[Q] bricked a500 - vibrating black screen

[Q] bricked a500 - vibrating black screen - Acer Iconia A500

Okay... so the other day in class I was thumbing through the intrawebs and noticed the leaked ICS had came out for the A500... I tried flashing the ROM to my tablet, thinking it would be a cinch if I just followed the directions. No go, just stuck on Android boot logo. That's fine and all, made a back up with CWM (which i think was my initial problem with the ICS version.. correct if I'm wrong please,) but... my back-ups check sums were mismatching for everything. Couldn't get them to match and couldn't figure it out so I decided to just flash root stock version back on to the tablet and go from there using my titanium backup.
I flashed, and bam... vibrating black screen, no CWM recovery anymore no matter what I do. I've been using the SDK manager / ADB terminal thinger / EUUS Acer Iconia Tab Software Upgrade Utility. I cannot for the life of me find my CPUID, or at least the RIGHT CPUID. I understand to use software to find it but I don't think my tablet is giving the correct info, or something??!?! When I run adb devices in CMD in the platform-tools directory it doesn't list any devices available. If anyone could help it'd be greatly appreciated. Could possibly upload a screenshot of my usb devices with the USBdeview software?

GermanDoerksen said:
Okay... so the other day in class I was thumbing through the intrawebs and noticed the leaked ICS had came out for the A500... I tried flashing the ROM to my tablet, thinking it would be a cinch if I just followed the directions. No go, just stuck on Android boot logo. That's fine and all, made a back up with CWM (which i think was my initial problem with the ICS version.. correct if I'm wrong please,) but... my back-ups check sums were mismatching for everything. Couldn't get them to match and couldn't figure it out so I decided to just flash root stock version back on to the tablet and go from there using my titanium backup.
I flashed, and bam... vibrating black screen, no CWM recovery anymore no matter what I do. I've been using the SDK manager / ADB terminal thinger / EUUS Acer Iconia Tab Software Upgrade Utility. I cannot for the life of me find my CPUID, or at least the RIGHT CPUID. I understand to use software to find it but I don't think my tablet is giving the correct info, or something??!?! When I run adb devices in CMD in the platform-tools directory it doesn't list any devices available. If anyone could help it'd be greatly appreciated. Could possibly upload a screenshot of my usb devices with the USBdeview software?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To get your old uid number, look in one of your cwm backup folders on your SD card.should say uid.txt.
Then you can either use the photo tutorial at androidtabletgeeks.com, or there is text instructions here at xda.
Also, sounds like you may need to load the a DB drivers for your tab.

Help ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've got a similar problem. My A500 are with the Boot "Verified Boot failed" and no way I can make it work again. He was with the ICS ROM'm trying to make it back to the Stock ROM but I can not. Please Help Me.

Hmm...
Moscow Desire said:
To get your old uid number, look in one of your cwm backup folders on your SD card.should say uid.txt.
Then you can either use the photo tutorial at androidtabletgeeks.com, or there is text instructions here at xda.
Also, sounds like you may need to load the a DB drivers for your tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, that got me started in a good direction I feel like. The only problem is that CWM made them all "*.img" files. There is a "system.img", "boot.img", and "recovery.img". Which one should I be trying to tear into to get it? And I'm pretty sure I have the adb drivers installed, or at least my device shows up in my device manager when I put it in APX mode, and I've downloaded the USB recovery drivers from the ACER website, along with other drivers that people have suggested.
Thanks for your quick reply! Hopefully this gets me somewhere, if you have any more suggestions on where to find it within the filesystem / *.img files let me know.
** Also a "data.img"... didn't want to leave the right one out on accident haha.**

Still nothing...
I've been trying to go through the old CWM back up .img files, but the only one I can even open and extract is the system.img which from what I can tell, has nothing to do with the CPUID. Next I started up a virtual ubuntu to try ADB out on there, same results. Even changed the vendor ID to the one given to me by lsusb, still nothing. I'm out of thoughts on this... I'm burnt out on trying to get this to work.
When I opened up usbdeview, I saw an old version of my Acer Iconia tab when it was actually working. Used that serial number and it made it through to where it said it was upgrading, but then sat/hung overnight. didn't move or make any progress so I unplugged it so I could go to class and keep working on it... now that cpuid doesn't work either.
Is my tablet a fancy paperweight now?

A500 Reborn
People,
I managed to make my A500 back to work with an update file, but forum cannot permit to put the link here. Take out the spaces of the link below:
www . fileserve . com / file / 2HUVP9D / update(ok) . zip
Rename the file to "update.zip", then save this on Sdcard and Boot the A500 with Vol - pressed.
Worked for me.

so..
assanches said:
People,
I managed to make my A500 back to work with an update file, but forum cannot permit to put the link here. Take out the spaces of the link below:
www . fileserve . com / file / 2HUVP9D / update(ok) . zip
Rename the file to "update.zip", then save this on Sdcard and Boot the A500 with Vol - pressed.
Worked for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you have a recovery that you were able to boot into when you did this? Or does holding vol - while powering up install the update.zip? If you used a recovery manager it's not going to help me at all.

A500 Reborn
GermanDoerksen said:
Did you have a recovery that you were able to boot into when you did this? Or does holding vol - while powering up install the update.zip? If you used a recovery manager it's not going to help me at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did this without a CWM recovery, only stock recovery (holding vol - while powering up).

assanches said:
I did this without a CWM recovery, only stock recovery (holding vol - while powering up).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah... thanks but nothing doin for me. I have nothing but a black screen that vibrates. adb mode and such but nothing else. Something's gotta give eventually.

A500 Reborn
GermanDoerksen said:
Yeah... thanks but nothing doin for me. I have nothing but a black screen that vibrates. adb mode and such but nothing else. Something's gotta give eventually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GermanDoerksen,
Did you try this?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18750804&postcount=17
Worked for many users.

yup
assanches said:
GermanDoerksen,
Did you try this?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18750804&postcount=17
Worked for many users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's where I started this journey to get it working again lol. The only problem I'm having is with finding my CPUID or the UID he talks about. The numbers I get don't work because they're for the recovery driver, not an actual UID for my tablet. There is no serial number displayed when connected.

