okay i'll preface this by saying i read all the way through the Vibrick thread and any others i could find on this subject.
i was running NeroV3, decided to try CM7. made a dumb move (apparently?) by restoring back to my stock 2.2 backup via CWM, then flashing to CM7 and THEN trying to flash the Overstock kernel (these steps should be reversed?). i wiped the cache and dalvik cache, but then the kernel flash failed ("installation aborted"), so i rebooted, which went fine. i used ROM Manager to get back to recovery, tried flashing the kernel again, failed again, hit reboot, and then my phone got stuck on the Vibrant screen.
I tried every 3-button combo (also with battery pulls) to get to Download mode but nothing works. when i plug in the USB the spinny-working-hourglass thing pops up but freezes, the green charging bar does not come up, and it does not go to download mode.
when not plugged in, it just keeps returning to the Vibrant screen. i can't even get it to turn off without pulling the battery. i'm definitely not comfortable trying the solder method.
any help is appreciated - i'm not giving it long til i take it to t-mobile and play dumb, worst comes to worst i'll just get a cheapo replacement from the store and find another vibrant (or similar) used on craigslist.
thanks!
UPDATE:::
got the phone into download mode thanks to a thread by Dolphinwigs. had to do have odin open when replacing the battery/holding volume up/down.
waiting on the stock rom download now (internet is slow). hopefully all goes well from here...
The biggest issue I find is that people give up on ODIN to easily. Getting into download mode is not that hard but also not that easy eiither. This is why everyone should purchase a jig, never give up on ODIN try it a thousand times and then once more. Always have ODIN up and ready with the proper files on hand, and as soon as it connects to ODIN be ready to make shyt happen.
In your case an ODIN flash should get you where you need to be and after you root again flashing to CM7 should not be an issue. Keep in mind if you use the .tar in ODIN as well as the .pit you will lose everything on both internal/exteral SD. At this point unless you made a backup prior to your issue its really a lost cost.
Good luck!
i am now back up and running, i just didn't realize i needed Odin running when i tried to go to download mode. so simple, but so frustrating.
one thing though, the ROM i got is Eclair. do i need to update to FroYo before flashing CM7?
and also, so i do it right this time, do i flash the Overstock kernel BEFORE i flash CM7? or does it matter?
I tried to flash the recovery for this phone via rooting and downloading clockworkmod and then flashing there, it failed and did not work even though the phone is fully rooted and permissions are okay. I tried to flash it via ODIN and the only one I could get to go was that CWM VOODOO lagfix one, the red screen. Then when inside of that, it doesnt want to flash roms, it doesnt want to restore backups. I tried to do MIUI and it worked and installed a recovery and it KINDA worked, not really tho.
So, my question is: How do you install recovery to this phone? I have tried the guides, I'm just going to ask. It has eclair stock on there now, rooted, flashed to cricket settings via PST (which by the way odin did NOT restore the settings to default VZW, with both the eclair and froyo stock recovery and PIT file. When it was finished I did a 611 and it was still cricket.)
It seems as if recovery is ON there, but just not reading it correctly and its as if it doesn't have the appropriate permissions. Any help is appreciated.
EDIT: After countless hours of going through all the guides I could find, google, this place search, just wading through the topics, etc. I finally came across a guide that works. This one says to pull the battery. The sticky says to leave the battery in, several people also say different things. At any rate, THIS should be sticky'd. The other one seems outmoded. This is also the best guide I've seen in a while.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1212239
So here's the story. This morning I started out with a working 32GB GT-i9300 running a rooted variant of Samsung's android 4.2.2., and thought I'd have a go at overclocking it following this thread here. Look away now if you can't bear to read of the destruction of technology by ignorance and impatience.
