[GUIDE][NoobProof] PARTITION i777 PHONE FOR MORE DATA STORAGE - AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-I777

This guide is to help those who may want to have more data storage including system partition for much more.​
NOTE: DOING THIS WILL DEFINITELY VOID WARRANTY AND ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH IT. I WILL NOT BE HELD LIABLE SHOULD
ANYTHING GO WRONG.
THERE HAS BEEN REPORTED SUCCESS SO FAR BUT SHOULD YOU END UP WITH AN EXPENSIVE PAPERWEIGHT, THAT IS YOUR OWN DOING. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.....YOU ARE WARNED.​
I HAVE PERSONALLY DONE THIS WITH SUCCESS. BELOW IS IMAGES AFTER I AM DONE WITH EVERYTHING.​
PRE-REQUISITE​
PATIENCE.............LOTS OF IT INCLUDING A STONE COLD HEART TO GO THROUGH THIS
A samsung S2 (i777/attain......to be more precise)
Backup, Backup, Backup...........that includes the phone internal memory.
Acceptance to loose everything stored in the phone internal memory.....if you need them, perform the step above.
A couple of files which i have provided the links to in the procedure and also below the post. Please use only what is provided here. Thanks.
PROCEDURE ​
1. Enter download mode (NOT through the reboot menu.)
Rather, hold in volume up and down and then while doing so plug in the usb cable to the phone from the computer.
2. Use Odin to install the full Samsung UCMD8 release (Already has pit file).
3. Flash the downloaded stock rom above using Odin.
4. Reboot to recovery and factory reset when done.
5. Boot device, install framaroot, enable usb debugging before rooting device.
6. Install mobile odin. Reboot.
7. In mobile odin, install new kernel w/ recovery (since this method is for i777, you can use Shift kernel....which i used, need to extract only the "zImage.img" file from the .zip file, if file is named something else rename it to "zImage" and place it on the device for Mobile Odin to read.
8. In Mobile Odin, install the modded .pit file attached below. Thanks to [-Stash-]
Read more about the partitions here and here.
NOTE: Using odin for pc for STEP 8 is also very much working.....espercially for those having issues flashing pit file with the mobile odin version.
9. Reboot to recovery; format / wipe partitions (this includes system, data, internal sd, cache, dalvik).
10. If internal cannot format or gives error, connect phone to pc and mount storage, you can then format as fat32 from windows or whatever operating system you are using (recommended system). When done, unmount and try step above again just to be certain.
11. Flash any new ROM of choice (I use SlimSaber by Cyril279), Gapps (I use slim full gapps,) modem for AOSP roms (I used UCMD8, works best for me but may not be the same for your location, please use what works best for you), and any other addon packages.
12. Optional........enable ART runtime in developer options. Reboot, and wait a long time for it to compile apps ahead of time.
13. Just enjoy :good::good:
Another link for my personal files used(same as those here)
CREDIT IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER​
Gabes Dad............................... for most of the guide and also making me take the dive.
Cyril279
Chainfire
RockRatt
mtpi
[-Stash-]
alephzain
creepyncrawly​

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Mobile Odin .pit file
Great guide and idea! Thanks for your work!
I'm having trouble at step #8, Using Mobile Odin to install the modded .pit file.
I can't get Mobile Odin to see the .pit file, either as provided, in the .rar container, or as the bare .pit file.
I saw in the posts on this by [-Stash-], which you reference, that regular Odin was used to install the .pit file.
I've read elsewhere that Mobile Odin can't work with .pit files, but I gather you have found a way.
Your guide worked great up until #8, and also after #8.
I was able to continue on and install a great KitKat rom, TheGeekyNimrod's new Unofficial Carbon Rom and the RB-Shift kernel, just without the new partition sizes.
Thanks again for posting this guide, and doing the work necessary to come up with it. I'm looking forward to this better partition scheme.
I would be grateful for any help you could provide.

