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Hi all,
I have a Droid incredible 4g (stock, unrooted/unlocked, w/ the recent OTA update). I saw the Bootloader Unlock exploit in the developer's forum so I gave it a go, and it worked fine. Then I installed the Viper 1.0 ROM, but I haven't been able to get it to do anything after successfully booting except run through a loop of errors such as "Unfortunately, the process android.process.acore has stopped working." After I click "OK" on about 10 critical errors, it self-reboots and does the whole thing again.
Unfortunately, I didn't do a backup this time, so I have nothing to restore (first time I haven't done a backup, but also the first time I've ever had any kind of an issue w/ a ROM). I tried using the HTC Android ROM Update Utility 1.0.5.2011 that I found in the dev forum, but that didn't work either. Finally, I installed 2.17.605.2 Verizon Global Sense4.1 Android 4.0.4. It's a lot more stable than Viper was and the phone is basically usable, but I still get lots of critical errors. So this morning I went back to the forum and saw that I needed to downgrade to the old 1.43.605.3 kernel. I tried that and then reinstalled Viper 1.0, but it seemed to have no effect--still stuck in a critical error/reboot loop.
I realize that's the risk of playing with ROMs and I should have done a backup, but anyone have any ideas on how I can get my phone back and running?
Thanks!
Even though it explicitly stated you didn't need to do a backup, I did one anyway, to prevent something like this from happening. Always do a backup.
Did you verify the MD5Sum of ViperLTE?
Did you go to Recovery and Wipe -> Factory Reset and Wipe -> System both twice before trying to install the ROM?
Did you change anything in the ROM before attempting to load it?
There are lots of questions we could ask to ascertain the root of the problem, but these three are among the most important.
Wi-Fi won't work without the old boot.img, and from what I can tell, that's the only thing. It doesn't give critical errors.
I'm thinking since you are new to root you were un-aware the need to wipe before installing a rom.
im thinking that is the issue.
Thanks for the reply!
I didn't check the MD5 last night but I did just now and it matches.
I did a cache wipe the first time but not a system wipe. Then I started getting more desperate and tried reinstalling w/ system wipes and factory resets, but it didn't change anything.
No, I didn't change the ROM. Doing the Bootloader unlock exploit was about the absolute maximum of my technical abilities! The only thing I know I did wrong was that I didn't downgrade to the old boot version the first time (mainly because the wifi thing sounded inconsequential and I didn't want to learn the procedure if I didn't have to).
Anyway, I just tried Ultimate KangBang and it seems to work--no error messages so far. I don't know what I did wrong, but hopefully this keeps working!
IceDragon59 said:
Even though it explicitly stated you didn't need to do a backup, I did one anyway, to prevent something like this from happening. Always do a backup.
Did you verify the MD5Sum of ViperLTE?
Did you go to Recovery and Wipe -> Factory Reset and Wipe -> System both twice before trying to install the ROM?
Did you change anything in the ROM before attempting to load it?
There are lots of questions we could ask to ascertain the root of the problem, but these three are among the most important.
Wi-Fi won't work without the old boot.img, and from what I can tell, that's the only thing. It doesn't give critical errors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
andybones said:
I'm thinking since you are new to root you were un-aware the need to wipe before installing a rom.
im thinking that is the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I took a short-cut that didn't quite work out. I didn't want to wipe the system because I wasn't sure if my pictures would be wiped too, but then when everything died I tried wiping everything and reinstalling and it didn't seem to improve anything. I did end up losing my pictures too. Oh well. Maybe it's just a combination of stuff I did to try to get things working (there was some trial and error in unlocking the bootloader but I did get that to work finally, and then more trial and error with the ROMs).
I guess the best thing to do is leave the phone the heck alone as long as it's working, for now. I just don't know why nothing seemed to work--I thought factory reset/fresh ROM would do it.
franklin411 said:
Yes, I took a short-cut that didn't quite work out. I didn't want to wipe the system because I wasn't sure if my pictures would be wiped too, but then when everything died I tried wiping everything and reinstalling and it didn't seem to improve anything. I did end up losing my pictures too. Oh well. Maybe it's just a combination of stuff I did to try to get things working (there was some trial and error in unlocking the bootloader but I did get that to work finally, and then more trial and error with the ROMs).
I guess the best thing to do is leave the phone the heck alone as long as it's working, for now. I just don't know why nothing seemed to work--I thought factory reset/fresh ROM would do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If UKB ROM works then Viper ROM will too, installing the boot.img is very simple it's one command
I can help you with that if you'd like
in recovery before installing ROM, do a wipe of, (I go in this order, but it doesn't matter.)
1) Factory Reset
2) System
3) Cache
4) Dalvik Cache
then install the ROM
just DO NOT do External storage (unless of coarse u WANT to wipe your SD-Card.)
as long as you don't wipe External Storage you won't lose anything that's on your SD-Card.
in the future it is always good practice to backup(nandroid) your current ROM. I have been burned too many times, always do a nandroid before you do anything in recovery.
your photos are normally saved to the SD, flashing ROMs or wiping the system will not delete them
andybones said:
If UKB ROM works then Viper ROM will too, installing the boot.img is very simple it's one command
I can help you with that if you'd like
in recovery before installing ROM, do a wipe of, (I go in this order, but it doesn't matter.)
1) Factory Reset
2) System
3) Cache
4) Dalvik Cache
then install the ROM
just DO NOT do External storage (unless of coarse u WANT to wipe your SD-Card.)
as long as you don't wipe External Storage you won't lose anything that's on your SD-Card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It worked this time! Maybe the difference was that the boot.img file I downloaded was called "boot_signed.img" or something. I had no idea what it was supposed to look like, so I installed it that way and it didn't work. Then I tried renaming it to "boot.img" this morning and installing viper, but that didn't work. And then I restarted and installed UKB, and it worked. Just now I wiped and tried again with Viper and it's working fine. Maybe I did something this morning that caused it not to take properly when I tried with Viper, and then I reset and it worked.
