problem it´s solved !
Hey there hope this is the right place for this ... Just want to report something that has happened. I am currently unable to use the G tablet stock vanilla TnT... any clue as to why this would happen? I dont really use it anyway however should this be resolved? and would it affect the tablet in the long run if not addressed? I use Launcher pro and the tablet forces itself to that when "home" force closes. I would like to try the TnT lite however am not confident about it.
Do i need to root the device before i hold the power button and vol +? to flash the new rom ( it bugs me that this is all i have to do to put in a custom rom. it seems to easy, unless it is that easy)
Will i lose all the files, PDF's, and documents that i have on it once i flash the new rom ?
As you can see im a noob to Android. Thanks for advice and guidance in advanced and patients.
Follow the instructions in the alternate gtab firmware post. It worked great for me. I would suggest installing cwm so you can back up your existing firmware.
My update would force close during download on the stock firmware. I finally got it to work by minimizing the pop up that displayed the progress. For some reason the screen would crash the download.
Your files should be there but you will lose all user settings and installed apps when you do the factory reset.
This is a common issue with stock, and TnT Lite. The user data seems to be very unstable once you upgrade to different firmware.
The "easiest" thing to do is just wipe the user data. However, if there is certain data you need to keep, I would recommend the excellent Titanium Backup. The only caveat is that the device has to be rooted, to use it.
roebeet said:
The only caveat is that the device has to be rooted, to use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And Z4root does this easily. Just install and click "root".
RyuFDAC01 said:
Hey there hope this is the right place for this ... Just want to report something that has happened. I am currently unable to use the G tablet stock vanilla TnT... any clue as to why this would happen? I dont really use it anyway however should this be resolved? and would it affect the tablet in the long run if not addressed? I use Launcher pro and the tablet forces itself to that when "home" force closes. I would like to try the TnT lite however am not confident about it.
Do i need to root the device before i hold the power button and vol +? to flash the new rom ( it bugs me that this is all i have to do to put in a custom rom. it seems to easy, unless it is that easy)
Will i lose all the files, PDF's, and documents that i have on it once i flash the new rom ?
As you can see im a noob to Android. Thanks for advice and guidance in advanced and patients.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tntlite is that easy I was surprised. Too since rooting my HTC hero a year and a half ago was so much more hands on
Hey guys.... first off thanks for the advice it worked great it was easy to do... flashed TnT lite and was excited.... i attempted to pull an app from freewareloversDOTcom and was stuck in downloading status for some time even with a good wifi signal... This is where all hell broke loose ....the file i wanted never downloaded.... then the pic gallery forced closed then the launcher forced closed and had to shut down now now its in bootloop....I attempted to power and vol + but nothing happened in fact got a triangle !.... what is needed now.....
LOL at the entire situation this was my fear..... please if someone with extreme patients can list or point to a noob friendly thread on what i need to do
i have a microSD card can that be used read somewhere that i may need that.....
I thank you guys VERY VERY MUCH appreciate this
Hey guys.... first off thanks for the advice it worked great it was easy to do... flashed TnT lite and was excited.... i attempted to pull an app from freewareloversDOTcom and was stuck in downloading status for some time even with a good wifi signal... This is where all hell broke loose ....the file i wanted never downloaded.... then the pic gallery forced closed then the launcher forced closed and had to shut down now now its in bootloop....I attempted to power and vol + but nothing happened in fact got a triangle !.... what is needed now.....
LOL at the entire situation this was my fear..... please if someone with extreme patients can list or point to a noob friendly thread on what i need to do
i have a microSD card can that be used read somewhere that i may need that.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a similar problem twice today (installed TnT Lite 2.02 and ran into boot loops). Here's how I recovered. Results may vary, so use at your own risk:
1. Download the vanilla restore from http://forum.tegratab.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16 (this is just to get the recovery\console file unless you want to manually create it).
