As of yesterday, my CM7.1 phone won't boot - it gets stuck at the "rotating arrow" blue Android for ever. It's a Samsung Galaxy S II GT-9100.
I have been running CM 7.1.0 for several happy months now, and haven't tried to install or upgrade my ROM. The last action I took before this happened is that I made a full system backup (using CWM 5.0.2.6).
That backup is present on the internal memory. I can boot into recovery, mount drives and access devices using adb shell. So I do have an opportunity to fix what's broken, if I can work out what it is.
Given that the last thing I did was a backup, I checked to see if any of the partitions were full, but none are. (None is more than 42% full according to df; although strangely, df does not show any partition mounted on /.) I tried making another backup, watching carefully - that worked fine. I tried restoring the first backup - no improvement.
I've also tried wiping everything Recovery allows me to that's non data-destructive - cache, Dalvik cache etc. It hasn't helped.
How do I work out what's wrong? Is there a boot log file anywhere which might give me a clue as to what is wrong? I've searched for "*.log" but can't find anything obvious.
I don't want to do a factory wipe if I can avoid it, because obviously that will lose all my data. If I do a factory wipe and restore just the data partition, does that put me pretty much back where I was? If so, how do I restore just the data partition? The Restore option in CWM Recovery seems to do full backups only, and only from a particular directory.
The original CM and Google Apps zips are still on the internal SD (same versions as are currently not working). Would it be worth trying to reinstall those, without wiping? Or would that be data-destructive?
Any other ideas?
Thanks!
Gerv
SOLVED - remove 0-byte data/system/profiles.xml
I tried doing a full factory reset from Recovery. This got the phone booting again, but without any of my data . Fortunately, ClockWorkMod has a "partial backup restore" function. I restored the data partition... and the phone stopped booting again.
So this is progress. I now had some idea where the problem lay. I finally found it using a laborious 5-minutes-per-cycle manual bisection technique. Delete half the stuff on the data partition, reboot, if it still fails, delete more, reboot... once you get it to boot, restore the data partition, narrow it down further. Once you find a top-level directory, repeat the process inside it.
The result: the existence of a single 0-byte file stopped my phone from booting entirely. The file was: data/system/profiles.xml.
I have no idea what that file does (there are only a few references online), how a 0-byte version of it got created, or why having it existent but empty breaks things but if it's not present everything works fine. I have no idea if anyone else will ever see this problem, or if they will ever find this forum post. But still, here's my Wisdom of the Ancients (google the phrase for the relevant XKCD comic).
hi,
this ROM works very nice for me, thanks all the deveopers!
i have few questions:
(1) since this ROM has OTA updater (it seems, from the changelog), next time when the new version is realeased, can i just update the ROM via OTA updater?
(2) i dont really understand what “Wipe cache/dalvik” and “Wipe data / factory reset” really do. my guess is that “Wipe data / factory reset” repartitions the internal flash memory of the original memory, so we can use all the memory for our purpose. (not like original Nook Tablet, in which they dedicate only 1GB for personal usage)
if i understand all these correctly, this means next time if i flash the new ROM and want to keep the old data, i should not do "Wipe data / factory reset", but only need to do "Wipe cache/dalvik"? is this correct?
thanks so much,
Jun
junkoi said:
hi,
this ROM works very nice for me, thanks all the deveopers!
i have few questions:
(1) since this ROM has OTA updater (it seems, from the changelog), next time when the new version is realeased, can i just update the ROM via OTA updater?
(2) i dont really understand what “Wipe cache/dalvik” and “Wipe data / factory reset” really do. my guess is that “Wipe data / factory reset” repartitions the internal flash memory of the original memory, so we can use all the memory for our purpose. (not like original Nook Tablet, in which they dedicate only 1GB for personal usage)
if i understand all these correctly, this means next time if i flash the new ROM and want to keep the old data, i should not do "Wipe data / factory reset", but only need to do "Wipe cache/dalvik"? is this correct?
thanks so much,
Jun
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wipe data/factory reset is an option in CWM Recovery. Really all it does (from the screen messages) is format both /data and /cache.