Thanks for the help!
franklin411 said:
It worked this time! Maybe the difference was that the boot.img file I downloaded was called "boot_signed.img" or something. I had no idea what it was supposed to look like, so I installed it that way and it didn't work. Then I tried renaming it to "boot.img" this morning and installing viper, but that didn't work. And then I restarted and installed UKB, and it worked. Just now I wiped and tried again with Viper and it's working fine. Maybe I did something this morning that caused it not to take properly when I tried with Viper, and then I reset and it worked.
Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
na the name has nothing to do with it. it can be named whatever.
im guessing the wipe worked.
franklin411 said:
Hi all,
I have a Droid incredible 4g (stock, unrooted/unlocked, w/ the recent OTA update). I saw the Bootloader Unlock exploit in the developer's forum so I gave it a go, and it worked fine. Then I installed the Viper 1.0 ROM, but I haven't been able to get it to do anything after successfully booting except run through a loop of errors such as "Unfortunately, the process android.process.acore has stopped working." After I click "OK" on about 10 critical errors, it self-reboots and does the whole thing again.
Unfortunately, I didn't do a backup this time, so I have nothing to restore (first time I haven't done a backup, but also the first time I've ever had any kind of an issue w/ a ROM). I tried using the HTC Android ROM Update Utility 1.0.5.2011 that I found in the dev forum, but that didn't work either. Finally, I installed 2.17.605.2 Verizon Global Sense4.1 Android 4.0.4. It's a lot more stable than Viper was and the phone is basically usable, but I still get lots of critical errors. So this morning I went back to the forum and saw that I needed to downgrade to the old 1.43.605.3 kernel. I tried that and then reinstalled Viper 1.0, but it seemed to have no effect--still stuck in a critical error/reboot loop.
I realize that's the risk of playing with ROMs and I should have done a backup, but anyone have any ideas on how I can get my phone back and running?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
weird, i was having the same problem with the same processes stopped working. i wiped cache dalvik and system but not factory reset. once i factory reset, it worked fine. i figured a system wipe would have been enough....
I only recently got into the whole rooting deal, but i followed the instructions precisely double checking and everything went along well , after that i installed most of the apps from here, made a full backup with titianium backup, but then i decided to try and install a custom rom, which was where i made my first mistake, i made a backup of the current(stock) rom and then went straight on to downloading cyagenmod 7.2 to try it out on my phone.
When i started the install i obviously had the pre install options, i only left the one check there which was wipe delvik cache i think figuring that was all i needed to do. Phone rebooted and the loading logo started but didnt go past it and after it had reappeared for 3 times the screen just went in a white screen with differently colored horizontal stripes, i thought my phone was now bricked, but i managed to turn it off and turn it back on and get into recovery mode. I tried to do a recovery which didnt do anything, after that i just selected factory reset thinking it will get me back to the stock rom, but instead CM worked and finally got past the loading logo, i checked in the CWM if i had the backup i had made before trying to install CM and it was gone.
I want to know what i have done wrong(i obviously have), how can i reverse it and how to install roms properly(preferably in simple language). I already found this thread.
Phone: LG Optimus Hub (E-510)
P.S. I am missing the Play store app, is this normal for CM?
1. You got into bootloop because you didn't do factory reset/full wipe (the /data partition wasn't wiped, files on this partition were from stock ROM and weren't compatible with CM) -> this is the reason why it booted after full wipe. Full wipe only deletes data, it will not restore stock ROM.
2. '... i checked in the CWM if i had the backup i had made before trying to install CM and it was gone'
Are you sure you made a backup? Or didn't you delete it?
3. For the Play store - CM ROMs ussually don't have Google Apps in them, you have to flash them after CM installation (look in the ROMs thread for Google apps/ GApps)
1. Thanks for the explanation, im defineatly going to keep in mind to wipe the next time i attempt to install a custom rom. Is the stock rom still in my phone or do i have to look online for one?
2. I belive you are right, i do remember wanting to do a backup, but i might have forgotten about it, i did one now so i can have something to go back to just in case.
3. Dont really understand this, can you please direct me to a thread for this? I tried doing the flash CWM recovery which didnt do anything, could i try using my backups from titanium backup to get the apps back on the phone? It would be quite a mess to get all of it downloaded again.
Edit: i tried installing google play downloaded from other sites and whenever i go into it, it asks me to add an account, but when i press yes, it just closes.
|Madman| said:
1. Thanks for the explanation, im defineatly going to keep in mind to wipe the next time i attempt to install a custom rom. Is the stock rom still in my phone or do i have to look online for one?
2. I belive you are right, i do remember wanting to do a backup, but i might have forgotten about it, i did one now so i can have something to go back to just in case.
3. Dont really understand this, can you please direct me to a thread for this? I tried doing the flash CWM recovery which didnt do anything, could i try using my backups from titanium backup to get the apps back on the phone? It would be quite a mess to get all of it downloaded again.
Edit: i tried installing google play downloaded from other sites and whenever i go into it, it asks me to add an account, but when i press yes, it just closes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First things first. Before you do anything else you need to do some reading in order to understand the Basics of Android. Otherwise your going to get yourself in a bind again. In my Signature your going to see some links if your on a PC. You should check them out, they will help with answers to a lot of your questions.
I cant thank you enough, i was looking for something like this! :good:
I will have something to read in my spare time, as little of it i have trough.
Your welcome . Glad I could help.
TEAM MiK
MikROMs Since 3/13/11
OK so let me start off with, great site. I have read a ton of information.
First: Siyah 4.3.3 (Latest) Kernel which now has been put to AJK v1.48s
ROM; SHOstock3 v2.5.9
PreMod Settings: SGS2 AT&T SGH-i777. Started with GB > AT&T OTA (KIES) 4.0.3 > AT&T OTA WIFI 4.0.4 (caused huge freaking headaches with battery, charging, turn off the phone loop, battery draining, etc.)