2. Download the updated stock TnT from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9362168&postcount=35
3. Extract the "recovery" folder from gtab_full_vanilla_system_2010_11_09.zip downloaded in step 1.
4. In the recovery folder there is a file called "command" with no extension. Open this file with a text editor (eg. notepad) and edit the line so "SDCARD" says "SDCARD2" instead. Save it and ensure you do not add any extension. It should look like this:
--update_package=SDCARD2:/update.zip
5. Rename the "update-smb_a1002-2967-user.zip" from step 2 to "update.zip".
6. Copy the entire recovery folder with the edited "command" file from step 4 and the "update.zip" from step 5 to the root of your MicroSD card. It's important that the contents on the root of your MicroSD ends up with:
/update.zip
/recovery/command
7. Put the MicroSD in your gTablet.
8. Power on while holding the Volume Up button until you see a message regarding recovery.
9. You should see a graphic showing package box with a progress bar after a short time.
10. Wait until it completes and the unit will restart.
11. If all goes well, you should be back to stock TnT with the last OTA update.
If you are wondering why I just didn't use the gtab_full_vanilla_system_2010_11_09.zip downloaded in step 1, it's because it didn't help me. I initially used the same general method above with the gtab_full_vanilla_system_2010_11_09.zip downloaded in step 1, but my gTablet still continued to boot loop. After a fair amount of panicking and looking over all of the threads here, I found that gtab_full_vanilla_system_2010_11_09.zip added ClockWork Recovery so I was able to use this to copy over the update-smb_a1002-2967-user.zip to my internal SD, install it, and get my gTablet working again. When the problem happened the second time, I used the method above and it worked for me.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
dcom222 said:
I had a similar problem twice today (installed TnT Lite 2.02 and ran into boot loops). Here's how I recovered. Results may vary, so use at your own risk:
1. Download the vanilla restore from http://forum.tegratab.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16 (this is just to get the recover\console file unless you want to manually create it).
2. Download the updated stock TnT from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9362168&postcount=35
3. Extract the "recovery" folder from gtab_full_vanilla_system_2010_11_09.zip downloaded in step 1.
4. In the recovery folder there is a file called "command" with no extension. Open this file with a text editor (eg. notepad) and edit the line so "SDCARD" says "SDCARD2" instead. Save it and ensure you do not add any extension. It should look like this:
--update_package=SDCARD2:/update.zip
5. Rename the "update-smb_a1002-2967-user.zip" from step 2 to "update.zip".
6. Copy the entire recovery folder with the edited "command" file from step 4 and the "update.zip" from step 5 to the root of your MicroSD card. It's important that the contents on the root of your MicroSD ends up with:
/update.zip
/recover/command
7. Put the MicroSD in your gTablet.
8. Power on while holding the Volume Up button until you see a message regarding recovery.
9. You should see a graphic showing package box with a progress bar after a short time.
10. Wait until it completes and the unit will restart.
11. If all goes well, you should be back to stock TnT with the last OTA update.
If you are wondering why I just didn't use the gtab_full_vanilla_system_2010_11_09.zip downloaded in step 1, it's because it didn't help me. I initially used the same general method above with the gtab_full_vanilla_system_2010_11_09.zip downloaded in step 1, but my gTablet still continued to boot loop. After a fair amount of panicking and looking over all of the threads here, I found that gtab_full_vanilla_system_2010_11_09.zip added ClockWork Recovery so I was able to use this to copy over the update-smb_a1002-2967-user.zip to my internal SD, install it, and get my gTablet working again. When the problem happened the second time, I used the method above and it worked for me.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude thank you so much for your effort in this !!!!! gonna try this as soon as i put my baby to sleep.... will let you know if this worked for me
dcom222 said:
I had a similar problem twice today (installed TnT Lite 2.02 and ran into boot loops). Here's how I recovered. Results may vary, so use at your own risk:
1. Download the vanilla restore from http://forum.tegratab.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16 (this is just to get the recover\console file unless you want to manually create it).
