Related
Getting a bit confused about all this, so am wondering if i've got it right. A rom is the whole thing, it includes a kernel and so forth? So a Kernel is a part of the rom right? And you can flash kernels individually without flashing a whole new rom? But what is a firmware then? Just another name of a rom?
Also on the Galaxy S2 can you flash custom roms, like Lite'ning, without getting root first? Or do you need to get root before flashing custom roms? If you can flash custom roms first without rooting, will the custom rom then give you root as long as it includes it?
And you also got recovery, which is a separate thing again? Galaxy S2 comes with a very basic one if i've understood correctly, but there is others out there that you can install, which also gives you the ability of flashing roms straight from the microsd/phone storage?
So have i gotten any of this? Hope am not to far off
Edit: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1246131 looks like most of my questions where answered there, though am still a bit unsure if it's possible to flash a custom rom before you root?
ROM's and FIRMWARE: The ROM or Read Only Memory is the internal flash memory where the core operating system resides. The Firmware is a device specific part of the ROM that controls various hardware components. So the firmware is contained in the ROM but in the context of Android the terms are often used interchangeably.
KERNELS: Different kernels offer different advantages, some are fast, some are light weight on the battery and some are a mix, so yes you can in most cases flash a different kernel with a ROM, and then your phone will be running the custom ROM you picked with the new kernel you flashed.
Rooting: You must have a rooted phone inorder to flash a custom rom, but rooting in my opinion seems really safe and it really easy to do on the SG2
There are things that allow you to flash from your SD card and you do that by entering clockworkmod revovery, apps like rom manager also allow you to flash from sd card, but you can always use odin, which is safe and fast
hope this helps
Thanks, and very nicely explained =) Another question then, what is the reason one need root before you can flash custom firmwares? As i heard Galaxy S2 doesn't really have any safety measures put in to stop things, like HTC do with their bootloader. Another thing is that i checked the thread for the Lite'ning rom, and saw the installation procedure, and it doesn't mention anything about having root before starting, so am getting a bit confused there.
You don't need to root before flashing a custom ROM as long as you can enter download mode (power up with volume down, home and power button pressed) and can flash the ROM via Odin.
If the ROM is flashable only via ClockWorkMod recovery (a zip that you copy on your phone) then you need to flash something that includes that recovery before flashing the rom (like CF-Root or any kernel that includes CWM).
Lite'ning ROM that you mentioned earlier is flashable via Odin so no problem.
Every ROM includes a Kernel, the only thing they sometimes don't include is the modem like in VillainROM, you have to flash it separately. And also, if a ROM is announced as rooted, when you flash it, you will have root regardless of the state before flashing
Thanks once again =)
Another question, if one want to get back to stock, flashing one of these "official firmwares": http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1075278 well revert everything right? Even if i got CWM recovery, after flashing on of those "official firmwares" will give me back the original recovery as well?
Edit: Also you mention "modem", if one ROM don't include one, do you have to flash it separately for the ROM to function at all? Or will it just use the modem that's already on the phone or something? Checked out the VillainROM thread and it doesn't say anything about a modem.
Nitrius said:
Another question, if one want to get back to stock, flashing one of these "official firmwares": http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1075278 well revert everything right? Even if i got CWM recovery, after flashing on of those "official firmwares" will give me back the original recovery as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it will revert back everything
Nitrius said:
Edit: Also you mention "modem", if one ROM don't include one, do you have to flash it separately for the ROM to function at all? Or will it just use the modem that's already on the phone or something? Checked out the VillainROM thread and it doesn't say anything about a modem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you dont flash a modem it will just use the one you had before. They talk about it in the old thread and also in the new but not in the firsts posts, you'll have to do a search.
Plus Modem Kernels are interchangeable .
KH3 Firmware with KI4 modem and KH1 kernel .
Guide
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1125282
jje
My apologies if this has been asked before, but I've spent hours searching and think I've done a better job of confusing myself, than answering my question.
I've rooted my wife's Samsung Fascinate, using Super One Click and removed all annoyances such as the Verizon bloat ware and got add blocker installed, etc. The point on doing so, was also to improve battery life, backup the ROM and some of the other associated advantages with rooting. One of my main goals was to also install a custom ROM on her phone, as the factory ROM is very flaky. It receives emails, then doesn't. It sends a text, then can't minutes later. It's been a great phone HW wise, but just junk as far as the OS.
