Database Info

[Q] Cannot upgrade from Cyanogenmod 7.0.3 to 7.1: Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk01

Hello,
First I'd like to tell that I've already searched the forum using Google for my problem, but I'm really new to Android and almost all posts are using lots of acronyms that I don't understand. Eventually I found myself with so many tabs opened in my browser that I almost lost what I was looking for at first.
I have a rooted (with Unrevoked) HTC Desire (Clockworkmod Recovery is in place), on which I managed to install Cyangenmod 7.0.3 a few months ago. I can't recall how I get to this result unfortunately. At the time, I only remember that I fiddled a lot because although there are plenty of howtos for many different things, they look all different and/or specific to one device, and the newbie user is not warned about the potential differences he could face.
Now I would like to upgrade to Cyanogenmod 7.1 (for bug fixes) and install DarkTremor App2SD (because I've created an ext4 partition long ago on my SD-card, naively thinkg it would be used, but it stays desperately empty; and the phone internal memory is almost full despite my strenuous attempts to move as much apps as possible to the SD card using, as far as I can tell, CyanogenMod's Apps2SD).
I stumbled on a nice video explaining "how to upgrade Cyanogenmod 7" (search this exact string on Youtube): basically, it uses ROM Manager to install the new Cyanogenmod without wiping (this is probably something that the ROM supports between minor versions). As I understand it, I should be able to use this method to install DarkTremor App2SD as well.
So I've download the Cyanogenmod 7.1 zip file and even copied in as "update.zip" in the root of my FAT32 partition of my SD card. Unfortunately, Clockwordmod Recovery spits the following message:
Code:
Waiting for SD Card to mount (12s)
E: Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0 (or /dev/block/mmcblk0p1)
(Invalid Argument)
Waiting for SD Card to mount (11s)
E: Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0 (or /dev/block/mmcblk0p1)
(Invalid Argument)
[...]
Timed out waiting for SD Card...
and then goes back to the recovery menu.
My SD card is partitioned with the following scheme (output is from Linux parted on /dev/sdb, which is accessed through an USB cable with USB storage activated on the phone):
Code:
(parted) p
Model: HTC Desire (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 16.0GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Number Start End Size Type File system Flags
1 16.4kB 67.1MB 67.1MB primary
2 67.1MB 537MB 470MB primary ext4
3 537MB 16.0GB 15.5GB primary fat32 lba
As you can see, the first partition is a swap partition (not sure it has been ever used though), the second one in my ext4 partition where I want to move my apps and the third one in the FAT32 partition which contains update.zip.
Thus my understanding it that /dev/block/mmcblk0(p1) points at best to the swap partition. Am I correct?
I could use another temporary SD card to perform the update, but this is unwieldy and given this partitioning scheme looks pretty common among the Android community, I wonder there's an easier way and/or if I missed something.
Please, avoid "me too" replies . And you would be nice if you avoided using acronyms as much as possible when replying (or at least, give a definition upon first use).
Thanks a lot for your help.
Cheers,
-- Tatazou

tatazou said:
Hello,
My SD card is partitioned with the following scheme (output is from Linux parted on /dev/sdb, which is accessed through an USB cable with USB storage activated on the phone):
Code:
(parted) p
Model: HTC Desire (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 16.0GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Number Start End Size Type File system Flags
1 16.4kB 67.1MB 67.1MB primary
2 67.1MB 537MB 470MB primary ext4
3 537MB 16.0GB 15.5GB primary fat32 lba
As you can see, the first partition is a swap partition (not sure it has been ever used though), the second one in my ext4 partition where I want to move my apps and the third one in the FAT32 partition which contains update.zip.
Thus my understanding it that /dev/block/mmcblk0(p1) points at best to the swap partition. Am I correct?
-- Tatazou
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I got this more or less confirmed: I got into the phone with "adb shell" and checked /proc/partitions:
Code:
major minor #blocks name
31 0 640 mtdblock0
31 1 5120 mtdblock1
31 2 2560 mtdblock2
31 3 256000 mtdblock3
31 4 40960 mtdblock4
31 5 151168 mtdblock5
179 0 15637504 mmcblk0
179 1 65520 mmcblk0p1
179 2 458752 mmcblk0p2
179 3 15113216 mmcblk0p3
Apart from the internal storage, you can see the mmcblk0 device and its partitions whose sizes match the parted output above.

Boot loop Unresolvable? Hardware problem?

Hey all, new to xda. Hope I'm not asking stupid questions.
My friend gave me a Galaxy S to fix. Model: GT-I9003.
It has a boot loop problem, cycling the Samsung introduction animation (and sound first time round). The recovery mode didn't work to start with - also trapped in a boot loop.
I followed the instructions here (using Odin3 v1.85) and flashed XXKPE. It seemed to all work fine, but the boot loop remained. I booted it into recovery mode and the following error messages appear.
E:failed to mount /data (No such file or directory)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and under -- Wiping data...
E:format_volume: rfs format failed on /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
then
Data wipe failed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From my research I believe it's a corrupted internal SD-Card and is fixed via parted? Could anyone go into more detail on how I would do this?
Many thanks.

I am facing a similar problem on my Galaxy SL... Need a solution too... I would appreciate any help...

Data partition has been corrupted, try flashing userdata.rfs with heimdall. A friend of mine had an stock/untouched phone and this happened to it, even with the corrupted partition i was able to boot cyanogenmod, and tried a lot of things, but nothing worked, it was on warranty, so i flashed back the original firmware and he took it to the service center.

If you want to try do this:
Flash bam kernel PDA_BCK_CF-root_universal_beta14fix.tar (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1355675)
Then from CWM flash cyanogenmod (i used cm7, but you can try with cm9)
after that the phone should boot into cyanogemod and give an error on the notification bar
extract the 6 files off the zip i attached and copy them to /xbin
from terminal emulator or adb shell run this for the 6 files:
Code:
chmod 0755 <file>
then run:
Code:
parted /dev/block/mmcblk0 mkfs ext2
When it asks for the partition number, enter 3
finally reboot, and if it worked you can flash a stock rom again, thats it, good luck

My phone boots up, but there are random reboots. Tried a lot of stock and custom ROMs... Nothing works... Warranty expired last week...