GermanDoerksen said:
That's where I started this journey to get it working again lol. The only problem I'm having is with finding my CPUID or the UID he talks about. The numbers I get don't work because they're for the recovery driver, not an actual UID for my tablet. There is no serial number displayed when connected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you tried using usbdeview to find the cpuid?
look at the beginning of my post here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=22902126&postcount=258

wolverine423 said:
have you tried using usbdeview to find the cpuid?
look at the beginning of my post here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=22902126&postcount=258
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I had... but I think you just helped me out. Will these show up if I'm using the recovery driver to get it to be recognized? I can find it when plugged in under Acer Iconia, but I think that's from a previous plug-in before I flashed it. Now when I plug it in it comes up under "acer picasso recovery driver". I never new what vendor ID to look for, so I'm going to do that.
Do I have to put serial number in the .txt file named cpuid to get it to work?
Thanks for replying and giving me something to do!

wolverine423 said:
have you tried using usbdeview to find the cpuid?
look at the beginning of my post here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=22902126&postcount=258
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, so I'm in my college class so I don't have my own laptop with me, I'm trying this on a "frozen" desktop. I said earlier my tablet show up in usbdeview as acer picasso recovery driver, but it flip flops between that and acer USB-Boot recovery driver. Don't know why. Either way, when I plug my tablet into my computer and put it in APX mode, it shows up, but no serial number or anything. I'm going to try what you said on my laptop at home where I've plugged it in before I flashed it, maybe I can find it then. Hopefully. Here's a USBdeView picture of what I'm seeing when I plug my tablet in.

woops
Sorry, picture was blurry...

GermanDoerksen said:
Sorry, picture was blurry...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Our computer labs all use deepfreeze.
Yeah, it should be listed on your laptop if it was plugged in while running honeycomb.
Best of luck.

wolverine423 said:
Our computer labs all use deepfreeze.
Yeah, it should be listed on your laptop if it was plugged in while running honeycomb.
Best of luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey so do ours. Gotta love the key combination to get past it
But that's awesome, this gives me hope! Will try this if I ever get out of this class... yay for linux classes that last from 8 to 3.

I have also bricked mine due to not reading things before jumping in as usual doh.
I installed the lightspeed ics beta 5 and it was pretty nice but a game I have been playing kept freezing so I decided to go back to 3.2 official by putting it on the sd card and booting recovery. It went through install etc but then just goes to a bootloop with the blue lightspeed flashing adroid. CWM is no more and like an idiot did not get my cpuid prior.
I tried installing the 3.0.1 unstable too but that did not work either. It just sits on flashing android now.
Will I have to wait until an official acer ics update.zip is available once released?
Thanks in advance

waj1234 said:
I have also bricked mine due to not reading things before jumping in as usual doh.
I installed the lightspeed ics beta 5 and it was pretty nice but a game I have been playing kept freezing so I decided to go back to 3.2 official by putting it on the sd card and booting recovery. It went through install etc but then just goes to a bootloop with the blue lightspeed flashing adroid. CWM is no more and like an idiot did not get my cpuid prior.
I tried installing the 3.0.1 unstable too but that did not work either. It just sits on flashing android now.
Will I have to wait until an official acer ics update.zip is available once released?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you'd HAVE to wait for the office ICS update. For you, I'd say do what I've been trying to do which is get it back to stock rom and recovery manager so I can wait for the official ICS update. Eventually, if I ever do unbrick this thing, then I will have to decide if I want to wait or not. Or dual-boot ubuntu

GermanDoerksen said:
I don't think you'd HAVE to wait for the office ICS update. For you, I'd say do what I've been trying to do which is get it back to stock rom and recovery manager so I can wait for the official ICS update. Eventually, if I ever do unbrick this thing, then I will have to decide if I want to wait or not. Or dual-boot ubuntu
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cant get my cpuid though as it dont show in usbdview either unless I need the drivers from sdk first.

Related

[FIXED?]- stuck in apx mode

[Update Fri 17th Aug]
k for everyone stuck in apx mode try this:
1. Files you will need:
gersmas AfterOTA Tool
The attached zip file which contains an unlocked bootloader v6 file and a recovery image file - unzip to a folder on your desktop.
2. Open Device Manager on your PC
Turn your tab on and connect your min-usb cable to the PC
In Device Manager check USB Controllers for the ACER-USB boot-recovery driver
3. Open the aferOTA tool and click on the "Extras" Tab
In the unbrick section:
"Browse" recovery option and negotiate to the folder on your desktop and
Choose the .img file there
"Browse" bootloader option and choose the .bin file from that same folder
4. Click "Install"
Keep your eye on "status"
Your Tab will vibrate and you should see displayed in white text:
"Acer Iconia a500 apx mode"
After a minute or two you will see displayed in Big White Text:
"PASS"
and in smaller red letters:
"reboot the device!
5. So go ahead and reboot
The first time I rebooted i got "fastboot mode"????
I just powered off and booted up again, .....
IF you do not have a custom ICS rom on yr tab already then reboot into recovery and flash that rom...no probs!!
You'll need to d/l one and put it on yr ext sd first
Hope that helps some of you...good luck
************************************************************************
Has anyone been able to revert back to HC using any/all of the following
A) nvFlash hangs at "formatting partition 4....." rollback using timmydeanv4
B) apxFlash - once back on HC does not recognise tab at all, wont extract cpuid neither does a500manager v1.1
C) afterOTA
The downgrade using timmydeansv4 usually does the trick for me but some have reported error "UPDATE FAILED" and then being stuck with the black screen of apx mode.
Would be great to have some feedback on this
if anyone can shed any light it'd be highly appreciated...:thumbup:
EDIT: acer picasso usb driver installs from HC BL nvflash and no amount of uninstalling or reinstalling gets rid of it....acer boot recovery driver is nowhere to be seen and this is the one thats needed
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk 2

I grabbed this from Webspirits thread and brought it with me...
dibb_nz said:
hi J...ok thats cool re boot anim...i asked becoz like u i been trying to help a couple of others who can't use any of the flash tools or roll back to HC...i only just got myself fixed after being stuck in apx, no recovery, and boot screen saying in red text "reboot device" thought he may have had similar issue....
J...have u used nvflash or apxflash to roll back - theres a few folks getting stuck with it...its loading the HC apx driver which aint working with the ics bl so then yr tab gets stuck in apx!!!
I started a new thread hoping someone can help us all out be great to hear yr thoughts on this....its driving me up the wall
sorry didnt mean to hijack the thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The one that we are working on was never stuck in apx. I don't know how or why, but the tab ended up without an os, or recovery. Also no uid or sbk.
So we used the ubuntu apx recovery method discussed here by srbeen. Once we found the uid, then the sbk. We used blackthund3rs APX Tool to get a working bootloader and recovery.
Flashing roms always complete without any unexpected errors or surprises.
The problem we are having is being stuck in the bootanimation endlessly.
I've been using blackthund3r's and gersma's tools and haven't used the manual nvflash or apxflash methods for quite a while. But that is my next thought on getting this one going. I really can't imagine what's wrong, perhaps the partitions got fubar'd somehow.
So far for me blackthund3rs APX Tool has taken me from apx to any bootloader/CWM combo that I want, but I'm not having any driver issues. I can see where that would ruin the fun.
One thing I might suggest for the driver issue. It might not work, but maybe... If on Windows, go to device manager, expand Universal Serial Bus controllers. Right click Acer USB Boot-recovery driver and choose 'Update Driver Software", choose 'Browse my computer...' and then 'Let me pick...'.
Mine shows two different drivers.
{
"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"
}
Hopefully one is for ICS and the other is for HC. That's all a big guess. So apply your wisdom before making any changes. But I think that's what I would try if I had those driver issues.