Thus far, all attempts to backup the factory (modified) ROM has failed, which evidently is part of the limitation with the stock ROM. At this point, she's so frustrated (me too) with her phone, that it's time to get serious.
So, my confusion stems from varying reports regarding what the proper steps are to install a new ROM. On my Thunderbolt, I simply used CWM to install and backup/restore my ROMs as needed. This doesn't seem to be the case with the Fascinate and there's varying reports of whether this can even be done if Super One Click was used.
Has anyone had experience with flashing new ROMs after the phone was rooted and if so, by what method?
Her current ROM details are:
Firmware
2.2.2
Baseband
S:i500.04 V.ED05
Kernel
2.6.32.9
Build
SCH-I500.ED05
Thanks in advance.
stock roms,radios, and recoveries are flashed via odin. custom roms are flashed via the appropiate cwm for that specific rom.
example: lets say you want cm7
you would odin cwm4 recovery fixed for cm7(pda function only)
three finger boot into recovery
wipe data,cache,dalvik
install cm7 zip
profit
most stock roms and powewashed gingerbread rom are .tar files and need to be flashed in the pda funtion of odin.
then use odin again to flash the appropiate cwm, such as cwmall.tar, which can be found in the pwgb thread(op).
basically just remember zip files are flashed in recovery, .tar and md5 files are flashed in the pda function of odin and you will be set!
droidstyle said:
stock roms,radios, and recoveries are flashed via odin. custom roms are flashed via the appropiate cwm for that specific rom.
example: lets say you want cm7
you would odin cwm4 recovery fixed for cm7(pda function only)
three finger boot into recovery
wipe data,cache,dalvik
install cwm zip
profit
most stock roms and powewashed gingerbread rom are .tar files and need to be flashed in the pda funtion of odin.
then use odin again to flash the appropiate cwm, such as cwmall.tar, which can be found in the pwgb thread(op).
basically just remember zip files are flashed in recovery, .tar and md5 files are flashed in the pda function of odin and you will be set!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, that makes a lot more sense now. Thanks for the quick reply.
correct me if i'm wrong but when flashing the cwm fixed for cm7, the 3 finger method does not work.
ibsk8 said:
correct me if i'm wrong but when flashing the cwm fixed for cm7, the 3 finger method does not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it does until the rom is flashed, then you have to long press the power button and select reboot recovery...at that point your no long in cwm4 fixed for cm7. once the bml to mtd conversion takes place it's converted to cwm 5.x.x.
droidstyle said:
it does until the rom is flashed, then you have to long press the power button and select reboot recovery...at that point your no long in cwm4 fixed for cm7. once the bml to mtd conversion takes place it's converted to cwm 5.x.x.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never could get to the ROM flashing part. Every time I tried I got the same set of errors as when trying to backup the original ROM. I did manage to get the CWM 4 fix applied through ODIN and it said successful, but nothing really changed and my attempts to flash the new ROM still failed.
I searched around this forum and others and found another file to flash and things went very badly. The flash was moving super slow and I left the phone, so I wouldn't be tempted to do anything stupid and after an hour, it was at the same point. When I rebooted the phone, I got a sad face icon only. No Samsung logo or anything.
Luckily, I was able to re flash the stock rom, but after messing with it for 4 hours and getting nowhere, I decided the stock ROM was good enough for now. I have no idea why this phone is so pesky and read how some folks had to ref lash the stock ROM, before being able to flash a new ROM. I made one final attempt to do so and got the same error as the first time, so that was enough for that day. I don't recall exactly what the error said at this point, but I had blue text, followed by orange, which I think said something to the fact that is was unable to verify the package, followed by red text showing the failures.
Sorry there's no more detail than that for now. I may try this again in the future, but as mentioned this is the wife's phone, so I can't take nearly the liberties with it as I could my own.
If anyone has any ideas on what I may be able to try next, that would be great. If not, I may keep digging on this forum (a very helpful place indeed) and see what the options may be.