Thanks for your time. I appreciate it.

bruisedcrow said:
Thanks for your time. I appreciate it.
Sorry, I'm very new at this - my first hour doing this kind of thing. Could you explain the procedure in more detail - I would like to learn (make the best of a bad situation).
Am I right to say that the Bam Custom Kernel gives super-root level privileges? Allowing the CWM to fiddle with partions?
I've downloaded the normalboot.img for BCK. How do I flash this to my device? Could you link me to a tutorial?
EDIT: Alternatively could you point me to all the prerequisites I need to properly understand the problem and the methods required to fix it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried that... My phone was booting up...
I have Android SDK on my PC... It includes some tools like ADB.
If your phone is rooted, you can use ADB to do things, like formatting...
Connected my phone. Booted into recovery. From Command Prompt, I went to ADB folder, then typed "adb shell". Then, typed in the parted command, and followed steps. Successfully done...
But the problem continues...
I have found many other users have faced this problem -- http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1736118
I am disappointed. My phone is no longer in warranty... I am too late...

it is possible that using cyanogenmod and S2E (simple2ext) will work as a workaround until you send it to service center.
grab a copy of s2e and push it to /system/app/
Repartition your External-SD using the same method used for phones with low storage capacity, warning: it will erase all the data in it, so make backups
Start s2e and mark to move:
App and Private app
Applications data
Dalvik and download cache
This makes another partition, and it does not fix data, but at least you should be able to install apps.

I face this problem too. Please someone give us the solution.

Update: I flashed BAM Custom Kernel and put it in recovery mode. Attached it to the computer, but I'm stuck at this error message.
Thanks again.

More information
EDIT: There doesn't seem to be a /data partition at all! I feel I'm getting closer to fixing this.

There are 2 storages chips on this phone, one is mmc and the other is onenand.
I think the mmc chip is dead... it contains both /data and internal-SD, the onenand still works, it contains (system cache and dbdata), you can still use the phone with cyanogenmod if you mount everything that should go on /data on a partition in the external-SD, (the method i described with s2e). However there are some drawbacks, the SD needs to be class 6 or above to maintain the system speed, and the life of the sd is going to be reduced because of the more intensive use.

alfrix said:
There are 2 storages chips on this phone, one is mmc and the other is onenand.
I think the mmc chip is dead... it contains both /data and internal-SD, the onenand still works, it contains (system cache and dbdata), you can still use the phone with cyanogenmod if you mount everything that should go on /data on a partition in the external-SD, (the method i described with s2e). However there are some drawbacks, the SD needs to be class 6 or above to maintain the system speed, and the life of the sd is going to be reduced because of the more intensive use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Is there a way to replace the mmc chip without sending it to Samsung?
I've flashed XXFPE then Bam Custom Kernel then when I try install cm7 from CWM it gives:
Checking state of RFS/EXT4...
assert failed: run_program("/tmp/updater.sh") == 0
E: Error in /emmc/update-cm-7.1.0-GalaxySL-Kang-singed.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted.
Trying with MIUI instead.
EDIT: MIUI does this too.
How do I get around this? Can't I flash cm7 via Odin like the stock roms?

bruisedcrow said:
Thanks. Is there a way to replace the mmc chip without sending it to Samsung?
I've flashed XXFPE then Bam Custom Kernel then when I try install cm7 from CWM it gives:
Checking state of RFS/EXT4...
assert failed: run_program("/tmp/updater.sh") == 0
E: Error in /emmc/update-cm-7.1.0-GalaxySL-Kang-singed.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted.
Trying with MIUI instead.
EDIT: MIUI does this too.
How do I get around this? Can't I flash cm7 via Odin like the stock roms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that the problem is when /tmp/updater.sh tries to mount /emmc your internal memory (EDIT: I've just noticed you tried with CM7, so, if I remember correctly, /emmc is the external memory, but I think that the problem is always the impossibility to mount the internal memory.) to backup your /efs directory. Because of the not avaible internal memory (/emmc) it simply exits and aborts the installation.
A simple change in updater.sh will allow you to install CyanogenMod, but wait for a confirmation from alfrix, maybe there's something more.
Anyway here there's a thread of a user with the same problem, he solved this by using the external SD as internal SD, as alfrix suggested.

strange, before touching anything try with the release i used that time (14.12.2011), if it doesn't work, then edit the updater.sh and remove
Code:
if ! /tmp/busybox mount -t ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p3 /data ; then
/tmp/busybox umount /data
/tmp/make_ext4fs -b 4096 -g 32768 -i 8192 -I 256 -a /data /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
fi
EDIT: is there any mmcblk on /dev/block?
Code:
ls /dev/block/

Weird the has mmcblk0 reappeared.
Code:
~ # ls /dev/block
ls /dev/block
bml0!c bml6 loop6 ram13 ram9 stl6 tfsr2
bml1 bml7 loop7 ram14 stl1 stl7 tfsr3
bml10 bml8 mmcblk0 ram15 stl10 stl8 tfsr4
bml11 bml9 mmcblk0p1 ram2 stl11 stl9 tfsr5
bml12 loop0 platform ram3 stl12 tfsr0!c tfsr6
bml13 loop1 ram0 ram4 stl13 tfsr1 tfsr7
bml2 loop2 ram1 ram5 stl2 tfsr10 tfsr8
bml3 loop3 ram10 ram6 stl3 tfsr11 tfsr9
bml4 loop4 ram11 ram7 stl4 tfsr12
bml5 loop5 ram12 ram8 stl5 tfsr13
So I tried
Code:
C:\Users\Bruised>adb shell
~ # /sbin/parted /dev/block/mmcblk0 mkfs ext2
/sbin/parted /dev/block/mmcblk0 mkfs ext2
Warning: The existing file system will be destroyed and all data on the
partition will be lost. Do you want to continue?
/sbin/parted: invalid token: ext2
Yes/No? y
y
y
Partition number? 3
3
3
Error: Partition doesn't exist.
~ #