JdgM3NT4L said:
I grabbed this from Webspirits thread and brought it with me...
The one that we are working on was never stuck in apx. I don't know how or why, but the tab ended up without an os, or recovery. Also no uid or sbk.
So we used the ubuntu apx recovery method discussed here by srbeen. Once we found the uid, then the sbk. We used blackthund3rs APX Tool to get a working bootloader and recovery.
Flashing roms always complete without any unexpected errors or surprises.
The problem we are having is being stuck in the bootanimation endlessly.
I've been using blackthund3r's and gersma's tools and haven't used the manual nvflash or apxflash methods for quite a while. But that is my next thought on getting this one going. I can't imagine what's wrong, perhaps the partitions got fubar'd somehow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll check back thru some of my stuff, it sounz familiar 4 some reason I just can't think why - so yr saying u got the bl and recovery flashed OK but stuck in a boot loop? is that the bl animation or system boot one? I'm thinking a rollback with tdv4 to reset everything and upgrading from there - but if yr anything like me you'll be wanting to actually solve the loop issue....that's where I'm at with folks getting stuck in apx
So far for me blackthund3rs APX Tool has taken me from apx to any bootloader/CWM combo that I want, but I'm not having any driver issues. I can see where that would ruin the fun.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I don't normally was trying to reproduce an error for someone who couldn't get the boot/recovery driver loaded in apx mode, I uninstalled them and now can't get them back, lol - which leads into....
One thing I might suggest for the driver issue. It might not work, but maybe... If on Windows, go to device manager, expand Universal Serial Bus controllers. Right click Acer USB Boot-recovery driver and choose 'Update Driver Software", choose 'Browse my computer...' and then 'Let me pick...'.
Mine shows two different drivers.
Hopefully one is for ICS and the other is for HC. That's all a big guess. So apply your wisdom before making any changes. But I think that's what I would try if I had those driver issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeh this is what I have come to think too
Picasso is for HC and acer one for ICS, no matter what I try the Picasso ones always load and the Acer ones don't show up anywhere....I'm back on HC and about to upgrade again and hopefully all will be well in driver world once again!!!!!
IThe other thing I've been working at is a way to rollback without using an EUU or update.zip
In other words, trying to get nvflash or apxflash to revert back to HCbut the tools automatically install Picasso - when that happens then everything goes haywire, its where some of the tabs hang formatting partitions - which then involvesusing td4 or srbeens method to reset them.....I'm figuring if we solve the original issue folks won't have to rollback/reset partitions.....
I hope this makes some sort of sense J and I really appreciate yr time and input thanks:good:

dibb_nz said:
I'll check back thru some of my stuff, it sounz familiar 4 some reason I just can't think why - so yr saying u got the bl and recovery flashed OK but stuck in a boot loop? is that the bl animation or system boot one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is the animation. Not the bootloader screen.
And thanks!
dibb_nz said:
I'm thinking a rollback with tdv4 to reset everything and upgrading from there - but if yr anything like me you'll be wanting to actually solve the loop issue....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I'd love to figure it out. But this one is like the ones you're helping. Remote. So without the tablet in hand, and the uncertainties that come along without it, I'll probably try to help on this one using timmydean's method.
dibb_nz said:
Yeh this is what I have come to think too. Picasso is for HC and acer one for ICS, no matter what I try the Picasso ones always load and the Acer ones don't show up anywhere....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Makes me wonder if maybe a second pc or virtual pc with only the older drivers and no network running to stop windows from updating the driver? Or perhaps we could look into trying it from that Ubuntu live disc? I think once we were at the point that we found the uids we are close to being able to continue from there... I'll look around for the Linux commands/packages. Maybe someone who knows this stuff will notice and share. (Please.)
dibb_nz said:
The other thing I've been working at is a way to rollback without using an EUU or update.zip
In other words, trying to get nvflash or apxflash to revert back to HCbut the tools automatically install Picasso - when that happens then everything goes haywire, its where some of the tabs hang formatting partitions - which then involvesusing td4 or srbeens method to reset them.....I'm figuring if we solve the original issue folks won't have to rollback/reset partitions.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. I think that this might help. This way should pass with the drivers if I understand correctly. I just did this and it worked on my tablet. First I borked my tablet intentionally by installing an old stock HC rom over my V8 bootloader ICS full root without wiping anything. Then booted it. From there, Bootanimation loop. CWM gone. Useless.
So I entered APX mode manually. I used blackthund3rs APX tool. Visited the Bundle Builder Market and grabbed #17, the latest bootloader and Thors 1.7.3 CWM package. Flashed it, went directly into CWM. Performed full wipe BEFORE doing anything else. Really don't forget to wipe system and delvic. If you do you will learn how I learned to bork my tablet the easy way and get to start over from APX.
Flashed this, https://www.dropbox.com/s/fpdy13u4ufec461/Acer_A500_4.010.38_COM_GEN1.zip it is a very stock 3.1 android version Acer_A500_4.010.38_COM_GEN1.zip. It boots up just fine on the V8 bootloader and once it loads up, hit settings. From there it is easy to just ota to any version that you are wanting. Plus after the first update to 3.2 I'm pretty sure you get the stock bootloader, recovery, the works. Of course you could get root, recovery and restore your backup like I did.
Or am I way off base?

