[HOW-TO]Create Custom ODIN Images for Backup/Restore

[HOW-TO]Create Custom ODIN Images for Backup/Restore - Fascinate Android Development

First off, all credit should go to imnuts for this. With his permission, I have copied his guide from the Droid Charge forums and tweaked it slightly to apply to the Fascinate and added some notes. Also, I'd like to thank vegitoss who helped me figure out partitions I was having trouble with.
This will allow you to backup your system and create custom Odin images for restore purposes. I would still recommend that you try to do a nandroid or titanium backup first. Don't bring out the big guns unless you need them.
The goal here is to produce a .tar.md5 file that is flashable in Odin based on your current ROM install. The .tar.md5 files are .tar files with the md5 checksum added to the end of the file. If you attempt to flash a .tar.md5 file, Odin will automatically check that the contents are what they should be before flashing and proceed with the flash if the md5 is valid, otherwise it will stop.
In Odin, you should use the PDA button for all flashing. The PIT button may be used as well, if we can get a valid .pit file for the device, but for now, PIT won't be used either. Other than PDA, Start/Reset are the only other buttons you need to worry about.
Now, on to creating the backup files. First, you will need your device to be rooted (perm or temp root will work), and you also need to have access to terminal on the phone, either via an emulator or adb shell access. To create the backup files, you won't need a Linux/UNIX system, but you will if you want to create a flashable Odin package.
The following will output the files on the root of the SDCard, adjust the "of=" path if you want them somewhere else. It will also create the files for the proper filename for Odin as well. So to create the files, here are the commands you will use from root shell (#):
System:
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/stl9 of=/sdcard/factoryfs.rfs bs=4096
Kernel:
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/bml7 of=/sdcard/zImage bs=4096
Recovery:
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/bml8 of=/sdcard/recovery.bin bs=4096
DO NOT INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING IN ANYTHING BUT A PERSONAL BACKUP
Cache:
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/stl11 of=/sdcard/cache.rfs bs=4096
DBData:
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/stl10 of=/sdcard/dbdata.rfs bs=4096
Data:
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p1 of=/sdcard/movinand.bin bs=4096
The last three files (cache, dbdata, data) may contain personal information, so do not include these 3 files in anything but a personal backup/recovery package.
To create a flashable Odin package, you need to pull all of the files off of the phone/sdcard and onto your computer. From there, you use the following to create the package:
Code:
tar -H ustar -c factoryfs.rfs recovery.bin zImage > package_name.tar
md5sum -t package_name.tar >> package_name.tar
mv package_name.tar package_name.tar.md5
]If you want to include cache/dbdata/data in the above for personal use, just add them after the "-c" and before the ">".
There are other files that may be in Odin packages, but they are protected by Samsung and cannot be dumped properly. The files are the bootloader, secondary bootloader, modems, and .lfs partitions. The files would be boot.bin, Sbl.bin, modem.bin , and param.lfs. It however isn't that big of an issue that these can't be dumped as the can't really be altered by normal flashing of the device, and are usually only altered via OTA updates.
Some additional notes:
* You can skip the process of making a .tar.md5 and just use heimdall for everything except your user data (if anyone knows how to do this please let me know and I will edit it in.)
* Be sure you have at least 2GB free on your SD card if you plan to include personal data.
* If you need help in using Odin/Heimdall, I'd recommend you read DaleV's great guide here. In fact, I recommend you read it regardless as it's a good refresher.

I was just going to post and ask for a guide to be adapted from the post in the charge forums ;-) except, don't we have a valid PIT file for the fascinate?
I definitely see myself using this, simply because with all the different versions of clockwork out there, and MTD vs BML, nandroids don't seem to be a one click solution.
Thanks for the guide!

I know we have a valid .pit file for certain Odin packages. I'm unsure if they can be used universally (across froyo builds) though. If we can get a concrete answer that they can, I would be more than happy to update the guide further.

ah, ok. Didn't think about that part. And does this matter if we have voodoo installed or no?

I'm voodoo'd. I tested it on my own device and didn't run into any issues.

Btw, P3 release an application that does EXACTLY the same thing as this. If you feel comfortable following instructions you can save yourself the $2 by following this guide.

bobloblaw1 said:
Btw, P3 release an application that does EXACTLY the same thing as this. If you feel comfortable following instructions you can save yourself the $2 by following this guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could even make a shell script to do those commands to make it easier for people, and it would probably take some more people away from p3's app.

This is wonderfull ! Could i also back up my radio via this? Or is that part of samsungs protected stuff?
Thank you for this for sure.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

Anyone here can tell me how do I do the same, but for ICS? Partitions look completely different there, I tried to make a package, but it doesn't work

Odin will only work with TouchWiz(BML) based roms

Related

[Q] Cooking with Samsung Firmware

Hello:
I'm attempting to create a custom rom for my Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant. I've downloaded a firmware for my phone (UGJK3), but I've run into a small problem: Samsung doesn't seem to use the default "system.img, boot.img, etc" file structure, and instead uses various factoryfs.rfs, zImage, etc files.
I'm unable to cook my rom using the HTC android kitchen due to this problem: I'm required to have the *.IMG files in order to cook it.
I've mounted the .RFS files in linux, but it has gotten me no closer.
This problem is probably quite easy to fix, I'm just unsure where to start.
Any help is appreciated,
thanks.

