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[Q][GT-I9100M Virgin/Bell] Can't Unbrick, always "Complete(Write) operation failed"
Hey everyone, thanks for taking the time to look at this and potentially help me with this issue. I'm pretty new to all of this, so I'm hoping for a little guidance in my moment of need!
First off, I'd like to say that I have tried just about every solution offered on this wonderful site and all to no avail... I currently own a SOFT-bricked (CAN open download mode, CAN'T open recovery mode) Samsung Galaxy S II (model number GT-I9100M) and have had no success in unbricking it. From what I gather (please correct me if any of this is incorrect) I need to flash the stock kernel for my phone, which should be the UGKG2 version that I have already downloaded and tried to flash. The issue I am having right now is that every time I try to flash using Odin3 v1.85 (KIES doesn't recognize my phone at this stage) I get the error "Complete(Write) operation failed." It doesn't matter what I attempt to flash, I always get this error and am told that the flash has FAILED.
The custom binary counter on my phone is up to 7 attempts now, and still no working kernel or even a working recovery mode.
A little backlog on how I ended up here, in tldr format:
1. Friend gave me the software-unlocked Virgin Mobile phone. He unlocked it so I could use it with my provider, Telus.
2. I received the JB update and allowed it to patch (unbeknown to me that it would re-lock my phone.)
3. Phone became locked and I didn't have a SIM-Unlock code (nor did I want to buy one...)
4. I attempted to re-root my phone and, long story short, something went wrong (wrong file perhaps). I can't remember what I did at this point, but the end result was that the phone would no longer load. I could only (and still can only) access download mode.
5. After several attempts of correcting my firmware and all that via searching threads, I decided to finally MAKE one so that I might get some direct help.
So now I'm here. As I've said, I have tried basically every solution that I have read about: changing my USB port, reinstalling KIES for my phone drivers, I have removed my SIM-card and Micro-SD, I have researched the firmware I need and am sure that I have the correct one, but ODIN still will not write. I have NOT done anything related to the bootloader or re-partition as I hear that tinkering there could REALLY put me in hot water, though if someone can tell me exactly what needs to be done to them (if anything) then I welcome the information.
Once again, thanks for reading and if you require ANY additional information or screenshots, please reply here and I will respond ASAP!
Do you have Kies installed on the computer you're trying to flash with? If so, ensure it's not running (kill via Task Manager) and try again perhaps... I had that happen to me when I was in the exact same situation as you and it worked for me ...
If not, try rebooting, kill Kies again, and try again. I've also had that work for me (oddly enough)..
@Porkchops: Thanks for the reply! I have tried re-installing KIES (for the Samsung drivers) and restarted my computer to allow for the drivers to finish the installation. After my computer restarts, I place the USB into a different port on the back of my computer and plug my phone into the cord. At this point windows identifies the device and its port, then I kill KIES through task manager (I have tried both killing KIES before and after plugging my phone into the computer, there doesn't seem to be a difference) and then proceed to open Odin. After Odin is open I then make sure only AUTO-REBOOT and F. RESET TIME are checked before proceeding to place the "Kernel_I9100MUGKG2.tar" (which I got from the forums here, cannot remember the link but I will post it when I find it, and yes my phone model is SPECIFICALLY GT-I9100M from Virgin Mobile).
UPDATE:
After Flashing this kernel, I get as far as I have yet (this is the ONLY KERNEL I HAVE FOUND that will PASS in odin, after doing all of these preparations for the flash) and my phone will load to the boot screen with the /!\ yellow triangle. From here, the phone will still not load however and sits at the Boot logo. After waiting over 20 minutes to see if it does anything else, I attempt to enter Recovery mode (Volume Up + Home + Power) and my phone screen changes to a Battery Charging screen with a frozen loading circle on the battery. This is where I am stuck at currently, however I am attempting to charge my phone as I type this to make sure that I am not getting this screen due to an empty battery!
Will post update if anything happens,
Cheers
IVT
Unplug your phone then try to get into recovery mode and do a factory reset. Also worth noting if you get a factory recovery mode or CWM... The S2 is nothing but a pain in the ass when the phone is plugged in and you're trying to turn it on
---------- Post added at 08:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:38 PM ----------
Even if you can only get to recovery (And provided it's not stock recovery) you could always load a ROM onto your SD card (provided you have a micro SD card reader or something available) and install it from CWM/custom recovery ...
Porkchops said:
Unplug your phone then try to get into recovery mode and do a factory reset. Also worth noting if you get a factory recovery mode or CWM... The S2 is nothing but a pain in the ass when the phone is plugged in and you're trying to turn it on
---------- Post added at 08:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:38 PM ----------
Even if you can only get to recovery (And provided it's not stock recovery) you could always load a ROM onto your SD card (provided you have a micro SD card reader or something available) and install it from CWM/custom recovery ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried unplugging my phone and entering Recovery Mode though it still only loads to the Samsung Galaxy S II GT-I9100 boot screen with the yellow /!\ triangle. All attempts to enter recovery mode return me to this screen after the phone resets. I have a SD reader, though seeing as I cannot enter Recovery mode at this point, that wont help me yet (though you have a good point about putting the new ROM on it and installing it on the phone that way.) Any idea on how to re-obtain Recovery mode when I can only load as far as the Boot screen?
Thanks for the replies by they way, I appreciate them all.
EDIT: I've found that when trying to restart the phone while connected to a power source (either a wall socket or my computer's USB port) the phone will NOT load the boot logo, and instead loads the image of the empty battery with the frozen loading circle. Not sure if this information is important, but figure'd I would supply as much info as possible.
IVT
I think your issue might be that your phone is trying to run with a gingerbread kernel and a jelly bean firmware... If the GB kernel was flashed successfully, I would say try flashing a gingerbread firmware and see if you can get that to go.. If that won't work, perhaps try flashing a JB ROM that has a kernel included (the hard part will be finding one that can flash without CWM...
I think at the moment your best bet is to try the mgugk2 firmware though, since you already got the kernel flashed for it, then flash a Cf mgugk2 kernel to get CWM, do a nandroid backup and flash whatever you want through CWM from there
Porkchops said:
I think your issue might be that your phone is trying to run with a gingerbread kernel and a jelly bean firmware... If the GB kernel was flashed successfully, I would say try flashing a gingerbread firmware and see if you can get that to go.. If that won't work, perhaps try flashing a JB ROM that has a kernel included (the hard part will be finding one that can flash without CWM...
