[Q] Success flashing ROMS with 4 ext, then NOT, need help. - HTC Amaze 4G

Happy new owner of Amaze after three plus years on my Nexus One.
My device is unlocked, rooted, with S-On.
I purchased and successfully used 4ext, tried two CM ROMs in the last week.
Before trying these Roms, I Nandroid backed up the ROM installed on the phone when I first got it, which was running ICS 4.0.3 / Sense 3.6. (Didn't like Sense UI - was dissatisfied with one UI over another); I like the mimimalism of the CM ROM, as I've gotten used to CM7 on my Nexus one.
Anyways, settled on a CM10 ROM. This too is backed up in addition to the first Sense Rom. Man.... wish the audio skip wasn't there when playing music and was really not thrilled with low speaker volume after putting up with that on my Nexus One for years.
So I decided to try CM9.
Downloaded a CM9 zip from Goo and the correct Gapps.
Before asking for help, I have Googled several variants of my problem until I see purple links highlighted: translation, I have not been lazy to not try and look and find a solution - the links on the page aren't blue anymore, but purple because I looked and read those. I have seen plenty of threads describing my problem; maybe I've overlooked something , but this is the first time in years I have decided to ask for help. Moreover, I spent a good week bookmarking over 40 threads - organized into specific headings - in order that I could fast search for typical problems like I have now. Hate being defensive, but I see the last couple years the landscape is rife with folks rightfully being told to search before asking questions.
'nuff talk, here's the problem.
I placed the CM9 and Gapps thread onto my internal sd card as usual, then booted into recovery, into 4ext no problem. Prepared to wipe "data/factory rest/wipe and wipe cache, wipe dalvik cache".
This is what I did different from previous flash. After wiping data/factory reset... I choose "format all partitions (except sdcard" I had read enough tutorials to see that was an additional option to the wipe cache/wipe dalvik cache. Also, I was prompted to - (and this was maybe the stupid thing I did differently) - prompted with an option to uninstall smartflash. I choose the tick box... big no-no? (But I have seen in several repeated attempts to recover and restore either Rom back up, the option to "enable or disable" smartflash.
So maybe it never was actually uninstalled from 4ext? since I can see it as an option when I return to recovery. Of course I have done this after my first attempt to reboot - after installing CM9... which is described next
So after wiping data/factory reset and "format all partitions (except sdcard" ...then I installed the CM9 zip and the gapps zip, then selected reboot.
Upon selecting 'reboot' - got the infamous HTC splash screen. Then I calmly read many threads, thinking I'd solve the problem.
So far, here's what I tried as an attempt to fix/restore or learn something useful that will help me with any future steps i need to take.
1) I tried to reflash the CM9 zip. (Still did the wipe/rest but then wiped cache/dalvik cache" (no change, got splash screen)
2) Tried to restore either back up a couple times. (Each time did the wipe/reset but then wiped cache/dalvik cache" (no change, got splash screen)
3) Tried to reflash the 4 ext zip. (Hmm... won't install it aborts installation)
4) I can toggle usb storage
5) Looked at all the options within the 4ext UI just to be a 'rat in the maze' and get familiar with all the options so when i ask fort help i can perhaps navigate their faster with some confidence.
6) Went to sleep at 4am... not complaining at all.. we all have done this playing with these devices. This is just an inconvenience, I get it. I'll be putting my sim card into my Nexus one to be phone functional today while I stay on the road to figuring this out. (I know I need a 4g sim card if I want to use wifi callling on my Amaze.... but I don't care about that right now)
7) Fully charged Ruby just in case battery power could be an issue. Tried to reflash again this morning. No dice.
I know there's an answer. I know I have probably read the answer.. or the steps I need to take are in a thread somewhere... but I am a rat in a maze and don't know where to turn.
Thanks fellas.
Ed
Instead of wiping

additonal info/may help
Update:
I'm still reading, and I just read:
"There are some ROM specific files on the SDcard but a full wipe (all partitions except sdcard) clears them too"
This seems to say it was wrong to 'wipe all partitions except sdcard'. Was this cause of my problem?
Also:
1) I have enabled "smart flash" under the option. (so I assume smartflash was never uninstalled)
2) Looking in the 4-ext "boot_backup" folder. I see boot.img files. There are three new ones that were added after my problems started.
I just read:
Now let me explain the boot.img a little so you know why it is so important. The boot.img does just what thee name implies, it is what boots the Android ROM on your device. Now let me explain this a little further, the Android OS runs on top of something called a Linux kernel. This means that your bootloader boots the Linux kernel and the hardware of the device. The Linux kernel then boots the Android OS. The kernel is also the connection between the hardware and the Android OS. So you see if the kernel is not compatible with the system that is on the system partition you will have troubles like Wifi not working or other I hardware reliant functions. So when you flash a new ROM and you are HTC Dev unlocked you will have to flash the boot.img for the ROM or you will more than likely have troubles.
3) Is the wrong boot.img being appplied and causing the splash screen issue?
Thanks...

discslinger said:
Update:
I'm still reading, and I just read:
"There are some ROM specific files on the SDcard but a full wipe (all partitions except sdcard) clears them too"
This seems to say it was wrong to 'wipe all partitions except sdcard'. Was this cause of my problem?
Ed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do a full wipe from 4ext recovery,reflash cm9 and gapps,
and for splash screen,you are missing kernel as you are S-ON,use hasoon tookit to flash your kernel here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1493905
read above mentioned thread instructions completely...and for your kernel,its in your cm9 zip file named as boot.img,extract it and you will find it...
if i've helped you,don't forget to hit the thanks button
---------- Post added at 09:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:00 PM ----------
discslinger said:
3) Is the wrong boot.img being appplied and causing the splash screen issue?
Thanks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats what i am talking about.. glad to see a good reader