Issues:
Original Issue posted in this thread (viewing Single Post) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=39350619&postcount=18
Creepy offered something to try. That never worked as all I was able to do was download mode or stare at the Samsung Galaxy S2 Splash Screen. Well, I took to his download repository and other links and used his One-Click Recovery to stock GB Rom to make part of my phone usable, using this link here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18859438&postcount=199
While it is Gingerbread at least my phone is usable. I want to try his STOCK ICS method but that mentions the eMMC super-brick bug.
So this is what I have tried so far. I have tried installing Siyah 4.3.3 nomswap for my kernel using Mobil-Odin Lite. That works but it never reboots or actually says finished. What it does do is stay at the wicked purple splash with the yin yang symbol. I left it like that last night until I woke up this morning and it never changed. So I rebooted the phone and the Kernel is on there. I reboot into recovery so that I can install SHOstock3 v2.5.9. That goes off flawlessly except here the last few times it won't reboot when I go to the GO BACK. It sticks and doesn't do anything. Rebooting shows the SHOstock3 Engine Boot Animation. Once it stops it goes to ask me for the encryption password. Well I put in my password (was the same one to the unlock screen) and it reboots and you see the nifty Samsung animation logo and then goes to the Samsung Galaxy S2 Animation Logo and then just stays there. It really pisses me off.
So after all that I finally put a new Kernel on there,AJK 1,48s. Pretty cool it loads up and then reboots. Well AJK shows up after the light-blue bar fills up and then goes black and the 4 touch sensitive row keys are lit up for a bit before going dark but the phone is still on. So I rebooted to recovery (CWM now with the Kernel) fixed tweaks, went to advanced and saw all sorts of options. Tried clearing caches for ROM 2 and restarting,no effect. I removed ROM 2 and went through reboot and nothing. Restored ROM 2 and nothing. Re installed SHOstock3 v2.5.9. Did the same thing after install and not backing out when I hit GO BACK. Rebooted, same scenario that happened before with requiring password. Entering password does the same thing with a reboot and then staying on Samsung Splash Screen. If I Don't enter the password and reboot,same thing happens. So after being irritated and pissed off I ran Creepy's One-Click Fix again and paid attention to the phone and noticed it mentioned not being able to access the AT&T section or partition or something like that. So while part of my phone works under normal circumstances I want to figure out how to remove that encryption part of the phone and get full access (even though full memory and space are shown under Windows 7 and the files on the phone). The password I put on there isn't taking and I don't know if using PC methods for removing encryption (which could take awhile I know) needs to be employed (and if so which methods) or if that part is just screwed and I can't put on any other kernels or custom ROMs. Perhaps tell me where I messed up. Should I try swapping the ROMs from Advanced setting in CWM Recovery? Can I try a different ROM (kernel didn't seem to help)? I have done several factory resets dalvik cache wipes cache wipes formats,etc. and it is still there. I can say that before the whole encryption debacle (even though I was encrypted I did get in my phone after encrypting it) my pin unlock for my SIM wouldn't work and I actually SIM locked my phone. Had to go to AT&T and get a new SIM and was up and running. I put a 4 digit pin lock for the SIM (it let me do it) and when I went to unlock it after a reboot, it wanted an 8 pin for the PUK and wouldn't take what I put. I tried to change the PIN but to no avail. Once that happened I guess it snowballed. Any help is appreciated. I have searched and tried some things that looked to match my issue but none have totally helped. I do have ADB set up on my wife's laptop which I use to restore my phone to GB Stock ROM. I haven't been able to reboot the phone into Bootloader to do any fastboot commands as when I tried to do it the commands just sent the phone into normal reboot (though adb reboot recovery does boot to recovery). I Haven't tried booting to the bootloader using the new Kernel though so I will wait for confirmation or additional information before I try. Thanks guys.
Eagle
Couple of comments. Siyah 4.3.3 (and ajk) kernels are for 4.x ICS and JB so that explains why your stock Gingerbread system would not flash after you installed it. If you flash back to stock Gingerbread again, and then flash a custom kernel, use a kernel that is compatible with Gingerbread if you want to boot the system.
After doing a little research, it seems that a wipe data/factory reset will not clear the encryption, but a format data will. This information is not from a Samsung forum; it's from the Droid DNA forum. I'm thinking that the same thing may apply to the I777. See the thread here.
It might be worth a try anyway. Flash stock plus root Gingerbread, install mobile odin or mobile odin lite, and use it to flash Siyah 2.6.14. Boot into recovery and go to the Mounts and Storage section. There you can format data, (and all the other partitions, separately.)
creepyncrawly said:
Couple of comments. Siyah 4.3.3 (and ajk) kernels are for 4.x ICS and JB so that explains why your stock Gingerbread system would not flash after you installed it. If you flash back to stock Gingerbread again, and then flash a custom kernel, use a kernel that is compatible with Gingerbread if you want to boot the system.
After doing a little research, it seems that a wipe data/factory reset will not clear the encryption, but a format data will. This information is not from a Samsung forum; it's from the Droid DNA forum. I'm thinking that the same thing may apply to the I777. See the thread here.
It might be worth a try anyway. Flash stock plus root Gingerbread, install mobile odin or mobile odin lite, and use it to flash Siyah 2.6.14. Boot into recovery and go to the Mounts and Storage section. There you can format data, (and all the other partitions, separately.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much creepy. I will give that a try later and see how it goes. I hope the information I gave actually gives enough info. I know folks usually want enough. Ill post back my findings.
Eagle
quick follow up and what I tried
creepyncrawly said:
Couple of comments. Siyah 4.3.3 (and ajk) kernels are for 4.x ICS and JB so that explains why your stock Gingerbread system would not flash after you installed it. If you flash back to stock Gingerbread again, and then flash a custom kernel, use a kernel that is compatible with Gingerbread if you want to boot the system.
