So I am stuck in a bootloop and no obvious way out.
US Galaxy Player 4.0
Rooted and been on custom roms for a year now. Problem started after upgraded to latest CM. Tried going back to stock but no luck in resolution. I am able to get into recovery and download mode and flash with odin. I can run adb shell. Just won't boot. The error message I get is as follows:
"E:format_volume: rfs format failed on /dev/block/mmcblk0p2"
In my adb shell I can see that there is no "mmcblk0..." files at all.
I have tried to go through the full stock recovery and used the PIT files and the stock rom through odin. I get the same boot loop and cant get the data to wipe due to the same error. I can flash anything through Odin easily without fail but everything is stuck in boot loop. I just don't seem to have /data to wipe.
There are some other posts around which indicate the Partition may be screwed but I am not sure what it is supposed to look like or the command line syntax to use to correct.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1468213&highlight=wipe+data+shell
I have several nandroid backups on an external location but now I can't get the external card to recognize in CWM so haven't been able to try to revert backwards that way. I have backup of efs and all other stuff just can't seem to get to it.
Anybody with Ideas or direct help are greatly appreciated
map1122 said:
So I am stuck in a bootloop and no obvious way out.
US Galaxy Player 4.0
Rooted and been on custom roms for a year now. Problem started after upgraded to latest CM. Tried going back to stock but no luck in resolution. I am able to get into recovery and download mode and flash with odin. I can run adb shell. Just won't boot. The error message I get is as follows:
"E:format_volume: rfs format failed on /dev/block/mmcblk0p2"
In my adb shell I can see that there is no "mmcblk0..." files at all.
I have tried to go through the full stock recovery and used the PIT files and the stock rom through odin. I get the same boot loop and cant get the data to wipe due to the same error. I can flash anything through Odin easily without fail but everything is stuck in boot loop. I just don't seem to have /data to wipe.
There are some other posts around which indicate the Partition may be screwed but I am not sure what it is supposed to look like or the command line syntax to use to correct.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1468213&highlight=wipe+data+shell
I have several nandroid backups on an external location but now I can't get the external card to recognize in CWM so haven't been able to try to revert backwards that way. I have backup of efs and all other stuff just can't seem to get to it.
Anybody with Ideas or direct help are greatly appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is how we fix that with the Player 5 : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2398120&page=4 (read the whole thread from page 4 on)
You'll need to do pretty much the same thing but you need an image from the Player 4.:good:
recrtora above
Thank you Meticulus. I see that you were involved in the thread I referenced too and this is where I figured I needed to go. However this is where I get tripped up. The main issue being that I don't have an image from a 4.0 US player. The thread I linked to had the Intl Player shown... There were even a few requests for the US version later on in the thread.
So- Anyone want to share their US player working partition table?
Is this information contained in the .PIT files somehow?
anyway to retrieve this?
map1122 said:
Thank you Meticulus. I see that you were involved in the thread I referenced too and this is where I figured I needed to go. However this is where I get tripped up. The main issue being that I don't have an image from a 4.0 US player. The thread I linked to had the Intl Player shown... There were even a few requests for the US version later on in the thread.
So- Anyone want to share their US player working partition table?
Is this information contained in the .PIT files somehow?
anyway to retrieve this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know that's the only way to do it is with the picture.... Be patient, I'm sure someone will post an image...
@zaclimon ???
Needed: out put of fdisk on mmcblk0
Code:
adb root
adb shell
fdisk -l /dev/block/mmcblk0
Then post a screenshot, or just the output.:highfive:
Meticulus said:
As far as I know that's the only way to do it is with the picture.... Be patient, I'm sure someone will post an image...
@zaclimon ???
Needed: out put of fdisk on mmcblk0
Code:
adb root
adb shell
fdisk -l /dev/block/mmcblk0
Then post a screenshot, or just the output.:highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here it is, do note that it's a intl device though too.
zaclimon said:
Here it is, do note that it's a intl device though too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's definately not what I expected... to see from the 4.0's partition table...
Meticulus said:
That's definately not what I expected... to see from the 4.0's partition table...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We only have mmc blocks for the actual storage of the device. The system partition and others are pure raw nand (which is why we use mtd and yaffs2)
Envoyé depuis mon Nexus 7 avec Tapatalk 4
zaclimon said:
We only have mmc blocks for the actual storage of the device. The system partition and others are pure raw nand (which is why we use mtd and yaffs2)
Envoyé depuis mon Nexus 7 avec Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So then, will recreating these partitions solve the OP problem?