Read the cm9 thread (just after the last release date). I believe cm9 is messed up. Missing or a bad boot.IMG. there are steps there to fix.
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using xda app-developers app

Thanks guys!
Fixed.:good:

Related

[Q] Cyanogen 7 stops booting after Wipe Cache partition

I had a working Cyanogen 7 flashed on the gTablet. And due to enthusiasm, I updated with one of the nightly builds and started seeing some issues.
I assumed that clearing the cache and rebooting would help and ended up doing the 'Wipe Cache Partition'. Now the tablet wont boot at all. But I guess its not bricked at all since I am able to get to CWM.
What do I need now to get back to CM7?
Also my search on what the 'wipe cache partition' function doesn't give me the full picture. Now I know that I shouldn't have done it in the first place. But being affected by it I request if one the Gurus on XDA's please shed some lite.
Regards and thanks for the help in advance.
venkavis said:
I had a working Cyanogen 7 flashed on the gTablet. And due to enthusiasm, I updated with one of the nightly builds and started seeing some issues.
I assumed that clearing the cache and rebooting would help and ended up doing the 'Wipe Cache Partition'. Now the tablet wont boot at all. But I guess its not bricked at all since I am able to get to CWM.
What do I need now to get back to CM7?
Also my search on what the 'wipe cache partition' function doesn't give me the full picture. Now I know that I shouldn't have done it in the first place. But being affected by it I request if one the Gurus on XDA's please shed some lite.
Regards and thanks for the help in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully a guru can answer this question. A guru I am not..
But what I think you did should not be an issue. I typically wipe data and then wipe cache partition when flashing a new ROM. sometimes I wipe cache and data just to get the ROM running from scratch again. But this should not affect booting..
One thing I think might be the problem is that you have a new kernel from one of the newer nightlys. Recently they added perhsoots May kernel. Whenever a new kernel is included in a nightly you usually need to clear dalvik cache. this is in CWM under advanced.
I hope this helps.
Tried clearing dalvik cache. No change.
Going back to stock and see.
Copied the stock ROM file and used the CWM to do the update. Now the g Tablet is gioing into a Boot loop. It Tap n Tap then displays a animated icon and after a minute repeats the same.
Tried the recovery option and its going into an installing loop again. Not sure how to get out of this.
Does anybody have this experience before?
Is this bricked now? Call viewsonic support? I am not sure if they support, They may say its nor under warranty.
Just to remind you, the last effort to resolve this is to NVFLash it...
Have you tried CWM method twice or repartition it and do it again? It's a tablet for you to enjoy your Internet, reading, video but not flashing all day long..etc
To pass it quick, if I were you, I would NVFlash it back to 3588, put back my favorite ROM, reinstall the Apps I like and start Internet browsing, converting movie (so I can watch on the road), reading news...
good luck!
rcjpth
After this I definitely agree. But seems I am stuck again. Hope this is the last time.
I followed the steps as in the below URL
http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-1040434.html
My PC successfully connected to the gTablet and did the bvflash. After that I booted, it still went into the same. I am not sure if the nvflash worked at all.
Not sure what I am missing here!
Called Viewsonic support and the tech support person pointed me to below post on XDA
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1036956
When I read the article it talks about a locked boot loader. Does is mean if I use this and fix the tablet, I will not be able to do any more rooting?
venkavis said:
I followed the steps as in the below URL
http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-1040434.html
My PC successfully connected to the gTablet and did the bvflash. After that I booted, it still went into the same. I am not sure if the nvflash worked at all.
Not sure what I am missing here!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you also tried the alternate file, nvflash_gtablet_46_2010112600.zip? That's what worked for me, but I also have to swap partitions 7 & 8 to get CM7 working again.
Since I'm a glutton for punishment, I wiped my cache from nightly 75 and didn't run into any problem.
Just downloaded the alternate zip and flashed again. Having the same looping issue.
Seems like I Have to send it to viewsonic only. The technician said there is a $75 charge to fix.