It seems like other folks are making flashable zips. I just grabbed one and it's setup very similar to ours, although it appears that the kernel is done differently.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=711
Existence. said:
Hello:
I'm attempting to create a custom rom for my Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant. I've downloaded a firmware for my phone (UGJK3), but I've run into a small problem: Samsung doesn't seem to use the default "system.img, boot.img, etc" file structure, and instead uses various factoryfs.rfs, zImage, etc files.
I'm unable to cook my rom using the HTC android kitchen due to this problem: I'm required to have the *.IMG files in order to cook it.
I've mounted the .RFS files in linux, but it has gotten me no closer.
This problem is probably quite easy to fix, I'm just unsure where to start.
Any help is appreciated,
thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

gnarlyc said:
It seems like other folks are making flashable zips. I just grabbed one and it's setup very similar to ours, although it appears that the kernel is done differently.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=711
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I've noticed that, however I'd prefer to work with a kernal and ROM that is stock; that is, hasn't been modified at all. I was able to import a custom ROM into the kitchen that has already been modified (namely Doc's rom), but I view this as a learning experience, and would ideally like to de-odex, zipalign, remove bloatware, etc etc myself.
I'd imagine there would be a veary easy way to change this .tar file to a flashable zip, however I'm at a loss on how to do this.
If someone created a flashable, stock, UGJK3 rom, that would be different, and I'd be able to work with that.

Existence. said:
Yeah, I've noticed that, however I'd prefer to work with a kernal and ROM that is stock; that is, hasn't been modified at all. I was able to import a custom ROM into the kitchen that has already been modified (namely Doc's rom), but I view this as a learning experience, and would ideally like to de-odex, zipalign, remove bloatware, etc etc myself.
I'd imagine there would be a veary easy way to change this .tar file to a flashable zip, however I'm at a loss on how to do this.
If someone created a flashable, stock, UGJK3 rom, that would be different, and I'd be able to work with that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure. I like to start with as close to stock or source if possible too. I'm just wondering if there's a how-to in the Vibrant forum or if those folks might know better than those of us who don't have Vibrants. I recently tried helping a friend to root his Vibrant and it was different enough for me to get lost.. .

gnarlyc said:
Sure. I like to start with as close to stock or source if possible too. I'm just wondering if there's a how-to in the Vibrant forum or if those folks might know better than those of us who don't have Vibrants. I recently tried helping a friend to root his Vibrant and it was different enough for me to get lost.. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I've already posted a thread in the Galaxy I9000 Q&A section of the forum, but to no avail (not the Vibrant section, as the T-Mobile US-variant differs from my Bell-based Vibrant). I was thinking, what if I install the UGJK3 stock rom on my phone, take a nandroid backup, then use the .IMG files in that backup in the kitchen?
Eh, it's worth a try. I'll see how it goes.

Existence. said:
Yeah, I've already posted a thread in the Galaxy I9000 Q&A section of the forum, but to no avail (not the Vibrant section, as the T-Mobile US-variant differs from my Bell-based Vibrant). I was thinking, what if I install the UGJK3 stock rom on my phone, take a nandroid backup, then use the .IMG files in that backup in the kitchen?
Eh, it's worth a try. I'll see how it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
okay so was there anything to report because i am on this trek myself at the moment and am looking for any pockets of air as i feel i am drowning in the ocean of dead ends!

Okay, I'm feeling kind today, so here goes:
SAMSUNG ODIN ROMS – Applies to Galaxy S and all derivatives (Vibrant, Captivate, etc)
For anyone unaware, ODIN is the Samsung equivalent of HTC’s RUU. Both are full ROMs containing the images, and both can only be installed via Windows. The ODIN ROMs can be used to restore a semi-bricked phone, that won’t boot to recovery or into the full OS, as all that is needed is Download mode. Download mode is simply accessed by unplugging the phone from the USB cable, holding the volume buttons and plugging in!
BEFORE YOU START, YOU WILL NEED:
- Windows & Relevant ODIN drivers (note – if you’re on 64 bit, you will need to disable signature enforcement on boot before ODIN will work)
- A Linux installation (possibly OS-X, but I haven’t written this guide for that)
So... Working on ODIN roms is a little different to typical ROM ‘cooking’ (I hate that term by the way... cooking can be applied to winzip warriors.. what we're doing here is a tad more technical).
1. First, flash the base ROM using ODIN. Be sure it is a pre-rooted version, or at least root it yourself after.
2. Install an FTP server app to the phone, and connect to it via your computer. It can be done using file managers and shell commands, but will take you ages.
3. Mount system as read write:
su
mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
4. Once you’ve found the issues/things you'd like to change, make the changes directly on the phone itself using FTP/filemanager/shell commands
Add custom boot, build.prop, sounds, fonts, whatever you want (SEE NOTES).
5. Once you’re happy with the build, it’s time to dump the necessary partitions to build the ODIN rom.
To do this, you will need to install a terminal emulator or use adb shell, and ensure the ROM has root access & SU. Let’s work on the assumption that if you’re reading this, you know roughly what you’re doing.
In terminal, type the following commands to dump the /system partition, cache (not necessary), zImage (kernel) and modem.bin (radio) to the INTERNAL SD Card:
su
dd if=/dev/block/stl9 of=/sdcard/factoryfs.rfs bs=4096
dd if=/dev/block/stl11 of=/sdcard/cache.rfs bs=4096
dd if=/dev/block/bml7 of=/sdcard/zImage bs=4096
dd if=/dev/block/bml12 of=/sdcard/modem.bin bs=4096
6. You’ll need to boot into your Linux machine/VM. The next step is to create the tarball of the dumped partitions. Do this by typing the following command into the Linux terminal:
tar -H ustar -c factoryfs.rfs cache.rfs modem.bin zImage > gals.tar
OPTIONAL:
7. Next, md5 it up, as ODIN can check the md5 before writing the image. Do this with the following command:
md5sum –t gals.tar >> gals.tar
mv gals.tar gals.tar.md5
8. Contratulations! That’s your ODIN flashable ROM.
9. You will need a PIT file in ODIN to flash this ROM. This can be obtained by Googling for it, or by asking me... or if you need to know how to make you’re own, it’s a piece of piss, just dump it in the same way as above.
su
dd if=/dev/block/bml2 of=/sdcard/FILENAME.pit bs=4096
More congratulations: you can now do the job of Samsung.
PS - please, oh please, can we stop calling it cooking?