Thanks everyone for your help.
refer to section 3 of my guide and follow those steps. for some reason certain fascinates have trouble flashing mtd roms when starting from ed05. I have to start with dl09 eclair then flash cm7. look in page 2 of this section for my guide. all files needed can be found there aswell. good luck!
Hi guys,
as you know some days ago, Samsung has leaked their SGS2 ICS firmware, which I learnt on sammobile.com.
In their article, was a tutorial to install it, so I did.
I tried it a bit, but have been desapointed, so I decided to flash back to MIUI.
Thus I first flash another kernel, but here my trouble start.
Long story short, if I don't use the leaked, buggy firmware, I have a "Kernel panic - upload mode" and Kies does not recognize my phone to flash it back to stock.
I figured out that in the tutorial I have been told to change some file I've never flashed (like the pit, the modem and I think the CSC). Files that I don't know anything about. So I thought that those files weren't compatible with previous kernel etc. but as I don't know much, I can't be sure...
So I am know with a very buggy phone (for instance, I cannot be phoned, but I can phone to people) or a kernel panic. Help please :/
By the way, if someone could explain the meaning of those files, it would be cool, not to do the same mistake again.
And as I think : in all the tutorials using ODIN, it's said the I must not check "re-partition", what is it about ?
Thanks, and sorry for my poor English
Some updates here.
I thought yesterday, as there were those files (.pit, csc and stuff) in the downloaded archive on sammobile to flash leaked ICS, there were in the others firmware too, and I was right.
So this morning I flashed back to official 2.3.6 and it worked well. Then I flashed to xcell kernel (for Miui) and tried to flash MIUI 2.1.6. The kernel flash worked, as I rebooted normally but after flashing MIUI, another kernel panic :/
Did you wipe before flashing MIUI?
I did it after flashing, but still before rebooting.
Is that a mistake ?
If you wipe after flashing then your phone won't even boot.
So I think you did not wipe at all.
Yes I did, and I tried once again just now, wipping before flashing, but after the Samsung GS2 logo, still the kernel panic screen.
Clean Slate for those that balls up the firmware .Or need to return to service or decide if its hardware/firmware problem .
Backup data first if phone is working .
Boot CWM recovery
Mounts and Storage
Format cache data system sd card .
Remove battery
Boot to download mode
Open Odin
Install correct stock firmware .
Then read and learn before flashing anything else .
jje
Where can I find the correct stock firmware ?
I'm kinda lost with all the versions and stuff.
And when flashing, I would like to know what I do, but noone, nowhere, explains what we do, just "do that stuff and it will be good".
Swali said:
Where can I find the correct stock firmware ?
I'm kinda lost with all the versions and stuff.
You shouldd stop flashing and start READING THE BASICS you are flashing test roms from complete ignorance .
Stock firmware here you should know what your firmware is .
Stock Roms .and csc
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1075278
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I admit it, I was dumb doing it :-/
So now I am under stock both kernel and rom (2.3.5) and Kies says that there is an update but my phone isn't ok to do it, but that is not what I want.
I wanted to reset my phone through Kies to be sure all would be set to stock, but now Kies doesn't let me do it, there is no option to do it.
I think that the rom, even if official, is not good for my phone.
On the topic you linked, I choosed XXKI4 (France, if I understood well) for the rom.
Kies says my version is "I9100XWKJ2/I9100XEFKJ1/I9100XXKI4/I9100XWKJ2".
And my phone says :
- Banseband : I9100XXKI4
- Kernel : 2.6.35.7-I9100XXKI4-CL611039 [email protected] #2
- Version number : GINGERBREAD.XWKJ2.
Is that all ok ?
What I would like to do is flashing MIUI 2.1.6, so is it good to do it now ?
Make sure you have flashed back the old bootloaders, see this post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=21146446&postcount=2
Ok so I flashed an old bootloader then a custom kernel and to finish the latest MIUI and everything went well !
Thank you, guys !
Hi all,
I need help with my wife's Note i717.
I was on a custom ICS ROM, and I tried to flash CM10 ROM.
I've been flashing ROMs for a few years now on various phone, so this is no different ... flashing went smooth, but after flash CM10 I discovered the phone would freeze on certain screen ... like when I go to Task Manager, or when I hit certain menu's.
After a bit of searching, seems like a few others have the same problem ... I figure maybe ROM isn't very stable, so I did a NANDOID restore to my ICS ROM, and all is good.