I think at the moment your best bet is to try the mgugk2 firmware though, since you already got the kernel flashed for it, then flash a Cf mgugk2 kernel to get CWM, do a nandroid backup and flash whatever you want through CWM from there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion! Right now I have the firmware downloaded, however when I try to flash it through ODIN (I'm going to assume I still need to PDA flash it?) Odin FAILS to write, leaving me in the 100% soft-bricked state once again, not even loading to the boot screen until I re-flash the kernel. Suggestions or maybe links to somewhere here that would have the firmware I can use? Or possibly a link to somewhere that has the Kernel+Firmware AIO?
Thanks again,
IVT
UPDATE: I have successfully flashed CF-Root-SGS2_XX_OXA_KG6-v4.1-CWM4.tar in an effort to get CWM working. Im going to assume that the CF-root doesn't have the firmware packaged with it, as even with this flash I still reach the boot logo (though it DOES flash through Odin successfully.) Which firmware should I flash / How should I flash it, as I must be doing SOMETHING wrong to make every firmware flash fail when done through PDA.
Thanks
That's messed up that it will let you flash kernels without an issue but won't let you flash firmwares... Maybe try re downloading your firmware or run it against the MD5 hash as its possible it may have been corrupted during download. As for firmware, the exact version shouldn't matter as long and you match GB firmware with GB kernel and so on....
Flash siyah v5 and/or v6 from gokhanmoral.com and see if you can get to recovery.
You might wanna flash another ROM, maybe an I9100 JB ROM.
Thanks for the responses.
@Porkchops: Yea tell me about it, I have a feeling its this inability to flash firmware that's giving me the most grief. I have 3 versions of the firmware I need right now, though none of them work. I have tried ICS and JB stock wares, neither to any avail. As of yet the only non-stock / modified software ive been able to flash has been the KG6 CF-Root Kernel, though still no success with ROMs or stock Firmware. Thanks for all of your responses, what would you reccomend I do at this point? Would it be worth looking for an old version of a kernel and an older firmware? (ie should I maybe try to get a GB kernel and firmware running if I cant find a working match of ICS or JB?) Thanks again!
@gastonw: Hey thanks for responding,I dont have a vast knowledge of all this yet so bare with me. Would the Siyah kernel leave me rooted (like the CF-Root Kernels) or would I need to root it after flashing? This wouldnt affect me using it, I just like to know what I'm getting into. Also what ROM would you reccomend pairing with this kernel? Would I simply PDA flash Siyah and PDA flash the ROM after the phone auto-restarts? Thanks again,
Cheers to both of you,
IVT
How long are you pressing the buttons for entering recovery?
Keep volume up + home button + power button pressed for as long as it takes. Mines restarts about three times before entering recovery. If you flashed CF-root succesfully, then you should be able to enter recovery mode.
If that doesn't work, try restoring your phone with plain old Kies. I'm not sure if it works, but give it a shot. Here is the how-to.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1984717
@Lennyz1988: Thanks for the reply. So far I have only tried entering recovery up to two restarts (restarting once with Vol. Up + Home + Power, then doing it again once it restarts) though I have not tried three times like you said worked for you. I will try this when I get home today though and I'll post an update when I test it. As for KIES im a little out of luck using it, as my phone isn't recognized by KIES in its current state (even though I have all of the proper drivers, I guess not having a working firmware is blocking KIES from interaction with the device? Thanks for the suggestion, do you have any idea of being able to recover my phone enough so that KIES will recognize it again? I have tried something similar to the guide you linked but after I selected my device and enter my serial, KIES gives me some error stating that no firmware could be linked to the device I entered? I could have entered it wrong, though I tried about 2 or 3 times with no luck. I will try the exact way the guide explains when I get home today, so thank you for the link and suggestion. Also, thanks for the reply by the way!
Re: [Q][GT-I9100M Virgin/Bell] Can't Unbrick, always "Complete(Write) operation faile
Siyah will get you rooted and will install CWM recovery.
Sent from the little guy
UPDATE: Ok, so my current status today is as follows.
1. I have tried the suggestion of multiple restarts to get into Recovery Mode while the CF-Root kernel is flashed, however the situation did not change and I still only get the boot logo screen with the yellow /!\ triangle. I have tried holding for a total of 5 minutes and nothing happened, same goes for holding the buttons until it restarts, releaseing the buttons, and repressing them to restart again. No change after 10 restarts, but thanks for the suggestions! Any other ideas to share?
2. I have attempted to follow the link provided for recovering through KIES, however when I enter my model and s/n KIES gives me the message "GT-I9100 does not support initalising." I have also tried using my exact model, which is the GT-I9100M and still got the same message, except that it said "GT-I9100M does not support initalising." Not sure if I entered something incorrectly? I make sure that the model number is all capitalized as GT-I9100 and GT-I9100M, and I enter all 11 characters from my S/N (serial number). Have I done this wrong or is there some reason that KIES doesn't support my phone?
3. Currently about to try flashing Siyah and going to see how that works, I will post an update once I get the results.
UPDATE: Ok I have been able to flash Siyah, however I still cannot enter recovery mode. Any suggestions on a ROM to try and flash? As I've said, im using a Samsung Galaxy S II, model GT-I9100M from Virgin Mobile in Canada. Do I need a kernel with UGKG2 support, as that's apparently the proper firmware version that I need for this device?
Once again, many thanks to all of you for your time.
Cheers,
IVT
UPDATE (02/25 4:50pm EST): Still having immense troubles getting recovery mode to boot... I have tried using the following:
KERNEL: CF-Root ; FLASH: Successful ; RECOVERY MODE: Unable to access
KERNEL: Siyah ; FLASH: Successful ; RECOVERY MODE: Unable to access
KERNEL: CWM Recovery ; FLASH: Successful ; RECOVERY MODE: Unable to access (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1118693&highlight=kg2)
Could the issue with flashing ROMs and being unable to enter Recovery Mode both be caused by my phone not being wiped? If so, is there any way to hard-wipe the device without using a recovery manager?
Thanks,
IVT
Alright.
1. Uninstall kies completely.
2. Download the latest version of kies.
3. Install kies and make sure the drivers are selected during the install process.
4. Disable virusscanners
5. Put the device in download mode.
6. Plug the device in a backport usb (not the front). Also try different usb cables. Some work and some don't.
7. Kill all kies processes in the task manager.
8. Download the latest version of Odin. Also keep the 1.85 so you can try both. Make sure you run Odin as an Administrator!
9. Try to flash now.
If it fails, try a different cable. Then try the same procedure on a different pc. If it keeps failing report back.
Btw, I9100M is the same as I9100.
Here is a thread with stock firmwares:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1544487
First try the latest. DONT use .pit or re-partition yet. If that one does not work try this version:
I9100XWLP3
And if that doesn't work, try only flashing CWM recovery. Try first the JB version and if it fails the ICS.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1118693
Re: [Q][GT-I9100M Virgin/Bell] Can't Unbrick, always "Complete(Write) operation faile
Amen to the above.