You said:
nprussell said:
Add custom boot, build.prop, sounds, fonts, whatever you want (SEE NOTES).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any chance you have a link to said notes? I would like to read further if they exist.

nprussel: How would you go about creating a CWM flashable version instead of Odin?
Edit: Found this guide, but it's geared towards creating an update.zip for specific purposes instead of for a full rom. Its there a way to automatically generate the update-script for a full stock rom? Maybe just by doing a nandroid backup like the OP suggested?
http://www.londatiga.net/it/how-to-create-android-update-zip-package

nprussell said:
Okay, I'm feeling kind today, so here goes:
SAMSUNG ODIN ROMS – Applies to Galaxy S and all derivatives (Vibrant, Captivate, etc)
For anyone unaware, ODIN is the Samsung equivalent of HTC’s RUU. Both are full ROMs containing the images, and both can only be installed via Windows. The ODIN ROMs can be used to restore a semi-bricked phone, that won’t boot to recovery or into the full OS, as all that is needed is Download mode. Download mode is simply accessed by unplugging the phone from the USB cable, holding the volume buttons and plugging in!
BEFORE YOU START, YOU WILL NEED:
- Windows & Relevant ODIN drivers (note – if you’re on 64 bit, you will need to disable signature enforcement on boot before ODIN will work)
- A Linux installation (possibly OS-X, but I haven’t written this guide for that)
So... Working on ODIN roms is a little different to typical ROM ‘cooking’ (I hate that term by the way... cooking can be applied to winzip warriors.. what we're doing here is a tad more technical).
1. First, flash the base ROM using ODIN. Be sure it is a pre-rooted version, or at least root it yourself after.
2. Install an FTP server app to the phone, and connect to it via your computer. It can be done using file managers and shell commands, but will take you ages.
3. Mount system as read write:
su
mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
4. Once you’ve found the issues/things you'd like to change, make the changes directly on the phone itself using FTP/filemanager/shell commands
Add custom boot, build.prop, sounds, fonts, whatever you want (SEE NOTES).
5. Once you’re happy with the build, it’s time to dump the necessary partitions to build the ODIN rom.
To do this, you will need to install a terminal emulator or use adb shell, and ensure the ROM has root access & SU. Let’s work on the assumption that if you’re reading this, you know roughly what you’re doing.
In terminal, type the following commands to dump the /system partition, cache (not necessary), zImage (kernel) and modem.bin (radio) to the INTERNAL SD Card:
su
dd if=/dev/block/stl9 of=/sdcard/factoryfs.rfs bs=4096
dd if=/dev/block/stl11 of=/sdcard/cache.rfs bs=4096
dd if=/dev/block/bml7 of=/sdcard/zImage bs=4096
dd if=/dev/block/bml12 of=/sdcard/modem.bin bs=4096
6. You’ll need to boot into your Linux machine/VM. The next step is to create the tarball of the dumped partitions. Do this by typing the following command into the Linux terminal:
tar -H ustar -c factoryfs.rfs cache.rfs modem.bin zImage > gals.tar
OPTIONAL:
7. Next, md5 it up, as ODIN can check the md5 before writing the image. Do this with the following command:
md5sum –t gals.tar >> gals.tar
mv gals.tar gals.tar.md5
8. Contratulations! That’s your ODIN flashable ROM.
9. You will need a PIT file in ODIN to flash this ROM. This can be obtained by Googling for it, or by asking me... or if you need to know how to make you’re own, it’s a piece of piss, just dump it in the same way as above.
su
dd if=/dev/block/bml2 of=/sdcard/FILENAME.pit bs=4096
More congratulations: you can now do the job of Samsung.
PS - please, oh please, can we stop calling it cooking?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so I'm trying to create a Factory Odin Flash for the Samsung Galaxy S Showcase.. (brother of the fascinate and Mesmerize)...
I've followed your instructions (step 5-9) to a T, using a Rooted Showcase...
But it fails..
Here the start of the Thread
This is the post of the guy that tested it HERE
Guys ANY info you can help me with this would be GREATLY appreciated, because as of now we have no way to get back to stock!!!
I'm trying to create an Odin Flash now using MY files. I'm on a deodexed PicknPack Rom/Voodoo Kernel. There's several people that have messed up phones and are simply trying to get on our network, so I'm hoping I can atleast help them with that..
Thanks in advance,
elijahblake

Is there a way to port an HTC rom to the vibrant or say the Galaxy Tab (preferred)?

There is a flavour of the Android Kitchen made for the Galaxy S, if you're lazy and/or need some hand-holding: ;-)
It's by RMGeren but still in a beta stage:
https://github.com/dsixda/Android-Kitchen/tree/galaxy_s
Just click on the "Downloads" link on the top right part of the page.
@nprussel: Thanks for that detailed guide!

How to make a system dump of UCKK6?

I installed the UCKK6 update for the purpose of pulling out the rom parts, by updating from rooted stock UCKH7. This successfully retained root on UCKK6.
From the mount command, I found that the system partition is listed as mmcblk0p9. I used dd to transfer the modem, kernel, and system partitions, and created Odin flashable tar files from each individually. I found that the kernel and the modem flash successfully, but that the system image flash fails almost immediately. Here is the code I used to pull the system partition in android terminal emulator:
Code:
# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p9 of=/sdcard/factoryfs.img
I didn't remember to include bs=4096 in the command line, but then I didn't include it in the pull for the kernel (mmcblk0p5) and modem (mmcblk0p8) partitions either.
So, to those who know, how do I correctly pull the system partition, so that I can obtain a flashable image?
I'm also interested to know if pulling the image from a rooted phone will include root in the image, or how do you pull/create both a rooted and non-rooted system image?