Need help with booting

hey guys, been here since the launch of evo. rooting, flashing, everything.
today i wanted to switch roms. so i went about my normal process...
d/l new ROM
backup current ROM
backup apps
wipe cache and dalvic
flash new ROM
i got stuck on the last step. i went to flash the new ROM (nocturnal 1.3)
it said something along the lines of blah blah is already unmounted. i didnt pay too much attention to it because i was going to restart and try again. long story short, it will only boot to htc white screen and nothing else.
can anyone help me out?
p.s. im on clockwork recovery
PLEASE CLOSE
did you not wipe system and data? I am not super skilled, but maybe it tried to stick the entire ROM into the left over space of the last ROM that is still on there?
It won't boot to recovery? It should boot to recovery
weezymagic said:
hey guys, been here since the launch of evo. rooting, flashing, everything.
today i wanted to switch roms. so i went about my normal process...
d/l new ROM
backup current ROM
backup apps
wipe cache and dalvic
flash new ROM
i got stuck on the last step. i went to flash the new ROM (nocturnal 1.3)
it said something along the lines of blah blah is already unmounted. i didnt pay too much attention to it because i was going to restart and try again. long story short, it will only boot to htc white screen and nothing else.
can anyone help me out?
p.s. im on clockwork recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The error message you received is going to be the key to understanding the issue that occured. When it says unmounted, it is referring to a specific partition, either /data or /system most likely.
For starters, when it hangs on the htc white screen, this is usually either a kernel or ramdisk issue. If the kernel is known to be good, then it is probably a ramdisk issue. most ramdisk issues relate to a mismatch/incompatibility between the loaded kernel and the ROM.
First suggestion would be to reflash the ROM, clearing /cache and /data.
Second suggestion would be to restore a backup. This will confirm there is nothing wrong with your device hardware wise and you'll know it is a specific issue with the ROM you wanted to load.
Third suggestion, find the exact error, word for word, which occured in recovery and post up in the ROM thread asking if other users of that ROM also encountered, how they handled. Also feel free to post back up here.
When writing the programming behind a custom recovery, the error messages are added in there to help allow users and developers better knowledge of the exact issue so they can work to resolve them. Without the exact error message, it is similar to going to a car shop and saying, some light came on my dash, but I don't know what it was and now the car doesn't work. Fix it? Another words, it is very vague.
Hope the suggestions and tips help! Good luck!
my first instinct was to reflash the backup or new rom again but it wont boot to any rom, recovery or bootloader. it just hangs on the htc white screen
idk what happened but i got into the bootloader through battery pull, power+vol down. i know ive tried that in the past but this time it worked. now im restoring a nandroid from yesterday
weezymagic said:
idk what happened but i got into the bootloader through battery pull, power+vol down. i know ive tried that in the past but this time it worked. now im restoring a nandroid from yesterday
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you on twrp 1.0.x ? There is s charging issue where it won't restart right because it thinks It's already in recovery
sent from my EVO 3D via XDA app
weezymagic said:
hey guys, been here since the launch of evo. rooting, flashing, everything.
today i wanted to switch roms. so i went about my normal process...
d/l new ROM
backup current ROM
backup apps
wipe cache and dalvic
flash new ROM
i got stuck on the last step. i went to flash the new ROM (nocturnal 1.3)
it said something along the lines of blah blah is already unmounted. i didnt pay too much attention to it because i was going to restart and try again. long story short, it will only boot to htc white screen and nothing else.
can anyone help me out?
p.s. im on clockwork recovery
PLEASE CLOSE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You missed a step. After you wipe dalvik and cache, you ALWAYS need to wipe /system and /data, do a factory reset to make sure, or download a superwipe tool. The ONLY time you don't need to wipe completely is when you're updating your ROM, but even then it is recommended to wipe everything.
Twolazyg said:
You missed a step. After you wipe dalvik and cache, you ALWAYS need to wipe /system and /data, do a factory reset to make sure, or download a superwipe tool. The ONLY time you don't need to wipe completely is when you're updating your ROM, but even then it is recommended to wipe everything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed^^^^^

[Q] Possible Brick trying to install CM 10 [noobalert]

Hey guys, I've searched endlessly for hours and I'm at a point where I am so confused right now do not know what to do. I know the answer is somewhere in the forums, I'm just not making sense of anything anymore. I'll cut to the chase:
I have a Rogers tablet Galaxy Tab 10.1 GT-P7500 wifi+3g/4g version that I had rooted and flashed ICS last January/February to a AOKP ROM. Today, I felt the urge to try getting a Jelly Bean ROM on my device. I downloaded the appropriate CM 10 ROM under the title "cm-10-20121112-EXPERIMENTAL-p4.zip". Booted in recovery mode, did a backup, wiped + factory reset, then wiped cache, then wiped Dalvik cache, then installed from zip. I got some error 7 / status 7. Researched a bit and concluded I needed to update my CWM Recovery from the 5.8.xxxx version I had to the 6.1.xxxx one that is the most up to date. So I restored from my backup to make sure I could just go back to how things were.
This is when things got complicated. I couldn't find any proper guide on how to just update CWM, I kept getting referred to Droid Basement (which is equally as confusing), and figured out this is the Parent Directory droidbasement.com/galaxy/roms/cm10/p4/ . I downloaded "recovery.tar.md5" thinking I could maybe just go into recovery and apply it somehow, or go into ROM Control and "update" from a file and use that, nothing. I stumbled on this page "androidauthority.com/galaxy-tab-10-1-p7510-p7500-jelly-bean-cyanogenmod-10-cm10-136000/" which then linked me to another article explaining how to update CWM accordingly "androidauthority.com/galaxy-tab-10-1-3g-4g-p7500-root-50789/" (Did the second paragraph steps)
I downloaded the KERNEL.ZIP and RECOVERY.ZIP and did as they said, except I re-wiped and factory resetted, wiped cache and wiped Dalvik cache thinking this is something you "need" to do everytime you install any .zip whatsoever. I then flashed the kernel + the recovery, and then nothing. I get a black screen, but if I hold down the power + left volume and try to get into recovery, I get to the recovery menu, if I click recovery NOTHING happens, I can go into download mode, but I have no idea what to do there / have never used that. I know "odin" has something to do with this, but I have a mac and apparently this is only functional on windows and I don't have bootcamp running right now, I do have an old windows laptop that I could use if really needed if "odin" is not compatible with mac in the end. I am not sure if this is considered bricked, hard/soft, but yeah, I need help! I apologise once again and don't mean to offend anyone, I'm sure the answer is somewhere here, but I can't seem to find it especially since none of the threads are ever specifically in regards to my Rogers tablet, and also since a lot of guides are for wifi only tablets and I'm not really sure if that really makes the big difference.
Thanks!
Wow dude... i suggest if you do not know what you are doing try to find out the most information you can get before you even flash a ROM untill you are sure what exactly you are doing. If i was your tablet i wouldn't start up either because i would get confused
Here's a guide from our friend QBking 77 how to get back to normal, everything is well explained, follow him STEP by STEP!!
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KYBs98R9rTs
Good luck
---------- Post added at 06:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:40 AM ----------
Ohh, before you run into more issues, do not download the ROM for the p7510 in his discription, but get your stock-rom from your device from http://www.sammobile.com/firmware/
Hey Defqon thanks for the link and I had stumbled upon it earlier, problem is he says wifi only version when I have the GT-P7500 version 4G Rogers. Does the tutorial still apply for me?