Meticulus said:
So then, will recreating these partitions solve the OP problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most probably because it will only touch /data and internal storage. Actually this is the first time I see a problem like this for the 4.0.
Envoyé depuis mon Nexus 7 avec Tapatalk 4
So any confidence in the international vs the US version being the same?
Now the next thing is I used the command fdisk to start trying to recreate the partitions using the post instructions you recommended. I did not get an option for "new". I attached the output from the shell command. Tried looking up shell command references on fdisk but is not helping me here. Is it because there is not mmcblk0 at all? I don't seem to be getting into the command mode of the fdisk command.
If I use fdisk -l /dev/block/mmcblk0 I get "no such file or directory"
map1122 said:
So any confidence in the international vs the US version being the same?
Now the next thing is I used the command fdisk to start trying to recreate the partitions using the post instructions you recommended. I did not get an option for "new". I attached the output from the shell command. Tried looking up shell command references on fdisk but is not helping me here. Is it because there is not mmcblk0 at all? I don't seem to be getting into the command mode of the fdisk command.
If I use fdisk -l /dev/block/mmcblk0 I get "no such file or directory"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... Can post a list of /dev/block ?
Code:
adb shell
ls /dev/block
Here you go.
map1122 said:
Here you go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmmmm .... see if you can get here: /sys/bus/platform/devices/s3c-sdhci.0 and post the output
Like so?
map1122 said:
Like so?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes.... I'm not sure what's wrong but id recommend installing a full odin flashable rom...
Not sure what that would be for the 4.0..
Here is another place you can check /sys/bus/platform/devices/s3c-sdhci.0/mmc_host/mmc0/mmc0:0001/block/mmcblk0
Here is the output of that. No further.
I am already on fresh Odin flash. Several attempts actually. I have been able to flash back to Stock (and use PIT) files, access stock recovery. I did this first to think I could restore to OEM. Then flash the Terra-Silent kernel to obtain CWM and the IcyFusion Rom (did this again this morning so I could get adb to link). These are the only Odin flashable that I am aware of for the 4.0. Obviously nothing boots because the issues discussed here.
Thank you.
what does "partition SD Card" in the Advanced and Debugging menu in CWM do?
map1122 said:
Here is the output of that. No further.
I am already on fresh Odin flash. Several attempts actually. I have been able to flash back to Stock (and use PIT) files, access stock recovery. I did this first to think I could restore to OEM. Then flash the Terra-Silent kernel to obtain CWM and the IcyFusion Rom (did this again this morning so I could get adb to link). These are the only Odin flashable that I am aware of for the 4.0. Obviously nothing boots because the issues discussed here.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if those are "full" odin flashable roms.
Try here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1531850
Yes, that is the one I am using to revert to stock and additional PIT. I checked MD5 sums too.
Would this kind of thing be backed up in a nandroid?
map1122 said:
Yes, that is the one I am using to revert to stock and additional PIT. I checked MD5 sums too.
Would this kind of thing be backed up in a nandroid?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, It wouldn't be backed up in android...
I'm betting that the U.S. Odin ROM on that page is not a "full" recovery rom either... I'm downloading right now to check. If it isn't, we need to find out how safe it is to flash an INT version first then flash a USA over it.
On the 5.0, we can do that... and everything is OK but don't know about 4.0...
EDIT: Seem like the only difference is that INT has bootloaders and USA does not. That doesn't help us...
/*
* Your warranty is... still valid!
* I am not responsible for bricked devices, dead SD cards,
* thermonuclear war, or you getting fired because the alarm app failed.
* Please do some research yourself before asking or use anything on this thread.
* I do not offer private assistance via Telegram or any other social outside XDA.
*/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've noticed that some users, myself included, are reporting that Nandroid backups made from TWRP are not always reliable for restore the phone to a previous working state from a soft brick / bootloop scenario.
PartitionsBackupperThat's where this tool come in. It's a simple batch script that uses adb shell and fastboot commands to backup the images of all partitions present in /dev/block with dd. All without root.