This looks like a job for... GTG or ENTROPY!

creepyncrawly said:
I installed the UCKK6 update for the purpose of pulling out the rom parts, by updating from rooted stock UCKH7. This successfully retained root on UCKK6.
From the mount command, I found that the system partition is listed as mmcblk0p9. I used dd to transfer the modem, kernel, and system partitions, and created Odin flashable tar files from each individually. I found that the kernel and the modem flash successfully, but that the system image flash fails almost immediately. Here is the code I used to pull the system partition in android terminal emulator:
Code:
# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p9 of=/sdcard/factoryfs.img
I didn't remember to include bs=4096 in the command line, but then I didn't include it in the pull for the kernel (mmcblk0p5) and modem (mmcblk0p8) partitions either.
So, to those who know, how do I correctly pull the system partition, so that I can obtain a flashable image?
I'm also interested to know if pulling the image from a rooted phone will include root in the image, or how do you pull/create both a rooted and non-rooted system image?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Always asking the hard questions...
In case this helps... Here's what I have for partition commands:
# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p5 of=/sdcard/zImage bs=4096
# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p8 of=/sdcard/modem.bin bs=4096
# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p7 of=/sdcard/cache.img bs=4096
# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p9 of=/sdcard/factoryfs.img bs=4096
# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p10 of=/sdcard/data.img bs=4096
They have worked for me so far.... did you try including "bs=4096" for the factoryfs.img?
Regarding the root image... When pulling the a factoryfs.img, it pulls EVERYTHING in the system partition (folders). Files effecting root are contained within the system folders, so when you pull the factoryfs.img you get that too. The thing I don't know is if you can pull the img without having root. My phone is always rooted.
I keep a odin flashable image of my entire phone (all partitions listed above) as a fail proof backup in case I totality dork something up. The odin tar is about 2-3 gig. I can completely wipe my phone and return it to stock, then flash my odin to bring it back. I've used it (in testing) to COMPLETELY restore my phone and data... etc... etc. Pretty cool and comforting to know a can fix a bad screw up.

Peaster111 said:
Always asking the hard questions...
...did you try including "bs=4096" for the factoryfs.img?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No but I think I will go back and try again this afternoon to see if that was the problem.
By the way, there was a UCKK6 system partition dump with root prepared by vlara and posted in another thread. He named the file system.img instead of factoryfs.img. When I used it to make an Odin flashable tar, it failed immediately, just like the one I made.
# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p5 of=/sdcard/zImage bs=4096
# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p8 of=/sdcard/modem.bin bs=4096
# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p7 of=/sdcard/cache.img bs=4096
# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p9 of=/sdcard/factoryfs.img bs=4096
# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p10 of=/sdcard/data.img bs=4096
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BTW, you left out mmcblk0p1 = /efs and mmcblk0p4 = /mnt/.lfs. Wouldn't you need the efs for a complete backup? And isn't 0p4 the param.lfs?
Also just wondering. Entropy said that a backup of the efs partition should be done while booted into recovery so that it doesn't get hosed by a write during the backup. Would that be true for any of the other partitions? 1, 4, 7 and 10 are read/write. Not sure about 5 and 8.

creepyncrawly said:
By the way, there was a UCKK6 system partition dump with root prepared by vlara and posted in another thread. He named the file system.img instead of factoryfs.img. When I used it to make an Odin flashable tar, it failed immediately, just like the one I made.
BTW, you left out mmcblk0p1 = /efs and mmcblk0p4 = /mnt/.lfs. Wouldn't you need the efs for a complete backup? And isn't 0p4 the param.lfs?
Also just wondering. Entropy said that a backup of the efs partition should be done while booted into recovery so that it doesn't get hosed by a write during the backup. Would that be true for any of the other partitions? 1, 4, 7 and 10 are read/write. Not sure about 5 and 8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting on the system.img... Hard to stay what the story is there.
I did leave out the "efs" blocks... I forgot about that one. I dumped it once when I originally got the phone and just reuse the file. Interesting on the recovery part, I've not heard of that. I don't remember if mine was in recovery or not. It seems to work fine.
As long as you are in adb shell as su, whether the partition is r/w or r/o doesn't matter. You are just dumping (reading) it not writing.
The PARM partition is where SBL stores information. This is the settings for boot and contains the image you see on startup as well as the Download Mode image and others. Unless you need to mess with the bootloader related stuff, I wouldn't do the param.lfs. I'd rather reflash from a stock odin to fix any boatloader related issues. A clean PARM partition would ensure you avoid any bootloader anomalies.
I've attached the full mapping of the partitions along with some info on each.

OK.
Wiped data. Odin installed UCKH7 stock plus root. Updated to UCKK6 OTA.
Used adb to pull the system image, this time including the block size bs=4096.
Odin installed UCKH7 stock plus root again (so about phone would show UCKH7). Installed Mobile Odin. Flashed factoryfs.img. Flash failed. Phone still reports Gingerbread.UCKH7.
Mobile Odin rebooted into recovery and then the text goes by really fast, but it essentially printed quickly Clearing... Flashing... and then immediately rebooted. I think this is about the same experience that I had with the Odin flashable tar before. If the system partition was going to install, it would take at least a couple of minutes to write half a gig of info to the phone.
So, bad factoryfs.img? Is there any point in even making a tar and checking it out?
I'm at a loss. This should have worked shouldn't it?
Maybe Entropy will pitch in with some helpful advice.

creepyncrawly said:
So, bad factoryfs.img? Is there any point in even making a tar and checking it out?
I'm at a loss. This should have worked shouldn't it?
Maybe Entropy will pitch in with some helpful advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had mixed results using mobile odin. I had a soft brick once trying to flash a kernel. I would try making an actual odin tar image and try flashing that way. That's the way I do it.
There is a good thread in the international SGS2 forums on creating an odin tar. You'll need Cygwin on your computer (assuming you're on windows).
Here's the short "How to" version:
To create a flashable Odin package, you need to pull all of the files off of the phone/sdcard and onto your computer.
Open a Cygwin and change directory to where you are storing your ROM dumps.
Run the following commands to build a package. Be sure to use identifiable names with versions or dates:
$ tar -H ustar -c factoryfs.img modem.bin zImage > package_name.tar
$ md5sum -t package_name.tar >> package_name.tar
$ mv package_name.tar package_name.tar.md5
Include what images you want after the "-c" and before the ">".
A second opinion is always good!

