[Q] Please Assist Me in Unbricking My Phone - Vibrant Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I was running the Axura Custom Rom, which I got here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=821468, and for some unknown reason, I was inspired to reinstall Voodoo lag fix. So I headed over to the official website, http://project-voodoo.org/download, and I installed the version for Froyo where you use ClockWorkMod to install it. I think I did this because under system information, it said I was on 2.2. Anyways, I installed it with ClockWorkMod and what happened is two things. First, after booting it up, it went to the regular Samsung Vibrant screen then proceeded to show a Galaxy S G-I900 screen, and it got stuck there and refuses to move on. I left it on overnight, and in the morning, it was still at the same screen. So I went into Recovery Mode and disabled the Lag Fix, and that allowed me to get past that screen to the custom boot up screen that says "Devs4Android. Giving you a reason to have a phone". However, there's internal vibration at intervals of about 7 seconds or so, and I have reason to believe it keeps cycling on that screen. So, I basically haven't been able to get into the system. I tried using Odin to Flash my phone, but Odin just wouldn't seem to recognize my phone in download mode no matter what I tried. (Believe me, I've tried everything). However, Odin did detect my phone while I was in the Recovery Mode menu, but when I tried clicking start, there was an error. Any suggestions on how to restore/fix my phone?

You still have access to recovery, correct?
Assuming you do, you can push a new kernel and ROM to your device from your computer using ADB and flash those using CWM to see if it works.
In CWM, when you go to install zip from sdcard, do you see all your folders and things there, or is it missing a BUNCH of stuff?

Also what is your computer os? I has the same issue with odin not seeing my phone, (win 7 - 64bit) and just needed to go to samsung and get the usb drivers. Once I did that I was able to flash back to stock and then flash my current rom.
running team whiskey nero v3

Also, if you get the latest Axura 2.259 it is based on the Supercurio kernel it has the lag-fix built into it.
Like the other poster said get the right usb driver 32bit or 64 bit depending on your op system install that on your computer, Then get into recovery, see if you can flash the disable voodoo zip. Then, if it was me I Odin back to stock, but you may need to install the Eugene's froyo that does not brick first, then shut down the phone and then reflash in Odin the stock. (check the stickey in the general section