After doing a little research, it seems that a wipe data/factory reset will not clear the encryption, but a format data will. This information is not from a Samsung forum; it's from the Droid DNA forum. I'm thinking that the same thing may apply to the I777. See the thread here.
It might be worth a try anyway. Flash stock plus root Gingerbread, install mobile odin or mobile odin lite, and use it to flash Siyah 2.6.14. Boot into recovery and go to the Mounts and Storage section. There you can format data, (and all the other partitions, separately.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Creepy, I have a quick follow up and want to tell you what I have tried.
So I had already used Kies to move to AT&T v 4.0.4 ICS on my phone when I read your post. Rather than flashback again to GB I went ahead and put Siyah 4.3.3 on my phone. Went great, rebooted and installed quick and everything. Well I rebooted into recovery and went to mounts and storage and formatted the data and all that there and even formatted the secondrom data and all that. Did it a couple times to make sure everything was clean and good to go. Even put AJKs kernel on there after I ran the cleanrom script and it went flawlessly. I did factory resets and wipes and all that and installed SHOstock3 v2.5.9 and started up great. Well it got past the animation and the damn Password for encryption popped up. Well I put the wrong password in and it rebooted without the SAMSUNG screen and went through the boot ani and back to the password for encryption screen. I put the right password in, it reboots and you see the Samsung logo flash quickly and then it sticks on the Samsung Galaxy S2 Splash screen. I don't know what is holding it up from going forward unless when I messed up the first go around and it deleted everything if it didn't take out the bootload command or what have you. So I don't know if this idea will work but I am going to flashback to GB and put the siyah version on there that you linked and see if that will work.
One tihng, when Iencrypted the device the first go round, I onlydid the used data and area not the whole thing. Is this affecting it somehow? Any other ideas to try? I figured a full data format would remove the encryption but it never pops up saying all encryption will be removed. What I need is access to that area of the phone if I could just mount it on the computer. Is it possible after formatting the data, or before, that I should mount internal USB, DATA, etc and try another format/wipe or at least mount them to see if they can be used? Thanks for the help. For anyone else viewing this post (which actually is a lot) any help or ideas are appreciated. I am thinking I may need to format everything and get ahold of Samsung to see if they will reset my phone for me. I just wonder if the PIN lock on my SIM card that got locked when it wouldn't take my PIN didn't mess something up as well.
Eagle
WarEagleUS said:
Hey Creepy, I have a quick follow up and want to tell you what I have tried.
So I had already used Kies to move to AT&T v 4.0.4 ICS on my phone when I read your post. Rather than flashback again to GB I went ahead and put Siyah 4.3.3 on my phone. Went great, rebooted and installed quick and everything. Well I rebooted into recovery and went to mounts and storage and formatted the data and all that there and even formatted the secondrom data and all that. Did it a couple times to make sure everything was clean and good to go. Even put AJKs kernel on there after I ran the cleanrom script and it went flawlessly. I did factory resets and wipes and all that and installed SHOstock3 v2.5.9 and started up great. Well it got past the animation and the damn Password for encryption popped up. Well I put the wrong password in and it rebooted without the SAMSUNG screen and went through the boot ani and back to the password for encryption screen. I put the right password in, it reboots and you see the Samsung logo flash quickly and then it sticks on the Samsung Galaxy S2 Splash screen. I don't know what is holding it up from going forward unless when I messed up the first go around and it deleted everything if it didn't take out the bootload command or what have you. So I don't know if this idea will work but I am going to flashback to GB and put the siyah version on there that you linked and see if that will work.
One tihng, when Iencrypted the device the first go round, I onlydid the used data and area not the whole thing. Is this affecting it somehow? Any other ideas to try? I figured a full data format would remove the encryption but it never pops up saying all encryption will be removed. What I need is access to that area of the phone if I could just mount it on the computer. Is it possible after formatting the data, or before, that I should mount internal USB, DATA, etc and try another format/wipe or at least mount them to see if they can be used? Thanks for the help. For anyone else viewing this post (which actually is a lot) any help or ideas are appreciated. I am thinking I may need to format everything and get ahold of Samsung to see if they will reset my phone for me. I just wonder if the PIN lock on my SIM card that got locked when it wouldn't take my PIN didn't mess something up as well.
Eagle
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should I try TWRP instead of CWM and if so where should I grab it from?
Status Update
So this is what I have tried so far as of this moment.
I reflashed using your Stock + Root Gingerbread ROM.
Wiped DATA and everything in recovery menu several times.
Used Kernel Wipe and ROM Nuke for extra cleaning power.
Reinstalled the Kernel AJK and SHOstock3 ROM
Haven't installed any themes though I had Johns Blue and Villians Poison Base Theme (I believe that is what it is) on there when this all went down. Should I put them back on there?
Password still pops up. So what it looks like is that unless I stick with the unencrypted portion of the phone, I am screwed with any custom ROMs as the correct password has the phone restart and then stick at the Samsung Galaxy S2 Splash Screen. Apparently I still cannot access that area of the phones memory to wipe it at all no matter what I do. I need to access it somehow. Really driving me crazy and thinking I may need to talk with AT&T(as Samsung told me to earlier this morning lol) and see what they can do.
One thing I do notice is when I use your stock root program it actually removes the encryption or decrypts the section of the phone for the stock ROM to go on the phone which is cool.
Eagle
Any other things to try from anyone is greatly appreciated.
Been away all day. Sorry, I can't offer any other suggestions, but I have no experience with encryption. As you said, what you need to know is where the encryption is stored in memory so you can wipe or format that and restore it to original. If you can get to the right person, probably not level 1 tech support, then maybe you can find out. Somebody somewhere knows the answer to this.
would restoring my original EFS before this whole process help or is the encryption section totally blocked off?