Requirements:
Unlocked bootloader
TWRP recovery
ADB & Fastboot drivers + MTK VCOM drivers
Tested and built only for the OnePlus Nord 2
Changelog:
1.1
Bugfixes
1.2
Code enhancement
1.3
Added missing partitions
Code enhancement
1.4
Added log file generation
Vbmeta will flash for last
1.5
Enhanced log generation
Enhanced vbmeta flashing
1.6
Bugfixes
Fixed fastboot/bootloader flash process
1.7
Code enhancement
Fixed boot_para flash process
1.8
Added adb/fastboot flash issues detection
1.8.1
Added linux version!
Not working:
This tool will still not backup the system and my_* partitions. A fix is coming up.
This tool WILL NOT backup the userdata partition.
Because it would backup the entire internal storage along with it.
I recommend to still do a Nandroid backup with TWRP of just the data partition if you wish to back it up.
DOWNLOAD
↓ attached file ↓
That is a really cool tool / script you made! I will test it out as soon as my motherboard (!) is replaced by OnePlus. THANK YOU!
Thank you
Why my CMD screen closes immediately after entering any options? @Raygen
pankspoo said:
Why my CMD screen closes immediately after entering any options? @Raygen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
whats in the PBlog file?
Just uploaded a new version with better logs.
pankspoo said:
Why my CMD screen closes immediately after entering any options? @Raygen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try with the new version and paste here what's written in the PBlog.txt file, as said
Worked like a charm for my OPN25G !
What about a Linux version? Are you working on that?
Cheers
Paolo
ilpolpi65 said:
What about a Linux version? Are you working on that?
Cheers
Paolo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've added an .sh version, give it try
Report if you encounter any bugs
Raygen said:
I've added an .sh version, give it try
Report if you encounter any bugs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not tested restoring the files, but the backup with the .sh seems to be working fine. Very clean code and easy to understand btw, thank you!
Hi Raygen. I tried the PartitionsBackupper app and I don't know what I'm doing wrong but I'm not backing up anything. I run the .bat command under adb commands and I even check that I have access to my smartphone with the adb devices command but nothing. I have the menu I chose option 1 "backup". It even offers me to transfer the backup to PC but the file is empty.
For this application to work do you have to be in fastboot mode? With TWRP ???
Any idea? In the logfile I just have the info 0% backup... Last info I have TWRP but no longer Magisk because fed up with having bootloops with this Nord 2 which does not support Root.
Quercy said:
Hi Raygen. I tried the PartitionsBackupper app and I don't know what I'm doing wrong but I'm not backing up anything. I run the .bat command under adb commands and I even check that I have access to my smartphone with the adb devices command but nothing. I have the menu I chose option 1 "backup". It even offers me to transfer the backup to PC but the file is empty.
For this application to work do you have to be in fastboot mode? With TWRP ???
Any idea? In the logfile I just have the info 0% backup... Last info I have TWRP but no longer Magisk because fed up with having bootloops with this Nord 2 which does not support Root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, are you still encountering this issue? If so, can you attach the log file?
Thanks for this tool!!
Hello !
Got a problem rn with the tool sadly, here's the PBlog
"Logging started...
Main menu
restore
Please put the "PartitionsBackup" folder with all the partition images in the same directory of this script.
exit 1 "
Thanks for your help !
Edit : How stupid, hving the .sh file in the repertory is the problem. Simply delete it if ur on windows and it will work !
i have done the same thing but now when i am trying to boot to system it is showing only android logo ....what to do now pls help me
Assume since this is such an old thread, the dev is no longer monitoring it??
I need some help with it.
Thanks
Boowho 1234 said:
Assume since this is such an old thread, the dev is no longer monitoring it??
I need some help with it.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
State your issue
Raygen said:
State your issue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First thanks for the reply..... I've studied your code extensively and have figured out that my device throws an error saying "out of memory". It's a Pixel 3a and has no external SD card and only 64GB of main memory. I think I'm screwed.
Boowho 1234 said:
First thanks for the reply..... I've studied your code extensively and have figured out that my device throws an error saying "out of memory". It's a Pixel 3a and has no external SD card and only 64GB of main memory. I think I'm screwed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that's your issue. This tool is made and tested only for the OnePlus Nord 2.
It can technically work with other devices since it uses a pretty universal method for searching and copying the partitions, but I can't ensure it working or offer support in that case, since I can't test it or troubleshoot it with other devices.
Raygen said:
Well that's your issue. This tool is made and tested only for the OnePlus Nord 2.