Related

[Q] Flash Stock using Odin, phone boots fine, but stuck on black screen lights

Hello,
I tried to recovery my phone by using Odin3 to install the stock 2.1 vibrant rom. I am using the rom from the official sticky about fixing a bricked phone.
Odin3 1.0 did not work and it would always freeze on a process even after trying it over and over again at least 5 times. So, I changed to use Odin3 1.7 which I found a link to on xda. This one installed successfully and went through the whole process and my phone rebooted. When it rebooted I saw the Samsung Vibrant Screen, then the T-Mobile screen then the Galaxy S screen fine like normal. But once it got passed the S screen a black screen would come up and all the button lights stay lit up and nothing happens for hours. I tried installing the rom several times, tried different links to the offical JFD stock rom, but everytime I try to install the same thing would happen. What do you recommend I should do to fix this problem?
wipe cache partitin , factory reset in rrecovery ?
Yes, I did. I wiped cache and data, but it still is is still stuck at the black screen.
Your using the JFD.tar in PDA and 512.pit in PIT and Repartition is NOT checked?
Yes, I made sure it was not checked and It was checked automatically the first time and I didn't realize that odin checks that automatically, so I unchecked it and did it a second time. The phone still gets stuck at the black screen with light up buttons.
I am trying the Eugene's Unofficial Froyo rom right now because what initially bricked my phone was installing 2.2 from Kies and that failing. When that failed I unplugged the phone and got the computer to phone icon screen and could no longer boot, so I went to install the stock rom.
The problem I am having with Eugene's Unofficial Froyo rom I am having now is that I have 0 space for applications and cannot install applicants even after doing a wipe and factory reset. Does this have to do with accidently setting it to re-partition and if so, how can I fix the no application storage issue so that I can install applications?
Thanks
I was thinking he designed this ROM just specifically to help bricked vibrants...I think you just use it as a means to reflash another ROM or back to stock or whatever.
I did what you had phone ! PC.. last night to my wife's phone....left it on that screen and plugged into pc with ODIN open..it showed a COM port so I flashed it like that and it boots right up.
I wonder if it has anything to do with Voodoo? I had a Voodoo Lagfix installed prior to doing the upgrade to Froyo 2.2 using the official method. May be why it failed. so I decided to flash back to stock. When I flashed stock 2.1 the phone would boot up then show the Vibrant Screen then the T-Mobile intro then the Galaxy S intro but once it got passed that the screen would go black and the buttons would stay lit up. I flashed Eugene's unofficial 2.2 ROM (no longer posted on xda, but it is on his website). That booted up perfectly, but the problem was that I now had 0 application storages and apps could not be installed on internal memory (could still install apps on SD card, I used this to install Rom Manager to the SD Card to flash Clockwork Recovery just in case)
Today, I tried flashing the Stock 2.1 rom back onto it (Phone was currently running Eugene's rom), but I have the same result with the black screen and lit buttons.
I looked at the FAQ for removing Voodoo and added a folder named "disable lagfix" in the Voodoo folder on the internal SD card. I ran this, but the problem still persisted, so I decided to flash again to see if it would be fixed. Still the same thing occured.
If this is a Voodoo problem, is there another method for removing Voodoo that I could try? I need to make sure that it is restored to the default RFS file structure that came with the phone and flash stock 2.1
Hmmm...odin back to eugenes froyo & unmount ur internal sd & format...go ahead and remove ur microsd & sim also...& then try to odin just the. Tar for jfd no pit ...no repartition..try to use ka6 instead of a 2.1..
Sent from Bionix V powered Vibrant
flash back to JFD eclair from bible with 512 pit and repartition ticked .
just for record JFD.zip goes in to pda
ViralCipher said:
I wonder if it has anything to do with Voodoo? I had a Voodoo Lagfix installed prior to doing the upgrade to Froyo 2.2 using the official method. May be why it failed. so I decided to flash back to stock. When I flashed stock 2.1 the phone would boot up then show the Vibrant Screen then the T-Mobile intro then the Galaxy S intro but once it got passed that the screen would go black and the buttons would stay lit up. I flashed Eugene's unofficial 2.2 ROM (no longer posted on xda, but it is on his website). That booted up perfectly, but the problem was that I now had 0 application storages and apps could not be installed on internal memory (could still install apps on SD card, I used this to install Rom Manager to the SD Card to flash Clockwork Recovery just in case)