I, on the other hand, would like you to flash this: http://www.sammobile.com/2012/11/15/i9100xxlsj-–-galaxy-s-ii-android-4-1-2-jelly-bean-test-firmware/
Only CODE, MODEM and CSC.
If the flash is successful, you should be able to pass the boot animation.
Sent from the little guy
Can you post the complete logs from Odin after trying the above? Please use something like http://pastebin.com so the topic won't get filled.
If the above fails then we will try flashing a bootloader and after that we could try using .pit and re-partition.
Re: [Q][GT-I9100M Virgin/Bell] Can't Unbrick, always "Complete(Write) operation faile
I think odin flashes are successful all the time in this case.
Sent from the little guy
Alright guys, thanks for the in depth and excellent suggestions! Currently downloading I9100XXLSJ (I9100XXLSJ_I9100OXXLS1_OXX) from gastonw's suggestion and will post what Odin does in this case. Once its finished downloading I will grab the newest version of firmware from your suggestion Lennyz1988 (have to wait between downloads, both HF mirrors) and will also post what happens when/ if I flash that (in the case that the JB Test firmware fails.)
Before flashing either I will uninstall KIES, reinstall it with drivers, disable all anti-spyware and anti-virus software, use a backport USB, and attempt using both v1.85 and v3.04 of ODIN3. I will also attempt to use all 3 windows-based machines in my house to attempt to flash, as well as trying all 4 of the cables available to me. I'm hoping that by using all of these precautions I will have success eventually.
Also, after I reinstall KIES windows update tries to re-find drivers for my phone too upon connection to my usb port. Should I let windows find the drivers or cancel it? Worst case scenario I could always try with both, letting it finish installing the drivers it finds and rejecting its installation, though I guess the safest bet is to just reject WU from downloading its own.
Well, I apparently have a heap of work ahead of me, with all of these variations to try.
(3 computers) * (4 cables) * (2 odin versions) * (11 total USB ports) = 264 variations to try, not including different firmware attempts! Seems insane, so I'm hoping I don't need to wait until the 263rd (or more) for success. I will post a pastebin of my ODIN logs as I go, so expect regular updates.
Once again, thanks for all of the help everyone. I seriously appreciate your time and input!
Cheers,
IVT
EDIT: I just want to clear up some murky understanding here, but when I flash a kernel do I need to then find a corresponding firmware and flash that afterwards? Or should I be able to get into Recovery Mode with just the kernel? Also when I do flash firmware, do I need the kernel installed BEFORE I flash firmware / ROMs or does it matter what order I do it in (I'm assuming that you need a kernel already flashed before the firmware will even flash at all?) And lastly, do I need a working stock firmware present before I can flash a modified ROM? If anyone has a good link for me to read/ watch an explanation on how modded kernels interact with modded ROMs I would appreciate the extra information (I'm trying to understand if maybe I'm not using compatible kernels and ROMs.)
Thanks everyone!
UPDATES: The following were done in order from top to bottom, meaning that CWM v5 was done first, followed by flashing CWM v5, etc etc... All flashes (unless stated otherwise) were flashed with ONLY [F. Reset Time] and [Auto Reboot] checked!
Kernel: CWM Recovery [ICS - 5.5.0.4]
Odin Version: v3.04
Flash: SUCCESSFUL
Recovery Mode: NO
Download Source: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1118693
Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/MR97fJLz
Kernel: CWM Recovery [JB - 6.0.2.7]
Odin Version: v3.04
Flash: SUCCESSFUL
Recovery Mode: NO
Download Source: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1118693
Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/vGWmdjkc
*NOTE: Upon reset and testing for Recovery access, I have found that after removing/ reinserting my battery and holding Vol.Up + Home + Power the phone will reset and still give me the boot logo with the yellow /!\ triangle, however if I keep the buttons held the screen will flash to black for a second before again returning to the boot logo screen. This will only happen once, and the device will not flash to black again if I keep the buttons held for any extra time. not sure if this is useful, though I am trying to provide any information I can.
Firmware: I9100XXLSJ + CSC + MODEM (provided by gastonw's link)
Odin Version: v.3.04
Flash: FAILED
Recovery Mode: NO
Download Source: http://www.sammobile.com/2012/11/15/i9100xxlsj-–-galaxy-s-ii-android-4-1-2-jelly-bean-test-firmware/
Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/VqTu5GyS
*NOTE: I place CODE_I9100XXLSJ.tar in [PDA], MODEM_I9100XXLS6.tar in [PHONE], and CSC_HOME_OXX_I9100OXXLS1.tar in [CSC].
*NOTE: This was flashed after the CWM Recovery JB version (v6). Not sure if the CWM kernel would affect the flashing of this firmware? Im going to try flashing the beta JB Siyah v6.0b5 (which I know will flash) and then the firmware again to see if there is any change...
UPDATE: After trying to flash the Siyah kernel and then reflash the test firmware above, ODIN still fails.
Here is the pastebin: http://pastebin.com/e4hDW9F7
SEMI-UPDATE: Also, I've noticed that occasionally Odin will lag before failing (sometimes the program stops responding for a moment, but it comes back. Other times it just a looooong time to do anything and then fails.) Sometimes Odin just completely hangs, doesn't stop responding but stays at the "Firmware update start" step.
Besides this little problem, I also notice that I have yet to find a .md5 that will successfully flash. Not sure if its connected to the format or just my usual flashing problem though.
Lastly, the error log for writing .md5 files is as follows (this was I9100XWLP3_I9100O2ULP4_I9100XXLPR_HOME.tar.md5 that was recommended):
Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/AYhxSywi
invalidtarget said:
Alright guys, thanks for the in depth and excellent suggestions! Currently downloading I9100XXLSJ (I9100XXLSJ_I9100OXXLS1_OXX) from gastonw's suggestion and will post what Odin does in this case. Once its finished downloading I will grab the newest version of firmware from your suggestion Lennyz1988 (have to wait between downloads, both HF mirrors) and will also post what happens when/ if I flash that (in the case that the JB Test firmware fails.)
Before flashing either I will uninstall KIES, reinstall it with drivers, disable all anti-spyware and anti-virus software, use a backport USB, and attempt using both v1.85 and v3.04 of ODIN3. I will also attempt to use all 3 windows-based machines in my house to attempt to flash, as well as trying all 4 of the cables available to me. I'm hoping that by using all of these precautions I will have success eventually.