JdgM3NT4L said:
It is the animation. Not the bootloader screen.
And thanks!
yeah I'd love to figure it out. But this one is like the ones you're helping. Remote. So without the tablet in hand, and the uncertainties that come along without it, I'll probably try to help on this one using timmydean's method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
woohoo its our Daisy, lol....well u da man when it comes to boot anim's m8 i'll defer to your wiseness
Yup just got someone fixed using tdv4 , seems the way to go and its a fairly quick process too
Makes me wonder if maybe a second pc or virtual pc with only the older drivers and no network running to stop windows from updating the driver? Or perhaps we could look into trying it from that Ubuntu live disc? I think once we were at the point that we found the uids we are close to being able to continue from there... I'll look around for the Linux commands/packages. Maybe someone who knows this stuff will notice and share. (Please.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeh i'm linux illiterate m8 but from what i've read its a lot easier than mucking about with windoze drivers!!!
i'm finally back to ics, but it was a real fekin mission - downgrading was the toughest bit specially trying not to use tdv4...nothing recognised my tab at all...then when i did get back I couldnt update the BL...was tearing my hear out....couldnt get the acer boot drivers installed no matter what i tried...in the end i fired up my old vista laptop...and the acer ones installed straight away wtf???? So my theory regarding separate drivers seems to be blown out of the water, altho in saying that... I'm about to try it all over again and find out for sure...man i'm a masochist....or just plain stoopid, lol
Ok. I think that this might help. This way should pass with the drivers if I understand correctly. I just did this and it worked on my tablet. First I borked my tablet intentionally by installing an old stock HC rom over my V8 bootloader ICS full root without wiping anything. Then booted it. From there, Bootanimation loop. CWM gone. Useless.
So I entered APX mode manually. I used blackthund3rs APX tool. Visited the Bundle Builder Market and grabbed #17, the latest bootloader and Thors 1.7.3 CWM package. Flashed it, went directly into CWM. Performed full wipe BEFORE doing anything else. Really don't forget to wipe system and delvic. If you do you will learn how I learned to bork my tablet the easy way and get to start over from APX.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i know some peeps had issues with 1.7.3 but i swear by it for this sort of thing...and yeh good point re wiping its a must ....and using BT's bundle 17 i'll give that a whirl
Flashed this, https://www.dropbox.com/s/fpdy13u4ufec461/Acer_A500_4.010.38_COM_GEN1.zip it is a very stock 3.1 android version Acer_A500_4.010.38_COM_GEN1.zip. It boots up just fine on the V8 bootloader and once it loads up, hit settings. From there it is easy to just ota to any version that you are wanting. Plus after the first update to 3.2 you get the stock bootloader, recovery, the works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh nice i'll grab that... I used ezterry's HC pre rooted rom worked well too. But will grab your one as well, My original stock was gen1 and there arent many of those around these days and i cant OTA to ICS using tdv4 it being gen2
Or am I way off base?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u ran HC with the v8??? and it OTA'ed...with v8??

dibb_nz said:
Yup just got someone fixed using tdv4 , seems the way to go and its a fairly quick process too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear that you got it sorted out. Nice work. And thanks for the advice. If I can get in touch with the owner of the tablet we will give that a shot.
dibb_nz said:
i know some peeps had issues with 1.7.3 but i swear by it for this sort of thing...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never had any trouble out of it thankfully. It is the goto recovery for me as well. In my experience backups work better using it vs any of the rest that I've tried. Easier full wipes and reliable as heck.
dibb_nz said:
oh nice i'll grab that... I used ezterry's HC pre rooted rom worked well too. But will grab your one as well, My original stock was gen1 and there arent many of those around these days and i cant OTA to ICS using tdv4 it being gen2
u ran HC with the v8??? and it OTA'ed...with v8??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to be certain I did it all again this morning. And yep, I'm self destructive as well. But the good news is that the result was the same. I started with the V8 bootloader in all it's Daisy glory. I wiped, flashed that zip, rebooted, checked for updates, did the ota. On reboot it showed V8 bootloader, then the words FLASHING BOOTLOADER popped up, it rebooted again and just like that I had stock bootloader, recovery, rom. {I was going to use an exclaimation point there but new problem... Pc keyboard dying [EXCLAIMATION POINT HERE]. Can't blame that on a bad flash can i??}
I hope that is the easy out that you're looking for. It's easy enough that I've done it three times on my tab in 2 days. But will it work for everyone?
Now to get the APX tool out and put a respectable bootloader and recovery back in place so I can finish the campaign mode for A Great Little War Game... Oh, and find a keyboard...

Re:
Hi J, might be useful for future reference,
Someone stuck on acer logo, no recovery original thread here
This worked...
GueDS said:
Can you boot in download mode to clean cache? (Power + Vol+)
Or, can you boot in recovery after shut down device?
If not try it and then tell us.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
xmond said:
No, I can't go into recovery even after shutting down the device. It's stuck on Acer logo. Help me please.
*Edit:* Booted in download mode and did a cache wipe. That did the trick! My device is now booting! THANKS A LOT!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my A500 using xda premium

Hey,
Thanks for keeping that in mind for me! You're so helpful, I don't know how you manage this many projects at once! But there are alot of people that are glad that you do. (Myself included.).
I am just getting back in touch with the owner and hopefully the TimmyDean rollback will do the trick. I'm pretty sure that it will.
In the meantime, did you get time to try, or have someone else try the downgrade with the 3.1 that I shared? It isn't real important, and don't worry about it if you're suffering from M.P.S (Multiple Flash Syndrome) or just plain don't feel like it. I'm only wanting to confirm that my experience isn't an fluke. I need to update a friends tablet soon so I might beat you to it. When I do I'll post the results here.
Anyway, thanks again!

Hi J, no, I haven't tried yr method as yet, but I got some downtime so I'll give it a whirl now, after I get a coffee on the brew, lol.
There's so much good info posted here but it gets lost pretty quick or is buried in a 500 page thread!! The search function only
really works if u know exactly what search terms to use, that's OK if you've been around the iconia for awhile...if u haven't then
the learning curve is fairly steep - even if u are an experienced android user, things just arent the same as yr average android device
and heck if you're a noob its like ppl are speaking in an English language you've never heard before, lol. So I just try to help where
I can, Just my way of giving back something to the community where I've benefitted heaps from, all the devs here, the ones
who actually have all the talent...
I digress tho', I have a brew in hand, so I'll get on with it....and get back to u
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk 2

Oh don't I know it. I just finished getting a custom ROM installed on a Samsung Infuse. I've messed with HTC's and their s-off, Motorola and Fastboot/RSD, Acer's craziness. And after all of that it was still like jumping in without knowing anything. I didn't even break out adb once or use a tool that accessed it... Java based jar files that are packaged into an installer if you can believe that. And you gotta take out the battery to get started??? Wow... Just wow. It was harder than getting a custom rom on a mid/generic tablet that didn't have a dedicated forum!
And they sure don't speak any familiar form of English over there. Heimdall this and Odin that...
Thanks for trying that out. I hope it goes as well for you as it does for me.