That mmcblk is you externalSD its 0 because the internal is missing/broken and it has only 1 partition, because you didn't do the Repartition yet.
Sent from my GT-I9003 using xda app-developers app

alfrix said:
That mmcblk is you externalSD its 0 because the internal is missing/broken and it has only 1 partition, because you didn't do the Repartition yet.
Sent from my GT-I9003 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What should I try next? 14.12.2011 download link is down.

try with this:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/5013311/test_for_broken_mmc_cm-9-20120626-UNOFFICIAL-galaxysl.zip

alfrix said:
try with this:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/5013311/test_for_broken_mmc_cm-9-20120626-UNOFFICIAL-galaxysl.zip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It installs it.
Code:
Checking state of RFS/EXT4...
Install from sdcard complete.
After I reboot CM9 boot screen loads then I get "Encryption unsuccessful" as shown here
After rebooting I get
Code:
CWM-based Recovery v5.5.0.4
Formatting /data...
E:format_volume: make_extf4fs failed on /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
Formatting /cache...
Data wipe failed.
Heres the log file from the sdcard:
Code:
+ /tmp/busybox test -e /sdcard/backup/efs/nv_data.bin
+ /tmp/busybox mount -t ext4 /dev/block/stl9 /system
+ /tmp/busybox mount -t ext4 /dev/block/stl10 /dbdata
+ /tmp/busybox mount -t ext4 /dev/block/stl11 /cache
+ /tmp/busybox umount -l /system
+ /tmp/busybox umount -l /cache
+ /tmp/busybox umount -l /data
umount: can't forcibly umount /data: Invalid argument
+ /tmp/busybox umount -l /dbdata
+ /tmp/busybox umount -l /efs
umount: can't forcibly umount /efs: Invalid argument
+ exit 0

[GUIDE][Xiaomi Mi-One] Changing size of /system partitions

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for bricked devices, dead SD cards, thermonuclear war, or anything else. YOU doing this at your own risk.
This guide is taken from 4pda.ru forums and tested on my own device.
I strongly recommend you to make Nandroid backup with CWM Recovery v6.0.3.0 so after repartitioning ALL DATA (/system, /system1, /data, /cache) WILL BE ERASED.
1. Connect you phone to PC via USB. (USB debugging must be turned on)
2. Install MiFlash. Remember installation path. It will install drivers for "Android Composite ADB Device". If there's still one "Android" device without drivers - just ignore.
3. Run Command Prompt (cmd) and go to the %FOLDER_WHERE_YOU_INSTALLED_MIFLASH%\Google\Android (For me it was C:\Program Files (x86)\Xiaomi\MiPhone\Google\Android)
4. Type adb devices and press enter. It should start adb daemon and show your device with status offline. Check phone for dialog and allow USB debug from your computer.
5. Type adb devices again. Now it should show your phone with status device. Close Command Prompt.
6. Download and unpack to any folder attached archive tadb.zip
7. Run tadb shell.bat. If everything fine it will show something like "[email protected]:/ $"
9. Type su and press enter. If requested allow root access on phone.
10. Now enter busybox fdisk /dev/block/mmcblk0 to start repartiotioning program (All changes are virtual until written)
11. Delete all partitions from 20 to 15 inclusive. For this enter d, enter 20, enter d, enter 19 till 15th partition.
After this enter p. Your partition table must be like this
Code:
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/block/mmcblk0p1 1 12801 102400 c Win95 FAT32 (LBA)
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p2 * 12801 12863 500 4d Unknown
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p3 12863 13051 1500 51 Unknown
Partition 3 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p4 13051 488448 3803183+ 5 Extended
Partition 4 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p5 13052 13114 500 47 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p6 13114 13370 2048 45 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p7 13370 13683 2500 4c Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p8 13683 14963 10240 48 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p9 14963 16243 10240 64 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p10 16243 16305 500 46 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p11 16305 16368 500 65 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p12 16385 16768 3072 4a Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p13 16769 17152 3072 4b Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p14 20481 20864 3072 58 Unknown
12. Recreate needed partitions table. Press n, enter start block, end block. You can use attached partitions.xls to calculate needed values. Also You can change size of system partitions in this file as you wish (Make them 384Mb for example). Values will be recalculated.
13. Now we must return System type for 17th block (recovery). Enter t, enter 17, enter 60. After this operation your partiotion table will be like this (If you left 256Mb):
Code:
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/block/mmcblk0p1 1 12801 102400 c Win95 FAT32 (LBA)
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p2 * 12801 12863 500 4d Unknown
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p3 12863 13051 1500 51 Unknown
Partition 3 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p4 13051 488448 3803183+ 5 Extended
Partition 4 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p5 13052 13114 500 47 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p6 13114 13370 2048 45 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p7 13370 13683 2500 4c Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p8 13683 14963 10240 48 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p9 14963 16243 10240 64 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p10 16243 16305 500 46 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p11 16305 16368 500 65 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p12 16385 16768 3072 4a Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p13 16769 17152 3072 4b Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p14 20481 20864 3072 58 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p15 20866 53633 262144 83 Linux
/dev/block/mmcblk0p16 53635 86402 262144 83 Linux
/dev/block/mmcblk0p17 86404 87683 10240 60 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p18 87685 88708 8192 83 Linux
/dev/block/mmcblk0p19 88710 111749 184320 83 Linux
/dev/block/mmcblk0p20 111751 488448 3013584 83 Linux
14. Time to save changes. If you not sure, you can just enter q to leave without saving changes. Enter w to write new partition table. Program will show error about using old partition table - that's normal. After you reboot phone - changes will be applied, so it will not load anything except fastboot.
15. Load phone in fastboot mode (Power + Volume Down + Mi-Button), go to folder with tadb and run flash_recovery.bat. It will flash CWM 6.0.3.0 to your device.
16. Go to mounts & storage menu and format /cache, /system, /system1 and /data
17. Now you can restore your nandroid backup.
NOTE: All operations been made on Windows 7 32-bit and Xiaomi Mi-One Plus with MIUIv5 3.7.19

Waiting for move to right forum section. Report sent.