Also, after I reinstall KIES windows update tries to re-find drivers for my phone too upon connection to my usb port. Should I let windows find the drivers or cancel it? Worst case scenario I could always try with both, letting it finish installing the drivers it finds and rejecting its installation, though I guess the safest bet is to just reject WU from downloading its own.
Well, I apparently have a heap of work ahead of me, with all of these variations to try.
(3 computers) * (4 cables) * (2 odin versions) * (11 total USB ports) = 264 variations to try, not including different firmware attempts! Seems insane, so I'm hoping I don't need to wait until the 263rd (or more) for success. I will post a pastebin of my ODIN logs as I go, so expect regular updates.
Once again, thanks for all of the help everyone. I seriously appreciate your time and input!
Cheers,
IVT
EDIT: I just want to clear up some murky understanding here, but when I flash a kernel do I need to then find a corresponding firmware and flash that afterwards? Or should I be able to get into Recovery Mode with just the kernel? Also when I do flash firmware, do I need the kernel installed BEFORE I flash firmware / ROMs or does it matter what order I do it in (I'm assuming that you need a kernel already flashed before the firmware will even flash at all?) And lastly, do I need a working stock firmware present before I can flash a modified ROM? If anyone has a good link for me to read/ watch an explanation on how modded kernels interact with modded ROMs I would appreciate the extra information (I'm trying to understand if maybe I'm not using compatible kernels and ROMs.)
Thanks everyone!
UPDATES: The following were done in order from top to bottom, meaning that CWM v5 was done first, followed by flashing CWM v5, etc etc... All flashes (unless stated otherwise) were flashed with ONLY [F. Reset Time] and [Auto Reboot] checked!
Kernel: CWM Recovery [ICS - 5.5.0.4]
Odin Version: v3.04
Flash: SUCCESSFUL
Recovery Mode: NO
Download Source: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1118693
Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/MR97fJLz
Kernel: CWM Recovery [JB - 6.0.2.7]
Odin Version: v3.04
Flash: SUCCESSFUL
Recovery Mode: NO
Download Source: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1118693
Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/vGWmdjkc
*NOTE: Upon reset and testing for Recovery access, I have found that after removing/ reinserting my battery and holding Vol.Up + Home + Power the phone will reset and still give me the boot logo with the yellow /!\ triangle, however if I keep the buttons held the screen will flash to black for a second before again returning to the boot logo screen. This will only happen once, and the device will not flash to black again if I keep the buttons held for any extra time. not sure if this is useful, though I am trying to provide any information I can.
Firmware: I9100XXLSJ + CSC + MODEM (provided by gastonw's link)
Odin Version: v.3.04
Flash: FAILED
Recovery Mode: NO
Download Source: http://www.sammobile.com/2012/11/15/i9100xxlsj-–-galaxy-s-ii-android-4-1-2-jelly-bean-test-firmware/
Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/VqTu5GyS
*NOTE: I place CODE_I9100XXLSJ.tar in [PDA], MODEM_I9100XXLS6.tar in [PHONE], and CSC_HOME_OXX_I9100OXXLS1.tar in [CSC].
*NOTE: This was flashed after the CWM Recovery JB version (v6). Not sure if the CWM kernel would affect the flashing of this firmware? Im going to try flashing the beta JB Siyah v6.0b5 (which I know will flash) and then the firmware again to see if there is any change...
UPDATE: After trying to flash the Siyah kernel and then reflash the test firmware above, ODIN still fails.
Here is the pastebin: http://pastebin.com/e4hDW9F7
SEMI-UPDATE: Also, I've noticed that occasionally Odin will lag before failing (sometimes the program stops responding for a moment, but it comes back. Other times it just a looooong time to do anything and then fails.) Sometimes Odin just completely hangs, doesn't stop responding but stays at the "Firmware update start" step.
Besides this little problem, I also notice that I have yet to find a .md5 that will successfully flash. Not sure if its connected to the format or just my usual flashing problem though.
Lastly, the error log for writing .md5 files is as follows (this was I9100XWLP3_I9100O2ULP4_I9100XXLPR_HOME.tar.md5 that was recommended):
Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/AYhxSywi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EDIT: I have noticed that basically all firmware and md5s fail at NAND Write. I hear this can be fixed through reinstalling the proper USB Drivers (will attempt to do this, AGAIN...) but can also mean that my NAND Memory is corrupted (a little pessimistic to think down this line, because I'm pretty sure that means my phone is finished...) I doubt its corrupted since I can flash kernels still, but I'm no expert. Any observations, insight, or opinions are welcome.
Thanks,
IVT
Edit: Was just looking around and kind of thought of something. If my NAND Writing is the problem, wouldn't repartitioning my phone offer a potential fix? Could the problem I have with accessing my Recovery be because of the messed up partitions?
Someone give me some feedback on this idea, and if you agree how would I go about doing something? I've heard to generally stay away from PIT and Bootloaders, as they are a little less forgiving than firmware and kernel flashing.
Hiya. Phone was fine, running UnNamed v2.3.6, until the phone completely randomly started boot looping (showing the Galaxy SII name over and over).
Tried deleting user cache, etc. from CWM, this didn't help.
Read the threads here, flashed Odin3 One-click Downloader I-777 UCKH7 Stock + Root No Bootloaders from creepyncrawly's repository page. No joy, and now I've additionally picked up the "Deleting Cryption Meta Data" problem, where that's all CWM says before it boots me out.
I've been trying to follow the guide here on how to resolve the Deleting Cryption Meta Data problem, but the link in item #3 for "SGH-I777_ClockworkMod-Recovery_5.0.2.3" goes to kind of a strange post with dead download links. My understanding is most/all i777 kernals have CWM, but I definitely don't understand enough about this to feel comfortable substituting files.
Any hope for me? I borrowed a Blackberry from work for the weekend and it's considerably less tolerable since Google pulled all of its app services. If my i777 is bricked I'd rather find out sooner than later. Thanks!
1)Assuming your phone operating system is Gingerbread, go to this post and download the Tar version of Siyah 2.6.14 Kernel. Flash it in PDA without ticking Re-Partitioning.
2) Successful? Nice. Next, flash the full stock Gingerbread distribution from the download repository, I777UCKH7 including the bootloaders and everything, in the PDA slot.
3) If that is successful your are done. If it is not, then:
4) Download the SBL Bootloader from the Download Repository. Flash it as PDA in ODIN, without ticking Re-Partitioning.
5) Flash the Kernel, as in step 1.
6) Flash the full stock Gingerbread distribution from the download repository, I777UCKH7 including the bootloaders and everything, in the PDA slot, as in step 2.
If you are unable to get any of these to flash successfully, first you should assume a bad port, or bad cable, and try other ports, other cables, even another pc. If you can get no flash to succeed, then you may have damaged eMMC memory.