The first road block I hit was needing siyah kernel if I wanted to try overclocking the graphics chip as well. Why not? I tried flashing Siyah via clockwork recovery and ended up with a status 7 error which I looked up to mean my OS was incompatible. (In hindsight I probably had the wrong file...) So I did a bit more research and found that Cyanogenmod 10.1 is also supported by Siyah. I've always thought it would be fun to try Cyanogen, so I grabbed the latest nightly and tried flashing it with mobile Odin. Mobile Odin started flashing then froze after something like 'clearing data'. I think I must have been using the wrong file here too... Anyway, I reset my phone, and it wouldn't boot, except into recovery or download mode. So in another flurry of impatient research I found a bunch of different sources that seemed to suggest re-partitioning with a .pit file was a sure fire fix. A link was provided, with no mention that pit files are specific for certain sizes. Next thing I know, I've re partitioned with a 64GB file on my 32GB phone, and recovery mode is no longer an option. I can still use download mode but Odin freezes typically on 'NAND Write Start!!'
Panic mode, activate.
Things I have tried so far to no avail:
Re-partitioning with a pit file for 32GB galaxy S3s - It finishes in Odin successfully, but no result.
Attempting to flash any ROM, specifically the original one, and the one I had before the screw up - 'NAND Write Start' freeze
Attempting to flash any kernel, specifically Siyah, Perseus and the stock kernel. - Same as above
Using multiple usb cables (4) - No result
Trying different USB ports, and different computers - Ditto
Different versions of Odin (1.3, 1.85 and 3.07) - Unsucessful
Throwing a tantrum - exhausting, but otherwise un-noteworthy
Things i haven't tried:
Jtag. - I don't know terribly much about this apart from what I found in a PDF. Would this be likely to work? Are there any trustworthy people that do this? Should I try it myself?
Returning to Samsung under hardware warranty - I don't think this would work, my flash counter is 2 - custom. Unless it's possible to triangle away in this state.
Giving up - I doubt this would help, but somehow it's looking more and more enticing... ;_;
So after wasting nearly a whole day trying to rescue it, and failing miserably. (Digging my own grave) I decided to post my specific case. As while I have found many descriptions of similar woes, nothing has worked.
Can you help? Please?
Its a damaged Nand from what you posted .
jje
If that's the case, is there anything I can do at all? Is it worth trying to Jtag it?
Hey all!
Wanting to upgrade my firmware from ICS to Jelly Bean (as a definite noob, though having flashed firmwares before) I opened Odin and added what I considered the correct .tar file from Sammobile in the PDA field. In short, it failed and I thought I had a new brick*. Following Phistacio's guide to fixing an unflashable GSII I've now got my phone back (woohoo!!), but am stupid enough to want to give it another go!
My question really, is what could have gone wrong, and more largely, what are the variable errors that us noobs make when trying to flash? I'm using Odin, but it seems using a CWM (is this the correct term?!) might now be the chosen route to flashing?
I'm rooted, on an unlocked GSII, recently moved from O2 to Everything Everywhere (T-Mob), currently using an O2 issued ICS, stock kernel and tried flashing Jelly Bean from Sammobile.
So what's critical here? Is my carrier relevant? Is it not possible to go from some firmwares to others? Do I need a different kernel for some firmwares? Or is my mistake in thinking it's as straight forward as I'd like, when in fact all the above make a critical difference in which firmware I can flash, and therefore I should stop trying??!
Thanks in advance for any light you can shed!
*I think I was softbricked - could enter download mode but not recovery, flashing would hang on either "Nand write start!!" or Sbl.bin or Cache.img.
my two cents
Hi joelinit,
First of all, should congratulate you on taking the first step of flashing the roms..
Second, good you got an issue while flashing. It helps you understand the intricacies better once you try to solve it yourself.
You need not worry about the brick. Try flashing back to stock rom available from sammobile using Odin(3.04). (United Kingdom (O2) 2013 March 4.1.2 PDA-I9100XWLSD CSC-I9100O2ULS7). Yes carrier is important as Modem file differs based on which carrier you use.
This will fix the recovery and will get you on stock JellyBean.
but it seems using a CWM (is this the correct term?!) might now be the chosen route to flashing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CWM is clockworkmod recovery which provides options for flashing custom roms(CM10, SlimRom, NeatRom etc, there are so many).
So what's critical here? Is my carrier relevant? Is it not possible to go from some firmwares to others? Do I need a different kernel for some firmwares? Or is my mistake in thinking it's as straight forward as I'd like, when in fact all the above make a critical difference in which firmware I can flash, and therefore I should stop trying??!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Searching in sammobile for firmwares you will find different firmwares for different carriers. You can flash a UK firmware for some other country, but might have issues with call reception, 3G connectivity, etc. as the modem files are different.
