boot loader files seems to be corrupted‏ - Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi guys:
I have a problem with my GT-I9305. Last week it showed me some messages about a Policy Update and an app trying to access files. I clicked on Upgrade and it said that I have the latest one. (words more than less). Friday morning it restarts itself and never passes the 1rst screen, the one saying Galaxy S III GT-I9305, not even the one saying Samsung.
So I went to Samsung Support in Melbourne and been told that main PCB is faulty and need to be replaced. But.... there is the reason of my post ... I found that I can enter download mode and even I tried to do a factory reset. But apparently NAND files are corrupted as the boot files are missing. (Images attached) I have errors like :
E:failed to mount / cache (no such file or directory)
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Now , a faulty PCB won’t allow me accessing download mode or android factory reset / wipe options , I believe. (or want to believe)
So, is there a way to flash the whole thing and resuscitate my phone?
I tried to use Odin V1.85, V3.09, V3.10 with firmaware taken from sammobile for Australia Optus (as I bought the phone from them) I9305XXUENC2_I9305OPSENC3_I9305XXUENA2_HOME.tar.md5
It failed all times.
Some forums suggest me to flash the .pit file, but I can’t find the one corresponding to my phone.
So the thing is : can my phone be hard bricked and still give me the down load options ?
if No, How can I flash the NAND files
This is a Galaxy S III LTE for Australia, service provider Optus. I did not root it and it was using stock firmware with officials updates. and yes , of course it's out of warranty. (otherwise the guys in Samsung would put more effort in fixing it)
Model: GT-I9305
FCC ID : A3LGTI9305
SSN: -I9305GSMH
Any help is much appreciated.

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Do anyone knows how to restore / flash the bootloader ?
That could take me in the right direction

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jonathan.alvarez.castillo said:
Do anyone knows how to restore / flash the bootloader ?
That could take me in the right direction
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Jonathan, I haven't used a Samsung Device for a while as I moved on to use Sony devices, but I'm gonna try to help you out as you asked me on http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=61923100&postcount=149
Just give this a go.
Download this Vodafone firmware from here http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/50575/I9305XXUFOD3_I9305VNZFOD1_VNZ/
Follow the instructions you see on the bottom of the page that includes downloading Odin v.3.10.6. After that if it's failed again then re flash the firmware with Re-Partition ticked and pit file included. Find the attached pit file for I9305

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kamalmawa said:
Hey Jonathan, I haven't used a Samsung Device for a while as I moved on to use Sony devices, but I'm gonna try to help you out as you asked me on http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=61923100&postcount=149
Just give this a go.
Download this Vodafone firmware from here http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/50575/I9305XXUFOD3_I9305VNZFOD1_VNZ/
Follow the instructions you see on the bottom of the page that includes downloading Odin v.3.10.6. After that if it's failed again then re flash the firmware with Re-Partition ticked and pit file included. Find the attached pit file for I9305
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for replying , I definitely will give it a go. :good:
By the way I notice you give me a link to New Zealand - Vodaphone Firmaware, but mine is an Australian - Optus. Would it work in the same way using the following firmware, given the same PIT file you mentioned ?
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/28984/I9305XXUENC2_I9305OPSENC3_OPS/

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jonathan.alvarez.castillo said:
Thanks for replying , I definitely will give it a go. :good:
By the way I notice you give me a link to New Zealand - Vodaphone Firmaware, but mine is an Australian - Optus. Would it work in the same way using the following firmware, given the same PIT file you mentioned ?
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/28984/I9305XXUENC2_I9305OPSENC3_OPS/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it doesn't matter, Except New Zealand firmware is newer and Android 4.4.4 Kit Kat while Optus firmware is Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. If you already downloaded the Optus firmware then don't waste your time downloading the NZ firmware. See if you can boot your phone after re-partitioning with .pit file

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kamalmawa said:
Yeah it doesn't matter, Except New Zealand firmware is newer and Android 4.4.4 Kit Kat while Optus firmware is Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. If you already downloaded the Optus firmware then don't waste your time downloading the NZ firmware. See if you can boot your phone after re-partitioning with .pit file
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried with the .pit file and Optus Firmware I9305XXUENC2_I9305OPSENC3_OPS, also
I9305TDVUENC1_I9305TXSAEND2_XSA , ticked Re-partition and even Nand Erase all (3 combination), and the result was :
<ID:0/016> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> I9305TDVUENC1_I9305TXSAEND2_I9305TDVUENC1_HOME.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/016> Odin engine v(ID:3.1005)..
<ID:0/016> File analysis..
<ID:0/016> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/016> Initialzation..
<ID:0/016> Set PIT file..
<ID:0/016> DO NOT TURN OFF TARGET!!
<ID:0/016> FAIL!
<ID:0/016>
<ID:0/016> Re-Partition operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)
Not too much luck

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And without selecting the pit file , I got:
<ID:0/016> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> I9305TDVUEMK4_I9305TXSAENB1_I9305TDVUEMK2_HOME.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/016> Odin engine v(ID:3.1005)..
<ID:0/016> File analysis..
<ID:0/016> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/016> Initialzation..
<ID:0/016> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/016> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/016> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/016> sboot.bin
<ID:0/016> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/016> FAIL!
<ID:0/016>
<ID:0/016> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

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Give it a another go with old version of Odin 3.07 attached below, which is the last version I used with my S3. Try it with and without .pit . I'm afraid I can't think of anything other than hardware fault if it still fails after that. Also make sure Kies not running on background and Samsung USB drivers are installed. Good luck

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kamalmawa said:
. I'm afraid I can't think of anything other than hardware fault if it still fails after that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not taking it...
:crying: RIP my good old GT-I9305.
Ohhh just remember, is there a way to do the same with an SD card?, I mean not using Oding?
Perhaps I could bypass the issue and install from the inside.

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jonathan.alvarez.castillo said:
It's not taking it...
:crying: RIP my good old GT-I9305.
Ohhh just remember, is there a way to do the same with an SD card?, I mean not using Oding?
Perhaps I could bypass the issue and install from the inside.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could try.. But You need a custom recovery first such as CWM or TWRP.. Good luck

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Well, all efforts were made to save the good old S3, RIP GT-i9305.
We had good times but you departed too early.
Kamalmawa thanks for your efforts.
AAAAND now I have a shiny new S5 $40 plan, 1 GB data. not too bad