Today, I tried flashing the Stock 2.1 rom back onto it (Phone was currently running Eugene's rom), but I have the same result with the black screen and lit buttons.
I looked at the FAQ for removing Voodoo and added a folder named "disable lagfix" in the Voodoo folder on the internal SD card. I ran this, but the problem still persisted, so I decided to flash again to see if it would be fixed. Still the same thing occured.
If this is a Voodoo problem, is there another method for removing Voodoo that I could try? I need to make sure that it is restored to the default RFS file structure that came with the phone and flash stock 2.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you do the disable lagfix are you rebooting and letting it convert the filesystem back to rfs or are you just powering down and going to d/l mode and trying to ODIN? You need to reboot the phone and let Linda do her thing and power up, then power down etc etc..
jmcghee1973 said:
When you do the disable lagfix are you rebooting and letting it convert the filesystem back to rfs or are you just powering down and going to d/l mode and trying to ODIN? You need to reboot the phone and let Linda do her thing and power up, then power down etc etc..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I rebooted after applying the disable lagfix, but it booted normally and didn't seem like it was doing the Linda thing....I wasn't sure if it worked or not. How would I know if it is back to using the RFS system?
I tried different roms and I had no luck. The KA6 Rom that flashes via odin installs fine, but it goes to the Recovery Screen the E3 one I think, and when it tries to mount DATA and other partitions it fails to do so, and somethings fail to be wiped. It doesn't boot.
When I run the JFD odin, when it goes to recovery for the first time it has one error where it fails to wipe DATA. Not sure if these are the reasons why I am having problems though.
I formated all partitions including the internal sdcard. Still no luck.
So far the only ROM that I got working is Eugene's 2.2..but I can't install applications with that one.
I tried installing the Bionix V Rom via ClockWork Recovery, but once it begins to Copy Files it errors out with an Error on line 13 and copy's out an error log. I posted a response to the thread about this ROM. I redownloaded to ensure it wasn't corrupted.
*****If you need more information on the EXACT Rom I installed prior to the brick here is the thread to the rom I installed. Maybe that will help you help me more ******
This is the rom I had before attempting to upgrade to Froyo:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=791478
I installed the Stock Recovery version.
Edit: I know this rom above is a kernal mod. I did flash the stock Vibrant kernel prior to installing the JFD ROM from this link: http://www.justanotherdev.slackdev.com/kernel-vibrant-stock.tar.md5.tar
crap dude do yo uhit repartition when u flash ka6 ? if so dont do so if its only update , dont check partiton if you flash just an update , hit partitoon if u flash offical release .
yes go back to jfd repartiton update to ka6 withou repartiton
bartek25 said:
crap dude do yo uhit repartition when u flash ka6 ? if so dont do so if its only update , dont check partiton if you flash just an update , hit partitoon if u flash offical release .
yes go back to jfd repartiton update to ka6 withou repartiton
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I install the JFD with or without repartition I get passed all the boot screens, but it screen goes black and buttons light up..Sorry if I am being a noob and missing something obvious...but I followed those instructions, and I did it multiple times as well.
FIXED!!!
I fixed it wohooo!!!! I flashed Eugene's Froyo that doesn't brick version then flash back to stock JFD and its working perfectly! Thanks XDA! Found out that a lot of people with this issue after having Voodoo installed and installing a different rom, and that this rom was made to fix the Voodoo brick. Funny thing is the Eugene's rom fails on recovery with errors in this case, but it still unbricks the phone lol
Ahhh see lagfix didnt disable..glad you got it working..
Thanks for your help. I now am using the Bionix-V Rom with the Dragon-Kernel Voodoo and let me tell you I love this phone even more now with this Rom. Loving the Gingerbread theme and it runs super fast. Stock is too slow for me lol Anyway, this is resolved no more offtopic posts lol...
ViralCipher said:
I fixed it wohooo!!!! I flashed Eugene's Froyo that doesn't brick version then flash back to stock JFD and its working perfectly! Thanks XDA! Found out that a lot of people with this issue after having Voodoo installed and installing a different rom, and that this rom was made to fix the Voodoo brick. Funny thing is the Eugene's rom fails on recovery with errors in this case, but it still unbricks the phone lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
would you please tell all the steps you did to make it work