In case it is damaged memory, This post from Mobile Tech Videos.
Annnd, I'm in! Thank you thank you thank you, creepyncrawly, this is amazing! I will never take a successful phone boot up for granted! (Okay, not for a little while at least.)
So would it be imprudent to restore a Nandroid backup from about a month ago? I feel like the answer is "yes," but if the bootloop was caused by firmware issues, then maybe it shouldn't matter?
Thanks so much again!
Hi all,
I have a i777 with stock UCKK6 that I was trying to root with CreepynCrawly's UCKK6 stock with root in his download repository.
I've been spending the past week reading all the posts (Thanks for all the information), and I thought I had everything down, however I wasn't expecting to get the Blue Screen of Death right when I decided to start flashing with Odin. My mistake could've been I installed the USB Drivers from Samsung's website for the i777 which was 1.5.14. I was using Odin 1.85 when it occurred on my Windows 7 x64 machine. When it first occurred, I left the cable in there, and decided to uninstall the drivers, and downgrade to a version that was available from a post on XDA. However, now the problem seems to be that I keep on getting unknown device as the device is still stuck in downloading mode. I was reading some instances where some people were just able to continue after the BSOD, however I'm not so lucky. What should I do now? I'm afraid to do anything to my phone, and I hope I can figure something out before my battery runs out.
Thanks in advance for any help.
The 1.5.14 version of USB Driver for Samsung Phones is fine. Any earlier version is probably fine also, but you will need to reboot the computer after uninstalling, then reinstall and reboot your computer again. Win7 x64 is fine also, and Odin3 v1.85 is preferred.
You didn't say if you got the BSOD on the pc or on the phone. It is usually a term that is associated with windows on the pc. You also didn't say if the Odin flash completed and if you got a pass or fail.
At this point you need to pull the battery to turn the phone off, and start over.
Make sure you have a good install of the usb driver, with reboots as above.
First try to enter recovery mode by holding down all three buttons, vol- vol+ & pwr. If that is successful, do a wipe data/factory reset and then reboot. If the phone boots up normally, then you're back in business.
If you can't get into recovery, or if you get recovery but the phone does not boot up normally, you need to flash again. Enter download mode and do the flash again.
____________________
The following is for reference. How to use stand-alone Odin3 to flash firmware:
Follow and recheck each of the following steps. Do them in order listed, as some steps are dependent on previous steps. Instructions are for Odin3 v1.85. It should work with any version of Odin, but some details, like color of items, may be different.
1.) Open Odin on the Windows Desktop.
2.) Have the USB cable plugged into USB port on the computer, but *Not* plugged in to the phone.
3.) Shut the phone off.
4.) While holding down the vol+ & vol- keys, plug micro-usb plug into phone.
5.) In Odin, you should get the yellow box under where it says ID:COM with the text 0:[COMx], and in the Message area, <ID:0/00x> Added!! where x is some number, usually 1-8.
6.) In Odin, make sure Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time are checked and all other items are not checked.
7.) Click on the PDA button. Browse to the tar file you want to install and select it so its path appears in the text edit box next to the button.
8.) Make sure the check box next to the PDA button is checked.
9.) Click the Start button.
10.) You should see the green progress bar advancing.
Let me know if it flashes successfully. Regardless if it works or not, before you close Odin, copy out the information in the Messages section and post it back here.
Thanks for the quick reply.
In my haste during the initial flash, I forgot to capture the logs, but I'm pretty sure it just started getting to "Nand Write Start". It was pretty early in the process. Then my PC had the Blue Screen of Death, (some PFN error). After realizing that I should still have the bootloader intact, I eventually unplugged the phone and then tried to resume it. I got the same error. Then I tried other versions of the USB driver 1.5.5 (uninstalling then installing with reboots), and I believe it gave me the same error. I then also tried it on another Win XP computer, and one instance I got as far as NAND write start, and then ODIN terminated it this time. Again, I didn't capture the log.
However, I did go back to my Win 7 x64 PC and then installed the latest driver 1.5.25, and I did manage to collect the log for that (I'll be sure to do that from now on):
<ID:0/004> File analysis..
<ID:0/004> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/004> Initialzation..
<ID:0/004> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/004> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/004> cache.img
<ID:0/004> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/004> factoryfs.img
<ID:0/004> Complete(Write) operation failed.
Anywyay, I can get download mode again, but I can't seem to get recovery. I instead get a dreaded yellow triangle error message that says Firmware upgrade encoutered an issue, please select recovery mode in Kies & try again. I'm not sure if I'm pressing the correct buttons, but before this process started I was able to get into 3e recover, but it's a tricky sequence to get right sometimes.
Is my problem the image I'm trying to flash? Should I just try to use the one click to UCKH7 since the aborted ODIN flash corrupted my UCKK6?
I was thinking of using Heimdall, but just my luck that their hosting service is doing some maintenance!
Anyway, I'll go through your sequences for ODIN again, but my problem seems to be mostly centered around the driver (especially on the WinXP machine where it won't recognize the device), and on the Win7 x64 I get the Blue screen when any transfer is occurring.
I'll try with your steps outlined above, although I was kind of doing that already sometimes since I seem to recall you posting that somewhere else.
Thanks so much for your help.
Make sure you run Odin in administrator mode..!
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda app-developers app
If I am understanding you correctly, your computer interrupted the flash during the first time you tried to flash the stock plus root package. This likely happened early in the flash cycle. (By the way, there is no bootloader in that package.)
One possible result is that you now have a partial flash in one partition of the nand, which is essentially nand read/write corruption. I would start with the following to see if it will clear the problem.
1)Assuming your phone operating system is Gingerbread, go to this post and download the Tar version of Siyah 2.6.14 Kernel. Flash it in PDA without ticking Re-Partitioning.
2) Successful? Nice. Next, flash the full stock Gingerbread distribution from the Download Repository, I777UCKH7 including the bootloaders and everything, in the PDA slot.
3) If that is successful you are done. If it is not, then:
4) Download the SBL Bootloader from the Download Repository. Flash it as PDA in ODIN, without ticking Re-Partitioning.
5) Flash the Kernel, as in step 1.
6) Flash the full stock Gingerbread distribution, as in step 2.
Thanks for the detailed instructions. I'll give it a shot. I hope your theory regarding NAND partitions is explaining the weird behavior regarding both my PCs with the USB drivers (x64 Win 7 & XP SP3). If I can't seem to resolve the USB Driver issues and Odin, is it possible to flash the Siyah Kernels with Heimdall? I think their hosting site is back...
