So, here's a little back story for my frustration.
I asked for the G-tablet for X-mas because of the hardware, and I didn't actually receive the present until just a few hours ago. My PC is refusing to boot Linux at all, so i'm stuck on Win 7, my Samsung Intercept is refusing to root, so no custom rom there... and now I think I broke my G-Tablet.
(I rooted/flashed a ROM on the Vibrant, G1 and mt3g[several times] before this)
I was looking for how to install the custom ROM for the last few days anticipating today, I read Android Police's Guide (it won't let me post the link) several times before actually having the tablet, and I thought I had it down. After installing CW Recovery, I tried booting into recovery mode, which didn't work. It got up to the caution symbol and rebooted. So i figured it could be a boot problem.
I installed ROM Manager because of the useful "boot to recovery" button, but that lead me to the same problem. I looked at all the supported devices on the website and it was listed, but when I tried to flash the ROM inside of ROM Manager, it asked me to confirm if it was a Vega. I was a bit confused with what to do and decided to click accept anyways.
It said it was booting into recovery to complete the process but didn't, so in about a minute, I decided to shut down and boot into recovery myself, and it didn't help. It just cycles though the first two splash screens.
I don't know what to do. =(
Can I somehow hard reset it or something to start over?
mr.frankm said:
So, here's a little back story for my frustration.
I asked for the G-tablet for X-mas because of the hardware, and I didn't actually receive the present until just a few hours ago. My PC is refusing to boot Linux at all, so i'm stuck on Win 7, my Samsung Intercept is refusing to root, so no custom rom there... and now I think I broke my G-Tablet.
(I rooted/flashed a ROM on the Vibrant, G1 and mt3g[several times] before this)
I was looking for how to install the custom ROM for the last few days anticipating today, I read Android Police's Guide (it won't let me post the link) several times before actually having the tablet, and I thought I had it down. After installing CW Recovery, I tried booting into recovery mode, which didn't work. It got up to the caution symbol and rebooted. So i figured it could be a boot problem.
I installed ROM Manager because of the useful "boot to recovery" button, but that lead me to the same problem. I looked at all the supported devices on the website and it was listed, but when I tried to flash the ROM inside of ROM Manager, it asked me to confirm if it was a Vega. I was a bit confused with what to do and decided to click accept anyways.
It said it was booting into recovery to complete the process but didn't, so in about a minute, I decided to shut down and boot into recovery myself, and it didn't help. It just cycles though the first two splash screens.
I don't know what to do. =(
Can I somehow hard reset it or something to start over?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you still boot into your main ROM or not? IF so, just reinstall recovery - Clockwork Mod 0.8 works, I don't know about later versions or ROM Manager, I don't trust them, based on what I see on the forums.
If you can't boot into recovery OR boot normally, then you have to use APX mode and nvflash to reflash your G Tablet. That completely wipes and rewrites everything on the tablet.
EDIT: If indeed it sounds like clockwork isn't installed and stock recovery is still working, see the instructions in the next post to install clockwork mod 0.8. No need to resort to nvflash.
Step 1.
Download ClockworkMod v08 (This version has been found to work best...the newer version causes some issues with some ROMs.)
The file needed is cwmod_v08.zip at http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=458883&d=1291787239
Step 2.
Unzip the downloaded file to your microSD card. After unzipping, your microSD card should contain a folder called recovery, and a file named update.zip. (This cannot be done using the internal memory with this download.)
Step 3.
Turn off your device.
Step 4.
Press the power button and the Volume+ button at the same time and release them when the Viewsonic splash screen pops up. You should see "Detect a recovery key pressed" pop up in the upper left corner of the screen.
Step 5.
Watch it install. Your tablet will reboot when installation is complete. And you can access the bootloader by booting the device holding the power and volume+ buttons.
mr.frankm said:
So, here's a little back story for my frustration.
I asked for the G-tablet for X-mas because of the hardware, and I didn't actually receive the present until just a few hours ago. My PC is refusing to boot Linux at all, so i'm stuck on Win 7, my Samsung Intercept is refusing to root, so no custom rom there... and now I think I broke my G-Tablet.