What is the point to do all these? Are some benefits from this change?

dancer_69 said:
What is the point to do all these? Are some benefits from this change?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some custom ROMS (MoKee OS for example) have very few free space in /system after installation. Not enough even to flash GApps.

Yes, I know about that but there is already a tool for repartition. I thought that this was more than that. It' s nice that you can customise the size though. But isn't dangerous? I'm saying this because I've hard break my device twice using gparted. I had a full linux backup of device though so I recovered it but was the only way to do it. I succeed once though.

What's the name of the repartition tool? I'm caught in a wicked cloning loop that duplicates my partitions periodically and I haven't tracked down the cause. Ota JB Feb. 1st is the day it started. Thanks
A Charge of $17.99 Was Applied To Your Mobile Account For Browbeating The Author's Questions. Albeit, Most Likely a Foolish, Ignorant, Uneducated Compilation of Useless Quibble. But He Is Less Than 1 Year With Me and Is Bashing Adb, Scripting, Rooting, Romming Like a Red Headed Stepchild With No Thumbs, Herpes Type 4.2.2. Flashaholicism! Give My Poor TTS Owner A Hand Would ya? Sent From His Overclocked Porn Providing ClapaTalk Razr Maxx Xt-912.

I mean Genocolar' s and Forumber' s update zips for repartition.

dancer_69 said:
I mean Genocolar' s and Forumber' s update zips for repartition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you give links to them?

Here is the topic:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1112857&highlight=partition
As for Forumber' s modified way to larger /system, search on U8800 developing section, it' s in a lot roms threads.

just a note:
On M1S phones the last END block is 477184 and not 488448 like M1+ and M1 C1
all is equal except that
So M1S users take in mind when repartitioning your phones.

ehrans said:
just a note:
On M1S phones the last END block is 477184 and not 488448 like M1+ and M1 C1
all is equal except that
So M1S users take in mind when repartitioning your phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, when creating last partition (/data) you can just hit Enter when prompted for last END block to use Default value. I think tadb automatically will use 477184 instead of 488448 for M1S. Not sure.

i dont know if this its related but here it seems that there are a easier method to change the size
the author have it set on 280mb but it could be increased
link: miui.es/index.php/topic,7965.0.html

eilegz said:
i dont know if this its related but here it seems that there are a easier method to change the size
the author have it set on 280mb but it could be increased
link: miui.es/index.php/topic,7965.0.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, is my tutorial for an automated way to do the changes from a recovery instalable .zip
just download, flash a compatible recovery (any cwm with busybox for M1/S should work) then install the zip for ur phone model.

eilegz said:
i dont know if this its related but here it seems that there are a easier method to change the size
the author have it set on 280mb but it could be increased
link: miui.es/index.php/topic,7965.0.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can restore a broken link?

r.dave said:
You can restore a broken link?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
check your pm

Could somebody refresh link for instalable.zip ?
thx

thankyou

CLOSE, please

All important information/ links will be moved to an INFO thread, since this is a question thread, we do not need it anymore.

Still looking.
Bump, can anyone help?
Saw this page:
forum.xda-developers .com/showthread.php?t=1959445
Was wondering if it's worth a shot.

Kernel released by Huawei.
For kernel/Rom Developers, Huawei has released the kernel for the Huawei Prism II online.
Attached is a notepad document with the links in them, since I am not allowed to post links. I apologize for the inconvenience.
ALSO
For anyone else with a Huawei device that has not released their kernel, I used the email format below:
Emal 1:
I would like the source code for my phone that is available to me. I am an android developer, and it would be useful to me if I have the
source code(that is offerred by Huawei).
The reply you will get:
Dear Customer,
Thank you for contacting Huawei device. The open source is under our technical department to make. Since the procedure is a little more complex, so please kindly be a little patient. We will keep you informed once available.Once again thank you for contacting Huawei device.
Best Regards.
Huawei Device Customer Care Team.
Give them 2-3 days, then E-mail once again! Be persistent!
2nd email:
Any new information about the source code?
The reply I got:
Dear Customer,
Thank you for contacting Huawei device. Please kindly check the source code link for your reference:
(link given above)
Once again thank you for contacting Huawei device.
Best Regards.
Huawei Device Customer Care Team.