WarEagleUS said:
would restoring my original EFS before this whole process help or is the encryption section totally blocked off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no idea whether the encryption is stored there. What kind of efs backup did you take?
creepyncrawly said:
Been away all day. Sorry, I can't offer any other suggestions, but I have no experience with encryption. As you said, what you need to know is where the encryption is stored in memory so you can wipe or format that and restore it to original. If you can get to the right person, probably not level 1 tech support, then maybe you can find out. Somebody somewhere knows the answer to this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thx bro. yeah I need to run some forensic tools and see if I can mount the whole phone system on my PC and run the tools.
creepyncrawly said:
I have no idea whether the encryption is stored there. What kind of efs backup did you take?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a full efs backup. I made two or three actuakky using advanced efs, nitrality, and recovery.
WarEagleUS said:
a full efs backup. I made two or three actuakky using advanced efs, nitrality, and recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A little research indicates that there is quite a bit of stuff stored in efs besides carrier specific data. So maybe encryption could be in there. Of those tools, nitrality for sure and maybe advanced efs should be able to restore the entire efs partition. If you are comfortable with the risk - a damaged efs would render the phone useless - then you might try this to see if it clears up the encryption issue. BTW, you should learn how to back up the efs partition yourself using terminal and linux commands.
creepyncrawly said:
A little research indicates that there is quite a bit of stuff stored in efs besides carrier specific data. So maybe encryption could be in there. Of those tools, nitrality for sure and maybe advanced efs should be able to restore the entire efs partition. If you are comfortable with the risk - a damaged efs would render the phone useless - then you might try this to see if it clears up the encryption issue. BTW, you should learn how to back up the efs partition yourself using terminal and linux commands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I should have used ADB to do that from the get go. I should have used the wife's laptop like I started to instead of my WIN 8 machine has it seems to be finicky with Android SDK (the portion at least needed to run ADB). Linux commands really aren't much different than terminal and I have done both. I was actually trying to get fastboot commands to work but my bootloader wasn't cooperating and for the life of me I couldn't find how to unlock it. I may try restoring that EFS. If nothing else I would love to be able to format that EFS and replace it with my original copy though as you said a damaged EFS may actually cause issues (who knows if it is damaged). I do know that I am fixing to chat with AT&T support. I hope I don't have to drive down to Hoover, AL to the repair facility. I would rather them send me a phone and send this one back. I am on stock 4.0.4 ICS from AT&T and any root that may be on there (though I doubt there is now) I can remove and what not
Thanks for the advice and insight Creepy. I know you tried like hell to get me an answer but in doing research on here with other problems I found out some useful information going forward my friend.
Eagle
Well, looks like I will be getting a special early upgrade and the wife will as well. I will be keeping this phone, however, to mess with this and see if I cannot get this problem fixed. Thanks Creepy so much. I appreciate your research and help more than you know. If possible I would love to keep this thread open for a while just in case I figure this out and fix the issue. It may take me a week or so but I will get back to messing with it again.
A side note. You don't need the whole sdk to get adb. You can download just the files you need from my signature.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
This will help anyone who keeps having flashing issues.
More detailed instructions in my GUIDE!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2295557
THIS IS ONE QUICK/SIMPLE ERROR FREE ROM FLASHING PROCEDURE
This should eliminate a few posts saying, stuck in download mode, stuck at logo. just vibrates and them MANY other issues that somehow, everyone seems to find.
Here is my quick rom flashing process I use ALWAYS (yes always)
THINGS YOU NEED ON extSDCARD
1. Extra kernels (2 or 3 you know works for your device)
2. Optional: 2 recoveries that can be flashed (I use CWM & TWRP)
3. Optional: apps.zip (a zip created from Titantium BU, containing Root Explorer, TU Backup, Quickpic, ES File Explorer and Terminal Emulator)
Flashing the rom: TOUCHWIZ/AOSP ROMS
1. Backup current rom (to the extsdcard)
2. Complete wipe, (I do complete, some people do not) Complete = No Issues [FACTORY RESET + CLEAR CACHE + CLEAR DALVIK CACHE + CLEAR DATA]
3. Flash the rom
4. Flash the kernel (your device kernel) (I know some roms have their own kernel) this is where your problems start.
AGAIN: FLASH YOUR KERNEL, you KNOW it works. 1 more time FLASH YOUR KERNEL. (you can experiment with other kernels after you boot)
AOSP ROMS - require you to flash gapps before you boot. [This is not required for TouchWiz roms]
5. Boot the rom.
FINISHED!!!! SUCCESS!!!
Total time to flash a rom:
7-10min
Errors - NONE
This goes for every rom in my guide.
TIPS:
This flash procedure is for Touchwiz Roms, if you are flashing AOSP roms, you must flash the gapps package associated with the rom you are flashing.
**** SGH-I337M Users: Often requires flashing a different kernel than the one included in most ATT ROMS. Any GT-i9505 kernel will work and Adam kernel and Faux kernel are both confirmed working for us Canadian users.
Note: Flash KERNEL directly after ROM then reboot device.
[Special thanks to blyndfyre for this helpful tip].
The extra recovery I flash if a rom does not like the recovery I am using.
Yes, you can flash recoveries back and forth.
Apps.zip I flash after the rom is up & running. This I use to get the rom setup (like root explorer and others needed)
I am in no way responsible for anything that may do damage to any device - Use these tips at your own risk - period!
If you found this useful in any way, please hit the THANKS button for my effort.
RESERVED
TheAxman said:
Any questions? Anyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been running into a lot of issues when trying to flash different ROMs. For instance, right now I'm on CleanROM 1.6 - I just tried to install PureGv2.
Steps I took:
Have Goo and ROM Manager installed after clean install of CleanROM 1.6
Flash CWM from ROM Manager
Install Recovery Script from Goo
Reboot into recover from Goo
TWRP loads
Wipe data, cache, dalvik, etc
Install PureGv2
I forget the error off the top of my head but it doesn't install
In a nutshell I'm asking what am I doing wrong? Do I need to flash another kernel?
Flash your verizon kernel. Correct. I know it is a vzn rom, but do it anyway.
