Bricked S3 (E: failed to mount /efs (Invalid argument)) - Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I've backup efs for samsung gs3 i9305 by efs pro v1.2.6 and i tried restor efs , but after restar mobile it not work,stands on the logo samsung
when entering a Recovery This image shows
http://imageshack.us/f/809/photookc.jpg/
Is there a way to push efs file to mobile I've copied efs the way Root Explorer program and tried, but to no avail for the entry way to efs to the device
I tried with the pc suit for Andorad when entering recovry mode I see all files system for mobil, but when you try to push efs appears that not enough space
http://imageshack.us/f/688/95833739.png/
http://imageshack.us/f/547/42574038.png/
Any help or thought about push file efs to phone. to restore life for mobil and I do not know if there was frimware of three files Will addresses the issue.
thanks
sorry for bad english

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Wrong section, post in the 9305 QA

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Glebun said:
Wrong section, post in the 9305 QA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hit Thanks if I deserve it >
U dont
---------- Post added at 09:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:03 PM ----------
nabel_sweed said:
I've backup efs for samsung gs3 i9305 by efs pro v1.2.6 and i tried restor efs , but after restar mobile it not work,stands on the logo samsung
when entering a Recovery This image shows
Is there a way to push efs file to mobile I've copied efs the way Root Explorer program and tried, but to no avail for the entry way to efs to the device
I tried with the pc suit for Andorad when entering recovry mode I see all files system for mobil, but when you try to push efs appears that not enough space
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Any help or thought about push file efs to phone. to restore life for mobil and I do not know if there was frimware of three files Will addresses the issue.
thanks
sorry for bad english
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry but u in serious problems i had exact same problem and struggled in several days to sort it out
U efs dir is corrupted for sure - u should have made a fresh backup before starting any flashing
This is with no doubt the most complicated dir on our phone, and if u dont have a 100% working backup before starting messing around theres absolutely NO way to restore it - I was lucky i now a guy with a SPT box he hardcoded my modem bin file and imei, and then copy imei folder 1 file after another, then set permissions right with efspro - and then network/imei came back - but this way i cant ever change modem file again has to use the patched one (and it must be flashed through spt box not odin/heimdal it wont work then)
This means i ever cant flash a rom with aroma installer, because it forces u to choose another modem file
Sorry but without a spt patched modem u wont ever be able to use network again
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TO ALL OF YOU OUT THERE !!!! MAKE A BACKUP OF EFS FOLDER WITH KTOOL AND KEEP IT A SAFE PLACE - JUST IN CASE

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Glebun said:
Wrong section, post in the 9305 QA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to put the question on the location inappropriate please amendment of supervision.
spoonymoon said:
Hit Thanks if I deserve it >
U dont
---------- Post added at 09:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:03 PM ----------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry but u in serious problems i had exact same problem and struggled in several days to sort it out
U efs dir is corrupted for sure - u should have made a fresh backup before starting any flashing
This is with no doubt the most complicated dir on our phone, and if u dont have a 100% working backup before starting messing around theres absolutely NO way to restore it - I was lucky i now a guy with a SPT box he hardcoded my modem bin file and imei, and then copy imei folder 1 file after another, then set permissions right with efspro - and then network/imei came back - but this way i cant ever change modem file again has to use the patched one (and it must be flashed through spt box not odin/heimdal it wont work then)
This means i ever cant flash a rom with aroma installer, because it forces u to choose another modem file
Sorry but without a spt patched modem u wont ever be able to use network again
Thanks for the reply and assistance
So the solution you think with box spt.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TO ALL OF YOU OUT THERE !!!! MAKE A BACKUP OF EFS FOLDER WITH KTOOL AND KEEP IT A SAFE PLACE - JUST IN CASE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

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Have a look here >http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1896470
Best thing u can do is follow this guide, and send for repair saying it happend during kies update they wont/cant charge u then :silly:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1846451
And yes spt box did the trick, but they are hard to get around, and sertenly not easy to use
One more thing if youre to play around with a spt DONT use windows 8 it has a lot of new low level security crap build in that makes spt box fail !! use 7