Also, as I understand it, if I'm able to successfully flash the kernel it will trip the counter, right? Anyway, it's a moot point since I'm past warranty anyway. I'd be thrilled if I don't have.
Thanks again for all your help!
Yay! I was able to flash the Siyah kernel after lots of experimentation (long story short, I gave up on the Win7 x64 machine, and tried the XP SP3 again, and after cleaning out my registry for Samsung that improved things as well as trying a new USB port on the PC).
Now I have the i9100 screen with the yellow triangle which I assume is because of the Siyah kernel.
Before I move on to the next step, I wanted to make sure I understood things correctly. you want me to next flash the complete UCKH7 binaries linked in your Download Repository from sammobile.com? It also contains the bootloaders, right? I guess for sure I will stay away from the x64 machine since I have that Blue screen problem. I'm assuming the one click and .tar.md5 are the same, right? Since I still am not that confident about my USB drivers, what would be the Heimdall commands in case this doesn't work. I'm also wary of flashing bootloaders.
zebra72 said:
Thanks for the detailed instructions. I'll give it a shot. I hope your theory regarding NAND partitions is explaining the weird behavior regarding both my PCs with the USB drivers (x64 Win 7 & XP SP3). If I can't seem to resolve the USB Driver issues and Odin, is it possible to flash the Siyah Kernels with Heimdall? I think their hosting site is back...
Also, as I understand it, if I'm able to successfully flash the kernel it will trip the counter, right? Anyway, it's a moot point since I'm past warranty anyway. I'd be thrilled if I don't have.
Thanks again for all your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
zebra72 said:
Yay! I was able to flash the Siyah kernel after lots of experimentation (long story short, I gave up on the Win7 x64 machine, and tried the XP SP3 again, and after cleaning out my registry for Samsung that improved things as well as trying a new USB port on the PC).
Now I have the i9100 screen with the yellow triangle which I assume is because of the Siyah kernel.
Before I move on to the next step, I wanted to make sure I understood things correctly. you want me to next flash the complete UCKH7 binaries linked in your Download Repository from sammobile.com? It also contains the bootloaders, right? I guess for sure I will stay away from the x64 machine since I have that Blue screen problem. I'm assuming the one click and .tar.md5 are the same, right? Since I still am not that confident about my USB drivers, what would be the Heimdall commands in case this doesn't work. I'm also wary of flashing bootloaders.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt that the phone has anything to do with the pc freezing. It could have something to do with bad flashes if the USB port on the phone is dirty or beginning to fail. Flashing a bootloader is minimally risky. The risk is the flash being interrupted while the bootloader code is actually being transferred, and since the sbl is so small, that transfer happens in a matter of seconds.
If it is nand read/write corruption, you most likely will need to flash the full firmware including sbl and param.lfs. You might first try flashing the package that has the sbl and param.lfs removed, just to see if it will work. But for nand read/write corruption, the sequence I posted is what is needed, afaik. There should be no difference between using the one-click downloader and stand alone Odin. The method is a little different is all.
Thanks for the info as I'll try that. I don't see a ODIN package with UCKH7 stock binaries that have the sbl & params removed. There is one for Heimdall though. I guess I was hoping to test my ODIN setup on the successful PC (running XP) before I run the whole package. Alternatively, I have played around with Heimdall on the original offending Blue Screen PC, but gave up on Win 7 x64 and successfully downloaded the PIT file on the exact same PC booting up in Ubuntu, so I feel good that the connection there is safe. As a general thing with Heimdall, does it matter the order I'm flashing the partitions, or can I even break them up into pieces, taking the UCKH7_noBL image and flashing the factoryfs, and zImage with separate commands?
Entropy512's Original I777 UCKH7 Kernel plus Non-Rooted System Package, which is the second block below the UCKH7 stock binaries is the one that has no sbl or param.
With Ubuntu, you want to use Heimdall command line tool. The code for Heimdall is in the little code boxes in the Download Repository. I don't think the order matters, but there is information in the readme file with the command line tool which suggests an order.
I'm starting to run out of ideas regarding this phone. I went back to ODIN on the Win XP PC that successfully flashed the Siyah Kernel, but after running into problems, cleaning registry entries of Samsung, I can't seem to flash anything past the "SetupConnection" phase of ODIN. It pretty much just hangs there, and I never see any indication that anything is being written to the device (ie no green bar on the phone). I was trying to just flash the Entropy's UCKH7 system files and modem as I'm afraid to just yet flash the bootloaders yet. I guess my question is, are the write problems caused by my hosed NAND partition or am I still having problems with my USB drivers on the Win XP machine. I've installed/deinstalled them many times and spent most of my time rebooting and having ODIN just hang there after SetupConnection.
In parallel, I also tried my Win7 x64 machine (the one that original caused this problem with ODIN), but I only booted up in Ubuntu with Heimdall. I found Ubuntu/Heimdall to be the most reliable as I can reliably get the PIT file at least (I don't always get that far with ODIN on XP). BTW, I think with 1.40 version of Heimdall, he did away with the hard coded names that CreepynCrawly has in the instructions of his download repository, but most of them are just simply in CAPS as opposed to the partition names in the download repository (ie --KERNEL instead of --kernel). You can find out for sure by issuing a print-pit command. With Heimdall, I'm consistently getting the OS to recognize the device in boot mode, but then when it starts writing, I get a libusb error, and I never see the green bar move on the phone.
I still haven't flashed the full stock with bootloaders yet, as I'm hoping that will do the trick. BTW, for the tar.md5 file, what slot do I insert it in since it contains bootloaders and modems? Do I just put it in the PDA slot? With Heimdall, would I issue the commands for the bootloaders first, then the non system images? Or do I just do one Heimdall command for all of them?
Anyway, I'm still not sure if I have a reliable PC that flashes correctly, or my NAND corruption is causing the write errors. If it's the latter, then I'm thinking my phone could really be bricked despite being able to get at the bootloader.
Oh, and 1 more thing. What was the point of flashing the Siyah kernel, and then stock image? I was pretty happy when I got that successfully flashed, but now I'm not sure what purpose it's serving.....
zebra72 said:
Oh, and 1 more thing. What was the point of flashing the Siyah kernel, and then stock image? I was pretty happy when I got that successfully flashed, but now I'm not sure what purpose it's serving.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The purpose is to clear nand read/write corruption. If nand read/write corruption is the problem, then following the sequence I posted exactly should clear it and get your phone back. I don't understand the inner workings of the phone well enough to know why that sequence works. But you havn't tried this sequence yet, since you havn't flashed the full stock image.
zebra72 said:
I'm starting to run out of ideas regarding this phone. I went back to ODIN on the Win XP PC that successfully flashed the Siyah Kernel, but after running into problems, cleaning registry entries of Samsung, I can't seem to flash anything past the "SetupConnection" phase of ODIN. It pretty much just hangs there, and I never see any indication that anything is being written to the device (ie no green bar on the phone). I was trying to just flash the Entropy's UCKH7 system files and modem as I'm afraid to just yet flash the bootloaders yet. I guess my question is, are the write problems caused by my hosed NAND partition or am I still having problems with my USB drivers on the Win XP machine. I've installed/deinstalled them many times and spent most of my time rebooting and having ODIN just hang there after SetupConnection.