It can technically work with other devices since it uses a pretty universal method for searching and copying the partitions, but I can't ensure it working or offer support in that case, since I can't test it or troubleshoot it with other devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Understand your response completely and did not expect you to fix it for me. I am modifying your code such that when it throws the error, I call your routine to transfer the files to the PC, then delete them from the device. Then return to the main thread and resume from the out of memory error. This should be all I need.
Once again I thank you for making the original .bat file script and for making it available to us.
BTW, I understand that Nandroid backups contain EVERYTHING; this would include things like settings made to apps, any data the dev may wish to hide from the user, etc. True??
Hi everyone and Happy New Year,
I am trying to open ROM_0 file created with SP Flash tool. I have tried ROM explorer 0.9.1, I have tried various option converting with simg2img and opening with 7zip but nothing has worked so far.
The file is about 100GB and it is a SP Flash tool backup of my userdata on which I have a lot of images which i need to save.
I was using Dot OS 5.2 general image and a message popped up about trying Android 12 and I have clicked on it just to get rid of it but I assume it has triggered a download. My phone crashed yesterday evening when I started the cmera app and once restarted it was in a boot loop mode stuck on the dot os logo.
So far I have tried various options unsuccessful - I have reflashed the image which I originally flashed, I have set the partitions active - a and b and reverted to the initial active one which was "a".
I have also flashed system.img (with the treble general image) but still it is in a boot loop mode.
I have just decided to flash back the super.img image from the stock and guess what - still stuck.
Flashed the stock boot.img again thinking there might be an issue with the kernel but that didn't help.
I understand that it is the case of fully flashing back the stock ROM which will lock the bootloader and delete all my userdata in order to have the phone back.
However the phone IS NOT important, the ONLY IMPORTANT thing are the images in the userdata.
I have created the backup of it straight after the boot loop appeared. Tried to read here on XDA but it is not clear what format is that file and how I can access the data on it.
Looked for a recovery partition but there is none. Potentially hidden as you can get into stock recovery via fastbootd. But the options there are only to wipe the partitions/reset.
The phone is Umidigi Bison Pro and I have been having all but troubles with it.
Any help greatly appreciated it.
Regards
s80_gad said:
Hi everyone and Happy New Year,
I am trying to open ROM_0 file created with SP Flash tool. I have tried ROM explorer 0.9.1, I have tried various option converting with simg2img and opening with 7zip but nothing has worked so far.
The file is about 100GB and it is a SP Flash tool backup of my userdata on which I have a lot of images which i need to save.
I was using Dot OS 5.2 general image and a message popped up about trying Android 12 and I have clicked on it just to get rid of it but I assume it has triggered a download. My phone crashed yesterday evening when I started the cmera app and once restarted it was in a boot loop mode stuck on the dot os logo.
So far I have tried various options unsuccessful - I have reflashed the image which I originally flashed, I have set the partitions active - a and b and reverted to the initial active one which was "a".
I have also flashed system.img (with the treble general image) but still it is in a boot loop mode.
I have just decided to flash back the super.img image from the stock and guess what - still stuck.
Flashed the stock boot.img again thinking there might be an issue with the kernel but that didn't help.
I understand that it is the case of fully flashing back the stock ROM which will lock the bootloader and delete all my userdata in order to have the phone back.
However the phone IS NOT important, the ONLY IMPORTANT thing are the images in the userdata.
I have created the backup of it straight after the boot loop appeared. Tried to read here on XDA but it is not clear what format is that file and how I can access the data on it.
Looked for a recovery partition but there is none. Potentially hidden as you can get into stock recovery via fastbootd. But the options there are only to wipe the partitions/reset.
The phone is Umidigi Bison Pro and I have been having all but troubles with it.
Any help greatly appreciated it.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May I'm wrong, but I guess that if you didn't give it an extension then the file doesn't have a format; when you make a backup of a partition using SP Flash tool you should give it an extension, for example userdata_backup.img will work, in some devices, for some partition the .bin extension is used.
And to restore the device to a working state without losing data you could flash the stock ROM unchecking the userdata partition and using Download only option won't re-lock your bootloader.
If actually your userdata was not overwritten you still can try a second attempt to preserve it using mtk-client, search for it in GitHub, also consider what I stated about re-flash your original ROM preserving the userdata partition.
Thanks SubwayChamp, I appreciate your comment.
I have tried .img, .bin, ext4 etc but cannot open it - I am not sure if there is another application that can convert it in a readable format or maybe if we can mount it and access the files.