Lol, yes m8, gosh back in the day when the desire came out and getting root with the gold card method what a rigmaroll that was - entering numbers on a website and waiting a day or two to get yr magic code back - it was rather fun ....but only if it worked :banghead: actually things haven't really moved on much have they...anyway I got the rom d/led and flashed v8 and about to Bork, lol so ill get back to it m8....
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk 2

Yeah, that's too funny. I remember I had a razr in my pocket when I was reading about the gold card thing and thought to myself then that I would never go throught that kind of trouble just to mess with a phone.
I'm not sure what went wrong, but now I am up to my ears in devices that have to be modified. This is clearly not what I had planned back then.
Any luck on the downgrade? It's easier if you don't bork it first lol. Just flash the rom after the wipes.

JdgM3NT4L said:
Yeah, that's too funny. I remember I had a razr in my pocket when I was reading about the gold card thing and thought to myself then that I would never go throught that kind of trouble just to mess with a phone.
I'm not sure what went wrong, but now I am up to my ears in devices that have to be modified. This is clearly not what I had planned back then.
Any luck on the downgrade? It's easier if you don't bork it first lol. Just flash the rom after the wipes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YES!!! Confirmed m8 works on mine too....hardest part was trying to bork it first, hehehe!! Couldnt get rid of cwm and I wanted to stick as close as possible to yr method....but got the boot loop thing so i flashed your stock rom over it - then apxflashed - rebooted into HC WITH v8 - but of course cwm got over written with the stock image!!! So i tried fastboot - flashed 1.7.3 from there - and booted straight to cwm - did a backup to test out. WHile I was doing that i d/l'ed civs new flex stryker....have to fastboot to flash it but thats ok...in his rom he also has a backup tool so with some luck i may never need cwm again???
uh oh just had a random reboot - oh, all fine..didnt try OTA'ing so i'll leave that lil project for another day...:good:
So well done you, another arrow to our bows, haha - I'm guessing it works cos 3.1 has an unlocked BL - thats just a guess tho...ok off too flash stryker
thanks J for sharing

Sweet.
It looks like it's going to help with both recovering messed up tabs as well as do the back to stock with OTA. Perhaps a guide is in order. I won't have time until Sunday. So unless you get super bored and want to mess with it I'll start on it then. Your guides are always so easy to follow and very complete. I welcome you to take what we've found out and please share it any way that you want. I'll contribute any way that I can.

kewl m8 and thanks!!! I will see how i go m8 guide wise, still workin on the apx mode thing for the life of me i cant make it get stuck, lol always the way aye...ok...and wouldnt mind giving stryker a bit of a work out too.....
oh btw, what happened after u ota'ed to 3.2.1 did u go all the way to ICS or did u end up with the HC Locked BL again?

dibb_nz said:
oh btw, what happened after u ota'ed to 3.2.1 did u go all the way to ICS or did u end up with the HC Locked BL again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. I ota'd that puppy until it wouldn't do it anymore. All of the way up to 4.0.3. All stock locked bootloaders after the first flash. So it is definitely a back to stock any flavor solution. All stock except, of course, that 3.1 that we used to flash. And the only thing that isn't stock on it will be the bootloader. Once the OTAs start it is all official acer stuff until the owner mods it.
So really, if someone wants to go from any custom ICS back to stock. They can simply flash the 3.1 that we tested through CWM after wiping system/data/cache. OTA to 3.2.1 and they are totally stock and can go whatever route from there that they want to.
Not sure but I think that might be the guide for that part... I guess that it isn't very complicated when 2 sentences about wrap it up. Maybe a picture of Daisy would add a little spark.
As far as the stuck with only APX mode, that'll take only a little more space.
I think that the only difference will be a few lines that say to get into apx and use blackthund3rs APX Tool to flash #17, reboot directly into recovery, wipe, flash the 3.1 rom.
As far as the issues that you've been helping with, I'll have to defer to your experience on that for any instructions. If I can help with Screenshots or anything else say the word. I've about got it down where I can have images up in almost no time.
Again thanks for confirming that for us. If it helps even a few people the time will have been worth it.
And if you ever need me to bork my tablet again just say the word!
---------- Post added at 09:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 PM ----------
dibb_nz said:
have to fastboot to flash it but thats ok
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dibb_nz said:
so with some luck i may never need cwm again???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just now noticed that you mentioned this. What a nice alternative.That's going to be a big deal for some people to get out of a jam fast.
Nice find.

Stuck on HC Bootloader, won't update

*** SOLVED ***
Hey all.
So I've had my A500 for about a year now and it's been on several different ROMs and kernels over that time.
Most recently, I was running Flexreaper R12 (I believe) and ICS was running very smoothly.
At some point a few months ago (after a Flexreaper update), I was experiencing the Sleep Of Death and flashed an AntiSOD kernel to stop it (which it did). All this time, for some reason or another, I never updated the bootloader past the Honeycomb bootloader - and that's where I'm stuck right now.
I've tried using AfterOTA in every possible way to get anything else loaded.
I've tried Blackthund3r's A500 APX Flash Utility with at least 7 different APX packages, but no matter what I try, I'm still stuck with Flexreaper and the HC bootloader.
FWIW, both AfterOTA and the A500 APX Flash Util experience a problem with my A500 when it reboots. Most of the time I can get the device to be recognized by my OS (Windows 7 x64), but sometimes it doesn't and fails on driver install, even though I've installed the Google drivers direct from the SDK as well as Acer's drivers (USB_Acer_1.00.0524_A30H_A31H_A32H_A500_A501).
I'm pretty sure this is a driver issue, but I'm unclear on how to fix it. I've uninstalled ALL drivers related to the A500, rebooted and reinstalled them, I've uninstalled them and then pointed the installer directly to the unzipped USB driver folder (from above), but it seems that at some point the device fails to be seen, only rarely - but it's this that I think is the main problem... or I'm missing something.
So, any advice for someone that's STUCK on the old 3.01 bootloader?
Psychlone