It is possible to go from some firmwares to others.
Stock Roms come with Stock Kernels. When you flash a ROM, kernel will remain the same.
You need to change kernels if your phone is consuming too much battery, crashes etc. This normally happens after flashing custom roms as the kernel is not capable enough to handle the updates in the rom.
Dont stop trying, you will love your phone, once you start flashing the awesome roms,kernels found in xda.
Cheers,
Maddy
Galaxy S2 || CM10.1 nightly 4.2.2 || Dorimanx 9.24
Most of the above is good advice. ....apart from the kernel bit.......
All custom roms and firmwares come with their own optimised kernels. These kernels get flashed during the rom/firmware flash. You can choose to install a custom kernel after you have flashed your chosen rom/fw. Custom kernels offer more control over your OS. All custom kernels offer cwm or twrp (depending on the kernel) and will root an unrooted phone. Most need to be Odin flashed, but some (PhilZ) can be flashed via stock recovery........
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
Hey guys! Thanks so much for the friendly replies - I thought I might have got abuse as a noob, possibly asking very repetitve questions!!
So then with my recovered GSII, I decided to give it another blast and, inevitably, it's bricked again! Seems to be the same bahaviour - though instead of hanging on either "Nand write start!!" or Sbl.bin or Cache.img., it's failing on them. And this time, I can't seem to fix it,following Phistacio's guide to fixing an unflashable GSII .
I also tried flashing that firmware you suggested (although as I mentioned, I'm now on T-Mobile, not O2? So also tried T-Mobile's Jelly Bean), though with no success.
To clarify, I've installed Kies, then closed down all Kies processes, started Odin and put the .tar file into the PDA field, left Re-Partition unchecked, with both Auto Reboot and F.Reset Time checked, connected my phone and waited for Odin to recognise it, then pressed Start!
Can you suggest anything obvious that I've done wrong or suggest what I should do next? Thanks so much in advance!
4 things to try.....
Use the original usb cable. ..
Try different usb ports on your pc....
Disable any firewalls......
If you are running windows 7, open odin as an administrator. .....
Oh and a fifth suggestion.....
Try different odin versions...
Edit.....Don't ever flash/select pit
And don't select repartition......
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
These steps are originally posted by MistahBungle. Follow all these steps, he knows what he's talking about.
*Must run Odin as administrator in Windoze.
*Ensure Kies & it's processes aren't running in Windoze task manager. Kill them if they are.
*Try different USB ports; you must be using a 'powered' or mainboard port.
*Try different USB cables (particularly the cable that came with the phone if you're not using it now)
*Try different versions of Odin (search on here/Google)
*Uninstall Kies, reboot, redownload & reinstall it, reboot, try the flash again.
*Turn off antivirus/antispyware/antimalware.
*Check the rom/kernel you download for corruption. Either check the MD5 sum if you have it (use md5summer or similar), if you don't have the md5 sum or can't check it, programs like 7Zip, IZarc, WinRar, etc will allow you to 'test' the rom file you download. If there are any errors/any of the files fail the test, bad download. Try again/try downloading with a different internet connection if it keeps happening.
*Run Windoze Update.
*And if all these steps fail, try a different PC. And if it won't work first go on a 2nd PC, go thru the above steps on that PC. Still doesn't work ? User error (will be almost impossible to say what given we're not there looking over your shoulder, almost always something very obvious being missed) or borked phone - return to service centre or local mobile shop.
I suspect many cases where people (say) they do all the above & still can't get it to work involve problems with the USB ports on the machines they're using. Something along the lines of the port is unable to maintain a constant connection between PC & phone; if that connection drops for even a millisecond (probably not even long enough to be registered as a broken connection by the PC in the normal way), you end up with a constantly failing flash at best and a bad flash which borks your phone at worst.
Obviously the only way I'd be able to test the theory would be to examine/test a bunch of PC's belonging to people who experience this issue, but I've given this issue a lot of thought over the past 18 mths & it's the best explanation I've got for those instances where people are being completely honest about having tried all the steps over & over and on multiple machines (a very very small % of people, most people either simply don't do every step over & over and say they do, or they forget they've forgotten they did A, B & C but not F) & still find they can't flash successfully (and it isn't a case of the phone being borked).