2. Download the updated stock TnT from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9362168&postcount=35
3. Extract the "recovery" folder from gtab_full_vanilla_system_2010_11_09.zip downloaded in step 1.
4. In the recovery folder there is a file called "command" with no extension. Open this file with a text editor (eg. notepad) and edit the line so "SDCARD" says "SDCARD2" instead. Save it and ensure you do not add any extension. It should look like this:
--update_package=SDCARD2:/update.zip
5. Rename the "update-smb_a1002-2967-user.zip" from step 2 to "update.zip".
6. Copy the entire recovery folder with the edited "command" file from step 4 and the "update.zip" from step 5 to the root of your MicroSD card. It's important that the contents on the root of your MicroSD ends up with:
/update.zip
/recover/command
7. Put the MicroSD in your gTablet.
8. Power on while holding the Volume Up button until you see a message regarding recovery.
9. You should see a graphic showing package box with a progress bar after a short time.
10. Wait until it completes and the unit will restart.
11. If all goes well, you should be back to stock TnT with the last OTA update.
If you are wondering why I just didn't use the gtab_full_vanilla_system_2010_11_09.zip downloaded in step 1, it's because it didn't help me. I initially used the same general method above with the gtab_full_vanilla_system_2010_11_09.zip downloaded in step 1, but my gTablet still continued to boot loop. After a fair amount of panicking and looking over all of the threads here, I found that gtab_full_vanilla_system_2010_11_09.zip added ClockWork Recovery so I was able to use this to copy over the update-smb_a1002-2967-user.zip to my internal SD, install it, and get my gTablet working again. When the problem happened the second time, I used the method above and it worked for me.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mind if I steal these directions? It's more detailed than the one I wrote up on my TnT Lite post. I'd like to post it there (specifically the command file, as some people have issues understanding the "SDCARD2" change).
And thanks for posting your experiences to help the other users here!
roebeet said:
You mind if I steal these directions? It's more detailed than the one I wrote up on my TnT Lite post. I'd like to post it there (specifically the command file, as some people have issues understanding the "SDCARD2" change).
And thanks for posting your experiences to help the other users here!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please do if they look to be correct. Hopefully we'll see confirmation that these instructions work.
I appreciate all your work on the gTablet!
dcom222 said:
Please do if they look to be correct. Hopefully we'll see confirmation that these instructions work.
I appreciate all your work on the gTablet!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here Roebeet thanks for your work...dcomm222 thanks again... So I tried to only install the TnTlite 2.0 from the microsd card, it read it, looked to have loaded it, and it went right into the bootloop again.... I really want TnT lite ......
so now i am going to try your method... fingers crossed
RyuFDAC01 said:
Same here Roebeet thanks for your work...dcomm222 thanks again... So I tried to only install the TnTlite 2.0 from the microsd card, it read it, looked to have loaded it, and it went right into the bootloop again.... I really want TnT lite ......
so now i am going to try your method... fingers crossed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had no luck trying to re-flash to 2.0X once I got in the boot loop - I couldn't get past it no matter what until I went back to stock. Once I was back at stock I could re-flash to 2.0X from the internal SD. I'm still trying to figure out what's getting me in the boot loop - everything seems to work great for a while.
Good luck!
dcom222 said:
I had no luck trying to re-flash to 2.0X once I got in the boot loop - I couldn't get past it no matter what until I went back to stock. Once I was back at stock I could re-flash to 2.0X from the internal SD. I'm still trying to figure out what's getting me in the boot loop - everything seems to work great for a while.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GOT IT BACK!!!! geez man I was full on panic mode
have you flashed back to TnT lite back yet and how long does it last? Damn i am so tempted to go back im thinking it has something to do with what we attempted to load on the tablet ... i dont know just looking for a reason to Flash ....can this constant recovery flash do any damage to the tablet? I would like to try other Roms but dont want to mess my tablet up..
BTW i got this EUL when it rebooted especially sections 4.1 and 4.2 wtf!!! sorry about that but that is how i felt
Thanks again guys!!!!
RyuFDAC01 said:
GOT IT BACK!!!! geez man I was full on panic mode
have you flashed back to TnT lite back yet and how long does it last? Damn i am so tempted to go back im thinking it has something to do with what we attempted to load on the tablet ... i dont know just looking for a reason to Flash ....can this constant recovery flash do any damage to the tablet? I would like to try other Roms but dont want to mess my tablet up..
BTW i got this EUL when it rebooted especially sections 4.1 and 4.2 wtf!!! sorry about that but that is how i felt
Thanks again guys!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I remember correctly, the stock firmware with the OTA update will prompt you to accept a license and prompt to set the time, etc....