[Q] Encryption prevents custom ROMs being used

OK so let me start off with, great site. I have read a ton of information.
First: Siyah 4.3.3 (Latest) Kernel which now has been put to AJK v1.48s
ROM; SHOstock3 v2.5.9
PreMod Settings: SGS2 AT&T SGH-i777. Started with GB > AT&T OTA (KIES) 4.0.3 > AT&T OTA WIFI 4.0.4 (caused huge freaking headaches with battery, charging, turn off the phone loop, battery draining, etc.)
Issues:
Original Issue posted in this thread (viewing Single Post) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=39350619&postcount=18
Creepy offered something to try. That never worked as all I was able to do was download mode or stare at the Samsung Galaxy S2 Splash Screen. Well, I took to his download repository and other links and used his One-Click Recovery to stock GB Rom to make part of my phone usable, using this link here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18859438&postcount=199
While it is Gingerbread at least my phone is usable. I want to try his STOCK ICS method but that mentions the eMMC super-brick bug.
So this is what I have tried so far. I have tried installing Siyah 4.3.3 nomswap for my kernel using Mobil-Odin Lite. That works but it never reboots or actually says finished. What it does do is stay at the wicked purple splash with the yin yang symbol. I left it like that last night until I woke up this morning and it never changed. So I rebooted the phone and the Kernel is on there. I reboot into recovery so that I can install SHOstock3 v2.5.9. That goes off flawlessly except here the last few times it won't reboot when I go to the GO BACK. It sticks and doesn't do anything. Rebooting shows the SHOstock3 Engine Boot Animation. Once it stops it goes to ask me for the encryption password. Well I put in my password (was the same one to the unlock screen) and it reboots and you see the nifty Samsung animation logo and then goes to the Samsung Galaxy S2 Animation Logo and then just stays there. It really pisses me off.
So after all that I finally put a new Kernel on there,AJK 1,48s. Pretty cool it loads up and then reboots. Well AJK shows up after the light-blue bar fills up and then goes black and the 4 touch sensitive row keys are lit up for a bit before going dark but the phone is still on. So I rebooted to recovery (CWM now with the Kernel) fixed tweaks, went to advanced and saw all sorts of options. Tried clearing caches for ROM 2 and restarting,no effect. I removed ROM 2 and went through reboot and nothing. Restored ROM 2 and nothing. Re installed SHOstock3 v2.5.9. Did the same thing after install and not backing out when I hit GO BACK. Rebooted, same scenario that happened before with requiring password. Entering password does the same thing with a reboot and then staying on Samsung Splash Screen. If I Don't enter the password and reboot,same thing happens. So after being irritated and pissed off I ran Creepy's One-Click Fix again and paid attention to the phone and noticed it mentioned not being able to access the AT&T section or partition or something like that. So while part of my phone works under normal circumstances I want to figure out how to remove that encryption part of the phone and get full access (even though full memory and space are shown under Windows 7 and the files on the phone). The password I put on there isn't taking and I don't know if using PC methods for removing encryption (which could take awhile I know) needs to be employed (and if so which methods) or if that part is just screwed and I can't put on any other kernels or custom ROMs. Perhaps tell me where I messed up. Should I try swapping the ROMs from Advanced setting in CWM Recovery? Can I try a different ROM (kernel didn't seem to help)? I have done several factory resets dalvik cache wipes cache wipes formats,etc. and it is still there. I can say that before the whole encryption debacle (even though I was encrypted I did get in my phone after encrypting it) my pin unlock for my SIM wouldn't work and I actually SIM locked my phone. Had to go to AT&T and get a new SIM and was up and running. I put a 4 digit pin lock for the SIM (it let me do it) and when I went to unlock it after a reboot, it wanted an 8 pin for the PUK and wouldn't take what I put. I tried to change the PIN but to no avail. Once that happened I guess it snowballed. Any help is appreciated. I have searched and tried some things that looked to match my issue but none have totally helped. I do have ADB set up on my wife's laptop which I use to restore my phone to GB Stock ROM. I haven't been able to reboot the phone into Bootloader to do any fastboot commands as when I tried to do it the commands just sent the phone into normal reboot (though adb reboot recovery does boot to recovery). I Haven't tried booting to the bootloader using the new Kernel though so I will wait for confirmation or additional information before I try. Thanks guys.
Eagle
Couple of comments. Siyah 4.3.3 (and ajk) kernels are for 4.x ICS and JB so that explains why your stock Gingerbread system would not flash after you installed it. If you flash back to stock Gingerbread again, and then flash a custom kernel, use a kernel that is compatible with Gingerbread if you want to boot the system.
After doing a little research, it seems that a wipe data/factory reset will not clear the encryption, but a format data will. This information is not from a Samsung forum; it's from the Droid DNA forum. I'm thinking that the same thing may apply to the I777. See the thread here.
It might be worth a try anyway. Flash stock plus root Gingerbread, install mobile odin or mobile odin lite, and use it to flash Siyah 2.6.14. Boot into recovery and go to the Mounts and Storage section. There you can format data, (and all the other partitions, separately.)
creepyncrawly said:
Couple of comments. Siyah 4.3.3 (and ajk) kernels are for 4.x ICS and JB so that explains why your stock Gingerbread system would not flash after you installed it. If you flash back to stock Gingerbread again, and then flash a custom kernel, use a kernel that is compatible with Gingerbread if you want to boot the system.