Assuming you have CWM Recovery (though I imagine that there are similar entries in TWRP, I've just never used it), to wipe both of the caches you will first need to go to the entry "Wipe Cache Partition", which I believe is directly below Wipe Data/Factory Reset. Do that 3x (that's always been the recommendation, anyway) then go to Advanced and click on Wipe Dalvik Cache (again, 3x).
Again, assuming CWM Recovery, when you're in the recovery Vol Up/Down goes up and down in the list, the 'n' key is for Enter, and the Pwr button goes back.
I don't know about the OTA Updater. I always download and install ROMs (on both my phone and my NT) via Recovery.
Since this is a CM10 based rom you probably don't want to do the ota updater since that is a Cyanogenmod feature. This rom is optimized for the Nook from the CM10 Source I would presume. I personally tried the ota uldater since i get the notifications all the time but i get an error message something like "can't verify the source with a string of numbers". Stick to the recovery based flash installation.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 10:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:10 AM ----------
I agree with liquidzoo that you should probably do the wipe cache, wipe dalvik cache and factory reset 3times seems like overkill but you can never be too safe. Also i use twrp recovery and click the system button and wipe system a few times as well.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
kobhomye said:
I agree with liquidzoo that you should probably do the wipe cache, wipe dalvik cache and factory reset 3times seems like overkill but you can never be too safe. Also i use twrp recovery and click the system button and wipe system a few times as well.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wipe /system 3x as well (under Mounts in CWM Recovery) when I'm installing a new ROM.
liquidzoo said:
I wipe /system 3x as well (under Mounts in CWM Recovery) when I'm installing a new ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not picking on you personally, but deleting and/or wiping partitions (in the case of /system) or directories (dalvik-cache) three times as opposed to once is completely unnecessary. You'll gain nothing by running the command three times over running it once, assuming you received no errors the first time.
When wiping the dalvik cache, both CM recovery and TWRP perform an "rm -rf /data/dalvik-cache" command using the shell. It's not Windows, and is unlikely to fail when passed the "-f (force)" option along with the "-r (recursive)" option.
In the case of wiping the /system partition, again both CM and TWRP write out zeros to clear the data on the partition. I would be suprised if CWM acted differently from CM and TWRP when wiping dalvik-cache and /system.
The only reason I bothered to look into what these commands actually do is to prevent a user from thinking there's a corellation between a failure to wipe 3x versus a problem they're having. If a 3x wipe "fixes" something for you, whatever the problem was, it's very unlikely that the second or third wipe was what fixed it but instead it was more likely a result of a clean install of the ROM.
References from source:
TWRP Wipe Dalvik - https://github.com/TeamWin/Team-Win...548de276b62c0e9af8661e/extra-functions.c#L986
TWRP Wipe/Format System - https://github.com/TeamWin/Team-Win...8de276b62c0e9af8661e/mtdutils/mtdutils.c#L498
CM Wipe Dalvik - https://github.com/CyanogenMod/andr...aa7ff3d06d5dd115b16c/extendedcommands.c#L1292
CM Wipe/Format System - https://github.com/CyanogenMod/andr...aa7ff3d06d5dd115b16c/mtdutils/mtdutils.c#L498
Have fun modding!
No worries, it's just something I've always done as it's been recommended to me in the past (there are some ROM developers that recommend 5x, actually). I'm not saying that 3x over 1x is any better, but I've never had issues. YMMV, but it doesn't take much more time and I like being thorough.
liquidzoo said:
Wipe data/factory reset is an option in CWM Recovery. Really all it does (from the screen messages) is format both /data and /cache.