I had the impression that if you flash the stock rom the bootloader is locked and you loose everything.
But thanks for your advice - I will flash everything apart from the userdata partition which is last in the order anyway. Should I select or deselect the preloader partition- will that make a difference?
Regards
Just flashed the full stock rom without the userdata partition - still stuck on the logo in a boot loop . I really need to open the userdata backup file from SP flash tool as I feel I have to do a full reset/wipe.
Any other suggestions about explorer for the sp flash dump file, please?
Regards
s80_gad said:
Just flashed the full stock rom without the userdata partition - still stuck on the logo in a boot loop . I really need to open the userdata backup file from SP flash tool as I feel I have to do a full reset/wipe.
Any other suggestions about explorer for the sp flash dump file, please?
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I didn't say to change the extension now and try it in various format, unfortunately I feel that if you didn't give you the extension at the time to make a backup then the file is unreadable, what I mean is that when you make the dump through SP Flash tool you have to give to the file a name and an extension, not letting it as is offered by SP Flash tool, for example you did see the name ROM_0 or similar, but you have to give it a name and an extension, in this case userdata_backup.img would work.
Did you check mtk-client?, you can read (dump) the userdata partition through this CLI tool, and after that you can restore it at any time.
Using the download option (only) you never re-lock your bootloader.
But wait a minute, keep in mind that your device is A/b, so you have to double-try all the things, for example, if you want to flash a specific partition like boot you have to be sure in which partition you are right now BUT unfortunately you don't know which partition is the working one, so better use fastboot to flash the missed partition, target to both slots.
And what about the option to get to a custom recovery? (I guess you had it previously to flash CR Droid) either taking a backup of userdata or re-flashing the same CR Droid that was functional previously.
Thanks SubwayChamp for your reply.
So I will try to dump the userdata again then - I still haven't touched it so I hope the partition and the data on it is fine.
I assume it is that mtkclient you are referring to. Will see if I can get some time today to try the live cd first as I am on Windows at this moment.
So my device is indeed A/B - the system is on "a" and I have flashed dot os using fastbootd and overwriting the system.img within the super.img. It worked fine for about 20 days until that crash (I only assume it is due to the update - nothing else has happened that could create trouble).
Also tried to set the b partition active but didn't help so switched back to "a".
Unfortunately there is no recovery partition, from what I learned the recovery is within the boot img. I have tried to load temporary unofficial twrp - fastboot boot twrp.img - and the first step is ok, but then it crashes. so no luck to load custom recovery even temporary in order to save the userdata on sdcard.
Tried to get to the contents trough adb shell but while some directories are listed, I get access denied to the userdata - I think maybe the links are broken?
I will try with the mtk to see if I can back it up - and what I'll do is I'll flash the full stock rom including the userdata and potentially will try to flash the old userdata through fastboot or sp flash or mtk.
TBH I don't understand why the phone is still in a bootloop - can't be only because I haven't cleared the userdata?
Regards
s80_gad said:
Thanks SubwayChamp for your reply.
So I will try to dump the userdata again then - I still haven't touched it so I hope the partition and the data on it is fine.
I assume it is that mtkclient you are referring to. Will see if I can get some time today to try the live cd first as I am on Windows at this moment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works on Windows though.
s80_gad said:
So my device is indeed A/B - the system is on "a" and I have flashed dot os using fastbootd and overwriting the system.img within the super.img. It worked fine for about 20 days until that crash (I only assume it is due to the update - nothing else has happened that could create trouble).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue was originated due to the lack of the other system files that also occupy this space; vendor, odm, product (may vary depending on the device), can be fixed flashing the super.img using fastbootd again.
s80_gad said:
Also tried to set the b partition active but didn't help so switched back to "a".
Unfortunately there is no recovery partition, from what I learned the recovery is within the boot img. I have tried to load temporary unofficial twrp - fastboot boot twrp.img - and the first step is ok, but then it crashes. so no luck to load custom recovery even temporary in order to save the userdata on sdcard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this device doesn't have a dedicated recovery partition, but it is placed in a tiny portion of the boot image (usually the ramdisk) you can try by flashing the TWRP image onto the boot partition (flashing, not booting only) then boot to it, do the stuff you need through TWRP, from there you could solve the bootloop. To can boot to Android again you should need to flash a boot image.
s80_gad said:
Tried to get to the contents trough adb shell but while some directories are listed, I get access denied to the userdata - I think maybe the links are broken?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it's encrypted.
s80_gad said:
I will try with the mtk to see if I can back it up - and what I'll do is I'll flash the full stock rom including the userdata and potentially will try to flash the old userdata through fastboot or sp flash or mtk.