TheAxman said:
Flash your verizon kernel. Correct. I know it is a vzn rom, but do it anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was looking through Tomsgt's Youtube channel and stumbled across a video of his that showed his "About Phone". Everything was identical to mine, so I'm still a little lost as to why I can flash certain ROMs but not others. Sac/Gru's ROM soft bricked my phone, Hyperdrive5.7 didn't install, CleanROM does. It's just funky...maybe I'll just Odin back to stock, flash the MDK and start fresh.
Could the downloads be a problem? I downloaded 2 of the ROMs from work today on a 50meg pipe and they didn't work.
Do you download the ROMs to your phone or to your computer and then move them to your SD card?
If you download to your phone, do you move them to the SD card or leave them in the download folder on the internal storage?
If you do the latter, do you use a micro SD adapter or plug the phone in and move them that way?
harrytery said:
Was looking through Tomsgt's Youtube channel and stumbled across a video of his that showed his "About Phone". Everything was identical to mine, so I'm still a little lost as to why I can flash certain ROMs but not others. Sac/Gru's ROM soft bricked my phone, Hyperdrive5.7 didn't install, CleanROM does. It's just funky...maybe I'll just Odin back to stock, flash the MDK and start fresh.
Could the downloads be a problem? I downloaded 2 of the ROMs from work today on a 50meg pipe and they didn't work.
Do you download the ROMs to your phone or to your computer and then move them to your SD card?
If you download to your phone, do you move them to the SD card or leave them in the download folder on the internal storage?
If you do the latter, do you use a micro SD adapter or plug the phone in and move them that way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download to the computer,then copy to the phones extsdcard, should be ok, make sure you do a md5 check on the files to make sure they are the correct size.
TheAxman said:
Download to the computer,then copy to the phones extsdcard, should be ok, make sure you do a md5 check on the files to make sure they are the correct size.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright sounds good. Flashing back to stock later today then re-rooting
thanks for the help
Remember always do a BACKUP before you do anything.
First off, big thanks for this thread.
Now I'm running Cleanrom 1.5. If I wanted to install a new rom can someone please explain exactly what I do to go about it? As jargon free as possible would be awesome.
Sent from my SCH-I545
I certainly scared the carp outta me the other night. I'm using the Carbon ROM and while I do like it, I miss a couple of the S4s features. I picked what looked like a good modified stock ROM and proceeded to flash it.
I'm using Goo and TWRP for the job. I checked of all 3 boxes for clearing cache, davik and factory reset.
Then I chose the file and started it.
The first result, it acted like if was doing everything but nothing changed. Phone still worked fine.
On the next try, I waited for TWERP to start and I reselected the ROM I wanted and flashed it.
When it booted up, I was very happy to see the original screens come up. Then it stopped on the one with the Verizon check mark. The blue LED slowly pulsing and nothing else for about 30 min. I removed battery to try and start over. Same thing again.
Time to goto my backup and restore my phone back to Carbon.
IT FAILED.
Now my phone is stuck in a weird looking boot up loop. After a few tries I was able to get into recovery
mode. TWRP started loading, froze and crashed! Even though I am a total noob at this, I still did not panic.
I'd restart my phone by removing the battery, going into recovery mode and then wildly press every button on my phone hoping to break the loop. It worked! I chose a different save and tried it all over again. FAIL.
ON the next I wiped every bit of old data off. Chose Factory restore crossed my fiingers....it work! My phone is fine now.
Thanks to that ordeal and this thread I think I know what I did wrong even though this never happened to me. before.
1) WIPE THE DATA
2)INSTALL A COMPATABLE KERNAL FIRST
V^^^^V
Vampyre111 said:
I certainly scared the carp outta me the other night. I'm using the Carbon ROM and while I do like it, I miss a couple of the S4s features. I picked what looked like a good modified stock ROM and proceeded to flash it.
I'm using Goo and TWRP for the job. I checked of all 3 boxes for clearing cache, davik and factory reset.
Then I chose the file and started it.
The first result, it acted like if was doing everything but nothing changed. Phone still worked fine.
On the next try, I waited for TWERP to start and I reselected the ROM I wanted and flashed it.
When it booted up, I was very happy to see the original screens come up. Then it stopped on the one with the Verizon check mark. The blue LED slowly pulsing and nothing else for about 30 min. I removed battery to try and start over. Same thing again.
Time to goto my backup and restore my phone back to Carbon.
IT FAILED.
Now my phone is stuck in a weird looking boot up loop. After a few tries I was able to get into recovery
mode. TWRP started loading, froze and crashed! Even though I am a total noob at this, I still did not panic.
I'd restart my phone by removing the battery, going into recovery mode and then wildly press every button on my phone hoping to break the loop. It worked! I chose a different save and tried it all over again. FAIL.
ON the next I wiped every bit of old data off. Chose Factory restore crossed my fiingers....it work! My phone is fine now.
Thanks to that ordeal and this thread I think I know what I did wrong even though this never happened to me. before.
1) WIPE THE DATA
2)INSTALL A COMPATABLE KERNAL FIRST
V^^^^V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can not stress enough HOW IMPORTANT THE KERNEL IS!
Hmm so everyone is a now a Oriental Flash Master from the far East now huh?
What recovery is everyone using?
[updated: 07-12-2013]
Flashing Questions
So, if you just need to add something, like different Kernerl, do you have to wipe and start from scratch?
Should you.
If so, and you backup apps and data in Titanium, then what you do a full wipe, flash entire rom, and reinstall the apps and data associated therewith?
Last, I have asked this but cannot seem to get an answer.
Installed Hyperdrive 7 (also had 5.7 and 6). Rom is super smooth and fast, working like a charm. but I want Verizon Visual Voice Mail.
I tried to copy the apk file to the devices system/app directory but get permission denied message....tried to install, and get failed message....
xander45 said:
So, if you just need to add something, like different Kernerl, do you have to wipe and start from scratch?
Should you.