(I rooted/flashed a ROM on the Vibrant, G1 and mt3g[several times] before this)
I was looking for how to install the custom ROM for the last few days anticipating today, I read Android Police's Guide (it won't let me post the link) several times before actually having the tablet, and I thought I had it down. After installing CW Recovery, I tried booting into recovery mode, which didn't work. It got up to the caution symbol and rebooted. So i figured it could be a boot problem.
I installed ROM Manager because of the useful "boot to recovery" button, but that lead me to the same problem. I looked at all the supported devices on the website and it was listed, but when I tried to flash the ROM inside of ROM Manager, it asked me to confirm if it was a Vega. I was a bit confused with what to do and decided to click accept anyways.
It said it was booting into recovery to complete the process but didn't, so in about a minute, I decided to shut down and boot into recovery myself, and it didn't help. It just cycles though the first two splash screens.
I don't know what to do. =(
Can I somehow hard reset it or something to start over?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could become a professional gadget breaker with all the broken stuff you have
Clockwork never got installed if you are seeing the ! and then it reboots. I would not fool with rom manager, or any of the other stuff. Your tablet is NOT a Vega. The vega rom is used as a base to build stuff for the G tablet but it is not the same.
Get clockwork installed. You need to find Clockwork.8 ... You will have an update.zip file, and a recovery folder with a command file inside it. You can install it from the internal sdcard, or an external. You just need to look at the command file with a text editor like notepad and see if it lists sdcard, or sdcard2. If you want to install from internal, sdcard.. From external, sdcard2. The command file does not have an extension. If you do not have one in your clockwork package then download one of the other roms. Most of them will have it. Or even the stock rom package. They are all the same.
Go to SDX and we'll help you with the Intercept. Follow the info hear and the G will be rockin.
webosb said:
Step 1.
Download ClockworkMod v08 (This version has been found to work best...the newer version causes some issues with some ROMs.)
The file needed is cwmod_v08.zip at http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=458883&d=1291787239
Step 2.
Unzip the downloaded file to your microSD card. After unzipping, your microSD card should contain a folder called recovery, and a file named update.zip. (This cannot be done using the internal memory with this download.)
Step 3.
Turn off your device.
Step 4.
Press the power button and the Volume+ button at the same time and release them when the Viewsonic splash screen pops up. You should see "Detect a recovery key pressed" pop up in the upper left corner of the screen.
Step 5.
Watch it install. Your tablet will reboot when installation is complete. And you can access the bootloader by booting the device holding the power and volume+ buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure I wrote that... I don't care that your reposting it...just link where you got it from next time.
Anywho, keep in mind that it's nearly impossible to completely brick these things. Follow this guide, step by step, from start to finish. You will need a microSD card with a way to get files onto it (microSD slot on computer/SD slot with microSD -> SD adapter)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865245
But that's the problem, I can't boot. This is the only thing I've actually broke. =/
I press Vol + and Power, I get the "detect a recovery key pressed", the android screen comes up, and the I get the Yield Sign for about 2 seconds before the boot cycle resets.
I can't get into anything. at all. I thought I was following a propper set of instuctions I'll be glad to follow @scsione889's guide here on XDA, but atm, i can't.
mr.frankm said:
But that's the problem, I can't boot. This is the only thing I've actually broke. =/
I press Vol + and Power, I get the "detect a recovery key pressed", the android screen comes up, and the I get the Yield Sign for about 2 seconds before the boot cycle resets.
I can't get into anything. at all. I thought I was following a propper set of instuctions I'll be glad to follow @scsione889's guide here on XDA, but atm, i can't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That yield sign is part of the stock recovery, you should still be able to install clockworkmod from microSD. Try it.
mr.frankm said:
But that's the problem, I can't boot. This is the only thing I've actually broke. =/
I press Vol + and Power, I get the "detect a recovery key pressed", the android screen comes up, and the I get the Yield Sign for about 2 seconds before the boot cycle resets.
I can't get into anything. at all. I thought I was following a propper set of instuctions I'll be glad to follow @scsione889's guide here on XDA, but atm, i can't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you really have managed to mess up recovery.. You can use Nvflash to get all the way back to stock. Just use caution.. The only 2 tablets I know of that may have actually been completely bricked have been from folks that ran the incorrect batch file in Nvflash... It is really simple to use though... Guide is here...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=861950&highlight=nvflash
scsione889 said:
That yield sign is part of the stock recovery, you should still be able to install clockworkmod from microSD. Try it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I got it to recognize it, I didn't take recovery and update.zip out of the cwrecovery folder so it didn't work before. I just got it to "unpackage" for a second. but the same boot cycle happened.