Rooted. How do I uninstall skype, city id, etc.

If I could odin, I'd load stock Froyo debloated and be done with it, but I can't. Tried 3 different drivers, on three different computers and the only time it worked was with battery in and it still failed to load CWM 2.5, it showed success but 3-finger salute loaded the regular recovery. I could never get Odin to work again.
So, it doesn't really matter now since I'm rooted. I just want to get rid of a few apps that auto start, other than that I'm fine.
dandar said:
If I could odin, I'd load stock Froyo debloated and be done with it, but I can't. Tried 3 different drivers, on three different computers and the only time it worked was with battery in and it still failed to load CWM 2.5, it showed success but 3-finger salute loaded the regular recovery. I could never get Odin to work again.
So, it doesn't really matter now since I'm rooted. I just want to get rid of a few apps that auto start, other than that I'm fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use uninstaller pro for root users, don't remember the cost but there is a free one too in the market. Be careful what you delete, Gmail, Media Hub, Calander, are a few i can think of that uninstalling has caused me problems.As for Odin problems, try restarting PC, if no uninstall sammy drivers, also odin might like a different usb port. and i know the files, drivers, and programs here all work properly, I use them regularly.http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1026746
Thanks for the tip about uninstaller pro, I'll look into that.
As for Odin, I have one driver straight from samsung's website, the other two from here. I tried all three ports on my laptop, two ports on my wife's, two on an older xp desktop, waiting for reboots, not waiting for reboots, installing the driver with phone in download mode, using download mode with battery, without. You name it, I tried it. I tried all instructions from here after reading threads with the same issue. It's either the cable or the phone. One last thing I'll try is my Win7 64bit pc at work. If that don't work then I'll get a new cable.
dandar said:
If I could odin, I'd load stock Froyo debloated and be done with it, but I can't. Tried 3 different drivers, on three different computers and the only time it worked was with battery in and it still failed to load CWM 2.5, it showed success but 3-finger salute loaded the regular recovery. I could never get Odin to work again.
So, it doesn't really matter now since I'm rooted. I just want to get rid of a few apps that auto start, other than that I'm fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it said success all you had to do after the 3 finger salute was click install update.zip with the stock recovery that would send you into CWM
Sent from my frozen yogurt filled fascinate
I did, gave me an error.
Sent from my Fascinate.
The factory kernels will erase CWR during bootup if it's there. The only way to get it to stay on your phone is to immediately boot into CWR once you install it via Odin and flash a custom kernel. If you let the phone start up normally, it will be erased. I believe it will do that while it just says "Samsung".
I've forgotten to flash a new bootloader a couple of times, and the phone got to the boot animations before I could pull the battery. CWR was erased, and I had to re-load it with Odin. Because of the way this works, I prefer to put it into download mode with the battery removed so that I can force it into recovery on that first boot.
Makes sense, I think I let it boot, then restarted into recovery. I'll try again at work.
Sent from my Fascinate.
Be really careful with the level of editing you do to the software. You can get to a point where odin is the only answer to a simple mistake. I would do the bare minimum until I could get the phone to work in odin. just to be safe. Also are you using the stock cable when trying to go into download mode?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
For removing the pre-installed apps, I downloaded Root Explorer and removed the ones I wanted from the app folder, then rebooted. So now all of the V-cast stuff and the City Id, etc are removed.

[Q] super bricked??? tried everything (that i know of)

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?

[Q] Can't flash to stock

Trying to flash to stock via Odin. Odin completes without errors and reboots the phone. The phone, though, shuts off after the inital splash screen ("Vibrant" at the top "samsung" at the bottom").
Since multiupload/megaupload was taken down, I'm unable to find any Odin-flashable stock roms/any kind of roms. I followed steps 2-4 on [I can't post a link, but it was on rootzwiki] and ended up with this.
Does anyone have any ideas? I've been searching for a solution for the past 3-4 hours.
Go to the Dev section and download tha AIO Toolbox (Stickied at the top). It has the Odin v1.8 (I think), all the drivers and pit/tar files that you need to get back to stock 2.1 and then you can download CWR from my signature, find a ROM.zip that you want to install and put them on your Internal SD card.
Make sure you put the ROM in a folder and also make sure that the CWR that you get from my sig is on your internal and is the only thing on it labeled Update.zip. Once those are done, boot into recovery, scroll down to "Reinstall PAckages" and hit it. Let it cycle through and you might have to do it again. Once it cycles through your recovery will go from Blue (stock) to Green (CWR) from there, you can flash your ROM and profit. [If you are going to an ICS flavor, you may have to be on GB bootloaders and flash CM7 as an intermitant step. I suggest trying Moped_Ryder's ROM and Fishman's Bionix Mod-both 2.2 but quality and everything works.]
The toolbox is a valuable thing and you can do many things with it, but mainly and most importantly, it HAS the files to get you back to TMo 2.1. (I use it all the time and I am not even a TMo customer).
Just flashed via the AIO toolbox, still same behavior.
Can't even get into the recovery screen.
What ROM are you coming from? If 2.3 or higher you have to tick repartition.
Just keep trying. I've seen posts where it takes many times for it to pass and boot up for some reason. Not sure why it does this sometimes.
I'll check on you later. My tablet got another update today, so I'll be troubleshooting over there later on.
I'm coming from ICS Passion v4 (I think, it's been a long whiles since I flashed it)
Just reflashed 7 times to no avail :/
Thank you for taking the time to help, it's really appreciated..
Hah! Unbricked!
Followed this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=817186
Used eugene's odin image from: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=833024&page=49