Psychlone said:
Hey all.
So I've had my A500 for about a year now and it's been on several different ROMs and kernels over that time.
Most recently, I was running Flexreaper R12 (I believe) and ICS was running very smoothly.
At some point a few months ago (after a Flexreaper update), I was experiencing the Sleep Of Death and flashed an AntiSOD kernel to stop it (which it did). All this time, for some reason or another, I never updated the bootloader past the Honeycomb bootloader - and that's where I'm stuck right now.
I've tried using AfterOTA in every possible way to get anything else loaded.
I've tried Blackthund3r's A500 APX Flash Utility with at least 7 different APX packages, but no matter what I try, I'm still stuck with Flexreaper and the HC bootloader.
FWIW, both AfterOTA and the A500 APX Flash Util experience a problem with my A500 when it reboots. Most of the time I can get the device to be recognized by my OS (Windows 7 x64), but sometimes it doesn't and fails on driver install, even though I've installed the Google drivers direct from the SDK as well as Acer's drivers (USB_Acer_1.00.0524_A30H_A31H_A32H_A500_A501).
I'm pretty sure this is a driver issue, but I'm unclear on how to fix it. I've uninstalled ALL drivers related to the A500, rebooted and reinstalled them, I've uninstalled them and then pointed the installer directly to the unzipped USB driver folder (from above), but it seems that at some point the device fails to be seen, only rarely - but it's this that I think is the main problem... or I'm missing something.
So, any advice for someone that's STUCK on the old 3.01 bootloader?
Psychlone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i was stuck to so i downgraded got the ics bootloader from the ota and then used afterOTA to get the unlocked version and it worked

gears177 said:
i was stuck to so i downgraded got the ics bootloader from the ota and then used afterOTA to get the unlocked version and it worked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So how did you downgrade? I've done everything I can think of - at least 6 times over...
That was the plan after I figured that downgrading back to stock and then going up from there was the only way, but I can't even go back to Honeycomb 3.2 or even 3.1.
Check this out - I even made sure to make a CWM backup of my original setup before I upgraded to 3.2 back almost a year ago...but I can't get it to restore. In fact, I made several different backups and can't get ANY of them to restore.
So, in short, what did you do to go backwards?
Psychlone
EDIT: when I try to get into APX or Bootloader, it always ends up in Thor 1.7 and my computer doesn't recognize the device with a device driver install fail for MTP USB Device, even though I've installed the Acer Recovery drivers and the Google SDK drivers too... wtH?

Psychlone said:
So how did you downgrade? I've done everything I can think of - at least 6 times over...
That was the plan after I figured that downgrading back to stock and then going up from there was the only way, but I can't even go back to Honeycomb 3.2 or even 3.1.
Check this out - I even made sure to make a CWM backup of my original setup before I upgraded to 3.2 back almost a year ago...but I can't get it to restore. In fact, I made several different backups and can't get ANY of them to restore.
So, in short, what did you do to go backwards?
Psychlone
EDIT: when I try to get into APX or Bootloader, it always ends up in Thor 1.7 and my computer doesn't recognize the device with a device driver install fail for MTP USB Device, even though I've installed the Acer Recovery drivers and the Google SDK drivers too... wtH?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if your on the honeycomb bootloader simply flash a honeycomb rom and kernel no need to use afterOTA or anything else if i remember correctly

Psychlone said:
So how did you downgrade? I've done everything I can think of - at least 6 times over...
That was the plan after I figured that downgrading back to stock and then going up from there was the only way, but I can't even go back to Honeycomb 3.2 or even 3.1.
Check this out - I even made sure to make a CWM backup of my original setup before I upgraded to 3.2 back almost a year ago...but I can't get it to restore. In fact, I made several different backups and can't get ANY of them to restore.
So, in short, what did you do to go backwards?
Psychlone
EDIT: when I try to get into APX or Bootloader, it always ends up in Thor 1.7 and my computer doesn't recognize the device with a device driver install fail for MTP USB Device, even though I've installed the Acer Recovery drivers and the Google SDK drivers too... wtH?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you got a couple of choices....
with the HC Bootloader and ics rom...
full wipe and flash an HC rom or
nandroid restore an HC backup or
flash an update.zip
as a last resort - a complete downgrade/rollback use timmydeansv4 EUU - just be sure to follow the instructions in jazzyjames post on how to roll back - iu dont wanna get it wrong and end up stuck in apx mode. If it doesnt work first time....STOP...disconnect yr data cable and reboot tab and pc, use a different USB port and try it again....
Some folks have had issues with win64 so if you are able to then try on a different pc
sometimes a restore wont work unless you restore it with the recovery you used to back up with in the first place which may have been cwm 1.3.4 in your case....maybe???
as far as the MTP driver goes...that can be a pain...i had the same trouble a few days ago on ICS...took ages to get installed....and i still dont know why it did....or why it wouldnt....very frustrating!!!

dibb_nz said:
you got a couple of choices....
with the HC Bootloader and ics rom...
full wipe and flash an HC rom or
nandroid restore an HC backup or
flash an update.zip
as a last resort - a complete downgrade/rollback use timmydeansv4 EUU - just be sure to follow the instructions in jazzyjames post on how to roll back - iu dont wanna get it wrong and end up stuck in apx mode. If it doesnt work first time....STOP...disconnect yr data cable and reboot tab and pc, use a different USB port and try it again....
Some folks have had issues with win64 so if you are able to then try on a different pc
sometimes a restore wont work unless you restore it with the recovery you used to back up with in the first place which may have been cwm 1.3.4 in your case....maybe???
as far as the MTP driver goes...that can be a pain...i had the same trouble a few days ago on ICS...took ages to get installed....and i still dont know why it did....or why it wouldnt....very frustrating!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
he's not on the ics bootloader though so couldn't he just flash the 3.01 unstable and get the OTA? or go back to a stock rom in general?

gears177 said:
he's not on the ics bootloader though so couldn't he just flash the 3.01 unstable and get the OTA? or go back to a stock rom in general?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeh 2nd line of my post hc bootloader ics rom, and u correct use 3.01 buggy update,zip or stock update.zip I shoulda been clearer - thanks gears