After doing a little research, it seems that a wipe data/factory reset will not clear the encryption, but a format data will. This information is not from a Samsung forum; it's from the Droid DNA forum. I'm thinking that the same thing may apply to the I777. See the thread here.
It might be worth a try anyway. Flash stock plus root Gingerbread, install mobile odin or mobile odin lite, and use it to flash Siyah 2.6.14. Boot into recovery and go to the Mounts and Storage section. There you can format data, (and all the other partitions, separately.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much creepy. I will give that a try later and see how it goes. I hope the information I gave actually gives enough info. I know folks usually want enough. Ill post back my findings.
Eagle
quick follow up and what I tried
creepyncrawly said:
Couple of comments. Siyah 4.3.3 (and ajk) kernels are for 4.x ICS and JB so that explains why your stock Gingerbread system would not flash after you installed it. If you flash back to stock Gingerbread again, and then flash a custom kernel, use a kernel that is compatible with Gingerbread if you want to boot the system.
After doing a little research, it seems that a wipe data/factory reset will not clear the encryption, but a format data will. This information is not from a Samsung forum; it's from the Droid DNA forum. I'm thinking that the same thing may apply to the I777. See the thread here.
It might be worth a try anyway. Flash stock plus root Gingerbread, install mobile odin or mobile odin lite, and use it to flash Siyah 2.6.14. Boot into recovery and go to the Mounts and Storage section. There you can format data, (and all the other partitions, separately.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Creepy, I have a quick follow up and want to tell you what I have tried.
So I had already used Kies to move to AT&T v 4.0.4 ICS on my phone when I read your post. Rather than flashback again to GB I went ahead and put Siyah 4.3.3 on my phone. Went great, rebooted and installed quick and everything. Well I rebooted into recovery and went to mounts and storage and formatted the data and all that there and even formatted the secondrom data and all that. Did it a couple times to make sure everything was clean and good to go. Even put AJKs kernel on there after I ran the cleanrom script and it went flawlessly. I did factory resets and wipes and all that and installed SHOstock3 v2.5.9 and started up great. Well it got past the animation and the damn Password for encryption popped up. Well I put the wrong password in and it rebooted without the SAMSUNG screen and went through the boot ani and back to the password for encryption screen. I put the right password in, it reboots and you see the Samsung logo flash quickly and then it sticks on the Samsung Galaxy S2 Splash screen. I don't know what is holding it up from going forward unless when I messed up the first go around and it deleted everything if it didn't take out the bootload command or what have you. So I don't know if this idea will work but I am going to flashback to GB and put the siyah version on there that you linked and see if that will work.
One tihng, when Iencrypted the device the first go round, I onlydid the used data and area not the whole thing. Is this affecting it somehow? Any other ideas to try? I figured a full data format would remove the encryption but it never pops up saying all encryption will be removed. What I need is access to that area of the phone if I could just mount it on the computer. Is it possible after formatting the data, or before, that I should mount internal USB, DATA, etc and try another format/wipe or at least mount them to see if they can be used? Thanks for the help. For anyone else viewing this post (which actually is a lot) any help or ideas are appreciated. I am thinking I may need to format everything and get ahold of Samsung to see if they will reset my phone for me. I just wonder if the PIN lock on my SIM card that got locked when it wouldn't take my PIN didn't mess something up as well.
Eagle
WarEagleUS said:
Hey Creepy, I have a quick follow up and want to tell you what I have tried.
So I had already used Kies to move to AT&T v 4.0.4 ICS on my phone when I read your post. Rather than flashback again to GB I went ahead and put Siyah 4.3.3 on my phone. Went great, rebooted and installed quick and everything. Well I rebooted into recovery and went to mounts and storage and formatted the data and all that there and even formatted the secondrom data and all that. Did it a couple times to make sure everything was clean and good to go. Even put AJKs kernel on there after I ran the cleanrom script and it went flawlessly. I did factory resets and wipes and all that and installed SHOstock3 v2.5.9 and started up great. Well it got past the animation and the damn Password for encryption popped up. Well I put the wrong password in and it rebooted without the SAMSUNG screen and went through the boot ani and back to the password for encryption screen. I put the right password in, it reboots and you see the Samsung logo flash quickly and then it sticks on the Samsung Galaxy S2 Splash screen. I don't know what is holding it up from going forward unless when I messed up the first go around and it deleted everything if it didn't take out the bootload command or what have you. So I don't know if this idea will work but I am going to flashback to GB and put the siyah version on there that you linked and see if that will work.
One tihng, when Iencrypted the device the first go round, I onlydid the used data and area not the whole thing. Is this affecting it somehow? Any other ideas to try? I figured a full data format would remove the encryption but it never pops up saying all encryption will be removed. What I need is access to that area of the phone if I could just mount it on the computer. Is it possible after formatting the data, or before, that I should mount internal USB, DATA, etc and try another format/wipe or at least mount them to see if they can be used? Thanks for the help. For anyone else viewing this post (which actually is a lot) any help or ideas are appreciated. I am thinking I may need to format everything and get ahold of Samsung to see if they will reset my phone for me. I just wonder if the PIN lock on my SIM card that got locked when it wouldn't take my PIN didn't mess something up as well.