I just flashed the TnT 2.02 again. So far it seems OK, however it did the first 2 times I did it as well. I followed all of the instructions at "forum.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?p=442691#post442691" except I substituted using roeboot's TnT. Once I did it I had everything working (flash, market, etc...). Both times the boot loop happened when I tried to install or uninstall something, and both times were after a few hours of use. I tried a third time and almost instantly got into a boot loop, but I think I got ahead of myself in that try and did some things out of order. The good thing is that I was able to recover each time.
Out of curiosity, did your tablet come with a gray or green cloth to clean the screen? The reason I ask is that I thought I had seen somewhere that this might be an indication of a difference in gTablets.
The EULA shows up with a new stock firmware - and yeah 4.1 / 4.2 kinda bugged me too. I never selected "I Agree" - fark that.
As for the boot loops, it seems that we still can't pin it down - maybe it's just random, I don't know.
Hi,
I was stuck after bootlooping using Cyanmod, then flashing NVflash still didnt fix the issue, this fix did it for me. Thanks for getting me back up & running. I will give another shot at using cyanmod now that I have all the files needed to get me back.
BTW< I have a green cloth. What does that mean?
Thanks,
Rich
dcom222 said:
If I remember correctly, the stock firmware with the OTA update will prompt you to accept a license and prompt to set the time, etc....
Out of curiosity, did your tablet come with a gray or green cloth to clean the screen? The reason I ask is that I thought I had seen somewhere that this might be an indication of a difference in gTablets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My tab came with a grey cloth... funny thing though I got mine on the second wave of shipments to sears... I NEVER had any issues with the time i just set it and it kept the time... I remembered that when these first came out that was a problem... i thought mine was diff because i never had any issues with time reseting itself... anyway Thanks again dude for your help hope i could play this forward to someone more noobier than me
Roebeet looking forward to your TnT lites...
dcom222 said:
After a fair amount of panicking and looking over all of the threads here, I found that gtab_full_vanilla_system_2010_11_09.zip added ClockWork Recovery so I was able to use this to copy over the update-smb_a1002-2967-user.zip to my internal SD, install it, and get my gTablet working again. When the problem happened the second time, I used the method above and it worked for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I now have clockwork recovery installed... How do i copy the update.zip from external microsd to internal microsd... mounting sd-ext gives an error..
E:Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
(No such file or directory)
Error mounting SDEXT:!
Frustration levels are high with this device!!
Thanks!
a "me too" reboot problem
I was able to install TNT Lite 2.0, then 2.11. I got Clockwork Recovery installed as well.
The market would start, but if I did a search for obvious things like "Kindle", the market would give an error that it didn't exist in the market. Thinking it was the error situation described here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=845175
I applied those instructions, and rebooted.
Upon reboot, it ended up in a continual reboot loop.
Trying to do the start with volume+power, it brings up Clockwork Recovery, and when told to wipe data/factory reset, it stays in the reboot loop. When told to apply sdcard's update.zip, it looks only at the one on the internal sdcard, which is for CWR, and goes back into the loop.
At that point I setup a microSD with the information from this post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9439414&postcount=7
including changing the line from sdcard to sdcard2. Again it doesn't recognize that the internal sdcard2 is plugged in, and attempts to mount it with CWR (mount /sd-ext) yields the error:
E:Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
(No such file or directory)
Error mounting SDEXT:!
So, unfortunately I'm at an impasse, like the previous poster. I just bought the tablet a couple of days ago, so I'm far from expert at tweaking it into working.
Any suggestions on what to do, are greatly appreciated.
PS - Bought the gtablet from Office Depot, and received a green cloth.
Boot into clockwork recovery and go to advanced and format SD, use the 2gb and 512mb I believe, then flash TNT or another rom. That fixed my boot loop.
So I have a port that I am working on (different one from rom problems thread)
It is JB 4.1.2, based on bilgerryans JellyBelly-Omega, no GApps were flashed on it yet
The problem:
The phone seems to boot fine until it gets to the boot animation. From there, it just keeps playing over and over and never actually gets past it.
Any ideas?
Post a logcat, there are an infinite amount of things that can cause it to boot loop.
---------- Post added at 03:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:16 AM ----------
Also don't get discouraged or be afraid of logcats like some people get. They get easy to grasp once you have to do the same things a couple times.