Thanks guys, I really do appreciate the help, but I'm still having serious issues reverting back to HC.
I feel like an idiot, but I have to say that even though it seems so, I'm actually the owner of a computer repair business, have 28 years experience in PC/Mac repair, and have rooted and modded every android device I've owned (including some for friends as well) - all the way back to the very beginning with the D1. This, however, has thrown me for a loop. NOTHING with this A500 has been this complicated! Everything up to this point has literally been stupid-proof and I've actually been quite impressed at just how easy modding is on the A500...
Anyway...
Here's what's going on and what I've tried today:
I've tried unsuccessfully several times to get ANYTHING working on my laptop, but to no avail. Same story as last night, no progress whatsoever - however, I did note that with CWM 134, I was able to restore an earlier version of ICS 4.03 (Flexreaper R10 I believe) - but it wasn't easy... I ended up restoring the main image and then using parts and pieces (using Advanced Restore) from other saves to finally even get it to boot.
This clearly wasn't getting me anywhere, so I moved the entire operation to another computer - my main rig (also a Win7 x64 - in fact, I don't own a computer that's not Win7 x64)
Now I've got USB driver issues! I can't even install the standard USB drivers from Acer's website because the installer errors out saying that there's no version of Acer Iconia 3G Driver Install is installed. wtF? That's what I'm TRYING to do!
I did get a different USB driver installed - the USB Driver_Acer_1.06.1500_A30H_A500, but nothing wants to use it and Blackthund3r's APX Flash Util won't see it, AfterOTA won't use it, and it's basically useless anyway. AND I can't install the Acer_1.00.0524_A30H_A31H_A32H_A500_A501 drivers no matter if I've got any others installed or not.
In my device mangler, there is no device with an exclamation, and in fact, sees my Acer Iconia A500 under USB Serial Bus Controllers as "Acer Picasso USB Boot-Recovery Driver", only when it's plugged in. NO other instance shows up at all.
I'm actually at the point of trying to follow through with the EUU (dibb_nz's "last resort"), but vache's website is down and I can't download anything for it. In fact, there's nothing from that guide that has a valid link...
(http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1632392)
So now where do I go? I understand IT really well, so you don't need to talk to me like a complete noob, but dang if I can't figure this one out!
If I can get valid links to all the downloads from the link above, I'd be more than happy to give it a go and see if that works, but I can't piece together all those things from random places. If either of you (or anyone else for that matter) has valid links for everything needed to follow the EUU guide, I'd be very grateful!
Any other advice would certainly be appreciated as well! I don't have to use either of these computers, but as mentioned, ALL of my computers have Windows 7 x64 on them. I suppose I could try one of my customer's computers for all this, but that's not morally right and probably something that I would prefer not to explore.
I feel as if I could get the USB drivers installed properly on EITHER machine, that I'd likely be in good shape. I think that's what my problem actually is on the laptop as well, even though they're all installed and shows as installed until I boot into any recovery - then I get the MTP Device Driver Fail. There's likely other Acer driver issues there though, since Blackthund3r's utils don't follow through for anything... everything just hangs. AfterOTA just hangs.
Advice please?
And thanks again for your knowledge!
Psychlone

Yeh I hear u m8, its taken me all nite and day to revert back to HC and then upgrade again....dam pesky Picasso drivers.....
why not do as gears suggested....boot to cwm do all the wipes and formatsand flash an HC rom, ezterrys has a rooted one...no drivers needed . or am I missing something?
D/l link for timmydeans euu in my cpuid thread

dibb_nz said:
Yeh I hear u m8, its taken me all nite and day to revert back to HC and then upgrade again....dam pesky Picasso drivers.....
why not do as gears suggested....boot to cwm do all the wipes and formatsand flash an HC rom, ezterrys has a rooted one...no drivers needed . or am I missing something?
D/l link for timmydeans euu in my cpuid thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I would but no matter what image I put on my SD or even internal SD, and no matter what recovery I use, there's always some type of fail - usually an MD5 fail, or just a fail without any error code at all (little android on his back with the red exclamation, but no code)
I'm clearly missing SOMETHING.
I'm about to try the EUU right now unless there's some other advice...
EDIT::
OK, so I'm really in bad shape here - now the EUU (PBJ20upgrade) comes back with the error:
Please download the newer image for the upgrade.
Current image version: Acer_AV041_A500_1,054.Acer_AV041_A500
New image version: Acer_A500_1.016.05_Com_GEN1
What now????

Psychlone said:
Well, I would but no matter what image I put on my SD or even internal SD, and no matter what recovery I use, there's always some type of fail - usually an MD5 fail, or just a fail without any error code at all (little android on his back with the red exclamation, but no code)
I'm clearly missing SOMETHING.
I'm about to try the EUU right now unless there's some other advice...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh hell now i'm confused, lol.....the little android dude is the acer stock recovery....i thought you had thors 1.7...oh well, nvm
Hopefully the EUU will install the right drivers for you....just be sure NOT to connect your data cable until u see the "cannot detect yr iconia tab" screen and it will give u instructions on how to get into apx mode...oh just before that window the EUU will try and scan your system image it will take a good 5 mins b4 it pops up the window to go into apx don't panic just let it do its thing....good luck m8!!!!
Oh and this will completely wipe yr system and user data.....

dibb_nz said:
oh hell now i'm confused, lol.....the little android dude is the acer stock recovery....i thought you had thors 1.7...oh well, nvm
Hopefully the EUU will install the right drivers for you....just be sure NOT to connect your data cable until u see the "cannot detect yr iconia tab" screen and it will give u instructions on how to get into apx mode...oh just before that window the EUU will try and scan your system image it will take a good 5 mins b4 it pops up the window to go into apx don't panic just let it do its thing....good luck m8!!!!
Oh and this will completely wipe yr system and user data.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some of the WEIRDEST stuff I've ever experienced - EVER.
Oh, the little dead android is when I'm using the stock recovery - I get different errors in TWRP and all the CWM Thor's that I've tried...(134, 71 and 712)
OK, so now PBJ20upgrade won't let me advance because apparently my CPUID isn't correct... it's the ICS version that's 13 characters long instead of 15, and my dmesg doesn't even contain the word "androidboot" at all (it does, however, contain a crapload of errors.)
What's going on?
OK, I'm an idiot. I really need help. I'm just glad that I'm 40 and don't lose my cool anymore, otherwise, I'd be freaking out about now.

Psychlone said:
Some of the WEIRDEST stuff I've ever experienced - EVER.
Oh, the little dead android is when I'm using the stock recovery - I get different errors in TWRP and all the CWM Thor's that I've tried...(134, 71 and 712)
OK, so now PBJ20upgrade won't let me advance because apparently my CPUID isn't correct... it's the ICS version that's 13 characters long instead of 15, and my dmesg doesn't even contain the word "androidboot" at all (it does, however, contain a crapload of errors.)
What's going on?
OK, I'm an idiot. I really need help. I'm just glad that I'm 40 and don't lose my cool anymore, otherwise, I'd be freaking out about now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cpuid = 15/16 chars go to one of yr cwm nandroid backups theres a uid.txt file in the folder all the other methods rely on adb??? if not try usbdeview thats in the thread too