If so, and you backup apps and data in Titanium, then what you do a full wipe, flash entire rom, and reinstall the apps and data associated therewith?
Last, I have asked this but cannot seem to get an answer.
Installed Hyperdrive 7 (also had 5.7 and 6). Rom is super smooth and fast, working like a charm. but I want Verizon Visual Voice Mail.
I tried to copy the apk file to the devices system/app directory but get permission denied message....tried to install, and get failed message....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you set the permissions for the app? That should work actually. Look at one of the apps in that directory, and set the permissions the same for the voice app. Reboot and see what happens.
Good luck.
May want to post this question also in my guide thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2295557
Sorry if this is dumb, but how do I know what kernels for sure work with my device and how do I get them to my external sd card? I suppose the one that is currently on my device(how to get that to sd?), but what others?
Thanks.
Painterface said:
Sorry if this is dumb, but how do I know what kernels for sure work with my device and how do I get them to my external sd card? I suppose the one that is currently on my device(how to get that to sd?), but what others?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please bring the question over to my thread up above. It shows also what kernels to use. We will help there.
Another noob question: so you still advise flashing a kernel even if the ROM creator says that the ROM comes with the appropriate kernel and that no extra flashing is required? I've got the Verizon Galaxy S4 variant and specifically am thinking of Dubbsy's Google Play Edition ROM.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
theoneknownasbob said:
Another noob question: so you still advise flashing a kernel even if the ROM creator says that the ROM comes with the appropriate kernel and that no extra flashing is required? I've got the Verizon Galaxy S4 variant and specifically am thinking of Dubbsy's Google Play Edition ROM.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would flash the rom, and after, flash your verizon kernel, simple as that.
I've been using CM13 on my phone for a long while, but it was heavily bugged (my camera kept crashing, I've kept losing cell reception, couldn't receive calls etc), so I finally decided to try another ROM. I've heard good things about ResurrectionRemix ROMs, so I've decided to give it a try. I did factory reset and wiped cache (using CWM 6. something) and flashed RR 7.1 along with the appropriate gapps and rebooted the phone. It's worth noting that I've put the ROM and Gapps zip files on USB stick and connected it to the phone via micro USB cable. It all went smoothly, and the phone booted right up. However, once I got into the startup setting and choosing the language suddenly it just rebooted all on its own. Same thing happened 2 more times, and I got stuck in a bootloop after that.
So I figured I should flash another ROM, and I wanted to give RR 6.0 a try. I've downloaded it and saved it to my USB stick, however, when I tried to flash any zip files from my stick, it just kept randomly unmounting, disrupting the process, giving me "USBdisc0 idle-unmounted" message. Since I don't have an SD card, only thing I could do was push files to my phone, and I've managed to do so via Quick ADB Pusher. This time, flashing went without a hitch, however, I've tried cleaning my phone completely (formatting all the data and system files), and I think I messed it up a bit when I did that, since I didn't flash SuperSU along with ROP and gapps. Again, I got stuck in a bootloop without any signs of the ROM working.
So I decided to flash CM13 again. At least I was sure it was working on my phone, and I figured it was better to have a crappy phone than no phone at all. So I pushed the CM13 file onto the phone and flashed it, but still got stuck in bootloop. I finally remembered about SuperSU and tried to flash it too, but now my phone kept restarting in the middle of the flashing process. I've tried doing the factory reset and cache wipe, but I can't flash any files now without it restarting only few seconds into the process.
I have no idea what's going on, but seems that my phone is doing worse and worse as time moves on. At least I can still boot into recovery and download mode, so (hopefully) something can still be done. As it's probably painfully obvious, I'm not too knowledgeable about this stuff, I'm just following instructions people smarter than me put out, but seems I've messed it up good this time. Am I beyond help?
Try to download newest firmware from sanmobile.com and flash it with odin. Then root it make backup flash recovery and flash rom that you choose with recovery. There are lots of tutorials here on xda and on youtube. Just remember that flashing stock firmware with odin will delete all of your data so try to back them up somehow (i think that if you boot phone in recovery (twrp) the pc will see it like a pendrive)
Sirius8 said:
...
As it's probably painfully obvious, I'm not too knowledgeable about this stuff, I'm just following instructions people smarter than me put out, but seems I've messed it up good this time. Am I beyond help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TBH you made the mistake many beginners make... Going ahead too fast with insufficient knowledge. But never too late to learn that lesson
Since you are getting more and more confused and your phone seems acting strange I recommend starting from scratch an be analytic about it. This will take just a few minutes more but you can be sure where a problem comes from.
First of all: Take 30 minutes to get acquainted with the basics and read through the first thread in my signature (just do it...)
If you can still get in download mode, get your latest stock rom e.g. from sammobile.com and flash it via ODIN. Run stock for a few minutes to see if everything works correctly (test camera, outgoing/incoming calls, mobile data, wifi, gps etc.). If something does not work STOP HERE and report back.
If all is fine go back to ODIN and install latest TWRP (cwm is seriously outdated, can cause lots of errors). Then boot into TWRP and flash whatever custom rom you like. If you install e.g. LOS 14.1 or RR 7.1.1 make sure you install gapps direcly after you flash the rom (do not reboot in between).
Any questions pop up: Shoot. I'm happy to help.
---------- Post added at 04:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 PM ----------
McXred said:
Try to download newest firmware from sanmobile.com and flash it with odin. Then root it make backup flash recovery and flash rom that you choose with recovery. There are lots of tutorials here on xda and on youtube. Just remember that flashing stock firmware with odin will delete all of your data so try to back them up somehow (i think that if you boot phone in recovery (twrp) the pc will see it like a pendrive)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since he already wiped system and data there is no point in a backup of those partitions. Only thing worth saving would be the efs partition.
And you don't need to root stock rom to go further...
If you are unrooted you have to REMOVE the "auto-reboot" checkmark in odin options and then - after the flash of twrp - reboot to recovery (TWRP) manually via holding Power+Home+VolUp for a few seconds.