I have to run out now for a bit, I'll try the flash later. Thanks for the help so far.
As mentioned before you need a microSD to put the CM recovery on. It also needs to be the .8version of clockwork. AndroidPolice is alright but you really should stick to the xda forums for this kinda thing. It only took me 5 mins to flash clockwork and get the VEGAn build up and running. I wish you the best of luck with your tab. It really is a nifty device....once you're running a custom ROM lol.
Edit: you can hard reset...unfortunately viewsonic failed to make a hole in the case to be able to reach it
Sent from my VEGAn G-Tab
Go figure, nvflash won't work because the APX driver won't install and the SDK won't install either because it doesn't recognize the JDK as installed although I installed it like 5 times.
I am a very disgruntled Ubuntu user stuck on Win 7 and I will not take it anymore.
I just finished backing up a few files and i'm blowing it up...
Happy New Years everybody, and I'll let you know what happens next year!
mr.frankm said:
Go figure, nvflash won't work because the APX driver won't install and the SDK won't install either because it doesn't recognize the JDK as installed although I installed it like 5 times.
I am a very disgruntled Ubuntu user stuck on Win 7 and I will not take it anymore.
I just finished backing up a few files and i'm blowing it up...
Happy New Years everybody, and I'll let you know what happens next year!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Happy New Year! I hope!
Hello,
I flashed my GTab with TNT Lite a while back, but I was going to switch to Vegan. When I try to go into recovery mode, I get the message in the corner "Recovery Key Detected" but it won't go into CWM. I've got the update.zip and Recovery folder (with command file) in the root of my sdcard. I opened the command file to check the file path, and it's to the internal sdcard, not sdcard2. I even put those files on sdcard2 just in case, but still no go.
Any ideas? CWM 0.8 worked like a charm the first time around when I flashed to TNT Lite 4.2.1, but I just can't get into recovery anymore. I redownloaded it, and erased and put new versions of the update.zip and recovery folder on the sdcard (when the existing ones didn't work), just in case, but still no go.
I can still boot into my ROM, so I also tried "Reboot into recovery mode" from CWM inside the app, but it reboots to the Viewsonic splash screen and hangs there.
Any help would really be appreciated.
Hey, so I ran into the same problem as the first post (with the recycling boot screens). I flashed TNT-Lite onto it, and it worked for a few hours before the problem happened. I NVFlashed it, and at the very least I know the recovery screen is different than after I flashed it, but the yield sign only lasts a few seconds and then the problem persists.
Does NVFlash actually unroot? If so, can I return this to viewsonic and get a replacement? If not, am I screwed?
I got mine running again that same day. I also figured out that the reason Clockwork 0.8 wouldn't work anymore, was because I installed the market version in TNTLite.
But if you follow the NVFlash instructions, start to finish, it should get you back into the original stock ROM. And then from there, you can put Clockwork 0.8 back in place, and re-flash with whatever you want. With the G-tablet, it seems like you gotta go back to stock every time you wanna re-flash, or even upgrade from say TNTLite 4.2.x to 5.x, etc.
Here's the post I followed to NVFlash it properly:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=861950
Is that what you did? It should have brought you back to stock.
-Timm
HTC EVO 4g - Fresh EVO 3.5
Viewsonic G-tablet - Vegan 7-Ginger
mr.frankm said:
Go figure, nvflash won't work because the APX driver won't install and the SDK won't install either because it doesn't recognize the JDK as installed although I installed it like 5 times.
I am a very disgruntled Ubuntu user stuck on Win 7 and I will not take it anymore.
I just finished backing up a few files and i'm blowing it up...
Happy New Years everybody, and I'll let you know what happens next year!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To NVFlash using windows 7 shouldn't be a problem I actually used it today and I'm running windows 7 home edition maybe you need to update your PC and try a linux live CD to run linux on a PC it has more drivers available for equipment and saves someone who doesn't understand linux alot of headache as it uses the CD as your hard disk and it sets it self up just make your system boot from the CD first.