Parted/FDisk Output on /dev/block/mmcblk0
streetdev22 said:
Bump, can anyone help?
Saw this page:
forum.xda-developers .com/showthread.php?t=1959445
Was wondering if it's worth a shot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried the guide on my Prism II. Parted gave me an error. Possible reason for parted error is explained here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2169709.
However, fdisk worked, but it doesn't clearly identify the partitons:
Edited to include gdisk output
parted:
Code:
parted /dev/block/mmcblk0
GNU Parted 1.8.8.1.179-aef3
Using /dev/block/mmcblk0
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) print
print
print
Error: Unable to satisfy all constraints on the partition.
fdisk:
Code:
[email protected]:/ # fdisk -l /dev/block/mmcblk0
fdisk -l /dev/block/mmcblk0
Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0: 3909 MB, 3909091328 bytes
1 heads, 16 sectors/track, 477184 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16 * 512 = 8192 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/block/mmcblk0p1 * 1 3 20 4d Unknown
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p2 3 41 300 45 Unknown
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p3 41 16681 133120 c Win95 FAT32 (LBA)
Partition 3 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p4 16681 477184 3684031+ 5 Extended
Partition 4 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p5 16897 18432 12288 6a Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p6 18433 18944 4096 46 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p7 18945 19456 4096 63 GNU HURD or SysV
/dev/block/mmcblk0p8 19457 19840 3072 58 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p9 19969 20352 3072 4a Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p10 20481 20864 3072 4b Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p11 20993 21504 4096 47 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p12 21505 22528 8192 48 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p13 22529 25088 20480 60 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p14 25089 25600 4096 6c Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p15 25601 50176 196608 83 Linux
/dev/block/mmcblk0p16 50177 60416 81920 83 Linux
/dev/block/mmcblk0p17 60417 191488 1048576 83 Linux
/dev/block/mmcblk0p18 191489 338944 1179648 83 Linux
/dev/block/mmcblk0p19 338945 477184 1105920 6b Unknown
gdisk:
Code:
[email protected]:/ # gdisk -l /dev/block/mmcblk0
gdisk -l /dev/block/mmcblk0
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.4
Partition table scan:
MBR: MBR only
BSD: not present
APM: not present
GPT: not present
***************************************************************
Found invalid GPT and valid MBR; converting MBR to GPT format.
***************************************************************
Exact type match not found for type code 4D00; assigning type code for
'Linux filesystem'
Exact type match not found for type code 4500; assigning type code for
'Linux filesystem'
Exact type match not found for type code 6A00; assigning type code for
'Linux filesystem'
Exact type match not found for type code 4600; assigning type code for
'Linux filesystem'
Exact type match not found for type code 6300; assigning type code for
'Linux filesystem'
Exact type match not found for type code 5800; assigning type code for
'Linux filesystem'
Exact type match not found for type code 4A00; assigning type code for
'Linux filesystem'
Exact type match not found for type code 4B00; assigning type code for
'Linux filesystem'
Exact type match not found for type code 4700; assigning type code for
'Linux filesystem'
Exact type match not found for type code 4800; assigning type code for
'Linux filesystem'
Exact type match not found for type code 6000; assigning type code for
'Linux filesystem'
Exact type match not found for type code 6C00; assigning type code for
'Linux filesystem'
Exact type match not found for type code 6B00; assigning type code for
'Linux filesystem'
Warning! Main partition table overlaps the first partition by 33 blocks!
You will need to delete this partition or resize it in another utility.
Warning! Secondary partition table overlaps the last partition by
33 blocks!
You will need to delete this partition or resize it in another utility.
Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0: 7634944 sectors, 3.6 GiB
Logical sector size: 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): E271C8D6-2001-435D-A466-BEFE7ED158CD
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 7634910
Partitions will be aligned on 1-sector boundaries
Total free space is 9599 sectors (4.7 MiB)
Number Start (sector) End (sector) Size Code Name
1 1 40 20.0 KiB 8300 Linux filesystem
2 41 640 300.0 KiB 8300 Linux filesystem
3 641 266880 130.0 MiB 0700 Microsoft basic data
5 270336 294911 12.0 MiB 8300 Linux filesystem
6 294912 303103 4.0 MiB 8300 Linux filesystem
7 303104 311295 4.0 MiB 8300 Linux filesystem
8 311296 317439 3.0 MiB 8300 Linux filesystem
9 319488 325631 3.0 MiB 8300 Linux filesystem
10 327680 333823 3.0 MiB 8300 Linux filesystem
11 335872 344063 4.0 MiB 8300 Linux filesystem
12 344064 360447 8.0 MiB 8300 Linux filesystem
13 360448 401407 20.0 MiB 8300 Linux filesystem
14 401408 409599 4.0 MiB 8300 Linux filesystem
15 409600 802815 192.0 MiB 8300 Linux filesystem
16 802816 966655 80.0 MiB 8300 Linux filesystem
17 966656 3063807 1024.0 MiB 8300 Linux filesystem
18 3063808 5423103 1.1 GiB 8300 Linux filesystem
19 5423104 7634943 1.1 GiB 8300 Linux filesystem
[email protected]:/ #

Partition Layout
streetdev22 said:
Recently rooted and unlocked the bootloader on my Huawei Prism II, but there is no custom recovery nor custom roms for this phone. I have tried determing the partition layout in order to dump the recovery, but I am unable to do so.
Tried earlier versions of romdump, but they returned with a segmentation failure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe I've found the partition layout based on the /etc/recovery_mmc.fstab extracted from mmcblk0p13, but am not sure. The excerpt of my /etc/recovery_mmc.fstab file from mmcblk0p13 shows some partition names correlated to device names. Could someone verify this is a legitimate way to determine the partition layout? I've also attached the whole recovery_mmc.fstab file.
recovery_mmc.fstab excerpt:
Code:
/boot emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p12
/cache ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p15
# /* < DTS2012062603367 lizhigang 20120626 begin */
/data ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p18 length=-16384
#/* < DTS2012062603367 lizhigang 20120626 end */
/recovery emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p13
/misc emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p7
/sdcard vfat /dev/block/mmcblk1p1 /dev/block/mmcblk1
/system ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p17
/sys_boot vfat /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
/fat vfat /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
/HWUserData vfat /dev/block/mmcblk0p19
#/*< DTS2012020804291 weizhonghui 20120208 begin */
/cust ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p16
#/* DTS2012020804291 weizhonghui 20120208 end >*/
#/* DTS2012011906026 chendeng 20120120 end > */
# /* DTS2012031506621 lishubin 20120321 end > */
Easier to read (joined fdisk and the recovery_mmc.fstab)
Code:
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/block/mmcblk0p1 * 1 3 20 4d Unknown /sdcard
/dev/block/mmcblk0p2 3 41 300 45 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p3 41 16681 133120 c Win95 FAT32 (LBA) /sys_boot and /fat
/dev/block/mmcblk0p4 16681 477184 3684031+ 5 Extended
/dev/block/mmcblk0p5 16897 18432 12288 6a Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p6 18433 18944 4096 46 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p7 18945 19456 4096 63 GNU HURD or SysV /misc
/dev/block/mmcblk0p8 19457 19840 3072 58 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p9 19969 20352 3072 4a Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p10 20481 20864 3072 4b Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p11 20993 21504 4096 47 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p12 21505 22528 8192 48 Unknown /boot
/dev/block/mmcblk0p13 22529 25088 20480 60 Unknown /recovery
/dev/block/mmcblk0p14 25089 25600 4096 6c Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p15 25601 50176 196608 83 Linux /cache
/dev/block/mmcblk0p16 50177 60416 81920 83 Linux /cust
/dev/block/mmcblk0p17 60417 191488 1048576 83 Linux /system
/dev/block/mmcblk0p18 191489 338944 1179648 83 Linux /data
/dev/block/mmcblk0p19 338945 477184 1105920 6b Unknown /HWUserData

Very nice!
Correlates with the hints found in other files as seen above, so I think we have successfully found the partition layout! I will take a look when my device gets here(originally was working on my relative's phone, but now I purchased it for myself). If this method is confirmed,we can to port CWM, thank you all!! After CWM, we should be able to make custom ROMs freely.

streetdev22 said:
Correlates with the hints found in other files as seen above, so I think we have successfully found the partition layout! I will take a look when my device gets here(originally was working on my relative's phone, but now I purchased it for myself). If this method is confirmed,we can to port CWM, thank you all!! After CWM, we should be able to make custom ROMs freely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great. I'm glad that someone can verify part of the partition layout. Hopefully, this means that the new information is credible too.