TBH I don't understand why the phone is still in a bootloop - can't be only because I haven't cleared the userdata?
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you flashed a system image onto the super partition the other partitions that are set dynamically didn't find a place to be recreated or couldn't play its role, added to this, a different system image that which is contained in the super image can differ in sizes either logical and/or dynamical (virtual sized).
SubwayChamp said:
The issue was originated due to the lack of the other system files that also occupy this space; vendor, odm, product (may vary depending on the device), can be fixed flashing the super.img using fastbootd again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashed already the original stock rom super. img and everything else apart from userdata - it doesn't work.
see below
{
"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"
}
SubwayChamp said:
Yes, this device doesn't have a dedicated recovery partition, but it is placed in a tiny portion of the boot image (usually the ramdisk) you can try by flashing the TWRP image onto the boot partition (flashing, not booting only) then boot to it, do the stuff you need through TWRP, from there you could solve the bootloop. To can boot to Android again you should need to flash a boot image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried to flash it - it just restarts the phone straight away - in fact replaced it with sp flash tool as well which recognises only the "a" partition and flashes it there.
SubwayChamp said:
No, it's encrypted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see
SubwayChamp said:
When you flashed a system image onto the super partition the other partitions that are set dynamically didn't find a place to be recreated or couldn't play its role, added to this, a different system image that which is contained in the super image can differ in sizes either logical and/or dynamical (virtual sized).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am guessing this is why I have to reflash the whole rom incl userdata in order to make the phone usable.
What I'll do is I'll try to dump userdata with mtk and then will reflash everything with the stock rom ()hopefully the phone will boot) and then will flash the dumped userdata with mtk. Hopefully that will work.
I'll see if I can somehow mount the mtk .bin file to see if I can get to the contents of it
Will have to use the live dvd as I have win 7 and python 3.9 cannot run on win 7.
EDIT: Can't start anything through the live dvd - is there any workaround for win 7 or is there a direct executable file which I can get to start the mtkclient?
Regards
Hello,
I also have an Umidigi Bison Pro that I am going to use as a daily driver. (It's a pity that it's unpopular it would be a great device for modding, it's cheap, rugged and has source code availability of the official ROM and kernel). I created a Telegram group about this phone if you want to join is https://t.me/UmidigiBisonPro
About your problem you can read this guide (it describes how to backup and extract from the file created by SP Flash Tool even the partitions that not visible such as the b slots) https://www.hovatek.com/forum/thread-21970.html
To give you an idea on my Bison Pro a total of 52 partitions were extracted.
If you have the full backup from before the bootloop (before the upgrade, when it was still working) my advice is to restore all partitions.
I consider myself a novice regarding modding but it is likely that after the upgrade the userdata partition is no longer readable.
I have read that you should not update the GSI ROMs but repeat the whole flash sequence.
I also recommend removing the forced encryption of the userdata partition (you can do this when rooting) to avoid exactly these problems where you have the partition backup but not the decryption key.
s80_gad said:
Flashed already the original stock rom super. img and everything else apart from userdata - it doesn't work.
see below
View attachment 5499133
Tried to flash it - it just restarts the phone straight away - in fact replaced it with sp flash tool as well which recognises only the "a" partition and flashes it there.
I see
I am guessing this is why I have to reflash the whole rom incl userdata in order to make the phone usable.
What I'll do is I'll try to dump userdata with mtk and then will reflash everything with the stock rom ()hopefully the phone will boot) and then will flash the dumped userdata with mtk. Hopefully that will work.
I'll see if I can somehow mount the mtk .bin file to see if I can get to the contents of it
Will have to use the live dvd as I have win 7 and python 3.9 cannot run on win 7.
EDIT: Can't start anything through the live dvd - is there any workaround for win 7 or is there a direct executable file which I can get to start the mtkclient?
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for delay, I didn't receive any notification on this (or I didn't notice it), I hope you sorted out your issue, if not, let me know.