Tried to flash again, this time I also wiped my internal SD, and flashed a new UCLF6 radio when I flashed a newer version of CM10.
This is when all hell breaks loose. I run into even more severe problems of freezing after flashing CM10, and I can't even make phone calls anymore as the phone I call would ring, but the Note would freeze to a point the other side can't hear me.
So again I did a NANDOID restore of my ICS ROM, but this time I'm not so lucky. After restore, my Note is VERY SLOW ... it'd take seconds going from one menu to the other, hitting "OK" buttons and the phone freezes for a few seconds before it goes to the next menu.
So I did a clean wipe, starting with a ODIN flashed the stock AT&T image. But rightaway after flashing the AT&T stock ODIN image, after the phone boots up again I knew I got the same problem. Even on the setup wizard by AT&T the phone reacts VERY SLOW like before, or downright freezes.
I followed up with rooting it, flashing CWM, then TWRP recovery, and tried to flash different ROMs ... all give me the same problem. I also tried NANDROID restore again, but same thing!
Any suggestion on what I can do next? I thought flashing AT&T ODIN is already the cleanest wipe I can do to restore my phone ... any help is appreciated!!!
did you make sure you wiped cache, davilik cache and did a factory reset? if you didnt do all 3 then flash again sounds like a dirty flash is what you have been doing
Yes always wipe cache, dalvik and factory reset 3 times before flashing any rom, not to mention I thought ODIN flashing stock rom would get me back to square 1 regardless of previous flashing?
Try using Kies recovery through your computer.
-Once you go NOTE, you'd say 4 inches a Joke
[Lady]: "How do you carry that huge phone in your pocket?"
[Note User]: "I'm used to having huge stuff in my pants"
Kies recovery eh? I can give it a try but how is that different from ODIN?
I had similar issues this past summer...I would try various roms and get crashing and instability, calling issues, etc.
Make absolutely sure that your modem is flashed...I had to do it via Odin. Get a stock one for your carrier. I assumed that when I flashed a new rom that the modem got updated as well but I was wrong. I went from FJs rom to CM10 and got the same issues as you. Went back to FJs rom and the issues persisted. Did a nandroid restore to stock GB and still had the same issues. Then I used the 'muglf4' version for my carrier (Bell), flashed the modem separately and all went well since.
Might not be your issue of course but its something to verify (that the modem and kernel are being flashed).
chriskwarren said:
I had similar issues this past summer...I would try various roms and get crashing and instability, calling issues, etc.
Make absolutely sure that your modem is flashed...I had to do it via Odin. Get a stock one for your carrier. I assumed that when I flashed a new rom that the modem got updated as well but I was wrong. I went from FJs rom to CM10 and got the same issues as you. Went back to FJs rom and the issues persisted. Did a nandroid restore to stock GB and still had the same issues. Then I used the 'muglf4' version for my carrier (Bell), flashed the modem separately and all went well since.
Might not be your issue of course but its something to verify (that the modem and kernel are being flashed).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you point me to where I can find the tar file for MGLF4 radio? mine is also a Bell unit and I want to ODIN flash the radio to see if it would fix my problems.
Thanks!
chriskwarren has the answer. Your LF6 radio download was corrupted. This happens frequently, so just redownload it and flash it again either with odin or CWM.
If the phone is at&t use LF6, if Bell use the Bell radio.
chriskwarren said:
I had similar issues this past summer...I would try various roms and get crashing and instability, calling issues, etc.
Make absolutely sure that your modem is flashed...I had to do it via Odin. Get a stock one for your carrier. I assumed that when I flashed a new rom that the modem got updated as well but I was wrong. I went from FJs rom to CM10 and got the same issues as you. Went back to FJs rom and the issues persisted. Did a nandroid restore to stock GB and still had the same issues. Then I used the 'muglf4' version for my carrier (Bell), flashed the modem separately and all went well since.
Might not be your issue of course but its something to verify (that the modem and kernel are being flashed).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could be, but I can't seem to find the Bell radio for ODIN flashing, even with a lot of searching ... if someone can point me to it it'll be greatly appreciated.
BTW, having done some more tests I think the problems are caused by either a corrupted radio and/or corrupted kernel.