Why not nand and just pull factoryfs.img that way

Indeed.. You could. That would work too.
UPDATE: I just pulled mine. I reflashed to my old UCKH7 build (wiped and flashed just the basics) and back to my new UCKK6 build plus all my data, etc. It all seemed to work.

jivy26 said:
Why not nand and just pull factoryfs.img that way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never lived in linux land, so I don't have the background to quickly grasp this. I know nand is our phone's memory, but what does your statement mean? I'd appreciate it if you could explain a little. I'd be happy with something to study, but I don't even know what to look for.

creepyncrawly said:
I've never lived in linux land, so I don't have the background to quickly grasp this. I know nand is our phone's memory, but what does your statement mean? I'd appreciate it if you could explain a little. I'd be happy with something to study, but I don't even know what to look for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the rooted system I assume you have CWM as well. If that is the case go into CWM backup your phone then boot up the phone. Mount SDCARD and navigate to Clockworkmod > backup > then whatever date and time you backed up and you will see factoryfs.img in there as well as other img files.

jivy26 said:
On the rooted system I assume you have CWM as well. If that is the case go into CWM backup your phone then boot up the phone. Mount SDCARD and navigate to Clockworkmod > backup > then whatever date and time you backed up and you will see factoryfs.img in there as well as other img files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jivy,
I'm not sure on yours, but my folders only have 3 tar files (cache.ext4.tar, data.ext4.tar, system.ext4.tar) and a 2 img's (boot and recovery). They are each only 8mb. The tar files have all the data. They reflash fine in CWM, but they are not odiin compatible.

Also for the non-rooted system try this, assuming you have Android-sdk installed.
Plug phone into PC with usb debugging enabled.
Download busybox here
Put it on c:\
Run CMD with Admin privileges.
Below are the commands you will type in CMD. For below I am assuming your SDK is in the same location as default, if not just change as neccessary.
cd\
cd program files
cd android-sdk
cd platform-tools
adb devices (to make sure your phone shows up)
adb push busybox /data/local/busybox
adb shell
cd /sdcard
chmod 755 /data/local/busybox
/data/local/busybox tar cvf stock_unrooted.tar /system
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once its done you can mount sdcard and the tar with system will be there waiting

jivy26 said:
On the rooted system I assume you have CWM as well. If that is the case go into CWM backup your phone then boot up the phone. Mount SDCARD and navigate to Clockworkmod > backup > then whatever date and time you backed up and you will see factoryfs.img in there as well as other img files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh. nand for nandroid backup. It does not contain factoryfs.img. It has system.ext4.tar which contains the directory sturcture and contents of system in the file system, not a partition image.

creepyncrawly said:
Oh. nand for nandroid backup. It does not contain factoryfs.img. It has system.ext4.tar which contains the directory sturcture and contents of system in the file system, not a partition image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Misunderstood what your goal was. Like earlier mentioned you need to have:
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p9 of=/sdcard/factoryfs.img bs=4096
That wont flash in odin you still need to make it 512M so quick run down in linux
Download this http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53644280/ext4_utils.zip
So you can view contents of .img
Code:
mkdir tempdir; mount -o loop factoryfs.img tempdir
To repack img w/ 512M
Code:
./mkuserimg.sh -s /some/directory/ ./factoryfs_custom.img ext4 ./temp 512M
Then making a TAR ball. *Just included everything i've normally seen in one*
Code:
tar -c boot.bin factoryfs.img hidden.img modem.bin param.lfs zImage >> PDA.tar

jivy26 said:
Also for the non-rooted system try this, assuming you have Android-sdk installed.
Plug phone into PC with usb debugging enabled.
Download busybox here
Put it on c:\
Run CMD with Admin privileges.
Below are the commands you will type in CMD. For below I am assuming your SDK is in the same location as default, if not just change as neccessary.
Once its done you can mount sdcard and the tar with system will be there waiting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kewl. That non-rooted dump will include the busybox directory though won't it? On a rooted system, it would capture the root tools too I expect.
Only, when developers provide a package like Entropy's Return/Unbrick to stock packages, or DesignGears original One-Click downloader for Captivate, those packages contain partition images, not file system images. I would really like to learn how to dump the system partition so that it can be used to create Odin flashable tar files.
Thanks for your input.

creepyncrawly said:
Kewl. That non-rooted dump will include the busybox directory though won't it? On a rooted system, it would capture the root tools too I expect.
Only, when developers provide a package like Entropy's Return/Unbrick to stock packages, or DesignGears original One-Click downloader for Captivate, those packages contain partition images, not file system images. I would really like to learn how to dump the system partition so that it can be used to create Odin flashable tar files.
Thanks for your input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I posted that before I knew what your intentions were. The above would give you a stock /system in .tar . Since busybox is stored in data/local not system/xbin, it wont be in that tar. So you'd have a stock /system, but not the .img you're looking for.

jivy26 said:
Misunderstood what your goal was. Like earlier mentioned you need to have:
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p9 of=/sdcard/factoryfs.img bs=4096
That wont flash in odin you still need to make it 512M so quick run down in linux
Download this http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53644280/ext4_utils.zip
So you can view contents of .img
Code:
mkdir tempdir; mount -o loop factoryfs.img tempdir
To repack img w/ 512M
Code:
./mkuserimg.sh -s /some/directory/ ./factoryfs_custom.img ext4 ./temp 512M
Then making a TAR ball. *Just included everything i've normally seen in one*
Code:
tar -c boot.bin factoryfs.img hidden.img modem.bin param.lfs zImage >> PDA.tar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I pulled the system image using the above dd command including the bs=4096, the resulting file did come out 512M. It still didn't flash.
So do I need a linux box to do this? Don't have one of course. I've been making the tar files on my phone in Terminal. Can I do the above commands on the phone?

creepyncrawly said:
When I pulled the system image using the above dd command including the bs=4096, the resulting file did come out 512M. It still didn't flash.
So do I need a linux box to do this? Don't have one of course. I've been making the tar files on my phone in Terminal. Can I do the above commands on the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never tried from phone. Cygwin is an option to run linux scripts and what not in windows, but not sure if it can handle the above mentioned.

jivy26 said:
Never tried from phone. Cygwin is an option to run linux scripts and what not in windows, but not sure if it can handle the above mentioned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. I'll play around with it and see what happens. Really appreciate the help.