Sent from my Bottle of Smoke using XDA Premium App
TimmSpinn said:
I got mine running again that same day. I also figured out that the reason Clockwork 0.8 wouldn't work anymore, was because I installed the market version in TNTLite.
But if you follow the NVFlash instructions, start to finish, it should get you back into the original stock ROM. And then from there, you can put Clockwork 0.8 back in place, and re-flash with whatever you want. With the G-tablet, it seems like you gotta go back to stock every time you wanna re-flash, or even upgrade from say TNTLite 4.2.x to 5.x, etc.
Here's the post I followed to NVFlash it properly:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=861950
Is that what you did? It should have brought you back to stock.
-Timm
HTC EVO 4g - Fresh EVO 3.5
Viewsonic G-tablet - Vegan 7-Ginger
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really it depends on your boot loader branch and its good practice to ensure that everything installs as the Rom develoer intends.
Sent from my Bottle of Smoke using XDA Premium App
While I was checking my emails i rediscovered this thread... lol
I'm a linux user, I got ubuntu 10.10 on my laptop running, again, months ago.
But now I don't touch it and use my tablet or phone 98% of the time. (this is 2% other on an XP desktop)
I also share the same recovery mode issues, but after reading the rest of this topic, I think I might feel adventurous enough to try that honeycomb... >.>
stuck cant get into cwm and is stuck on the tapntap logo
after i nvflash the tablet it wont boot. it gets stuck on the tapntap logo after a few seconds it turns the screen black. and even cant get into cwn it just get stuck on the view sonic logo. i need help
Could I have bricked my tablet? Or could there be a way to recover?
As for what it's current state is; (I am sure is is stuck in the reboot loop) When powering on the tablet, it displays "Android", goes dark, and repeats. Though this is a change from when I was trying to fix it on my own. Before it looping, it would show the "Android" screen and just sit there.
No comes what I think the REAL issue is... Running 'ClockworkMod v2.5.1.1-bekit-0.8', I am unable to mount an external SDcard or mount the USB Storage(text in menu implies to me it is the USB cable to computer).
So other than the images already on the tablet, I seem to be unable to get a new image into it. And of course the images on it don't do any good.
Tech1381 said:
Could I have bricked my tablet? Or could there be a way to recover?
As for what it's current state is; (I am sure is is stuck in the reboot loop) When powering on the tablet, it displays "Android", goes dark, and repeats. Though this is a change from when I was trying to fix it on my own. Before it looping, it would show the "Android" screen and just sit there.
No comes what I think the REAL issue is... Running 'ClockworkMod v2.5.1.1-bekit-0.8', I am unable to mount an external SDcard or mount the USB Storage(text in menu implies to me it is the USB cable to computer).
So other than the images already on the tablet, I seem to be unable to get a new image into it. And of course the images on it don't do any good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most definitely not bricked. I've recovered from a much worse situation (bootloader wouldn't even budge - couldn't boot into recovery or regular at all).
Since you are able to boot into recovery, there's probably a way to get things working without resorting to nvflash (we'll get to that in a second - nvflash is the failsafe mechanism, and you should be able to re-nvflash your tablet back to its original state if all else fails).
Here's roughly what I'd try in order:
Option 1) Figure out why you are unable to mount as USB in recovery. I've actually never heard of this problem. Are you using the right cable - i.e. a working USB-to-mini-USB cable (I don't think this works at all with the full sized USB port under the latch cover). Have you tried it with another computer - perhaps there's a driver issue on your PC?
Option 2) If for some reason you really aren't able to get USB mounting working in recovery (I'm skeptical - again, I've never heard of that problem - unless you really did flash a bum recovery image or something - but seems unlikely), then I'd see if you can get ADB working properly when you are in recovery mode. Search around and read about setting up ADB if you haven't already - just a matter of getting the right driver installed on your PC and installing the binary stuff (either from the full Android SDK or one of the packages that just has the ADB stuff floating around). Search the forums, you'll find some references to help you get this working and download the right stuff.
If ADB works, you can always use "adb push filetoflash.zip /sdcard/filetoflash.zip" to put a new file on your internal SD card area and flash it.