Eagle
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should I try TWRP instead of CWM and if so where should I grab it from?
Status Update
So this is what I have tried so far as of this moment.
I reflashed using your Stock + Root Gingerbread ROM.
Wiped DATA and everything in recovery menu several times.
Used Kernel Wipe and ROM Nuke for extra cleaning power.
Reinstalled the Kernel AJK and SHOstock3 ROM
Haven't installed any themes though I had Johns Blue and Villians Poison Base Theme (I believe that is what it is) on there when this all went down. Should I put them back on there?
Password still pops up. So what it looks like is that unless I stick with the unencrypted portion of the phone, I am screwed with any custom ROMs as the correct password has the phone restart and then stick at the Samsung Galaxy S2 Splash Screen. Apparently I still cannot access that area of the phones memory to wipe it at all no matter what I do. I need to access it somehow. Really driving me crazy and thinking I may need to talk with AT&T(as Samsung told me to earlier this morning lol) and see what they can do.
One thing I do notice is when I use your stock root program it actually removes the encryption or decrypts the section of the phone for the stock ROM to go on the phone which is cool.
Eagle
Any other things to try from anyone is greatly appreciated.
Been away all day. Sorry, I can't offer any other suggestions, but I have no experience with encryption. As you said, what you need to know is where the encryption is stored in memory so you can wipe or format that and restore it to original. If you can get to the right person, probably not level 1 tech support, then maybe you can find out. Somebody somewhere knows the answer to this.
would restoring my original EFS before this whole process help or is the encryption section totally blocked off?
WarEagleUS said:
would restoring my original EFS before this whole process help or is the encryption section totally blocked off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no idea whether the encryption is stored there. What kind of efs backup did you take?
creepyncrawly said:
Been away all day. Sorry, I can't offer any other suggestions, but I have no experience with encryption. As you said, what you need to know is where the encryption is stored in memory so you can wipe or format that and restore it to original. If you can get to the right person, probably not level 1 tech support, then maybe you can find out. Somebody somewhere knows the answer to this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thx bro. yeah I need to run some forensic tools and see if I can mount the whole phone system on my PC and run the tools.
creepyncrawly said:
I have no idea whether the encryption is stored there. What kind of efs backup did you take?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a full efs backup. I made two or three actuakky using advanced efs, nitrality, and recovery.
WarEagleUS said:
a full efs backup. I made two or three actuakky using advanced efs, nitrality, and recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A little research indicates that there is quite a bit of stuff stored in efs besides carrier specific data. So maybe encryption could be in there. Of those tools, nitrality for sure and maybe advanced efs should be able to restore the entire efs partition. If you are comfortable with the risk - a damaged efs would render the phone useless - then you might try this to see if it clears up the encryption issue. BTW, you should learn how to back up the efs partition yourself using terminal and linux commands.
creepyncrawly said:
A little research indicates that there is quite a bit of stuff stored in efs besides carrier specific data. So maybe encryption could be in there. Of those tools, nitrality for sure and maybe advanced efs should be able to restore the entire efs partition. If you are comfortable with the risk - a damaged efs would render the phone useless - then you might try this to see if it clears up the encryption issue. BTW, you should learn how to back up the efs partition yourself using terminal and linux commands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I should have used ADB to do that from the get go. I should have used the wife's laptop like I started to instead of my WIN 8 machine has it seems to be finicky with Android SDK (the portion at least needed to run ADB). Linux commands really aren't much different than terminal and I have done both. I was actually trying to get fastboot commands to work but my bootloader wasn't cooperating and for the life of me I couldn't find how to unlock it. I may try restoring that EFS. If nothing else I would love to be able to format that EFS and replace it with my original copy though as you said a damaged EFS may actually cause issues (who knows if it is damaged). I do know that I am fixing to chat with AT&T support. I hope I don't have to drive down to Hoover, AL to the repair facility. I would rather them send me a phone and send this one back. I am on stock 4.0.4 ICS from AT&T and any root that may be on there (though I doubt there is now) I can remove and what not
Thanks for the advice and insight Creepy. I know you tried like hell to get me an answer but in doing research on here with other problems I found out some useful information going forward my friend.
Eagle
Well, looks like I will be getting a special early upgrade and the wife will as well. I will be keeping this phone, however, to mess with this and see if I cannot get this problem fixed. Thanks Creepy so much. I appreciate your research and help more than you know. If possible I would love to keep this thread open for a while just in case I figure this out and fix the issue. It may take me a week or so but I will get back to messing with it again.
A side note. You don't need the whole sdk to get adb. You can download just the files you need from my signature.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium

[GUIDE][ROM FLASHING][WALK THRU] Easy to do! All Questions Welcome!

This will help anyone who keeps having flashing issues.
More detailed instructions in my GUIDE!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2295557
THIS IS ONE QUICK/SIMPLE ERROR FREE ROM FLASHING PROCEDURE
This should eliminate a few posts saying, stuck in download mode, stuck at logo. just vibrates and them MANY other issues that somehow, everyone seems to find.
Here is my quick rom flashing process I use ALWAYS (yes always)
THINGS YOU NEED ON extSDCARD
1. Extra kernels (2 or 3 you know works for your device)
2. Optional: 2 recoveries that can be flashed (I use CWM & TWRP)
3. Optional: apps.zip (a zip created from Titantium BU, containing Root Explorer, TU Backup, Quickpic, ES File Explorer and Terminal Emulator)
Flashing the rom: TOUCHWIZ/AOSP ROMS
1. Backup current rom (to the extsdcard)
2. Complete wipe, (I do complete, some people do not) Complete = No Issues [FACTORY RESET + CLEAR CACHE + CLEAR DALVIK CACHE + CLEAR DATA]
3. Flash the rom
4. Flash the kernel (your device kernel) (I know some roms have their own kernel) this is where your problems start.
AGAIN: FLASH YOUR KERNEL, you KNOW it works. 1 more time FLASH YOUR KERNEL. (you can experiment with other kernels after you boot)
AOSP ROMS - require you to flash gapps before you boot. [This is not required for TouchWiz roms]
5. Boot the rom.
FINISHED!!!! SUCCESS!!!
Total time to flash a rom:
7-10min
Errors - NONE
This goes for every rom in my guide.
TIPS:
This flash procedure is for Touchwiz Roms, if you are flashing AOSP roms, you must flash the gapps package associated with the rom you are flashing.
**** SGH-I337M Users: Often requires flashing a different kernel than the one included in most ATT ROMS. Any GT-i9505 kernel will work and Adam kernel and Faux kernel are both confirmed working for us Canadian users.
Note: Flash KERNEL directly after ROM then reboot device.
[Special thanks to blyndfyre for this helpful tip].
The extra recovery I flash if a rom does not like the recovery I am using.
Yes, you can flash recoveries back and forth.
Apps.zip I flash after the rom is up & running. This I use to get the rom setup (like root explorer and others needed)
I am in no way responsible for anything that may do damage to any device - Use these tips at your own risk - period!
If you found this useful in any way, please hit the THANKS button for my effort.
RESERVED
TheAxman said:
Any questions? Anyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been running into a lot of issues when trying to flash different ROMs. For instance, right now I'm on CleanROM 1.6 - I just tried to install PureGv2.
Steps I took:
Have Goo and ROM Manager installed after clean install of CleanROM 1.6
Flash CWM from ROM Manager
Install Recovery Script from Goo
Reboot into recover from Goo
TWRP loads
Wipe data, cache, dalvik, etc
Install PureGv2
I forget the error off the top of my head but it doesn't install
In a nutshell I'm asking what am I doing wrong? Do I need to flash another kernel?
Flash your verizon kernel. Correct. I know it is a vzn rom, but do it anyway.
TheAxman said:
Flash your verizon kernel. Correct. I know it is a vzn rom, but do it anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was looking through Tomsgt's Youtube channel and stumbled across a video of his that showed his "About Phone". Everything was identical to mine, so I'm still a little lost as to why I can flash certain ROMs but not others. Sac/Gru's ROM soft bricked my phone, Hyperdrive5.7 didn't install, CleanROM does. It's just funky...maybe I'll just Odin back to stock, flash the MDK and start fresh.
Could the downloads be a problem? I downloaded 2 of the ROMs from work today on a 50meg pipe and they didn't work.
Do you download the ROMs to your phone or to your computer and then move them to your SD card?
If you download to your phone, do you move them to the SD card or leave them in the download folder on the internal storage?
If you do the latter, do you use a micro SD adapter or plug the phone in and move them that way?
harrytery said:
Was looking through Tomsgt's Youtube channel and stumbled across a video of his that showed his "About Phone". Everything was identical to mine, so I'm still a little lost as to why I can flash certain ROMs but not others. Sac/Gru's ROM soft bricked my phone, Hyperdrive5.7 didn't install, CleanROM does. It's just funky...maybe I'll just Odin back to stock, flash the MDK and start fresh.
Could the downloads be a problem? I downloaded 2 of the ROMs from work today on a 50meg pipe and they didn't work.
Do you download the ROMs to your phone or to your computer and then move them to your SD card?
If you download to your phone, do you move them to the SD card or leave them in the download folder on the internal storage?
If you do the latter, do you use a micro SD adapter or plug the phone in and move them that way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download to the computer,then copy to the phones extsdcard, should be ok, make sure you do a md5 check on the files to make sure they are the correct size.
TheAxman said:
Download to the computer,then copy to the phones extsdcard, should be ok, make sure you do a md5 check on the files to make sure they are the correct size.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright sounds good. Flashing back to stock later today then re-rooting
thanks for the help
Remember always do a BACKUP before you do anything.
First off, big thanks for this thread.
Now I'm running Cleanrom 1.5. If I wanted to install a new rom can someone please explain exactly what I do to go about it? As jargon free as possible would be awesome.
Sent from my SCH-I545
I certainly scared the carp outta me the other night. I'm using the Carbon ROM and while I do like it, I miss a couple of the S4s features. I picked what looked like a good modified stock ROM and proceeded to flash it.
I'm using Goo and TWRP for the job. I checked of all 3 boxes for clearing cache, davik and factory reset.
Then I chose the file and started it.