Need proper 4.0US Full ROM

I know this has been posted but since it was long ago and *nobody replied*, here it is:
There are no FULL rom for the 4.0US. Of course you can use the bootloaders from the international version and the factory image that has been posted here, but both don't go without issues. The only stock image we have is the kernel from package2.3.5.
So to fix those issues, I am asking if one of you with stock rom could be so kind as to post a factory.rfs file and (this is including everybody) the other files (sbl, param, boot etc)
I don't think it matters if it is rooted or not (factory.rfs), I am looking at something that is *fully* functional. I'll provide you with tutorials, just ask for it
Thank you!

I'll be happy to post it but where do I look for the files so I can post it. And fyi I am running root stock atm
Sent from my YP-G70 using xda premium

Ben456 said:
I know this has been posted but since it was long ago and *nobody replied*, here it is:
There are no FULL rom for the 4.0US. Of course you can use the bootloaders from the international version and the factory image that has been posted here, but both don't go without issues. The only stock image we have is the kernel from package2.3.5.
So to fix those issues, I am asking if one of you with stock rom could be so kind as to post a factory.rfs file and (this is including everybody) the other files (sbl, param, boot etc)
I don't think it matters if it is rooted or not (factory.rfs), I am looking at something that is *fully* functional. I'll provide you with tutorials, just ask for it
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have a US YP-G1 no? You can make a dump of your partitions to make a recovery solution!

Ok, first, I was wrong, you have to be rooted. Then, either from adb from your computer or from a terminal emulator in your device, you have to type:
dd if=/dev/block/stl9 of=/sdcard/factoryfs.rfs bs=4096
No personal data is on this backup. This file can be flashed with heimdall so you can stop there or if you have linux, you can make a tar+md5 file to flash wth odin:
tar -H ustar -c factoryfs.rfs > package_name.tar
md5sum -t package_name.tar >> package_name.tar
mv package_name.tar package_name.tar.md5
if you don't have linux, just post factoryfs.rfs and i'll make it to a tar file.
Note: There may be other ways to do a an image without being rooted, I'll check if you are not rooted.
A HUGE THANKS!!
You have a US YP-G1 no? You can make a dump of your partitions to make a recovery solution!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I can't since I have flashed my device with package2.3.5.tar that was posted here some time ago, which is the only working image we have to date, but there are some issues with this. I also can't post my boot loaders since I have flashed them with the international version. They work, but I can't enter recovery mode or download mode without a jig or access to an adb shell. All those flashes were made in the process of unbricking my device.

Hi Ben,
I had made a backup of my ROM before trying to install Steve's kernel. I used the same 'dd' command you mention in your instructions. The kernel install went OK, but when I ran CWM backup, I got into a boot loop and had to restore to the package_us2.3.5.tar.md5 that's been circulated around. This was a few weeks ago.
I've tried using the steps to run tar and md5sum on two separate Linux installs using my backup and have created what appears to be a valid .tar.md5 file, according to ODIN. But when I try to flash the .tar.md5 file, it passes MD5 checksum OK, ODIN reports NAND write start, but then fails immediately and I'm left with having to reflash package_us2.3.5.tar.md5 to get it to work again. Looking at my factory.rfs binary and comparing it to the factory.rfs in package_us2.3.5.tar.md5 seems to indicate that it's mostly similar, but there are binary differences. Headers look similar though.
So I'm not sure what I've done wrong in either (a) creating the backup image, or (b) creating the .tar.md5 file, or (c) flashing the .tar.md5 file. But the net result is that it won't flash successfully. So I don't think sharing my factory.rfs as it is will help you.

Here are some tips that my help troubleshoot issues.
1. The MD5 sum part is not neccessary, you can just put the factoryfs.rfs in a tarball and flash it.
2. You can loop mount a factoryfs.rfs in linux by creating an empty dir and running "mount -o loop -t auto factoryfs.rfs empty_dir"
3. It should be possible to reverse the dd command to restore the partition. ie "dd if=/sdcard/factoryfs.rfs of=/dev/block/stl9 bs=4096" (if I were going to do this I would use adb in recovery mode and root is required )
4. If you have a CWM backup, you should be able to to pull files out of the backup if you need to restore files manually. Files should be located on external sdcard in "clockworkmod/backup/"somedatestuff"/system.rfs.tar
It seems to me that what Ben456 wrote up there should have worked. Hope this helps.

I just learned how to dump my factoryfs.rfs file. This is dumped from my brand new Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0 (YP-G1CWY/XAA) right after I opened it from the box. It should be 100% clean.
I uploaded it here. Let me know if it works.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/6fzfdg

Here is the recovery rom I just uploaded. I really hope this works.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/1y2ogi
I created a thread for it here.