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spoonymoon said:
Have a look here >http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1896470
Best thing u can do is follow this guide, and send for repair saying it happend during kies update they wont/cant charge u then :silly:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1846451
And yes spt box did the trick, but they are hard to get around, and sertenly not easy to use
One more thing if youre to play around with a spt DONT use windows 8 it has a lot of new low level security crap build in that makes spt box fail !! use 7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much I follow the instructions
i used the following commands to do so manually in terminal
Code:
mke2fs / dev/block/mmcblk0p3
mount-w-t ext4 / dev/block/mmcblk0p3 / efs
Then restart the Mobile and it work normal and i copy efs with program Root exploer and returned everything in its natural form

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hi help please my phone GS3 i9300 international ver
when im trying to re mount efs with code in cmd manually my phone path not shown in device on my computer and when start it stuck on Samsung logo but i can enter recovery mode and download mode when i enter recovery mode error msg (E:\failed to mount efs (invalid argument)) i flash this roms I9300XXELL5_I9300OJVELL2_KSA nothing change.
advice plz

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bricked s3
i bricked my s3 (hard brick, not soft as you are reporting), i sent mine off to mobiletechvideos.com and got it back within a week. HIGHLY recommended. don't know if you can fix your soft brick or not, but you may need JTAG repair like i did. i didn't have the hardware to perform the JTAG myself, but i had the software. needless to say, it was cheaper to send it off to be fixed than to report it to my insurance or to buy the hardware. hope this helps!

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nabel_sweed said:
Thank you very much I follow the instructions
i used the following commands to do so manually in terminal
Code:
mke2fs / dev/block/mmcblk0p3
mount-w-t ext4 / dev/block/mmcblk0p3 / efs
Then restart the Mobile and it work normal and i copy efs with program Root exploer and returned everything in its natural form
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, I've got the same problem here.
I managed to ODIN flash a stock I9300XXDLJ4_I9300PHEDLI1_PHE ROM with CWM root.
It keeps giving me this 'E: failed to mount /efs (Invalid argument)' error.
then I got in with ADB SHELL and executed:
mke2fs / dev/block/mmcblk0p3
sh: mke2fs: not found
I investigated a bit and found out that it's a busybox command, so as I only can ADB do things, (doesn't boot), i pushed the busybox_android binary to my S3 and now when I execute the mke2fs command through:
./busybox_android mke2fs /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
I get
./busybox_android mke2fs /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
Segmentation fault
Any ideas?
Thank you in advance.

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Flash a stock rom via Odin .
jje

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JJEgan said:
Flash a stock rom via Odin .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already did that but phone won't boot up. Is there any special recommendation/procedure to fix this?
I flashed a stock I9300XXDLJ4_I9300PHEDLI1_PHE ROM with CWM root.
In the Galaxy Note N7000 we had 'full wipe stock ROMs', I wonder if there is anything similar in the S3...
Thank you in advance.

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We finally fixed it. I'll post the solution in case it can help anyone else...
The S3 got stuck in the Samsung logo screen:
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When entering the recovery it gave us this error "E: failed to mount /efs (Invalid argument)"
As we already know, the /efs folder contains all the personalized information of the mobile (IMEI number, carrier lock, etc). So if we like to play with ROMs, we should be aware of this detail and make several backups of this VERY IMPORTANT folder, and preferably store them out of the mobile, in the computer for example.
in case we mess up the /efs folder, we are likely to have no other solution than bringing it to the authorized Samsung dealer for repair. No one is going to lend us the EFS backup from their mobile, as doing that we would likely clone their IMEI -which is, BTW, unlegal.
So we first flashed with PC-ODIN a STOCK ROM (I9300XXDLJ4_I9300PHEDLI1_PHE). We tried different ones (one file, 4 files) and none of them solved our problem as the problem was with the /efs partition and I don't think any ROM will touch that...
After flashing the ROM we also flashed Chainfire's CF-Root (CF-Auto-Root-m0-m0xx-gti9300)
We boot up the mobile in recovery mode (Volume UP + Power + Home), we connected to the PC through ADB SHELL.
Our first surprise, trying to partition:
#mke2fs / dev/block/mmcblk0p3
sh: mke2fs: not found
It seems that mke2fs is a command provided by busybox, and it's not present in the stock ROM.I downloaded a precompiled busybox version from busybox.net and pushed it in the S3
Code:
PC> adb shell mkdir /data/busybox
PC> adb push busybox /data/busybox
PC> adb shell
$su
#cd /data/busybox
#chmod 775 busybox
#./busybox --install
once installed we could use mke2fs command properly:
Code:
# busybox mke2fs /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
busybox mke2fs /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
Filesystem label=
OS type: Linux
Block size=1024 (log=0)
Fragment size=1024 (log=0)
5136 inodes, 20480 blocks
1024 blocks (5%) reserved for the super user
First data block=1
Maximum filesystem blocks=262144
3 block groups
8192 blocks per group, 8192 fragments per group
1712 inodes per group
Superblock backups stored on blocks:
8193
and after that mounting the partition in the /efs folder
Code:
#busybox mount -w -t ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p3 /efs
busybox mount -w -t ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p3 /efs
With the EFS folder fixed, we ADB PUSHED the backup of ur efs folder (efs.tar), we unpackaged it (busybox tar xfv efs.tar) and moved it's content to the newly fixed /efs folder.
Reboot and ready to go:

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ptolomeo said:
Code:
#busybox mount -w -t ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p3 /efs
busybox mount -w -t ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p3 /efs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did everything as told but after that command I get this:
mount: mounting /dev/block/mmcblk0p3 on /efs failed: file too large

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Rockwell_ said:
I did everything as told but after that command I get this:
mount: mounting /dev/block/mmcblk0p3 on /efs failed: file too large
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're on luck.
In the Spanish forum where I also posted the solution (www.htcmania.com/showthread.php?t=541264), another guy came with the same problem. In his case, he was using latest busybux v.20 which he downloaded from busybox.net instead of using the one I provided (v.19).
http://www.nobutaka.es/web/files/S3.zip
We substituted v.20 with v.19 and it worked instantly.
Hope it works for you.

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Offtopic, but how did you manage to mess up EFS at first.
I am asking, so taht I can avoid it in future.

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eggman89 said:
Offtopic, but how did you manage to mess up EFS at first.
I am asking, so taht I can avoid it in future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't mess the EFS. I don't even have a S3 (I have a Note N7000) .
My friend claims that he also didn't do anything at all. The S3 just drained the battery and then it didnt boot any more.
Hope it helps.
My conclusion: if you own an S3 do a backup of the EFS folder.

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ptolomeo said:
You're on luck.
In the Spanish forum where I also posted the solution (www.htcmania.com/showthread.php?t=541264), another guy came with the same problem. In his case, he was using latest busybux v.20 which he downloaded from busybox.net instead of using the one I provided (v.19).
http://www.nobutaka.es/web/files/S3.zip
We substituted v.20 with v.19 and it worked instantly.
Hope it works for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I see. Thanks.
Now I get error after ./busybox --install
busybox: /bin/[: No such file or directory
edit: Got it working after removing the new busybox and mkdir /bin
Now the only problem is restoring efsbackup.tar. I have two different backups. Others size is over 6MB and other is 5.3MB. Should I do something with the .img files? I tried to push the smaller one in to phone and unpacked it in /efs folder. Still no IMEI.

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Bricked S3
Hi guys. I am a new member of xda developers. i brought a galaxy s3 2 months back, and it was fine until yesterday. suddenly found it stuck on the samsung logo screen. I took it to a dealer, and got the answer that the imei is null, and can't do anything but to change the board for 300 USD.
Also i am getting the following error: failed to mount /efs (invalid argument) when pressing menu, volume up and power buttons.
Please help me, .:crying::crying::crying::crying:

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LebAndroider said:
Hi guys. I am a new member of xda developers. i brought a galaxy s3 2 months back, and it was fine until yesterday. suddenly found it stuck on the samsung logo screen. I took it to a dealer, and got the answer that the imei is null, and can't do anything but to change the board for 300 USD.
Also i am getting the following error: failed to mount /efs (invalid argument) when pressing menu, volume up and power buttons.
Please help me, .:crying::crying::crying::crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, did you read any of the previous messages? I'm guessing not...
Please take the time and trouble to read the messages on a thread before posting.
Now stop :crying: :crying: :crying: and start READING!

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Permission denied
PC> adb shell mkdir /data/busybox
PC> adb push busybox /data/busybox
PC> adb shell
$su
#cd /data/busybox
#chmod 775 busybox
#./busybox --install[/CODE]
Please help me...Iam stuck on the first line. When i try "adb shell mkdir /data/busybox"...it states cannot create directory data /busybox: Permission denied. What am i supposed to do? I flashed with the stock ROM and chainfire auto root from the above links. Earlier i had another stock ROM installed and with that i tried everything and got stuck in the last step while trying to mount efs. It stated" file too large to mount". I downloaded the busybox version from the links stated in this thread. Iam desperate. Pls help!!!! What should i do now??