SubwayChamp said:
Sorry for delay, I didn't receive any notification on this (or I didn't notice it), I hope you sorted out your issue, if not, let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't received notification too on your message and I found out on profile account that the notification for new message on a thread are default disabled.
I recently had some problems and experimented with partitions.
Reducing the possible cases I think the decryption key for the userdata partition might be in these partitions: super , misc , nvdata , nvcfg , md_udc
and I noticed that if one of them is corrupted/different version the dm-verity check fails (in my case it is written on the screen) and it was necessary to reflash all partitions except userdata (I don't know if there is a faster combination, from the few tests done in this case I didn't find any)
Do you have more information about where the decryption key might be between those partitions?
I have made a brief description of the role of all the partitions encountered but I still don't know some of them:
boot_para
gz_a (/ gz_b)
md_udc
otp
spmfw_a (/ spmfw_b)
sspm_a (/ sspm_b)
teksunhw_a (/ teksunhw_b)
Werve said:
I didn't received notification too on your message and I found out on profile account that the notification for new message on a thread are default disabled.
I recently had some problems and experimented with partitions.
Reducing the possible cases I think the decryption key for the userdata partition might be in these partitions: super , misc , nvdata , nvcfg , md_udc
and I noticed that if one of them is corrupted/different version the dm-verity check fails (in my case it is written on the screen) and it was necessary to reflash all partitions except userdata (I don't know if there is a faster combination, from the few tests done in this case I didn't find any)
Do you have more information about where the decryption key might be between those partitions?
I have made a brief description of the role of all the partitions encountered but I still don't know some of them:
boot_para
gz_a (/ gz_b)
md_udc
otp
spmfw_a (/ spmfw_b)
sspm_a (/ sspm_b)
teksunhw_a (/ teksunhw_b)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you think userdata has a decryption key? Unless the user set it in a backup done through a custom recovery or through the device itself, I don't think so, may I'm wrong, but which is your scenario?
SubwayChamp said:
Why do you think userdata has a decryption key? Unless the user set it in a backup done through a custom recovery or through the device itself, I don't think so, may I'm wrong, but which is your scenario?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since the userdata partition is now usually encrypted either with FBE or FDE but once the system loads the files are readable and moveable even externally then it is clear that somehow the data has been decrypted precisely using the relevant decryption key, AES encryption usually.
So if the user has not specified any key this must be derived from the information already in the partitions from the factory.
Then by restoring the right combination of partitions the system can boot correctly by decrypting the userdata partition. Hence the tests and the report I wrote in my last post.
At the moment I was able to remove the forced encryption of the userdata partition by modifying super (specifically fstab present in the /vendor sub partition) but I would like to achieve the same systemless modification using Magisk (to be OTA compatible). Unfortunately, the options to remove dm-verity and forceencrypt have been hidden in the latest versions of Magisk to avoid problems with inexperienced uses.
Since I don't have a custom recovery on the Umidigi Bison Pro I can't force flag those options in the .magisk file so I have to find another way.
Werve said:
Since the userdata partition is now usually encrypted either with FBE or FDE but once the system loads the files are readable and moveable even externally then it is clear that somehow the data has been decrypted precisely using the relevant decryption key, AES encryption usually.
So if the user has not specified any key this must be derived from the information already in the partitions from the factory.
Then by restoring the right combination of partitions the system can boot correctly by decrypting the userdata partition. Hence the tests and the report I wrote in my last post.
At the moment I was able to remove the forced encryption of the userdata partition by modifying syper (specifically fstab present in the /vendor sub partition) but I would like to achieve the same systemless modification using Magisk (to be OTA compatible). Unfortunately, the options to remove dm-verity and forceencrypt have been hidden in the latest versions of Magisk to avoid problems with inexperienced uses.
Since I don't have a custom recovery on the Umidigi Bison Pro I can't force flag those options in the .magisk file so I have to find another way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, what I said is a different thing, the other user had a different interest than this. They did want to access to some data from a backup in a non-booting device, I referred to that, the userdata image backed up doesn't have an encryption by default, unless the user set one through a custom recovery, suppose that someone did take a backup from the userdata partition, this userdata image can be opened/readable for anyone with minimum skills and the appropriate tool.
In regard to your issue, I don't think, the userdata partition has any kind of restrictions to take OTA updates, most likely this resides in the bootloader, kernel or even a "silent/hidden" partition with no more functions than that.