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DanViolaMan said:
Great guide and idea! Thanks for your work!
I'm having trouble at step #8, Using Mobile Odin to install the modded .pit file.
I can't get Mobile Odin to see the .pit file, either as provided, in the .rar container, or as the bare .pit file.
I saw in the posts on this by [-Stash-], which you reference, that regular Odin was used to install the .pit file.
I've read elsewhere that Mobile Odin can't work with .pit files, but I gather you have found a way.
Your guide worked great up until #8, and also after #8.
I was able to continue on and install a great KitKat rom, TheGeekyNimrod's new Unofficial Carbon Rom and the RB-Shift kernel, just without the new partition sizes.
Thanks again for posting this guide, and doing the work necessary to come up with it. I'm looking forward to this better partition scheme.
I would be grateful for any help you could provide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would imagine you could still use regular ODIN for step 8, just put the phone back into download mode. Take this with a grain of salt as this is just a guess.

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DanViolaMan said:
Great guide and idea! Thanks for your work!
I'm having trouble at step #8, Using Mobile Odin to install the modded .pit file.
I can't get Mobile Odin to see the .pit file, either as provided, in the .rar container, or as the bare .pit file.
I saw in the posts on this by [-Stash-], which you reference, that regular Odin was used to install the .pit file.
I've read elsewhere that Mobile Odin can't work with .pit files, but I gather you have found a way.
Your guide worked great up until #8, and also after #8.
I was able to continue on and install a great KitKat rom, TheGeekyNimrod's new Unofficial Carbon Rom and the RB-Shift kernel, just without the new partition sizes.
Thanks again for posting this guide, and doing the work necessary to come up with it. I'm looking forward to this better partition scheme.
I would be grateful for any help you could provide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the late reply............using odin to flash in download mode also works perfectly. the pit does not harm in anyway (at least for me so far).
When done with pit flash in download mode,.............wait for for a minute or two.
Boot to recovery and format all partitions including internal. Had to mount internal partition and format with pc.
Hope this helps

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worked
Thanks. I did this. Although, when the phone boots the initial 'Samsung galaxy sii' splash is now changed to 'SAMSUNG' with the flash of the stock JB, i think. (actually, i dont remember if it was that, or if it was the ICS Semi_v18 ROM I flashed earlier for a different purpose). That splash screen seems to stay longer than before. Anyways, I used mobile odin (need the i777 flash kernel) to flash shift-v4.8 kernel, and then odin to flash the pit file from my computer. I did not have to format with the computer as the recovery seemed to do it fine.

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anyone tried this on the SGH-S959G I curently run @cyril279 slimsaber and want to be able to install the full slim gaaps instead of the mini gapps. Plus I feel eventually we will all need bigger system partition if we keep these phones. Or do I need a different pit file?
Figured it out. Modified original pit.

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Thanks a lot for the guide.
This worked fine for me. Initially, I didn't get a cellular signal but then I realized that I missed that instruction embedded in step #11. I'm currently using CM11 M10 build with it.
I assume this will work with any custom ROM, but would it work with stock ROMs that are flashed via Oden, or would this kind of flash put the old partition table back?

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Hey, could reupload the .pit file? It's 404'd.

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leeroyjenkins11 said:
Hey, could reupload the .pit file? It's 404'd.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure. Where I hosted the files has been down for weeks now. Thanks for alerting me.

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hey i want to just use the stock rom with stock kernel. So could i just stop at which step. Please help me

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virajjjj said:
hey i want to just use the stock rom with stock kernel. So could i just stop at which step. Please help me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the safest way would be to follow his steps all the way through step 10, then in step 11 re-install the UCMD8 stock firmware using desktop Odin.

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Just wanted to say thanks for the writeup! I was frustrated with having to install PA Nano Gapps, so this guide and your modded .pit file were perfect. Just finished installing LS 3.2 Milestone with PA Stock Gapps! :highfive:

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Confused & stuck at step 7
Updated: I finally succeed to re-partition; however, I could not go back to SHOstock3 v4 (4.1.2)

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If my phone already has a recovery installed and is rooted, can I go ahead and install the modified pit file with mobile odin and proceed from there? why exactly would I need to flash ucmb8 through odin?