[HOW-TO] (YP-G1) Create FULL personal backups for complete restore from a brick

Hi everyone,
I made this guide for users of a Galaxy Player 4.0 USA or INTL who want to get backups of every partition in case they completely brick their device. This will be very useful if you have somehow screwed up your partitions beyond just /system, which is what most ROMs only include. It even backs up /efs, which contains the serial numbers unique to every player and other things that even complete restore ROMs and nandroid backups don't include. It's also good to just have a backup of your partitions stored somewhere safe, because you never know when you might need them. Also, if you're reverting from CM7 (the second release or later) you will need to use this with a PIT file because CM7 uses MTD partitions. Basically, flashing this backup will allow you to completely return to how your device was before, including all your personal data and apps. Hopefully soon we'll begin to have less "bricked my player help" threads clogging up the General (and sometimes Dev) sections. Enjoy
This backup does not back up bootloaders, which can increase your chances of a hard-brick and are almost never needed. Also, this is for the YP-G1 / Player 4.0 USA or INTL only, not for 5.0 users.
Disclaimer: I am not responsible for your device if anything happens blah blah blah
*Pre-requisites*
- Rooted device or ROM
- Busybox (Most rooted ROMs have this, but you can still download Busybox Installer from the Play Store and update to the latest busybox version just to make sure)
- ADB properly set up
- Some space on your internal SD card (about 1-2 GBs should be fine)
- Player set to "USB Debugging Mode" found in Settings
Alright, let's begin. First we will need to make a dump of every partition on the device. However, dumping the PIT is not needed because Adamoutler has a thread with a master list of PITs. Open a Command Prompt (or Terminal if you're using Linux), make sure your device is connected and type:
Code:
adb remount
adb shell
su
Now, to back up EFS:
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/stl3 of=/sdcard/efs.rfs bs=4096
PARAM
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/stl6 of=/sdcard/param.lfs bs=4096
KERNEL
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/bml7 of=/sdcard/zImage bs=4096
SYSTEM
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/stl9 of=/sdcard/factoryfs.rfs bs=4096
DBDATA
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/stl10 of=/sdcard/dbdata.rfs bs=4096
CACHE
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/stl11 of=/sdcard/cache.rfs bs=4096
DATA (Optional if you want your apps)
Code:
tar -czvf /sdcard/data.tar.gz /data
You can exit out of the current window and open a new one once all the processes above are completed.
Now to pull all of the backups to your computer:
Code:
adb remount
adb pull /sdcard/efs.rfs
adb pull /sdcard/param.lfs
adb pull /sdcard/zImage
adb pull /sdcard/factoryfs.rfs
adb pull /sdcard/dbdata.rfs
adb pull /sdcard/cache.rfs
adb pull /sdcard/data.tar.gz
I recommend keeping these files in a safe place on your hard drive for when you need to use them. Feel free to delete them from your player now to save space.
How to Flash
First grab the correct PIT for your device here
For Heimdall, just load the PIT, click "Re-Partition", and select the correct files for each partition. Then click flash.
For ODIN, you have to tar the files together first.
Using Cygwin or Terminal, browse to the directory where all your backup files are. Then, type in:
Code:
tar -H ustar -c efs.rfs param.lfs zImage factoryfs.rfs dbdata.rfs cache.rfs > backup_package.tar
Now load the PIT, click "Re-Partition", and under the PDA section browse to your backup_package.tar (or whatever you named it to). Click flash.
After it is done flashing, here's how to restore your apps. Open Terminal or Command Prompt to the directory of data.tar.gz on your computer:
Code:
adb remount
adb push data.tar.gz /sdcard/
adb shell su -c "tar -zxvf /sdcard/data.tar.gz"
And you're done! If all goes well you should have completely restored your device, with a perfectly safe method and no bootloaders! I hope that this will be helpful to people.

Reserved for future use....

I did this, and i believe that AdamOutlers .pit is what messed up my device. Can you please give me a copy of your or another copy?

Tcollins412 said:
I did this, and i believe that AdamOutlers .pit is what messed up my device. Can you please give me a copy of your or another copy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AdamOutler's pit is not messed up... I used it to repartition my player and it worked perfectly with the right partitions.
Sent using Tapatalk

when i tried it, it messed up my player. do you know how i could fix it?

Hey klin1344, not sure if you still watch this thread, but I was wondering if anyone has had success using heimdall 1.3.2 with the 4.0? I see it says it broke compatibility with some devices.

iJimaniac said:
Hey klin1344, not sure if you still watch this thread, but I was wondering if anyone has had success using heimdall 1.3.2 with the 4.0? I see it says it broke compatibility with some devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem for me

i wanted to use this method to backup my /efs (like daniel advicd me to do ) but i cant seem to do it. It says Can't open 'sdcard/efs.rfs': Read only file system
pls answer

crancpiti said:
i wanted to use this method to backup my /efs (like daniel advicd me to do ) but i cant seem to do it. It says Can't open 'sdcard/efs.rfs': Read only file system
pls answer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to be rooted to do this.
Sent from my A500 using xda app-developers app

klin1344 said:
You have to be rooted to do this.
Sent from my A500 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think either i hadnt BuSY box installed(my device was rooted before) or it was bcause i connected my device to the PC / i mounted my sdcards
now i have a efs.rfs file and that should do it i hope

thanks . i have problem with heimdall to download my wifi 4 int PIt file
is there any ADB command for downloading pit file from device?

aminking2005 said:
thanks . i have problem with heimdall to download my wifi 4 int PIt file
is there any ADB command for downloading pit file from device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do remember that there is the dd command from the adb shell in order to get your pit, but it's not the recommended way to get it.
You can download the pit files right here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1531850

zaclimon said:
I do remember that there is the dd command from the adb shell in order to get your pit, but it's not the recommended way to get it.
You can download the pit files right here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1531850
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
most pit file are represented for wifi4 8GB . but mine is 16GB.
so im not sure about pit files in forum.
if i install a custom rom and it faild can i recover my yp-g1 by having above backups?

aminking2005 said:
most pit file are represented for wifi4 8GB . but mine is 16GB.
so im not sure about pit files in forum.
if i install a custom rom and it faild can i recover my yp-g1 by having above backups?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the long reply time, and yeah you should be able to restore with those backups.
Envoyé de mon Nexus 4 en utilisant Tapatalk