Option 3) You can always use nvflash. I'm not going to write up a tutorial on it here - search the forums for nvflash, there are several HOWTOs. Look for the stuff Roebeet posted. You'll need to install the APX driver on your PC first before this will work, and Roebeet's posts don't explain how to install it on Windows, so you'll need to search separately for that. I have gotten this to work before, but it's a pain and I only recommend it if your recovery image is truly trashed or your bootloader is malfunctioning as mine was. In other words, don't bother until you've exhausted the first two options.
So in short - you are in a pain-in-the-ass situation, but you have by no means bricked your tablet - it is very, very far from bricked. Give us more info on *exactly* what happens when you try to "mount as USB" while you have your mini USB cable plugged into the G Tablet - do you see a drive appear on your PC? Are you running a Windows box? Mac? Linux? Have you verified that a USB keychain drive works fine with your PC but the G Tablet won't mount? Basically we need some more info to guide you in your search.
Ok finally had some free time from cleaning/packing and house hunting to try fixing the tablet.
Good news is that I was able to mount the USB. I didn't notice the cat nibble on my cable... So once I dug a spare out, I was able to copy a TnT-Lite image (still had on computer) onto it right quick. Restarted and it installed the image.
So now it has TnT-Lite, though it is weirdly stuck on the setup wizard. It tells me to touch the android to continue and shows an animation of a hand touching the android. But when I touch the android, it turns white and thats it. Also I can change the language to UK or American English. Plus when I press the menu button, I can go to wireless settings, as in cell phone wireless settings. Lastly, I can make an emergency call. So new worthless image. YEY!
I next tried to reboot back into ClockworkMod to see what I could possibly do to get by the lack of continuation in the TnT. But the image install did something interesting. When trying to enter Clockwork Mod, here is what it does from powerup: Displays "Detect a recovery key pressed" then on the next line "Booting recovery kernel image", blanks the screen and then displays "Android" for a few seconds, lastly switching to an exclamation mark in a triangle and rebooting.
So how do I go about screwing it up more?
Tech1381 said:
I next tried to reboot back into ClockworkMod to see what I could possibly do to get by the lack of continuation in the TnT. But the image install did something interesting. When trying to enter Clockwork Mod, here is what it does from powerup: Displays "Detect a recovery key pressed" then on the next line "Booting recovery kernel image", blanks the screen and then displays "Android" for a few seconds, lastly switching to an exclamation mark in a triangle and rebooting.
)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CWM is not installed
flash the latest firmware using stock recovery
read read read
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=892090
It almost sounds like you now have stock recovery in your Gtab.
If that's the case, then maybe copy a stock TNT update.zip onto the external Sdcard, and create recovery/command file on there with the string for SDCARD2, then reboot w power and volume+. If you do have stock recovery, that should flash it back to stick TNT. Try Stock TNT 3452, since that'll also flash a stock recovery for sure.
Jim
Looks like Brian and I crossposted each other .
For the recovery/command file on the external SDCARD, put the following text in it:
--update_package=SDCARD2:/update.zip
NOTE THE 2 DASHES AT BEGINNING OF THE LINE...
Jim
No really, I've Bricked It
So, G Tablet arrived about 5 hours ago. I got it rooted and tried to install CMod 8.1. Things went wrong but I'm not sure what. Anyway, the last thing that I did was to boot in Recovery and then I selected, Format System. Now, when the tablet is turned on, in the top right corner, I have a tiny red message, Magic Value Mismatch. I get this message whether the SD card is installed or not.
I know this information is a little vague but as a Nod, it's all that I have.
f3justusc said:
So, G Tablet arrived about 5 hours ago. I got it rooted and tried to install CMod 8.1. Things went wrong but I'm not sure what. Anyway, the last thing that I did was to boot in Recovery and then I selected, Format System. Now, when the tablet is turned on, in the top right corner, I have a tiny red message, Magic Value Mismatch. I get this message whether the SD card is installed or not.
I know this information is a little vague but as a Nod, it's all that I have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm freaking out, I think I bricked it...
I'm only getting the black android screen, I can't seem to mount USB, suggestions?
Ive been stuck right where you are a few times, not to big of a deal, just NVFlash back and start over. I am assuming you are getting the black screen you mention is the APX mode one you get by starting your tab by pressing vol down and power at the same time.
I've followed these instructions to the tee but have not had any luck with getting this to work. The flash always just results in my phone getting stuck on the "recovery booting.... recover is not seandroid enforcing - Set Warranty Bit : Recovery" screen. Odin reads as "PASS!" but my phone seems like it's just stuck. I've scoured over dozens of forums searching for answers but what works for others just doesn't seem to be working for me.