Assuming you have CWM Recovery (though I imagine that there are similar entries in TWRP, I've just never used it), to wipe both of the caches you will first need to go to the entry "Wipe Cache Partition", which I believe is directly below Wipe Data/Factory Reset. Do that 3x (that's always been the recommendation, anyway) then go to Advanced and click on Wipe Dalvik Cache (again, 3x).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry, but can you confirm that when i upgrade to the new ROM (from the same author), it is really necessary to Wipe cache &Dalvik cache?
i am confused because somebody told me that i can just flash the ROM by installing the ZIP file (containing the ROM), and reboot the Nook without having to wipe or clean anything.
thanks,
JK
Flashing a ROM
junkoi said:
sorry, but can you confirm that when i upgrade to the new ROM (from the same author), it is really necessary to Wipe cache &Dalvik cache?
i am confused because somebody told me that i can just flash the ROM by installing the ZIP file (containing the ROM), and reboot the Nook without having to wipe or clean anything.
thanks,
JK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if I am doing it right or wrong but I have flashed numerous ROMs and lately have flashed every version of SGT7+CM10+Cherry Picks,By meghd00t. from 24/09 thru my current installation of 08/10 with only one glitch and that was when I flashed enhancements v2 on top of v1.
I have never had any other issues with the above mentioned ROMs except when I flashed 04/10 with enhancement v2. I didn't have the tablet option.
The way I do it is as follows:
1. format /system
2. format /data
3. Flash ROM
4. Flash CWM emmc
5. Flash GAPPs
6. Reset Factory/format data
7. Remove CWM SD card put in data SD Card with Flash Player (no longer avail on Google Play)
8. Boot from CWM menu
Takes awhile to boot this first time. When booted up I bypass the setup screens.
9. Manually set up wireless (need to access auth web site at work and need wireless to be working to accomplish that)
10. Browse to a web site and get redirected to auth page.
11. Auth
12. Set up Google account and other settings, especially under Security <Install from other locations>
13. Download apps I want from Google.
At this first boot SD card is not mounted.
14. Shut down and do a cold boot.
Now I can see SD Card.
15. Install Flash Player from External SD Card.
16. Install Crackle from Play Store.
Now I check Pandora for Audio, Crackle for Video, other apps I use, utilities, keyboards, launchers, games, etc.
So far since Version 24/09 everything has worked for me with the two exceptions above, tablet mode with 04/10 with enhancement v2 and when I flashed enhancement v2 over enhancement v1.
I am now running 08/10 and am very happy with the performance, battery drain is more than CM7 but that is to be expected from a fairly new ROM but not so bad that it is unacceptable, to me at least.
I have never had a black screen or arbitrary reboot (knock on wood). However I do turn my tablet off when I am finished using it, so don't know about deep sleep. I'm using OnDemand, and three launchers without one being the default....Apex, Nova and Trebucket.
All I can say is these developers really ROCK, way to go guys!
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MojoGB said:
The way I do it is as follows:
1. format /system
2. format /data
3. Flash ROM
4. Flash CWM emmc
5. Flash GAPPs
6. Reset Factory/format data
7. Remove CWM SD card put in data SD Card with Flash Player (no longer avail on Google Play)
8. Boot from CWM menu
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to re-flash CWM every time you flash a ROM. Also, it doesn't make sense to me why you would do a factory reset/format after flashing the new ROM, I would think it would be done prior to flashing the ROM but maybe it doesn't make a difference, I don't know.
I've got TWRP installed to the emmc so I just download the new ROM to the SD with GooManager, reboot into recovery, do a backup, factory reset, flash new ROM & GApps and reboot. Only takes a few minutes.
Reflash ROM
LifeWOutMilk said:
You don't need to re-flash CWM every time you flash a ROM. Also, it doesn't make sense to me why you would do a factory reset/format after flashing the new ROM, I would think it would be done prior to flashing the ROM but maybe it doesn't make a difference, I don't know.
I've got TWRP installed to the emmc so I just download the new ROM to the SD with GooManager, reboot into recovery, do a backup, factory reset, flash new ROM & GApps and reboot. Only takes a few minutes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried it as you mentioned, doing a factory reset before flashing the ROM and got a black screen and wouldn't boot. May have been a fluke but the way I mentioned above gives me a good image and alway boots. Don't know why, but if it works for me, I will continue to do it this way as long as it works for me. I have flashed numerous other ROMs the same way with good results each time.
junkoi said:
sorry, but can you confirm that when i upgrade to the new ROM (from the same author), it is really necessary to Wipe cache &Dalvik cache?
i am confused because somebody told me that i can just flash the ROM by installing the ZIP file (containing the ROM), and reboot the Nook without having to wipe or clean anything.
thanks,
JK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For an update, yes it is recommended to clear both caches. To be clear, this is only for an update. If it is a new ROM, or if the author recommends it, you should also wipe /data and /system first.