See how you go with that.
Sent from my GT-I9100: Powered by Dorimanx, running RootBox
Thanks so much for all these useful replies - really was expecting to get fobbed off for my noob questions! What a nice community!
I'll try all the above and report back. I have successfully flashed on this computer before and did manage to restore the phone last time, though perhaps the cable is faulty and slightly intermittent? I'm using the USB port that's connected to the mother board too.
Thanks again...
Quite possible. And impossible to diagnose unless you strip the cable (which is pointless given fixing a $10 cable is a waste of time/effort). Go thru the steps Hopper listed (with multiple PC's if necessary) & definitely try a new cable if you need to. Try to get an original Samsung one if you possibly can; for some reason switching to one magically solves this problem for some people when nothing else seems to work.
joelinit said:
perhaps the cable is faulty and slightly intermittent?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MistahBungle said:
Quite possible. And impossible to diagnose unless you strip the cable (which is pointless given fixing a $10 cable is a waste of time/effort). Go thru the steps Hopper listed (with multiple PC's if necessary) & definitely try a new cable if you need to. Try to get an original Samsung one if you possibly can; for some reason switching to one magically solves this problem for some people when nothing else seems to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Yeah the cable will be the first thing I'll try changing. It's odd that the flash seems to fail at the same point each time though, kind of implying that it's not an intermitted cable? Unless this particular cable is falling short at those particular functions or something?
Anyway, thanks again - I'm actually kinda enjoying learning about my phone, even though there's the fear it's now a brick!! Fingers crossed that's not the case though...
Well how about that - change the USB cable, and flashes successfully first time round! What a fool! I did also remove the battery/sim for the night and left the sim out during the flash - wonder if that made any difference too?
Thanks so much for all your friendly and helpful replies - I think I'll be sticking around this forum and searching for some custom ROMs to try out!
Happy Wednesdays all...
joelinit said:
Well how about that - change the USB cable, and flashes successfully first time round! What a fool! I did also remove the battery/sim for the night and left the sim out during the flash - wonder if that made any difference too?
Thanks so much for all your friendly and helpful replies - I think I'll be sticking around this forum and searching for some custom ROMs to try out!
Happy Wednesdays all...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good job, glad you got it working keep reading up before you do anything else. The more you read, the better you'll get at all this
Sent from my GT-I9100: Powered by Dorimanx, running RootBox
Hopper8 said:
Good job, glad you got it working keep reading up before you do anything else. The more you read, the better you'll get at all this
Sent from my GT-I9100: Powered by Dorimanx, running RootBox
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will do! Looking forward to exploring new firmwares so will get as clued up as poss! Have now successfully flashed SentinelROM and loving having a "new" phone! Much more exploring to come.
Thanks v.much to all who've helped me in this thread...
Okay, I don't really know if i'm aloud to start a new thread for this but I'm going to see what happens.
Okay, I'm fairly new to rooting and flashing. I've flashed maybe 4 phones with custom roms and everything went fairly smoothly. I just got a Galaxy S8+ Sprint SM-G955u and was attempting the sampwnd root method on here. I thought I was following the directions to a T but apparently I wasn't because I got a fail pretty much right off the bat. Now my phone will not whatsoever. I am able to get it into download mode but that is it. No recovery mode no nothing. I have tried flashing the stock firmware but I get the same result. A fail pretty much right off the bat. I am running odin as admin, I've tried flashing the files individually as well as all together in both regular odin and comsey odin and I still just get the same failed result . Please tell me what ive done wrong and please please tell me i'm not screwed.
haven't rooted anything in a while but i used to do all my phones, do the normal 3 things when you fail, 1) re download the files 2) look around for more odins that other people are saying works and 3) try different cables, this is the dumb reason i have failed many flashes so don't overlook this. you can get into download mode so you're not screwed yet. best of luck
Thats really the best advice giving your situation. Ive had scenarios in the past where each one of those fixed my problems
Well sprint phones dont have root or custom roms as far as i see, but, maybe the other lines do. But if you really screwed up...try selecting nand erase all option and use the stock rom. Thats always been my last resort, and it always worked