The 3 most common I come across are
1. Unsatisfied linker error or failed to load library xxx
- these are missing libs you need to copy from the port to your rom
2. Missing class or call to undefined class
- These are missing smali files, usually within framework.jar or services.jar... and some times android.policy... googling the missing class will tell you exactly where
3. Missing method or function call
- Similar to above except instead of whole smali files they are methods within a smali.. so for example if it said missing com/android/server/Paint.dosomething
You would decompile framework of both the base and port, navigate to com/android/server of both and open of the Paint.smali file from each in text editors
Look for the 'method dosomething()' from your base file and copy it into the one of the port.
I mean those aren't the only ones, but are the most common errors
Logcat right here > http://pastebin.com/KNpfghJA
Wait...don't reply just yet, I think I know what the problem might be...
Well I'm about to go to bed so I'm going to post what I know about that error, so don't scroll down until you're ready....lol
A 'native' method is a method that will only have a stub defined in the smali file, basically an empty method with no code. The actual funtionality of the method is defined within a library(.so) file. I would guess by that error that either the stub isn't defined in the smali OR it IS defined in the smali but it is not compiled into the library. So if the stub of the native method is in the smalie then you would usually need to replace the lib in your rom witth the one from the port, BUT I think this method is defined in the libandroid_runtime and our device doesn't play well with the runtimes of other devices.
Haha yes, I realized that I had forgotten to copy those libs over!
But then after copying them over it boots up, no boot animation shows, and then reboot
I'm trying to see if I can get the same rom (but from the LG Optimus Black this time) to boot right
CNexus said:
Haha yes, I realized that I had forgotten to copy those libs over!
But then after copying them over it boots up, no boot animation shows, and then reboot
I'm trying to see if I can get the same rom (but from the LG Optimus Black this time) to boot right
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you let it go through after reboot? It happens in JB on the Shift, as long as it doesn't continuously reboot it may actually boot. I've had it reboot three times and finally finish booting... For some reason it does that when it is building the dalvik cache.
bilgerryan said:
Did you let it go through after reboot? It happens in JB on the Shift, as long as it doesn't continuously reboot it may actually boot. I've had it reboot three times and finally finish booting... For sine reason it does that when it is building the dalvik cache.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1. I let it bootloop at least 3 times before pulling the battery. Another thing I've done for the first boot is to watch the logcat on my pc as it boots. It's too fast to see anything specific but you'll be able to see where it gets stuck and starts over.
Yup, I let it sit for the entire time while I was porting from the Optimus Black and it kept bootlooping
Sent from my PG06100
Hello!
Last week, I flashed CM13 nightlies from cyanogenmod.org onto my OPO, set everything up and everything was working just beautifully. Today, I was looking for a way to add the 12s camera app to my phone and came across a tutorial which told me to download an APK and replace /system/lib with a folder they provided. Immediately after replacing the lib, my screen went black. I waited for a couple of minutes and then decided to force reboot. From there it just went into a bootloop.
Now I'm agonizing of going through all of the flashing and setting up the phone all over again (several hours of work) and I was thinking if it would be possible to access the internal memory of the phone on my computer and then replace the lib file with the original? Provided someone could point me to the direction where I could acquire it I'm pretty noob at this stuff so go easy on me :silly:
EDIT: And to clarify I am able to access TWRP so the phone is not bricked
EDIT2: Even though the phone is now off, I can access the internal storage of the phone from my computer, however I can't access system folders, only /sdcard
Nevermind, got impatient and flashed again
I am writing a thorough step-by-step of what I did since something I did along the way may be important for someone helping out to know. Sorry for the length, but I prefer to be thorough instead of wasting people's time with a lot of back-and-forth questions from not being clear in the initial post.
Current ROM: Team Octos OCT-L-WEEKLY-20151219-0359-d2vzw (Dec 19th 2015)
Current OpenGApps: open_gapps-arm-5.1-stock-20151219
Current Modem: d2vzw_VRBMF1_firmware
FYI, I keep the builds for any ROMs or packages I install-as well as the one I had previous to the one I am currently running- on my phone's external SD card so I can keep them organized and have them on-hand to revert back in case of problems.