In parallel, I also tried my Win7 x64 machine (the one that original caused this problem with ODIN), but I only booted up in Ubuntu with Heimdall. I found Ubuntu/Heimdall to be the most reliable as I can reliably get the PIT file at least (I don't always get that far with ODIN on XP). BTW, I think with 1.40 version of Heimdall, he did away with the hard coded names that CreepynCrawly has in the instructions of his download repository, but most of them are just simply in CAPS as opposed to the partition names in the download repository (ie --KERNEL instead of --kernel). You can find out for sure by issuing a print-pit command. With Heimdall, I'm consistently getting the OS to recognize the device in boot mode, but then when it starts writing, I get a libusb error, and I never see the green bar move on the phone.
I still haven't flashed the full stock with bootloaders yet, as I'm hoping that will do the trick. BTW, for the tar.md5 file, what slot do I insert it in since it contains bootloaders and modems? Do I just put it in the PDA slot? With Heimdall, would I issue the commands for the bootloaders first, then the non system images? Or do I just do one Heimdall command for all of them?
Anyway, I'm still not sure if I have a reliable PC that flashes correctly, or my NAND corruption is causing the write errors. If it's the latter, then I'm thinking my phone could really be bricked despite being able to get at the bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The cause of the failed flashes is most likely in the phone. There is some possibility it is because of the connection between the phone and the computer. It is almost certainly not just because of the computer.
zebra72,
With a quick read of this thread i didn't see it mentioned...but have u tried a different micro usb/usb cable yet ??
Sometimes that cable that u thought was reliable can all of the sudden become not so. Using a different cable has solved heimdall flashes that weren't workin for me in the past...and even odin flashes that were not completing successfully.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
creepyncrawly said:
The purpose is to clear nand read/write corruption. If nand read/write corruption is the problem, then following the sequence I posted exactly should clear it and get your phone back. I don't understand the inner workings of the phone well enough to know why that sequence works. But you havn't tried this sequence yet, since you havn't flashed the full stock image.
The cause of the failed flashes is most likely in the phone. There is some possibility it is because of the connection between the phone and the computer. It is almost certainly not just because of the computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, Thanks again for the explanation. Right now, I'm just gun shy given what has happened since the full stock image contains bootloaders. I just don't want it to fail at any of the critical steps, however small that may be. Would I be able to try to flash the Siyah kernel again as a test of my setup, and then if it succeeds flash the full stock?
4-2ndtwin said:
zebra72,
With a quick read of this thread i didn't see it mentioned...but have u tried a different micro usb/usb cable yet ??
Sometimes that cable that u thought was reliable can all of the sudden become not so. Using a different cable has solved heimdall flashes that weren't workin for me in the past...and even odin flashes that were not completing successfully.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had thought about it, but now hearing creepyncrawly's explanation and your previous experience, it's something I'll have to check. Any recommendations on cables? Should I go with stock Samsung cables? Thanks for the suggestion!
Samsung Oem USB
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=400467800450
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda app-developers app
Wow, what a difference a USB cable makes! So after more failures today, I decided to pull out the old data cable from my Nexus One and give that a shot. I used both ODIN and Heimdall, and I was able to flash the Siyah kernel again as well as the UCKH7 modem file in Heimdall. With Heimdall, it was telling since I had turned on verbose mode, and with my original OEM cable, I would occasionally get time outs even when retrieving the pit file, but it would recover. However, with flashing, it must not have been able to overcome the errors. In retrospect, the OEM cable has been through a lot (ie chairs rolling over it, pulled and dragged) since it is the same cable as the charger. Props to 4-2ndtwin for pointing this out! And creepyncrawly, it looks like you were right. I kept on thinking it was my computer with the USB ports or drivers!
I also noticed now that I have CWM recovery on it, when I flashed the Siyah kernel a second time. After noticing how fast the ODIN flash was, I'm starting to think the first flash probably didn't fully flash correctly, but I got success after a much longer time than with the good cable. Now I'm wondering if I should risk flashing the bootloaders and instead just try to flash the the UCKH7 with root and go from there. Of course, now that my counter is tripped, can I just flash a ROM that I'm interested in?
Thanks so much for all the help!
zebra72 said:
Wow, what a difference a USB cable makes! So after more failures today, I decided to pull out the old data cable from my Nexus One and give that a shot. I used both ODIN and Heimdall, and I was able to flash the Siyah kernel again as well as the UCKH7 modem file in Heimdall. With Heimdall, it was telling since I had turned on verbose mode, and with my original OEM cable, I would occasionally get time outs even when retrieving the pit file, but it would recover. However, with flashing, it must not have been able to overcome the errors. In retrospect, the OEM cable has been through a lot (ie chairs rolling over it, pulled and dragged) since it is the same cable as the charger. Props to 4-2ndtwin for pointing this out! And creepyncrawly, it looks like you were right. I kept on thinking it was my computer with the USB ports or drivers!
I also noticed now that I have CWM recovery on it, when I flashed the Siyah kernel a second time. After noticing how fast the ODIN flash was, I'm starting to think the first flash probably didn't fully flash correctly, but I got success after a much longer time than with the good cable. Now I'm wondering if I should risk flashing the bootloaders and instead just try to flash the the UCKH7 with root and go from there. Of course, now that my counter is tripped, can I just flash a ROM that I'm interested in?
Thanks so much for all the help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may be able to flash custom firmware now. It won't do any harm to try. Then if it doesn't flash, you can do the steps I gave for clearing nand r/w corruption.
creepyncrawly said:
You may be able to flash custom firmware now. It won't do any harm to try. Then if it doesn't flash, you can do the steps I gave for clearing nand r/w corruption.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was my thinking exactly, and I tried to flash UCKK6 root (trying to get back my old data), and it failed on the factoryfs partition through Heimdall. Then I just followed your instructions with the stock UCKH7 through Odin and crossed my fingers when it flashed all the important stuff (bootloader, etc), and I let out a huge sigh of relief when it all worked! I'm so excited to have my phone back as I started exploring buying other phones when it looked bleak! Now I'm ready to explore the world of custom ROMs.