- If I run the phone in airplane mode, without turning on the radio, the phone works fine, for the most part
- What guarantees the phone to freeze and have all kinds of problems is if I try to make a phone call. The phone will either give me "Call cannot be sent" error message, or it will dial, the other number will ring, but can't hear a word at all, and the Note will freeze.
I have tried flashing different radio's I find, but most radios I find are CWM ZIPs, not ODIN TARs. I don't know if CWM can't do a 'complete overwrite' or something, but flashing different radio's don't help. I want to try to flash radio via ODIN, but can only find 1 appropriate ODIN file, and that tar file might be corrupted in itself because it fails trying to flash it through ODIN.
I suspect it may also be a corrupted kernel, because in trying to make CM10 work I flashed both a different radio and a different kernel, which causes all the problems I have.
I have a Bell Note i717M ... what is the safest radio and kernel I can use with ICS ROM? If someone can point me or send me the ODIN tar's it will be greatly appreciated. I searched and searched but can't find much for ODIN on xda!
Check the "note super everything thread "....
At the top of the general section ...
About half way down the page you will see the modem section .....and bell is there ....g
Try a stock kernel. If else fails, try a bell modem.
-Once you go NOTE, you'd say 4 inches a Joke
[Lady]: "How do you carry that huge phone in your pocket?"
[Note User]: "I'm used to having huge stuff in my pants"
SKyRocKeting727 said:
Try a stock kernel. If else fails, try a bell modem.
-Once you go NOTE, you'd say 4 inches a Joke
[Lady]: "How do you carry that huge phone in your pocket?"
[Note User]: "I'm used to having huge stuff in my pants"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for all the advices guys.
I have tried different radio's, all of them CWM zips. None of them seems to work ... the supposedly "stock" kernel makes it worse actually.
I wonder if ODIN would flash 'cleaner' ... but so far, can't find any ODIN modem.
As stated earlier, your modem you flashed was corrupted and you need the Bell modem.
If it is in CWM zip format, unzip the file on your pc, and use the mdm.bin or modem.bin file in the unzipped folder. That goes in the Phone slot of Odin3.
rangercaptain said:
As stated earlier, your modem you flashed was corrupted and you need the Bell modem.
If it is in CWM zip format, unzip the file on your pc, and use the mdm.bin or modem.bin file in the unzipped folder. That goes in the Phone slot of Odin3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhhh I see ... thanks a lot. I'll try that tonight.
Thanks a lot that did the trick!! As soon as I flashed modem.bin everything works.
How about amss.bin? Do I need to flash it too?
Noooo.
Similar issue - Note very sluggish
Hey guys, I'm having a similar issue as the OP. I've tried updating my Note to ICS without success and was working fine on stock ATT GB. I tried again today to update to ICS and failed, reverted to stock ATT GB from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1506330, and now my Note is sluggish as heck!
Right at the ATT setup flow, the touchscreen seems very unresponsive and screen taps take a few seconds to register. The soft keys are pretty much unusable - if I hit back or home, the whole thing freezes and randomly resets.
I made sure I wiped cache, wiped Dalvik cache and factory reset and then flashed the stock ROM again, but same thing. I found the stock ATT modem and flashed that as well by putting mdm.bin in the Phone field in Odin, but no luck...
Any idea what else could be wrong here?
Appreciate any help guys! I'm close to having a large ungainly paperweight here...
I'm 99% convinced I need to screw with my SGS2 once more. Have been toying with the idea of the stock 4.1.2 leak. I'm not exactly a newbie, and I know of the horror stories associated with re-flashing a PIT file and repartitioning.
However, I've toyed around with maybe 20 different roms - stock leaks, custom roms, wipe roms, no-wipe roms, etc etc so I'm reasonably confident of not making a brick.
Since I'm migrating to an S3 I'm getting my hands on, I was going to give the S2 to the wife after I had a play with jb - so I'd like the cleanest possible install. Even 'wipe' roms I've used in the past, seem to leave a lot of fluff behind (e.g. long forgotten directories and files from the phone's 2 year history) - even after a so-called 'factory reset'
Seems to me, flashing 4.1.2 WITH the PIT file and repartition checked should give me a completely wiped, clean phone (like it just came off the factory floor with the leaked/test firmware in it).