The situation
1. After numerous crashes and freezes recently, I thought to get the newest stable release of my current ROM to hopefully remove these issues. The latest stable build is from 25 March. Using my phone, I went onto their homepage and downloaded the latest build. Or so I thought.
2. I rebooted into TWRP to install the new ZIP, wipe cache and dalvik, fix permissions, and reboot to system. During the reboot, the animation was different. I've seen builds change animations without it being a new Android version, so I didn't think much of it.
3. After it finished booting to the home screen, my phone buzzed every 2-3 seconds because Google Play Services kept crashing continually. It was 1am at this point and I had seen very similar Google Play Services issues many times before so I knew it would be a time-consuming fix that I didn't have time for. So I pulled the battery and left it for the morning before work.
4. The next morning I went to the Team Octos homepage using my laptop and that's when it hit me- their homepage shows the download links for their newest Android Marshmallow ROM, NOT Android L like I had expected (L is now hidden under a new submenu on their site). So I had mistakenly installed M and caused these Google Play issues. That's my own fault, having missed that one letter that was different in the file name because I was browsing using my phone instead of my laptop, like I have always done before.
5. Thankfully, I have the previous L rom in my SD card. So I booted into TWRP and tried installing that ZIP, wiping cache, dalvik and fixing permissions before booting to system. All I got was an infinite bootloop, never even getting to the home screen.
6. Then I got progressively deeper- I reinstalled the L ROM and the OpenGApps package I had originally installed with the build. With every install and reboot, I cleared the cache, dalvik and fixed permissions as well. Still nothing but a boot loop.
7. Next time in TWRP, I went to Wipe > Advanced Wipe > and wiped cache, dalvik AND system (not "Data"). Fixed permissions, reboot. Same bootloop.
8. Next time, I did the above and repaired the file system. Operation was successful, still the same endless boot loop.
9. Next time in TWRP, Restore > restored package from May 31 2015 (farther back than the ROM). This time the phone DID boot to the lock screen, but as soon as the phone is unlocked, I get the following crashes in succession every time I clicked "OK" to dismiss each:
Unfortunately the process android.process.acore has stopped
Unfortunately Themes provider has stopped
Unfortunately the process android.process.acore has stopped
Unfortunately the process android.process.acore has stopped
After the last "OK", the phone restarts and get to lockscreen, unlocks, has the same four crashes, reboots again. By the way, the home screen isn't the home screen- the background is the "welcome to android! Select your language" screen.
And that's where I am now.
---------------
IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. My phone's charging port hasn't been able to securely hold the MicroUSB cable for over a year now, so I CANNOT connect my phone to anything, whether to my computer or a wall charger. All I do is switch out batteries (I have three) whenever my phone is near death. So hardwiring through ODIN, ADB, etc is impossible. I use AirDroid to transfer files over wifi if needed. At this point I can only manipulate files or data using TWRP. Also, the boot process is limited by how long my battery lasts- about an hour or two depending on how hot the phone gets.
2. I CAN take out my MicroSD card and put it into my laptop using a MicroSD to SD adapter. That's ONE way I can put a newer ROM version onto my phone to use through TWRP that way, if needed.
3. I know from copious reading online that this acore process crash can often be fixed by deleting the Contacts cache, or the cache for other apps. Obviously I cannot do that since I can't get past the unlocking of the phone to access any apps since it would require me to set up Android before getting to any phone data outside of TWRP.
4. I want to avoid a factory reset since there is quite a bit of data that is not cloud-synced on my phone that I don't want to lose.
5. Although this is a great excuse to buy a new phone, I'd prefer to at least get this working so I'm not forced to do that and can still recover the data on my S3 first, making that jump on my own timetable instead of being forced to do it in a rush.
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Yes, I know, it's my own fault for mistakenly loading M instead of L without the proper prep. I've jumped from different Android versions before but I did it intentionally and correctly all those times so I know how it's supposed to be done. No need to remind me of how much of a facepalm I caused myself.
The only idea I have now is to attempt to put a new/updated/different ROM version onto my microSD card by putting it onto my laptop first, transferring files and then putting it back into my phone so TWRP can access those files for installation. But I'd rather wait and hear if this is even a good idea before proceeding- I don't want to dig myself into a deeper hole and I'd rather ask for advice.
ANY help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!