The instructions all seems so clear, and multiple forums' instructions gave me confidence that this would work no problem as long as I followed the instructions precisely. I guess that wasn't the case. I can't afford a new phone right now, but I'm sure my phone isn't completely bricked. There's gotta be a way! Can you please help me, xda community?
EDIT: I forgot to mention that I also tried the "uncheck the Auto Reboot option" method, and I'm a little confused about the last sentence. See below:
NOTE: Sometimes the device does *not* boot into recovery mode and root your device. Just do the entire procedure again if this happens. If it still will not install root and such, make sure that in Odin "Auto Reboot" is not checked. Then after flashing, pull the battery, and boot with VolUp+Home+Power button to boot into recovery manually. This will start the install process.
I'm confused about the "This will start the install process" sentence. I flash, let it finish until Odin says "Pass!", remove the battery, boot into recovery, and then I have two options from there - I can either go into download mode again, or I can start the phone normally. Starting the phone normally just brings me right to the recovery mode which gets stuck there indefinitely. I've left it there for 15+ minutes and it still just stays stuck there.
EDIT 2: Exactly how long is it suppose to take to boot up after it's been flashed?
EDIT 3: IT WORKS. So, If you just sort of hold down all the buttons at the same time, the phone will restart a few times and eventually bring you into the TWRP menu. This is what I was unaware of before. I'm not exactly sure what the specific method or timing is for that, but just tinker with holding all the buttons, and I think you can let go when you see little blue letters on the top left that says recovery or something. Of course, being able to access the TWRP menu means you must first have flashed the TWRP thing, which I did using Odin. Just download the latest TWRP .tar file and flash it with Odin.
EDIT4: SUCCESS! I am now successfully rooted! I reflashed the twrp-3.0.2-2-klte.img.tar and then I was able to access the actual GUI. I guess what I had before was some super stripped down version of the TWRP that only gave me access to a command-line looking interphase in recovery mode, with very limited options. So there you go, if you find yourself looking at pictures on forums of a supposed TWRP with an actual GUI you can navigate, that's because it does exist! Download the one I just mentioned, flash it using Odin, and boot it up by holding VolumeUP, Home, and Power. From there you can flash Zip files, just put the zip files into an sd card. I put my zip right into the sd card, not even in it's own folder or anything.
that version (8/26/2016) does not work at all for g900t, Maybe Chainfire wants to shut down CF_auto_root method.
you need to try the previous version (02/28/2016), I doubt you can find the old version in their website, Try google it on internet.
goog888 said:
that version (8/26/2016) does not work at all for g900t, Maybe Chainfire wants to shut down CF_auto_root method.
you need to try the previous version (02/28/2016), I doubt you can find the old version in their website, Try google it on internet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, thanks for the info! Funny enough, while I was at Best Buy last night, I decided "what the heck" and asked a Geek Squad guy about my phone, and told him how I attempted to root and now it wouldn't boot, etc. He took my phone, and just sort of held all the buttons together and it restarted a few times, and he just kept fidgeting with it until eventually it came up to the TWRP recovery menu! So, I did a factory reset and started up the phone. It is currently on 5.1.1. I have since been able to get myself into the TWRP recovery menu by fidgeting like he did, even though I'm not entirely sure what exactly the timing or button combos are. The Geek Squad guy said he just held down ALL buttons, even VolumeUp and VolumeDown at the same time. So whatever, TWRP menu IS accessible finally.
At this point, I'd prefer to flash CM13 to it, and apparently I can just put the CM13 file on my phone storage/sd card, and then flash it through the TWRP recovery menu. But since I factory reset my phone back to 5.1.1, should I first update my radios? A techy friend of mine introduced me to a new fear - that if you flash a ROM that is incompatible with an older radio, it could "hard brick" my device. So now that's where I'm at. I want to flash a rom to gain simple root access, but don't want to risk bricking my device.
Here is my phone's information:
SM-G900T
Android 5.1.1
Baseband version G900TUVU1FOG6
Build Number LMY47X.G900TUVU1FOG6
I don't know how to mark this solved, but it is, as described my my 4th edit in the original post.