The one thing I'm confused about is should I use Odin to flash the PIT (with repartition checked) first, reboot, THEN flash the pda, csc & modem - or should I just flash everything in one go (pit, pda, csc, modem with repartition checked).
Is my assumption that this will definitely give me a super-clean phone correct?
Eyeball97 said:
I'm 99% convinced I need to screw with my SGS2 once more. Have been toying with the idea of the stock 4.1.2 leak. I'm not exactly a newbie, and I know of the horror stories associated with re-flashing a PIT file and repartitioning.
However, I've toyed around with maybe 20 different roms - stock leaks, custom roms, wipe roms, no-wipe roms, etc etc so I'm reasonably confident of not making a brick.
Since I'm migrating to an S3 I'm getting my hands on, I was going to give the S2 to the wife after I had a play with jb - so I'd like the cleanest possible install. Even 'wipe' roms I've used in the past, seem to leave a lot of fluff behind (e.g. long forgotten directories and files from the phone's 2 year history) - even after a so-called 'factory reset'
Seems to me, flashing 4.1.2 WITH the PIT file and repartition checked should give me a completely wiped, clean phone (like it just came off the factory floor with the leaked/test firmware in it).
The one thing I'm confused about is should I use Odin to flash the PIT (with repartition checked) first, reboot, THEN flash the pda, csc & modem - or should I just flash everything in one go (pit, pda, csc, modem with repartition checked).
Is my assumption that this will definitely give me a super-clean phone correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AFAIK the 'PIT' file flashing is for devices which have some Mem Issue (like the System Partition being messed up) ma8
Hence not recomended on a normal wrk'ng Phone like urs ma8
if at all u need a clean install then all u can do is 'make a Backup' of all ur important data(both on Internal and External Sdcard) on ur Computer 'Specially the "EFS" one.
Then Format them (both internal and external sdcard), and restore all the BKps from ur PC accordingly and then go far a fresh install of any rom of ur choice
I strongly against repartition our S2 or any phone for that matter. If your objective is to remove everything clean before passing your phone to someone, I suggest your use one of those military grade erase application to wipe your flash storage devices.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
As you've already been advised, don't (there are far safer ways to achieve what you've posted about). Only flash a PIT if/when you have specific reason for doing it (wiping a phone isn't one of those reasons).
Flashing a PIT purely to scratch a 'tinkering itch' isn't particularly wise unless your aim is to break the phone.
MistahBungle said:
As you've already been advised, don't (there are far safer ways to achieve what you've posted about). Only flash a PIT if/when you have specific reason for doing it (wiping a phone isn't one of those reasons).
Flashing a PIT purely to scratch a 'tinkering itch' isn't particularly wise unless your aim is to break the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually it's not just a 'tinkering itch', it's more professional curiosity. I've been in the ICT business for almost 35 years so I'm quite familiar with experimenting with stuff.
Granted, it would be unwise to deliberately break the thing but the aim would be quite the opposite - to separate the facts from the fud and prove it doesn't break the thing. The vast majority of the "PIT/Repartition" disaster stories we read are from people who flashed the wrong PIT - with (imho) very predictable results.
I'll add, that I'm almost sure I actually did flash once with a PIT and repartition - iirc it was the very first time I flashed the phone. Got fed up waiting for a KIES update and nabbed ICS off (I think) Sam Firmware. Anyway it was a "3 files" version and the first time I'd ever seen Odin, so naturally I was curious about the 'missing' files (PIT & Bootloader) for which there were options in Odin. I figured I didn't need either (especially the bootloader) but a little digging around found the right PIT file so I flashed that as well. Nothing untoward happened and in the subsequent months I played with many different ROMS (although never bothered with PIT again).
So, that's the part I don't remember - whether I flashed the PIT first with repatition checked, or whether I flashed all 4 files at once with repartition checked.
I figure that if I flash just the PIT first, all that's going to happen is an unuseable 'soft brick' (on account of, no OS) but that I would be able to boot into download and flash the remaining 3 files. OR, that I flash all 4 files at the same time, eliminating the reboot inbetween. Pretty much six of one, half dozen of the other it would seem.