As a side note, you should check some custom recoveries, specially in Xiaomi devices that easily allow taking OTA updates, for example I always can take OTA, when I use Orange Fox recovery, although I'm not interested, so I make updates manually, to be sure that all run fine.
SubwayChamp said:
Well, what I said is a different thing, the other user had a different interest than this. They did want to access to some data from a backup in a non-booting device, I referred to that, the userdata image backed up doesn't have an encryption by default, unless the user set one through a custom recovery, suppose that someone did take a backup from the userdata partition, this userdata image can be opened/readable for anyone with minimum skills and the appropriate tool.
In regard to your issue, I don't think, the userdata partition has any kind of restrictions to take OTA updates, most likely this resides in the bootloader, kernel or even a "silent/hidden" partition with no more functions than that.
As a side note, you should check some custom recoveries, specially in Xiaomi devices that easily allow taking OTA updates, for example I always can take OTA, when I use Orange Fox recovery, although I'm not interested, so I make updates manually, to be sure that all run fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The methodology I was referring to that is not OTA supported is to modify the super partition (the dynamic partition that from Android 8? contains system, vendor, product--for Project Treble) to disable the forced encryption of the userdata partition. In my case FBE (File Based Encryption) Android 11 encryption.
Even having disabled the dm-verity if you apply an OTA update the super partition is replaced with the one that does not have the modification to remove the forced encryption and from the tests I have done this refuses to read unencrypted partitions and asks to do a factory reset.
So, the userdata partition makes the OTA update problematic (it doesn't block it, but you lose your personal data).
I am sure that instead of modifying the super partition to disable encryption you can achieve the same result via Magisk and a modified boot partition.
Unfortunately despite many trials due to my inexperience with Magisk I could not do it.
I wanted to do all this to avoid problems as described in the case of this thread that is, have the userdata partition intact but not the rest to be able to describe it. But seems I must let the encryption and do a backup after every OTA update.
Werve said:
The methodology I was referring to that is not OTA supported is to modify the super partition (the dynamic partition that from Android 8? contains system, vendor, product--for Project Treble) to disable the forced encryption of the userdata partition. In my case FBE (File Based Encryption) Android 11 encryption.
Even having disabled the dm-verity if you apply an OTA update the super partition is replaced with the one that does not have the modification to remove the forced encryption and from the tests I have done this refuses to read unencrypted partitions and asks to do a factory reset.
So, the userdata partition makes the OTA update problematic (it doesn't block it, but you lose your personal data).
I am sure that instead of modifying the super partition to disable encryption you can achieve the same result via Magisk and a modified boot partition.
Unfortunately despite many trials due to my inexperience with Magisk I could not do it.
I wanted to do all this to avoid problems as described in the case of this thread that is, have the userdata partition intact but not the rest to be able to describe it. But seems I must let the encryption and do a backup after every OTA update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to apply an OEM vendor stock update then it is a restriction from the OEM itself, and if you want to apply a GSI based update, it's a different approach, not sure if the restriction is FBE related or if the userdata is encrypted or not but probably related to AVB.
There are some tools/scripts you should search for, that can unpack and repack super partition, maybe you find something in the ODM or product image, this is assuming that the super partition it is the culprit.
Just know that it's a nonsense that an order (script) to restore a specific partition, be placed just there, but in other partition.
You should check what the OTA update contains, try to catch the OTA update through some ADB script, then unpack it, and see inside.
Also, you can try backing up every partition, and restoring them one by one, seeing if it boots.
SubwayChamp said:
If you want to apply an OEM vendor stock update then it is a restriction from the OEM itself, and if you want to apply a GSI based update, it's a different approach, not sure if the restriction is FBE related or if the userdata is encrypted or not but probably related to AVB.
There are some tools/scripts you should search for, that can unpack and repack super partition, maybe you find something in the ODM or product image, this is assuming that the super partition it is the culprit.
Just know that it's a nonsense that an order (script) to restore a specific partition, be placed just there, but in other partition.
You should check what the OTA update contains, try to catch the OTA update through some ADB script, then unpack it, and see inside.
Also, you can try backing up every partition, and restoring them one by one, seeing if it boots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have already done these tests, not with an OTA update but with a different version of the firmware for all partitions, and set out the conclusions.
Obviously it's an OEM restriction since it left the forced FBE encryption on and the way it was created (so I guess also from AOSP) it refuses to read the userdata partition if it doesn't find it encrypted.