The first result, it acted like if was doing everything but nothing changed. Phone still worked fine.
On the next try, I waited for TWERP to start and I reselected the ROM I wanted and flashed it.
When it booted up, I was very happy to see the original screens come up. Then it stopped on the one with the Verizon check mark. The blue LED slowly pulsing and nothing else for about 30 min. I removed battery to try and start over. Same thing again.
Time to goto my backup and restore my phone back to Carbon.
IT FAILED.
Now my phone is stuck in a weird looking boot up loop. After a few tries I was able to get into recovery
mode. TWRP started loading, froze and crashed! Even though I am a total noob at this, I still did not panic.
I'd restart my phone by removing the battery, going into recovery mode and then wildly press every button on my phone hoping to break the loop. It worked! I chose a different save and tried it all over again. FAIL.
ON the next I wiped every bit of old data off. Chose Factory restore crossed my fiingers....it work! My phone is fine now.
Thanks to that ordeal and this thread I think I know what I did wrong even though this never happened to me. before.
1) WIPE THE DATA
2)INSTALL A COMPATABLE KERNAL FIRST
V^^^^V
Vampyre111 said:
I certainly scared the carp outta me the other night. I'm using the Carbon ROM and while I do like it, I miss a couple of the S4s features. I picked what looked like a good modified stock ROM and proceeded to flash it.
I'm using Goo and TWRP for the job. I checked of all 3 boxes for clearing cache, davik and factory reset.
Then I chose the file and started it.
The first result, it acted like if was doing everything but nothing changed. Phone still worked fine.
On the next try, I waited for TWERP to start and I reselected the ROM I wanted and flashed it.
When it booted up, I was very happy to see the original screens come up. Then it stopped on the one with the Verizon check mark. The blue LED slowly pulsing and nothing else for about 30 min. I removed battery to try and start over. Same thing again.
Time to goto my backup and restore my phone back to Carbon.
IT FAILED.
Now my phone is stuck in a weird looking boot up loop. After a few tries I was able to get into recovery
mode. TWRP started loading, froze and crashed! Even though I am a total noob at this, I still did not panic.
I'd restart my phone by removing the battery, going into recovery mode and then wildly press every button on my phone hoping to break the loop. It worked! I chose a different save and tried it all over again. FAIL.
ON the next I wiped every bit of old data off. Chose Factory restore crossed my fiingers....it work! My phone is fine now.
Thanks to that ordeal and this thread I think I know what I did wrong even though this never happened to me. before.
1) WIPE THE DATA
2)INSTALL A COMPATABLE KERNAL FIRST
V^^^^V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can not stress enough HOW IMPORTANT THE KERNEL IS!
Hmm so everyone is a now a Oriental Flash Master from the far East now huh?
What recovery is everyone using?
[updated: 07-12-2013]
Flashing Questions
So, if you just need to add something, like different Kernerl, do you have to wipe and start from scratch?
Should you.
If so, and you backup apps and data in Titanium, then what you do a full wipe, flash entire rom, and reinstall the apps and data associated therewith?
Last, I have asked this but cannot seem to get an answer.
Installed Hyperdrive 7 (also had 5.7 and 6). Rom is super smooth and fast, working like a charm. but I want Verizon Visual Voice Mail.
I tried to copy the apk file to the devices system/app directory but get permission denied message....tried to install, and get failed message....
xander45 said:
So, if you just need to add something, like different Kernerl, do you have to wipe and start from scratch?
Should you.
If so, and you backup apps and data in Titanium, then what you do a full wipe, flash entire rom, and reinstall the apps and data associated therewith?
Last, I have asked this but cannot seem to get an answer.
Installed Hyperdrive 7 (also had 5.7 and 6). Rom is super smooth and fast, working like a charm. but I want Verizon Visual Voice Mail.
I tried to copy the apk file to the devices system/app directory but get permission denied message....tried to install, and get failed message....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you set the permissions for the app? That should work actually. Look at one of the apps in that directory, and set the permissions the same for the voice app. Reboot and see what happens.
Good luck.
May want to post this question also in my guide thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2295557
Sorry if this is dumb, but how do I know what kernels for sure work with my device and how do I get them to my external sd card? I suppose the one that is currently on my device(how to get that to sd?), but what others?
Thanks.
Painterface said:
Sorry if this is dumb, but how do I know what kernels for sure work with my device and how do I get them to my external sd card? I suppose the one that is currently on my device(how to get that to sd?), but what others?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please bring the question over to my thread up above. It shows also what kernels to use. We will help there.
Another noob question: so you still advise flashing a kernel even if the ROM creator says that the ROM comes with the appropriate kernel and that no extra flashing is required? I've got the Verizon Galaxy S4 variant and specifically am thinking of Dubbsy's Google Play Edition ROM.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
theoneknownasbob said:
Another noob question: so you still advise flashing a kernel even if the ROM creator says that the ROM comes with the appropriate kernel and that no extra flashing is required? I've got the Verizon Galaxy S4 variant and specifically am thinking of Dubbsy's Google Play Edition ROM.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would flash the rom, and after, flash your verizon kernel, simple as that.

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