With thanks and all due respect to the replies so far, nobody's yet answered the question of whether I'm right in saying the above is what's supposed to happen - whether or not it does happen in reality, is a subject for another discussion (and/or a humble acknowledgement that it went fubar).
Ahhhh...Ok. I hear you re: 'professional curiosity'
You're absolutely right re: bozos doing stupid stuff (like flashing the wrong PIT, pulling the cable because they're impatient, etc) causing 99% of the borked phones that happen when a PIT flash goes wrong.
And you're also right about if you 'do your homework' (have a good handle on the process), it should go smoothly.
I guess if you're going to flash something anyway (a clean install of stock), then if you know what you're doing, flashing a PIT with everything else carries the same risk as flashing a rom/whatever (a very small risk with any given flash of the phone ending up borked).
Having said that, given I can do a couple of formats without the risk of flashing anything (particularly if the phone is already stock) at all, that's what I'd be doing (and despite the fact I've done dozens & dozens of flashes & only had one go wrong immediately after I got my phone initially through carelessness). I'm curious by nature, but not that curious
I doubt you're going to get an answer around whether flashing a PIT & nothing else simply leaves you with a phone that's able to be booted into download mode which is able to have a rom flashed/etc because I've never seen anyone on here who's tried same simply for the sake of it. I'd say you're going to be one of the few if you do try it However, this thread tends to suggest (my assumption) that recovery/download modes are 'contained' in that hidden partition. The question then becomes, if you flash a PIT without flashing a rom (OS) & then 'boot' the phone, are you able to boot into download/recovery mode because the PIT doesn't overwrite the partition they're housed in (assuming they are indeed housed in said partition).
Eyeball97 said:
Actually it's not just a 'tinkering itch', it's more professional curiosity. I've been in the ICT business for almost 35 years so I'm quite familiar with experimenting with stuff.
Granted, it would be unwise to deliberately break the thing but the aim would be quite the opposite - to separate the facts from the fud and prove it doesn't break the thing. The vast majority of the "PIT/Repartition" disaster stories we read are from people who flashed the wrong PIT - with (imho) very predictable results.
I'll add, that I'm almost sure I actually did flash once with a PIT and repartition - iirc it was the very first time I flashed the phone. Got fed up waiting for a KIES update and nabbed ICS off (I think) Sam Firmware. Anyway it was a "3 files" version and the first time I'd ever seen Odin, so naturally I was curious about the 'missing' files (PIT & Bootloader) for which there were options in Odin. I figured I didn't need either (especially the bootloader) but a little digging around found the right PIT file so I flashed that as well. Nothing untoward happened and in the subsequent months I played with many different ROMS (although never bothered with PIT again).
So, that's the part I don't remember - whether I flashed the PIT first with repatition checked, or whether I flashed all 4 files at once with repartition checked.
I figure that if I flash just the PIT first, all that's going to happen is an unuseable 'soft brick' (on account of, no OS) but that I would be able to boot into download and flash the remaining 3 files. OR, that I flash all 4 files at the same time, eliminating the reboot inbetween. Pretty much six of one, half dozen of the other it would seem.
With thanks and all due respect to the replies so far, nobody's yet answered the question of whether I'm right in saying the above is what's supposed to happen - whether or not it does happen in reality, is a subject for another discussion (and/or a humble acknowledgement that it went fubar).
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hmmmmm.....try beloved basic flash, your wife won't know the difference.
If something is off while she's using it....just use your expertise and thell her that "samsung sometimes releases android's updates overlooking hardware performance on their devices, therefore great user communities apply feedback so they can patch it in furure update, but you can also patch it right away because you are a member of an awesome community that cares for these kind of devices and it's users".
that's what we all do when we kinda mess with another person's phone
Just a quick follow-up (no, I haven't messed with the phone yet)
What started this thread was my curiosity which was sparked when I found there was a PIT file in the leaked "official" 4.1.2. Yesterday I saw Samsung Korea have now officially released 4.1.2 (in Korea only, so far, for the S250 or whatever they call the i9100 there) and that they've swiped 1GB from the system partition (was 12GB, now 11GB) - so it looks like finding out about repartitioning and flashing new PIT info is going to be useful sooner rather than later...
monsters never scared me, pit files do.
from sii xda-ded