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bleggy said:
If my phone already has a recovery installed and is rooted, can I go ahead and install the modified pit file with mobile odin and proceed from there? why exactly would I need to flash ucmb8 through odin?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same question.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using XDA Free mobile app

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When you flash a new pit through odin everything gets erased except external sd card so use a computer and follow the instructions.

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Thanks. I'm attempting to follow the instructions, but I need to use Heimdall instead of Odin. If anyone is familiar with Heimdall, I'd greatly appreciate your help.
I downloaded I777UCMD8_I777ATTMD8_I777UCMD8_HOME.tar.md5.7z file and extracted the contents to a folder.
[email protected]:~/heimdall$ ls
boot.bin I777UCMD8_I777ATTMD8_I777UCMD8_HOME.tar.md5 Sbl.bin
cache.img I777UCMD8_I777ATTMD8_I777UCMD8_HOME.tar.md5.7z zImage
factoryfs.img modem.bin
hidden.img param.lfs
and then boot into download mode and ran: sudo heimdall flash --kernel zImage --factoryfs factoryfs.img --cache cache.img --hidden hidden.img --param param.lfs --modem modem.bin
I receive the following:
Heimdall v1.4.0
Copyright (c) 2010-2013, Benjamin Dobell, Glass Echidna
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/
This software is provided free of charge. Copying and redistribution is
encouraged.
If you appreciate this software and you would like to support future
development please consider donating:
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/donate/
Initialising connection...
Detecting device...
Claiming interface...
Attempt failed. Detaching driver...
Claiming interface again...
Setting up interface...
Initialising protocol...
Protocol initialisation successful.
Beginning session...
Some devices may take up to 2 minutes to respond.
Please be patient!
Session begun.
Downloading device's PIT file...
PIT file download successful.
ERROR: Partition "kernel" does not exist in the specified PIT.
Ending session...
Rebooting device...
Releasing device interface...
Re-attaching kernel driver...
What should I be doing differently?
EDIT: looks like partition names are capitalized! , so it should be sudo heimdall flash --KERNEL zImage --FACTORYFS factoryfs.img --CACHE cache.img --HIDDEN hidden.img --MODEM modem.bin
To be safe, I shouldnt mess with boot.bin, param.lfs, Sbl.bin, right? or is this necessary here?
Looking forward, does anyone know the exact command to flash the modified .pit file? Would it be:
sudo heimdall flash --repartition --pit .pit ?

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Problem
Okay i did something wrong and just i had softbricked my phone and i can just enter into download mode but it fails and gives me write failed error. What can i do now. Help needed please

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alright. this got me where I wanted to be:
sudo heimdall flash --KERNEL zImage --FACTORYFS factoryfs.img --CACHE cache.img --HIDDEN hidden.img --MODEM modem.bin
I still cant figure out how to flash the .pit in heimdall.
I receive this:
[email protected]:~/Downloads/heimdall$ sudo heimdall flash --repartition --pit i777_4GB\ data\ -\ 45mb\ preload\ -\ 1GB\ system.pit
[sudo] password for bleggy:
Action: flash
Arguments:
--repartition --pit <filename>
--<partition name>|--<partition identifier> <filename> [...]
[--verbose] [--no-reboot] [--stdout-errors] [--delay <ms>]
[--usb-log-level <none/error/warning/debug>]
or:
--<partition name>|--<partition identifier> <filename> [...]
[--pit <filename>]
[--verbose] [--no-reboot] [--stdout-errors] [--delay <ms>]
[--usb-log-level <none/error/warning/debug>]
Description: Flashes one or more firmware files to your phone. Partition names
(or identifiers) can be obtained by executing the print-pit action.
WARNING: If you're repartitioning it's strongly recommended you specify
all files at your disposal.
any ideas?

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Edit: Just read it in i9100 thread that this method should not be used if you want to run stock rom. So flashed backed original pit file from i9100 thread and now the phone is running like as it should be running.