Prism 2 said:
Great. I'm glad that someone can verify part of the partition layout. Hopefully, this means that the new information is credible too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How exactly did you extract the file? Did you extract it from mmcblk0p13? Have the device on hand, so I am trying to verify the findings.
Thanks.

Unpacking Recovery Image
streetdev22 said:
How exactly did you extract the file? Did you extract it from mmcblk0p13? Have the device on hand, so I am trying to verify the findings.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First, I made a selective backup using a google store app called Online Nandroid Backup https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.h3r3t1c.onnandbup&hl=en to make a backup on the "recovery" partition. Even though the app does not specify which block it copies, I believe the app makes a backup of /dev/block/mmcblk0p13 because it uses /system/partlayout4nandroid to determine the partition layout. If you look at the "cat /system/partlayout4nandroid" output below, you'll see that mmcblk0p13 corresponds to recovery.
Then I transferred the recovery.img from the sdcard to my computer.
From there, I followed the directions in Step 1 and Step 2 of http://www.imajeenyus.com/computer/20130301_android_tablet/android/unpack_repack_recovery_image.html to unpack and extract recovery.img.
Online Nandroid Backup Partition Layout:
Code:
[email protected]:/ # cat /system/partlayout4nandroid
cat /system/partlayout4nandroid
dev: size erasesize name
mmcblk0p1: 010000 000000 "modem"
mmcblk0p2: 000008 000000 "ssd"
mmcblk0p3: 000080 000000 "sbl1"
mmcblk0p4: 000100 000000 "sbl2"
mmcblk0p5: 000200 000000 "sbl3"
mmcblk0p6: 000200 000000 "aboot"
mmcblk0p7: 000200 000000 "rpm"
mmcblk0p8: 000200 000000 "tz"
mmcblk0p9: 002800 000000 "pad"
mmcblk0p10: 000c00 000000 "fsg"
mmcblk0p11: 002000 000000 "persist"
mmcblk0p12: 002800 000000 "boot"
[B]mmcblk0p13: 002800 000000 "recovery"[/B]
mmcblk0p14: 0b8000 000000 "system"
mmcblk0p15: 0d0000 000000 "cache"
mmcblk0p16: 000c00 000000 "modemst1"
mmcblk0p17: 000c00 000000 "modemst2"
mmcblk0p18: 040000 000000 "tombstones"
mmcblk0p19: 000400 000000 "misc"
mmcblk0p20: 001000 000000 "logo"
mmcblk0p21: 001000 000000 "logo2"
mmcblk0p22: 54c000 000000 "userdata"
mmcblk0p23: 00ffef 000000 "grow"
[email protected]:/ #

Probably correct.
My father(the owner of the phone) has once again left on a trip, so I will have to wait until Monday/Tuesday, when I receive my phone, to confirm these results.
My only issue with this is is why nandroid shows a different partition layout then what is shown in other files.
If partition 13 is recovery, there is no coincidence that you would find that fstab file in the extracted recovery.
Do you mind dumping all the extracted files from the recovery and uploading them to 4shared, mediafire, or any other cloud service as a compressed file(zip, tar)? I think the file is not coincidental, and that we have indeed found the partition layout(or at least the important partitions for our purposes).
Also, try dumping the boot partition that is currently identified (block 12) without using online nandroid backup(I think via dd should still work) and see if you can find similar files to that explained in the guide(.png, ramdisk directory, etc). If these files match up to what would be typically found in a boot.img or recovery.img, then the layout is most likely correct.
If these files match up to typical boot.img or recovery.img files, we can test the layout by changing something simple like a background before working on serious stuff.
Also, thanks for helping! Once we conclusively identify that this partition layout is correct, we can start to port clockworkmod.

streetdev22 said:
My father(the owner of the phone) has once again left on a trip, so I will have to wait until Monday/Tuesday, when I receive my phone, to confirm these results.
My only issue with this is is why nandroid shows a different partition layout then what is shown in other files.
If partition 13 is recovery, there is no coincidence that you would find that fstab file in the extracted recovery.
Do you mind dumping all the extracted files from the recovery and uploading them to 4shared, mediafire, or any other cloud service as a compressed file(zip, tar)? I think the file is not coincidental, and that we have indeed found the partition layout(or at least the important partitions for our purposes).
Also, try dumping the boot partition that is currently identified (block 12) without using online nandroid backup(I think via dd should still work) and see if you can find similar files to that explained in the guide(.png, ramdisk directory, etc). If these files match up to what would be typically found in a boot.img or recovery.img, then the layout is most likely correct.
If these files match up to typical boot.img or recovery.img files, we can test the layout by changing something simple like a background before working on serious stuff.
Also, thanks for helping! Once we conclusively identify that this partition layout is correct, we can start to port clockworkmod.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The extracted files in partition 13 can be found in post #44 of http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2546455&page=5 labeled as "ramdisk.tar.bz2". I will make a dump of the boot partition using dd and run the tests tomorrow.