Packaging an Odin ROM for size and consistancy

Hey guys.. Odin3 version3 and higher has gz support. I've been working with this for a bit and tonight I found that Odin will accept tar.md5.gz files. This is important for GNote2 users as the stock ROM is 1.2Gigs! You can get an extra 10-40% compression and 100% gaurantee that the files arrive to your users computer in the condition that you packaged them using this method. I have not found a guide on using the gz format so I thought I would write one up.
You will need:
A Linux computer
Your rom (we will call it MyROM)
How to package for Odin on Windows
I will cover packing into a single file, adding an MD5, and compressing the file down. For the purposes of this, we are working with "MyROM". You will want to call your ROM whatever you like. Just make sure to add version information to the file name so users don't get confused. Also note, the name MUST be consistent throughout the process. If you change the name, Odin can fail.
Another good tip is to put a model number in the name so there is no confusion as to what device your Odin package goes to. Several users, myself included, have 20+ Odin packages on their computer.
So first you want to turn the ROM into a single tar file and then make sure changes are written to the disk.
Code:
tar -H ustar -c boot.img hidden.img modem.bin param.bin recovery.img system.img tz.img sboot.bin>./MyROM.tar;sync;
Next we want to add an MD5 to the file so Odin can check its consistancy.
Code:
md5sum MyROM.tar >> MyROM.tar;
Now we will change it into a tar.md5 file so Odin knows it has an MD5 attached to it.
Code:
mv MyROM.tar MyROM.tar.md5; sync;
Finally we will compress it with GZip. GZip is the only compression method supported by Odin.
Code:
gzip MyROM.tar.md5 -c -v > MyROM.tar.md5.gz;
You will now have a file called MyROM.tar.md5.gz.
Conclusion
The first time the file is flashed, Odin will uncompress it into MyROM.tar.md5, then check its consistancy, then flash the file. Using this method you will be transferring the smallest file possible and adding integrity checks.
notes
Note to Verizon GNote2 users: Stay away from using Odin after IROM unlock as flashing a package intended for another device will perma-lock your device into another carrier's bootloaders. Especially stay away from GS3 as the displays are not compatible.

good ****! this is def useful

Awesome news! Any test results with the older versions? If not one click solutions may not benefit.. but servers and users will by cutting the downloads even more!
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

Windows OS
How can I do it on a Windows computer?

MAQ7 said:
How can I do it on a Windows computer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install Virtual Box and a Linux distribution. I haven't seen any tools for Windows that work properly to make tar archives that work with Odin.

cygwin.
Mine all work

imnuts said:
Install Virtual Box and a Linux distribution. I haven't seen any tools for Windows that work properly to make tar archives that work with Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
adrynalyne said:
cygwin.
Mine all work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I managed to make tar on Windows using cygwin :good:.
Thank you

Interesting adam, I always compressed the whole odin package into a rar file (same effect but one step extra). Also I made an article about odin a while ago:
http://broodplank.net/?p=496
Btw, did you know that you can put cwm backups (ext4.tar) inside an odin package? It's the first odin image I ever saw, filled with a CWM backup, and yes it works XD
But it's not an 1:1 copy of course, Also I wonder how nandroid backups actually store their permissions, I mean dd is a 1:1 dump, which is logical, cwm has the updater-script. but the nandroid backups which are actually just tar files packed with the contents, how do they store it?
Last thing, Odin packages can be a last resort fix, believe me, many users reported that flashing my rom broodROM_RC5.tar.md5 (which contains about 13 files, you can imagine how many partitions it includes) fixed their phone when nothing else worked.
So thank you Samsung for leaking your tool, A world with Samsung Kies only would be a very sad "softbricky" world

broodplank1337 said:
But it's not an 1:1 copy of course, Also I wonder how nandroid backups actually store their permissions, I mean dd is a 1:1 dump, which is logical, cwm has the updater-script. but the nandroid backups which are actually just tar files packed with the contents, how do they store it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TAR files preserve file permissions.

I still like making a 7z out of the final .tar.md5 file.
The info in OP is great to know as it does save a step for the end user but I'd rather them take a couple steps to vet out the incompetent ones. Could prevent a brick

mrRobinson said:
I still like making a 7z out of the final .tar.md5 file.
The info in OP is great to know as it does save a step for the end user but I'd rather them take a couple steps to vet out the incompetent ones. Could prevent a brick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only on the Verizon Galaxy Note. All others are IROM locked. The IROM lock prevents flashing of an improper SBOOT. An unlocked VZWGNote 2 can flash any SBOOT.
Other than this specific case, adding third party tools other than ZIP compression means your user must download special tools.

Extra files?
If I were to pack an extra README.txt file into the tar before prepping it for Odin, would Odin then ignore it during the flash? Obviously there's no entry for what to do with an extraneous text file in the pit, so hopefully Odin would just disregard it.
I happened to find out today that heimdall has support for "Heimdall Firmware Packages." You can read and write them from the heimdall frontend (the 1.3 FE binary is forward compatible with my source built 1.4 heimdall). What's interesting, is that the format is almost identical to odin's format. It is still packaged in a tar file, and it contains the same system.img, boot.bin, recovery.bin etc. files you'd find in the Odin tar. By default it's format is Package.tar.gz. The only significant difference is the addition of a firmware.xml file that identifies the proper partition for each image file, as well as the target platform, the author, and other details like that.
So I got curious. I took a Package.tar.gz file generated by heimdall, and repackaged it as a Package.tar.MD5.gz file. Heimdall has no problem reading this! So the upshot is, Odin now handles the .gz, so as long as Odin isn't bothered by an extra firmware.xml file inside the tar, the same format would be compatible with either tool.
PS> Don't flame me about flash counters or bricked phones. I do understand that Odin/Heimdall are only particularly relevant for returning a phone to stock, but that's still a very important functionality and it would be great to have a unified format.

Better Mobile App

welcome