You can just flash without clearing them, but you might run into unexpected issues, so it's not recommended.
MojoGB said:
Tried it as you mentioned, doing a factory reset before flashing the ROM and got a black screen and wouldn't boot. May have been a fluke but the way I mentioned above gives me a good image and alway boots. Don't know why, but if it works for me, I will continue to do it this way as long as it works for me. I have flashed numerous other ROMs the same way with good results each time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get a black screen for a while on first boot too, but it only last a couple minutes at the most and if you shine a bright light at the screen you can see the CM logo spinning. Are you sure it was hung?
Sent from my Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet using xda premium
When you clear the Dalvik cache, it clears out data stored in your applications. When you turn on your Nook after clearing the Dalvik, the first thing it does is it rebuilds the Dalvik cache, that's why it seemed like it hung on startup. I believe the long black screen in the beginning is when it rebuilds Dalvik for core Android apps and then when it says "Optimizing Apps", that's for the rest of your applications. The more apps you have, the longer it will take to build the Dalvik. No need to freak out, just a little patience is all you need. Correct me if I'm wrong, however, as I'm still pretty much a noob at this... :laugh:
Flash a Rom
topdawg7793 said:
When you clear the Dalvik cache, it cleares out data stored in your applications. When you turn on your Nook after clearing the Dalvik, the first thing it does is it rebuilds the Dalvik cache, that's why it seemed like it hung on startup. I believe the long black screen in the beginning is when it rebuilds dalvik for core Android apps and then when it says "Optimizing Apps", that's for the rest of your applications. The more apps you have, the longer it will take to build the dalvik. No need to freak out, just a little patience is all you need. Correct me if I'm wrong, however, as I'm still pretty much a noob at this... :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well fhe screen was black, no light at all and I waited for over five minutes for the Flash Screen to come up and it never did. Yes I know when you are waiting time drags. But due to the ROMS always taking awhile to boot up the first time I actually pay attention to how long it takes. No more then 2 minutes in my experience. I had to hold the power button in for a long time until it finally booted in B&N Recovery. Used my sequence mentioned in earlier post to flash the ROM again and everything worked as it should, GREAT. The number of APPs shouldn't be an issue as these ROMS only have the very basic apps.
I have read this forum and see the various and asundry errors some are getting, so far I have never gotten a major error, except for when I forgot to do the Wipe Data/Factory Reset after flashing.
I also got the "No Tablet Mode Option" with 04/10 with enhancement v2.
But I consider these minor issues and currently am running 08/10 with no issues, works smoother then any version of Microsoft Windows I have dealt with.
These developers are exceptional.
MojoGB said:
I don't know if I am doing it right or wrong but I have flashed numerous ROMs and lately have flashed every version of SGT7+CM10+Cherry Picks,By meghd00t. from 24/09 thru my current installation of 08/10 with only one glitch and that was when I flashed enhancements v2 on top of v1.
I have never had any other issues with the above mentioned ROMs except when I flashed 04/10 with enhancement v2. I didn't have the tablet option.
The way I do it is as follows:
1. format /system
2. format /data
3. Flash ROM
4. Flash CWM emmc
5. Flash GAPPs
6. Reset Factory/format data
7. Remove CWM SD card put in data SD Card with Flash Player (no longer avail on Google Play)
8. Boot from CWM menu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh, so you always reset factory every time you upgrade the ROM? that way will delete all the old data/apps you installed, so you need to install all the apps again?
this is my concern, because i dont want to reinstall apps, or lose my data. so i think i just need flash the new ROM, then Wipe cache/Dalvik cache, and hopefully all the old apps and data are still intact.
thanks.