Looks validated, Also more tools
There are other guides on the matter of porting cyanogenmod..for example
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Doc:_porting_intro
which even mentions a recovery.fstab file in recovery.img! So, that means the partition layout in the fstab file you found is most likely correct.
Another guide:
http://xda-university.com/as-a-developer/porting-clockworkmod-recovery-to-a-new-device
Also, there is an automated tool to porting cyanogenmod for new devices..
http://builder.clockworkmod.com/ (I would recommend avoiding the touch recovery for now, simple is all we need and we don't need more complications)
I am really feeling pretty confident about the partition layout found in the recovery.fstab, because one guide mentions it to be found in the recovery.img!
I would recommend making the changes to a recovery.img instead, because boot.img is still kinda scary (possible bricking )
Also, I think there is a command to try booting from a recovery.img without flashing the .img to the actual partition.
I think the command is mentioned here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2233477
fastboot boot recovery.img is the command and it will not overwrite your existing recovery.
By using this command, you can try booting the stock recovery you extracted(to validate that we have a stock recovery available if we need it), and then boot the recovery.img you make with small edits, and then boot the recovery.img made from the automated CWM porter.
Thank you for replying so fast! We have made real progress in the last few days.
Edit:In the ramdisk that was extracted, another fstab exists on the root of the directory that is named fstab.msm7627, which is the same name from the file I located in post 1! They are the same file! I think this is validated.

Testing Recovery Partition
streetdev22 said:
I would recommend making the changes to a recovery.img instead, because boot.img is still kinda scary (possible bricking )
Also, I think there is a command to try booting from a recovery.img without flashing the .img to the actual partition.
I think the command is mentioned here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2233477
fastboot boot recovery.img is the command and it will not overwrite your existing recovery.
By using this command, you can try booting the stock recovery you extracted(to validate that we have a stock recovery available if we need it), and then boot the recovery.img you make with small edits, and then boot the recovery.img made from the automated CWM porter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've made
a regular recovery.img using "dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p13 of=/sdcard/recovery.img" to make a copy of the recovery partition
a test recovery.img that is the same in every way to the original recovery.img except that all the images under /res/images is rotated 90 degrees. You can see the difference yourself by looking in res.rar attached below.
a clockworkmod recovery image from the clockworkmod recovery builder website
These images can be found attached below:
recovery.rar = original Huawei recovery image
recovery-test.rar = edited recovery image
recovery.img = clockworkmod recovery automatic builder image from http://jenkins.cyanogenmod.com/job/recovery/52069/
Unfortunately, I cannot test this image myself, because I do not want to unlock my bootloader yet.
If anyone with a rooted, unlocked Huawei Prism 2 is interested in helping to further the development of recovery roms for the Prism 2, I have made 3 tests to see if
the recovery partition is located in /dev/block/mmcblk0p13
the command "fastboot boot recovery.img", which we will be using extensively, can be used to boot the specified image file
the Clockworkmod Recovery image made from automated CWM porter successfully boots
The files you will need are provided below. I've also given instructions to the best of my ability without actually having done this.
To test if the recovery partition is located in /dev/block/mmcblk0p13:
Go into fastboot mode (step 2f in post #1 of http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2546455)
Download the recovery.rar file below and extract it to get recovery.img.
Open up terminal
change directory to where you extracted recovery.img
type
Code:
fastboot boot recovery.img
See if phone boot into recovery
Next we test an edited recovery.img to see if "fastboot boot recovery.img" is truly letting us boot the image we've specified.
To find out, we're going to use the edited recovery.img and do pretty much the same thing except now with recovery-test.img:
Go into fastboot mode (step 2f in post #1 of http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2546455)
Download the recovery-test.rar file below and extract it to get recovery-test.img.
Open up terminal
change directory to where you extracted recovery-test.img
type
Code:
fastboot boot recovery-test.img
See if any pictures are upside down (the battery symbol, numbers, or the android robot)
After completing the 2 tasks above, and verifying that we have a valid original recovery.img and that we can use
Code:
fastboot boot recovery.img
to boot a specific image file, we can start testing a very, very, very EXPERIMENTAL Clockworkmod Recovery image using fastboot. I would not rely on this image to make backups and I honestly do not know what kind of damage it might inflict on the phone so make a backup of everything before starting.
output from CWM automatic recovery builder: http://jenkins.cyanogenmod.com/job/recovery/52069/
To test if this CWM recovery image will boot and have the right partition layout:
Go into fastboot mode (step 2f in post #1 of http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2546455)
Download the recovery.img.
Open up terminal
change directory to where you downloaded recovery.img
type
Code:
fastboot boot recovery.img
If the cwm recovery image boots, type
Code:
mount
See if /sdcard is mounted to the right partition)
If you're feeling lucky, make a backup to /sdcard **this step can cause damage to phone if /sdcard is mounted to the wrong partition**
Thanks for volunteering and bringing the Huawei Prism 2 one step closer to custom roms.

Will test as soon as I get the phone.
I should be getting my phone in the mail Tuesday-Wednesday, but I will test as soon as I get it in the mail and I get my bootloader unlocked. I shouldn't have an issue booting it, since it will boot without effecting my current recovery partition. Hopefully the cwm recovery boots as well.

streetdev22 said:
I should be getting my phone in the mail Tuesday-Wednesday, but I will test as soon as I get it in the mail and I get my bootloader unlocked. I shouldn't have an issue booting it, since it will boot without effecting my current recovery partition. Hopefully the cwm recovery boots as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great! I really hope it works. Let me know if I can help with anything in the meantime.

Getting my phone today
My phone is coming today! I will let you know the results either later today or tomorrow. Also, could you pull a build.prop using ADB from your phone? This guy needs it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=49494728

niceeeee
Prism 2 said:
Great! I really hope it works. Let me know if I can help with anything in the meantime.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried them today and they work fine siiiiir. both booted while i was stuck in a boot loop from deleting my settins apk

Cjantolak said:
I tried them today and they work fine siiiiir. both booted while i was stuck in a boot loop from deleting my settins apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats good news! Could you state specifically which 2 of the 3 images booted though? I'm assuming the original (recovery.rar file) and the edited (recovery-test.rar file) recovery.images, but want to make sure
In other words, did you test the clockworkmod recovery image?

first two
Prism 2 said:
Thats good news! Could you state specifically which 2 of the 3 images booted though? I'm assuming the original (recovery.rar file) and the edited (recovery-test.rar file) recovery.images, but want to make sure
In other words, did you test the clockworkmod recovery image?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did just boot the clockworkmod recovery and i just booted up fine. os is running as it should other than the whole missing settings app. im stuck without root, without wifi, and usb debugging.
adb not installing the app either so idk.