Need help doing a stock upgrade to 2.2 without Mini Kies

A friend just gave me a SGH-T959 Galaxy S Vibrant. It still has the stock 2.1 on it. I'd like to upgrade it to CM7 or maybe CM9, but all the instructions I've found say you should at least be on 2.2. I've been trying for several days to upgrade to 2.2 using Mini Kies. It downloads the rom (not sure where it stores it on my machine), reboots the phone in download mode and just sits. I left it for hours several times and nothing. If I reboot it it is fine when I reboot. It is just never copying anything to the device.
Is there a way to do the update without Mini Kies. I should also mention that my machine is a MacBook Pro running lion. I've tried this on a Windows XP VM in VMWare Fusion and I get the same exact results, it goes to download mode and then nothing.
xltrigger said:
A friend just gave me a SGH-T959 Galaxy S Vibrant. It still has the stock 2.1 on it. I'd like to upgrade it to CM7 or maybe CM9, but all the instructions I've found say you should at least be on 2.2. I've been trying for several days to upgrade to 2.2 using Mini Kies. It downloads the rom (not sure where it stores it on my machine), reboots the phone in download mode and just sits. I left it for hours several times and nothing. If I reboot it it is fine when I reboot. It is just never copying anything to the device.
Is there a way to do the update without Mini Kies. I should also mention that my machine is a MacBook Pro running lion. I've tried this on a Windows XP VM in VMWare Fusion and I get the same exact results, it goes to download mode and then nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whoops, mix up, JFD is 2.1 Eclair. You can still flash CM7 without 2.2, just follow this guide:
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Samsung_Vibrant:_Full_Update_Guide
After flashing the kernel via heimdall, if it never boots, just wait a few minutes and pull the battery, then boot into recovery by VOL-UP + VOL-DOWN + Power, then continue.
Just flashed the zImage. I'm waiting for boot. The talking updates on time remaining are kewl. Thanks for you help. Hopefully all works well.
Is CM9 stable enough to run ok, or should I stick to CM7.2?
xltrigger said:
Is CM9 stable enough to run ok, or should I stick to CM7.2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM9's okay. I run it. But both CM7 and CM9 may still have intermittent issues with 911 calling. There are two people who can't call period (they _may_ have a corrupted /efs which would prevent them from calling even on stock now, but not sure). Some who failed and then worked, etc, etc.
Looks like I may have screwed myself. It won't boot after the zImage. I can boot CWM, but I can't do a USB mount in CWM. I can enter the menu, but it never shows up. If I had copied CM and GAPPS before the zImage I'd likely been ok. I tried putting the zip files on external MicroSD, but CWM offers me no way that I can see to apply a zip from that. It only sees the internal.
If you have any suggestions on where to go from here please let me know.
Update:
Even though I couldn't get into the device when booting normally, I was able to get connect using adb.
I did "adb push cm-9-20120707-NIGHTLY-vibrantmtd.zip /sdcard/" and was able to copy the update to my phone.
I did the same for gapps. So far so good. I'll update this post again when all is finished.
Update 2:
I've got CM9 installed and booted. Downloading my apps now. Thank you so much for your help /me is really happy now
If its your 1st time on ICS with the T959 I suggest reading this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1464423

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