MojoGB said:
I don't know if I am doing it right or wrong but I have flashed numerous ROMs and lately have flashed every version of SGT7+CM10+Cherry Picks,By meghd00t. from 24/09 thru my current installation of 08/10 with only one glitch and that was when I flashed enhancements v2 on top of v1.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have some questions on the "Enhancements":
(1) the correct way to install them is to flash version 1 first, then immediately flash version 2 right after version 1 (without having to reboot first)?
(2) i am not sure what i will get with this "enhancements". they will make video/audio playing more smoothly? is the quality improvement really noticable? anything else, like they make the battery last longer, for example?
thanks,
Jun
If you're running 08/10, the enhancements are not needed. That's my understanding at least. I had problems with V2 so I decided to not install them while on 04/10.
Sent from my Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet using xda premium
Flash Rom
junkoi said:
i have some questions on the "Enhancements":
(1) the correct way to install them is to flash version 1 first, then immediately flash version 2 right after version 1 (without having to reboot first)?
(2) i am not sure what i will get with this "enhancements". they will make video/audio playing more smoothly? is the quality improvement really noticable? anything else, like they make the battery last longer, for example?
thanks,
Jun
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you flash enhancement v2 on top of version 1 you will have problems, UI will stop. If you only flash v2 you will not have the Tablet Mode Option. So my understanding is that you can use either v1 or v2 but not both.
ROM 08/10 does not need either enhancement as indicated by the developer. ROM 08/10 works great by itself is my experience.
If I'm installing a ROM, backup the existing ROM and wipe everything.
If I'm installing a .zip package like GApps or an enhancement, backup the existing ROM, wipe Data/Dalvik.
Folks, these are development ROMS. Thar be bugs in thet thar code. It's going to take you longer than the time you think you're going to save by doing a dirty flash, and then having to restore the thing to stock (worse case) only to start all over.
Don't ask how I know.
wellersl said:
If I'm installing a ROM, backup the existing ROM and wipe everything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so it is possible to back up the existing data/apps, then restore them back after the new ROM is flashed? could you please confirm this?
if so, how & what is the right steps to do the backup? can we still use CWM, or use ROM Manager, or other tools?
thanks
Why every time when i install ANY rom to my galaxy s2 after 2, 3 weeks this rom is crashed? It's start crashing with closing apps "application must be stopped". How to fix it? It's the same in every ROM which i install, it makes me crazy right now...
Still no reply?...
Wipe cache and dalvik cache in Recovery.
Sent from my Galaxy S2 GT i9100
I do it always and rom's are still going to be bugged for 7-14 days.
I think I saw you in Paranoid Rom thread mate. Did you come from GB? Just format everything and start again and report back. Format external and usb storage. Wipe data/factory reset. Wipe cache and dalvik and stats once or twice if you wish. Remove crap from init.d or voltage settings just to be sure. Then once you are happy flash rom. Follow instructions - fix permissions etc, etc..See how you go mate.
If it is a specific ROM you are having a problem with maybe post in that ROM's thread to get quicker replies.
EDIT: Also don't restore settings - start from scratch. Don't always restore App+data with Titanium just app only for now.
Before i had problems with every ROM after few days. Yes i come from GB without formatting storage. Thanks for professional response. That's what i did actually:
1. Format external and internal storage.
2. Wipe cache, Wipe data & Wipe dalvik cache.
3. Flash Paranoid 2.22 ROM.
4. Again point 2.
5. Titanium backup just necessary apps.
We will see how long everything will be fine.
PS. what about fix permission? When to do it? And how to remove this "crap" from init.d?
Point 4: Not sure about point 4 - just the dalvik cache and then select fix permissions here. I wouldn't wipe cache and data/factory reset all over again at point 4.
Point 5: Let ROM boot (will take a few minutes)
Point 6: Run an app or two then reboot to make sure..