Thanks for straightening out the confusion. Can you check the mounted partitions are correct? Afterwards you can use update.zip to install your settings.apk
---------- Post added at 01:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:04 AM ----------
Never mind about checking the partition layout. I just remembered you don't have adb. I will try to make a better recovery image.

[Q] ?? How to backup Firmware on stock device

Hello.
I have a Samsung Relay that is rebranded by Cellular One of North East AZ. They have a fancy super thin sticker over the Tmobile logo on the glass. lol... But the firmware in the device is branded by Cellular One.
I cannot find that firmware anywhere and want to know if anyone has any directions on how to back up the firmware so It could be loaded onto a t-mobile Relay to "brand" it for Cellular One.
Appreciate any help you can offer.
Thanks.
(I normally play in CDMA world, but I moved to po dunk nothing ville and VZW Sucks here, so had to go with Cell One. First real experience with GSM)

I've never done this before and I'm not 100% sure if it can be done. But there probably are ways if you're clever enough. So here's what I would try if I were in your position:
1. Check if there's a way to dump it with Odin. You can google around to see if it's possible but I'm pretty sure it's a feature in Odin (Whether our phone supports it is another story). You would have to boot into download mode, (vol down + home + power when powering on) and then follow whatever directions you find for dumping a rom. Just make sure you don't flash anything to your device. And make sure you know what you're doing with Odin because it can brick your phone if you push the wrong buttons.
2. The other way to do it is to dump your partition contents with the dd command (I would do it through an adb shell). This would require you to have root. I'm not sure of how to get root without modifying your ROM (kind of defeats the purpose of what you're trying to do if we have to change the ROM) but there are usually ways to get a temp root. Not sure how to do it on our phone but maybe someone else can help you with that part. Or maybe do some googling. The dd part I've at least done for the boot partition. Basically what you want to do is open an adb shell and run:
"ls -l /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/"
This will give you a list of all the partition name symlinks and show you the block devices they point to. For example, when I was getting boot.img I found that the "boot" symlink pointed to "/dev/block/mmcblk0p7". Find all the partitions you want to image in this list and figure out which block devices they point to.
The next part is to figure out how big each of the partitions is. You can find this in /proc/partitions. So from your adb shell you would run:
"cat /proc/partitions"
This will print out all of your flash block devices (look at the ones you were interested in from above). The 3rd column in this list will be the # of blocks in the partition. I believe the block size is 1k (1024 bytes). For example, my boot partition was 10240 blocks which comes out to 10 Megs, which sounds about right. The 1k assumption also agrees with the total device flash size, which is 7634944 blocks (mmcblk0) which is just under the 8GB they say the phone has. So I'm pretty confident about the block size.
So now we're at the part where things get a little hairy. I'm assuming you've found some way to get root in your adb shell. Be very careful with these dd commands and if you don't know what you're doing, don't do it. You would want to run something like the following:
"dd if=/dev/block/<partition name> of=/storage/sdCard/<name of image file> bs=1024 count=<# of blocks for partition you found in /proc/partions>"
You would do this for each partition you want dumped.
Again, be careful if you decide to try and do any of this stuff (especially with the dd commands, if you mix up the in file and out file you can brick your device). But like I said this worked for me to get boot.img and I was able to extract it and get the kernel and ramdisk. Hope this helps and sorry I don't know more about getting you a temp root without modifying your ROM.
Jeff

Can you send me a screenshot of your about phone screen?
Sent from my SGH-T699 using Tapatalk

hello everyone,
i resurrection this thread so bring some information to pepole who want to backup stock rom so they can flash it back with odin.
i constructed a list of partitions names/partition location nb./partition block size for a refreance of what to backup:
block size partition block location partition name
7634944 /dev/block/mmcblk0 Whole SSD on Device
2048 /dev/block/mmcblk0p5 aboot
6144 /dev/block/mmcblk0p20 backup
10240 /dev/block/mmcblk0p7 boot
860160 /dev/block/mmcblk0p17 cache
13952 /dev/block/mmcblk0p11 efs
10240 /dev/block/mmcblk0p19 fota
3072 /dev/block/mmcblk0p21 fsg
5120 /dev/block/mmcblk0p23 grow
61440 /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 modem
3072 /dev/block/mmcblk0p12 modemst1
3072 /dev/block/mmcblk0p13 modemst2
512 /dev/block/mmcblk0p9 pad
10240 /dev/block/mmcblk0p10 param
8192 /dev/block/mmcblk0p16 persist
10240 /dev/block/mmcblk0p18 recovery
512 /dev/block/mmcblk0p6 rpm
128 /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 sbl1
256 /dev/block/mmcblk0p3 sbl2
512 /dev/block/mmcblk0p4 sbl3
8 /dev/block/mmcblk0p22 ssd
1228800 /dev/block/mmcblk0p14 system
512 /dev/block/mmcblk0p8 tz
5386240 /dev/block/mmcblk0p15 userdata
so all you have to do is to use this command via terminal:
"dd if=/dev/block/<partition name> of=/storage/sdCard/<name of image file> bs=1024 count=<# of blocks for partition>"
you can cnange "sdCard" for "extSdCard" if you wish.
this will make you the raw imgae of all partitions and then you will need to use tar in linux to make a tar.md5 file for odin.
use the commands below in terimanl to do so:
"tar -H ustar -c image1 image2 image3 etc... > package_name.tar"
"md5sum -t package_name.tar >> package_name.tar"
"mv package_name.tar package_name.tar.md5"
remember you will need superuser on you phone to do this, also the commands are without the quotation mark.
the only thing left to know is what partitions you must backup to beable to restore fully to stock with/without data.
i know you should backup the boot/efs/recovery/system partitions for clean stock + userdata/cache if you want your data back.
does anybody know of other critical partitions to backup?