If you do not uncheck that "auto-reboot" box, an thus allow the unrooted system (stock samsung system) to boot, it will overwrite the new twrp recovery you flashed 2 seconds before...
This is the point where I believe many confusion comes from. If you root first, any recovery you flash will not be overwritten. That is - I think - why many tutorials/tips say you must root stock first before installing a custom rom, which is simply not true.
But you are right that it would help to flash TWRP fist as outlined above, boot into it and make a backup to a microSD card... but of the efs partition (!) as the very first step. Then keep that backup safe and go from there with stock rom, testing for any problems.
So to reiterate the steps I would go:
1) Flash TWRP via odin and boot directly into it
2) Backup efs partition to a microSD card
3) Flash stock rom via ODIN and test
4) Go from there / report baback
Thank you so much for the replies guys, I'm glad there's still hope for my trusty SIII.
Are there any alternatives for sammobile.com though, since it requires premium account for the firmware I need. I've found another mirror on the site mrcrab.net/stockrom/2444.html (mirror 1 leads to sammobile.com, while mirror 2 leads directly to rapidgator), but can I trust it not to mess my phone up further?
Try updato.com for the firmware.
Hawaiihemd said:
If you can still get in download mode, get your latest stock rom e.g. from sammobile.com and flash it via ODIN. Run stock for a few minutes to see if everything works correctly (test camera, outgoing/incoming calls, mobile data, wifi, gps etc.). If something does not work STOP HERE and report back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've manage to flash stock ROM via Odin, however, as soon as the phone booted up it gave me the "low battery" message, even though I think there was plenty of battery left. But I figured the flashing process must have drained it. As I've tried to tap the OK button, the screen just froze and remained frozen for over 5 minutes. I took battery out and reinserted it, since nothing else worked, and got stuck in bootloop again, just as before flashing stock firmware.
Sirius8 said:
I've manage to flash stock ROM via Odin, however, as soon as the phone booted up it gave me the "low battery" message, even though I think there was plenty of battery left. But I figured the flashing process must have drained it. As I've tried to tap the OK button, the screen just froze and remained frozen for over 5 minutes. I took battery out and reinserted it, since nothing else worked, and got stuck in bootloop again, just as before flashing stock firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to charge phone without turning it on, when it says its fully charged try to flash it again.
McXred said:
Try to charge phone without turning it on, when it says its fully charged try to flash it again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good idea. I would also keep it on the charger while booting.
This could be a symptom of a defective battery. So these steps might help.
Looks like you were right guys. I've recharged the battery and tried to flash the stock firmware again, but for some odd reason (it seems like I can't do the same thing twice with this phone ) Odin was giving me grief and couldn't establish proper connection with my phone, even though it recognized it at the beginning of the process. I've tried changing cables and ports, but with no avail.
After I gave that up, I tried booting the phone up anyway, but keeping it plugged in the charger this time. It booted right up, but I expected it to crash and reboot at any moment. So I sped up through the settings a and login processes, but it still worked like a charm. I've checked the camera and everything worked perfectly. So I kept it on charger for a couple of hours, to check if I would have any random crashes, but nothing happened. After I was sure it was stable, I unplugged the charger, and within the second I did that the phone crashed and got stuck in the bootloop again.
I've plugged the charger back in and it booted up just fine. The battery level was 89%, and I left it on charger the whole night (12+ hours). It had 90% when I woke up, it's back at 89% right now.
So, everything points to a faulty battery, but it seems strange to me this happened just as I was flashing another ROM, even though I never had any problems with it before. And even though it wouldn't let me boot, I could use recovery and download mode for as long as I liked, and once I did boot with the charger plugged in, the battery wasn't drained but it was around 90%.
Hawaiihemd said:
TBH you made the mistake many beginners make... Going ahead too fast with insufficient knowledge. But never too late to learn that lesson
Since you are getting more and more confused and your phone seems acting strange I recommend starting from scratch an be analytic about it. This will take just a few minutes more but you can be sure where a problem comes from.
First of all: Take 30 minutes to get acquainted with the basics and read through the first thread in my signature (just do it...)
If you can still get in download mode, get your latest stock rom e.g. from sammobile.com and flash it via ODIN. Run stock for a few minutes to see if everything works correctly (test camera, outgoing/incoming calls, mobile data, wifi, gps etc.). If something does not work STOP HERE and report back.
If all is fine go back to ODIN and install latest TWRP (cwm is seriously outdated, can cause lots of errors). Then boot into TWRP and flash whatever custom rom you like. If you install e.g. LOS 14.1 or RR 7.1.1 make sure you install gapps direcly after you flash the rom (do not reboot in between).
Any questions pop up: Shoot. I'm happy to help.
---------- Post added at 04:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 PM ----------
Since he already wiped system and data there is no point in a backup of those partitions. Only thing worth saving would be the efs partition.
And you don't need to root stock rom to go further...
If you are unrooted you have to REMOVE the "auto-reboot" checkmark in odin options and then - after the flash of twrp - reboot to recovery (TWRP) manually via holding Power+Home+VolUp for a few seconds.
If you do not uncheck that "auto-reboot" box, an thus allow the unrooted system (stock samsung system) to boot, it will overwrite the new twrp recovery you flashed 2 seconds before...
This is the point where I believe many confusion comes from. If you root first, any recovery you flash will not be overwritten. That is - I think - why many tutorials/tips say you must root stock first before installing a custom rom, which is simply not true.
But you are right that it would help to flash TWRP fist as outlined above, boot into it and make a backup to a microSD card... but of the efs partition (!) as the very first step. Then keep that backup safe and go from there with stock rom, testing for any problems.
So to reiterate the steps I would go:
1) Flash TWRP via odin and boot directly into it
2) Backup efs partition to a microSD card
3) Flash stock rom via ODIN and test
4) Go from there / report baback
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still on charger, still 90 percent.