Point 7: Begin restoring apps or play with governors etc and whatever you like
The "crap" I meant was if you had any additional scripts or tweaks that are in init.d folder during startup. So they don't interfere on first startup. Never tried a kernel cleaning script/cwm flashable file coz there have been some useless ones in the past but give that a try (someone else may be able to comment here).
Remove voltage settings if you were using voltage control app in GB. Reset to default in Extweaks if you were just using this. (Not sure if all this is necessary because I do this prior to formatting or factory resets - someone more knowledgeable can help here).
[HELP] Unable to install apps from &amp;quot;.apk&amp;quot; files
Edit: My phone is running AOSParadox.
This is what happened. I hope you read this fully.
(But still, you can skip to point no 5 , if this? looks long/big ? And if you want to know the "actual" problem, skip to point no 10.)
1)I downloaded new "phone" app apk and installed.
2)new app got installed as a separate app as a result of which there were 2 'phone' apps (one of which is a system app)
3)To make the newer 'phone' app as system app, I deleted the older one(yes, I had rooted the ROM) , and using ES file explorer, I copied the newer 'phone' apk to /system/priv-app & changed the permission to rw- r-- r-- . Rebooted.
4)After this, I could make phone calls...BUT, after dialing a number, the dialer interface ( the screen where the controls like disconnecting a call, loud speaker toggle, mute toggle exist) was simply not appearing. Hence, I could not do anything but listen to the calls that I dial.
5)So, I uninstalled this app, and reflashed the whole ROM and rebooted to system.
6)'Google play service stopped' kept on popping up. So,flashed open gapps nano.
7)now, 'setup wizard stopped' started to pop up.
8)Hence I deleted setupwizard.apk from /system/priv-app in twrp file manager & rebooted, And the pop up stopped.
9) But, many other app crashing messages started to pop up.( like Google+, Google play games, messenger(Google) ie, all the 'Google' apps that are NOT part of Gapps).So, I wiped ONLY system and flashed the ROM and Gapps. After this also, 'setup wizard stopped' started to pop up. So, I repeated step 8.
10) Now, I cannot install ANY "apk". If I try to install , it says that there is "parsing error". But, I can install an app if I download it DIRECTLY from play store.
Help me to install the '.apk' file.
Edit: do NOT suggest me to perform a full wipe/clean install of the ROM. please.
Thanks everyone!
try this, take a nandroid of only your data partition (without compression) , change your file systems on /data & /cache (if its ext4, then okay, but if its f2fs then change to ext4) , the do a clean flash, boot into the rom, then reboot back to recovery, wipe ONLY DATA and restore the nandroid backup, wipe cache & dalvik and reboot.
see is it helps
Also, fix the title of this thread
Joshwin Aranha said:
try this, take a nandroid of only your data partition (without compression) , change your file systems on /data & /cache (if its ext4, then okay, but if its f2fs then change to ext4) , the do a clean flash, boot into the rom, then reboot back to recovery, wipe ONLY DATA and restore the nandroid backup, wipe cache & dalvik and reboot.
see is it helps
Also, fix the title of this thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
About fixing the title, how can I do it?
Edit: Do you know what is the problem?
In the OP , I have written not to suggest a clean install/full wipe(which you still did), because, I want to know what is that I did wrong in the process.
Thank you anyway.
sankarshan said:
About fixing the title, how can I do it?
Edit: Do you know what is the problem?
In the OP , I have written not to suggest a clean install/full wipe(which you still did), because, I want to know what is that I did wrong in the process.
Thank you anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
best i can say is that you tried messing around symlinked system apps, the gapps problem confirms that, maybe Googlepackage installer got screwed up, try installing gapps again without any wipes, if that doesnt work, maybe a full wipe is the only option.
Joshwin Aranha said:
best i can say is that you tried messing around symlinked system apps, the gapps problem confirms that, maybe Googlepackage installer got screwed up, try installing gapps again without any wipes, if that doesnt work, maybe a full wipe is the only option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I re-flashed the Gapps without wiping anything. After booting into the system, after unlocking, 'unfortunately setup wizard has stopped working ' kept on popping up.
Why?
Anyway, I think I have to do clean install. Just curious about what's happening.