Moral of the story is you really have to look at everything even if you think it couldn't be something simple like a cable!
And finally, I want to give a huge thanks to creepyncrawly for helping me out! I'd be SOL without all the prompt help you have provided for me!
I got myself an AT&T branded S2 (i777). I used Samsung Kies to update to the latest firmware and something happened while doing so. I turn on the phone now and it says "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again."
Recovery in Kies doesn't work.
I can get into download mode. Although I can't seem to get Odin to be successfully done, always fails.
Is there any solutions to fix my problem?
I have searched and found fixes for the international version, but that does me no good as mine is the SGH-I777. I just want to be able to have a working phone again.
I'm pretty sure we can get your phone back to working.
A more detailed description of your inability to flash with Odin would be helpful.
What were you trying to flash?
Were you able to get Odin to recognize the phone?
What were the error messages in Odin?
After you answer, I'll give you some things to try.
That would be awesome.
- Tried using I777UCKH7-CL503881-Full it gets to sbl.bin and then fails.
- Tried using Odin v1.85 with a stock i777 tar file. Sticks at factoryfs.img and then fails.
- Odin does recognize the phone.
The majority of issues with failed flashes have to do with the connection between the computer and the phone. The standard advice is, use another cable, use another USB port on the computer, or even use another computer. However, lets skip that step for now, and assume that the connection is good.
It's possible that there is an issue with nand read/write memory corruption. Let's see what happens if we clear nand r/w memory. I assume that you know how to use Odin correctly, but if you want additional instructions, I can post some.
Instructions to clear nand read/write corruption. Instructions are specific; do them in order, and don't skip.
Odin3 v1.85 is recommended.
1) Download the Tar version of Siyah 2.6.14 Kernel. Flash it in PDA. Without ticking Re-Partitioning
2) Flash the Tar.md5 of the full stock Gingerbread distribution from the Download Repository, I777UCKH7 including the bootloaders and everything, in the PDA slot.
3) If that is successful you are done. If it is not, then:
4) Download the SBL Bootloader from the Download Repository. Flash it as PDA in ODIN, without ticking Re-Partitioning. (Please observe normal bootloader flashing caution.)
5) Flash the Kernel, as in step 1.
6) Flash the full stock Gingerbread distribution, as in step 2.
Link to the download repository is in my sig.
---------- Post added at 09:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:57 PM ----------
The latest stock for this phone is I777UCMD8, which you can also get in the Download Repository. I would suggest you flash that after you get the phone back to working. Or, if you want to customize, there are good versions of custom firmware available in the forums.
I try to check in to the forums every couple of days, at least. It was just serendipity that I came into the forum 10 minutes after you posted. I'll try to remember to keep an eye on this thread more often, but sometimes I get a littly busy, so if I'm mia, just be patient.
Re-tried Siyah with a different cable and used back usb ports instead. Was successful with Siyah.
I don't want to mess the phone up anymore than needed, which exact one should I flash?
fluttershys said:
Re-tried Siyah with a different cable and used back usb ports instead. Was successful with Siyah.
I don't want to mess the phone up anymore than needed, which exact one should I flash?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay. Maybe your issue was only a connection issue. But I would suggest that you complete the sequence above exactly as written. As it says, instructions are specific; do them in order, and don't skip.
If the issue is nand r/w corruption, this should fix it. If that was not the issue, this will not do any harm. The firmware used is the oldest original firmware for the I777, and is seriously out of date. But it is known to fix the specific issue of nand r/w corruption.
Once you have the phone working normally, ie. booting into system without issue, then you should probably flash the latest stock firmware as I suggested earlier, or the custom firmware of your choice.
Thank you for all the help. I was actually able to use Kies and re-do the firmware that way. I have done the framaroot root.
Is there a ROM and Kernel that you would suggest using for the I777?
You need to decide whether you want firmware that is Samsung touchwiz based, or AOSP based.
If you want touchwiz, you should look at cooked or SHOstock3. No one is doing active development right now, but these two are stable and each is good in its own way.
If you want AOSP, I can't recommend anything since I haven't flashed them, but would suggest you read the development forum and look at the threads for firmware that have been actively posted in the past few months.
The latest touchwiz is Jelly Bean, but with AOSP you can get Kit Kat, or even Lollipop.
I hope someone has some advice for me. I've been racking my brain for three days trying to figure out this problem.
Bought a g900t from ebay that only bootlooped to samsung screen. DL mode and recovery both booted fine.
Tried just wiping everything in recovery - nothing but bootloop.
Tried getting custom recovery on via heimdall - no dice. PIT failed to download. (This issue is not related to Kies - different machines to avoid interference.)
Tried KIES 'Firmware Upgrade and Initialization'. KIES said it was successful. Bootloop.
Odin-ed both ANCH and CNK2 firmware. Both were successful according to Odin. After each flash, the phone restarted in recovery and went directly to the android image with the blue sphere and a loading bar underneath. Started to load something, then rebooted directly back to recovery with android, and over and over and over.... (20-30 times before I pulled battery).
The phone now will not boot to recovery (only to above mentioned recovery loop). DL mode still comes up.
Tried Kies again, and it pretends like it is going to install but once I press start nothing happens.
I can't find a ROM with clearly labeled extractable partitions, and I can't find the proper partition name list, so I am not going to start trying to force-flash the partitions through heimdall (don't want to get the aboot and boot mixed up, e.g.) if I can even get heimdall to work.
You need to use Odin to go back to stock. I have no clue what firmware the phone is currently on but it's most likely lollipop. Here is a link for the 5.0 download http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3034334
I use Odin 3.07 and have not had issues for years. Download the stock rom from the link mentioned and extract it somewhere easy to find. Once you extract it you will end up with a .tar file. Open Odin
Put phone in download mode and plug it in.
Make sure the COM tab lights up.
Click on pda and find the .tar file you extracted. Once found click open or double click it.
Odin will freeze while it loads the .tar file so be patient and don't freak out.
Wait til you see the file location load in the pda tab.
Once file loads up click start and profit.
Good luck!
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Free mobile app
Hi,
Thanks for the reply. As I mentioned above in the fifth paragraph, I tried two different firmwares through Odin.
I took the phone to BestBuy the other day and one of the Samsung Experience Center staff spent well over an hour reflashing the stock firmware using their setup and the phone still won't get past either a standard bootloop (first screen) or a recovery bootloop. He suggested sending it in under warranty (Knox still reads 0x0) and so it went out in the mail yesterday. Hopefully I get a functioning phone back.
On the bright side, the S.E.C. inside BestBuy seems to be a viable option for those who have a brick and don't have access to Odin/Heimdall.