THANK YOU!
dibb_nz said:
cpuid = 15/16 chars go to one of yr cwm nandroid backups theres a uid.txt file in the folder all the other methods rely on adb??? if not try usbdeview thats in the thread too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much dibb_nz... I've currently got PBJ20upgrade doing *something* (says it's going to take 10 minutes)
Thing is, I didn't get to this point by any conventional means - I followed the destructions several times over but ended up having a newer image than PBJ wanted, or the wrong CPUID.
I finally got this far by unplugging the tablet while PBJ was running, waiting for it's long error and instructions on how to get into APX (which I've clearly done at least a couple dozen times by now) and for some reason when I plugged it in, it shot forward.
We'll see how this goes - I'll keep you posted. I do VERY MUCH appreciate the help. I just might still need it, but hopefully not.
EDIT: Just rebooted and saw a "PASS" on the screen, followed by the "android" loading screen.
EDIT 2: It rebooted all the way in, I signed in (did the entire sign in process) and I'm BACK TO STOCK!!!!
Ok, so thank you THANK YOU THANK YOU for all the help - just being a sounding board is all I need sometimes.
Last questions to get me set up for the future:
What recovery should I create a restore with?
Then after creating a restore, should I use Blackthund3r's utility to flash an unlocked ICS bootloader, and if so, which package should I use to be able to test JB but still be able to go backwards to an ICS (preferably CM9)?
Anything else that I might need to know? (keep in mind that I've read on the order of 30 different threads pertaining to this adventure since it began a couple days ago, but I really appreciate the advice you've given and clearly you know what's up with the A500 - AND, it's hard to disseminate info from all the random threads everywhere. Speaking of which, why is it that there can't be a single thread with most everything that an A500 owner would need? Seriously!!)
Thanks again,
Psychlone

With what I went thru use Civs nvflash and rom and I'd stick with third cement until your safely patched and on ics.do all the wipes and follow instructions to the letter ...I'll check back in shortly
EDIT wtf "third cement" dang auto correct ... should read thors recovery

Wow - what a journey.
I'm now running CM10 and loving it.
I really can't believe the process that I went through over the last couple days - I've rooted and modded two dozen devices in the last year alone, and have been playing with root and modded ROMs since the very beginning, and nothing comes close to what I just did.
I actually have to blame not having everything I need in one place. Mis en place means to have everything you need before you even start - and that used to work back in the day, and still does to an extent for some devices, but anymore, the download links and information are found scattered across many different websites and forums and threads - so much so that it's apparent that this is a product of Google's lack of grip on their hardware and OS.
I do, however, see that you and a couple others have done a KILLER job of getting most everything together in one place to make it easier for those that are searching. I really appreciated your threads that I've read - the way you've written your guides is very intuitive and easy to follow, even if they didn't initially work for me.
Anyway, thanks again. I'm not going backwards now, but if I ever need to for some reason, at least I'm a bit familiar with the "worst-case scenario"!!
Take care man,
Psychlone

excellent news glad it worked for ya
Psychlone said:
Thanks so much dibb_nz... I've currently got PBJ20upgrade doing *something* (says it's going to take 10 minutes)
Thing is, I didn't get to this point by any conventional means - I followed the destructions several times over but ended up having a newer image than PBJ wanted, or the wrong CPUID.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if its referring to newer image then the data cable is connected!
and it will spit this error at you....
I finally got this far by unplugging the tablet while PBJ was running, waiting for it's long error and instructions on how to get into APX (which I've clearly done at least a couple dozen times by now) and for some reason when I plugged it in, it shot forward.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup now you're cookin
We'll see how this goes - I'll keep you posted. I do VERY MUCH appreciate the help. I just might still need it, but hopefully not.
EDIT: Just rebooted and saw a "PASS" on the screen, followed by the "android" loading screen.
EDIT 2: It rebooted all the way in, I signed in (did the entire sign in process) and I'm BACK TO STOCK!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh yeahhhhh!!!!
Ok, so thank you THANK YOU THANK YOU for all the help - just being a sounding board is all I need sometimes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nps glad to be of assistance -
Last questions to get me set up for the future:
What recovery should I create a restore with?
Then after creating a restore, should I use Blackthund3r's utility to flash an unlocked ICS bootloader, and if so, which package should I use to be able to test JB but still be able to go backwards to an ICS (preferably CM9)?
Anything else that I might need to know? (keep in mind that I've read on the order of 30 different threads pertaining to this adventure since it began a couple days ago, but I really appreciate the advice you've given and clearly you know what's up with the A500 - AND, it's hard to disseminate info from all the random threads everywhere. Speaking of which, why is it that there can't be a single thread with most everything that an A500 owner would need? Seriously!!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
becoz then you'd have thousands of posts to look thru and no-one would bother reading it all....i try to keep my cpuid thread updated with things 'unbricking' but its too hard to put 'everything' in one post unfortunately
---------- Post added at 07:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:48 PM ----------
Psychlone said:
Wow - what a journey.
I'm now running CM10 and loving it.
I really can't believe the process that I went through over the last couple days - I've rooted and modded two dozen devices in the last year alone, and have been playing with root and modded ROMs since the very beginning, and nothing comes close to what I just did.
I actually have to blame not having everything I need in one place. Mis en place means to have everything you need before you even start - and that used to work back in the day, and still does to an extent for some devices, but anymore, the download links and information are found scattered across many different websites and forums and threads - so much so that it's apparent that this is a product of Google's lack of grip on their hardware and OS.
I do, however, see that you and a couple others have done a KILLER job of getting most everything together in one place to make it easier for those that are searching. I really appreciated your threads that I've read - the way you've written your guides is very intuitive and easy to follow, even if they didn't initially work for me.
Anyway, thanks again. I'm not going backwards now, but if I ever need to for some reason, at least I'm a bit familiar with the "worst-case scenario"!!
Take care man,
Psychlone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hell, i havent got round to cm10 yet!! i'm trying to get there but i have too much fun helpin peeps get to grips with flashing BL's...have to really thank the devs they did an awesome job unlocking ICS so everyone can enjoy the custom ICS/JB/CM roms- they've extended the life of our little iconia an extra half year or so if not longer.....imagine if we had to put up with stock 'anything' lol, i'd have traded it in long ago!!
was about to suggest the apxflash bundles as there are alot more options as far as recovery's go but you're all sussed now so thats fantastic....
can u add "SOLVED" to the title in case someone else is looking for help. thanks m8:good:

dibb_nz said:
excellent news glad it worked for ya
hell, i havent got round to cm10 yet!! i'm trying to get there but i have too much fun helpin peeps get to grips with flashing BL's...have to really thank the devs they did an awesome job unlocking ICS so everyone can enjoy the custom ICS/JB/CM roms- they've extended the life of our little iconia an extra half year or so if not longer.....imagine if we had to put up with stock 'anything' lol, i'd have traded it in long ago!!
was about to suggest the apxflash bundles as there are alot more options as far as recovery's go but you're all sussed now so thats fantastic....
can u add "SOLVED" to the title in case someone else is looking for help. thanks m8:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM10 is SLICK. Think CM9 on graphics steroids and you're close!
I appreciate your position more than most. I get a lot of enjoyment out of helping others as well - I've written overclocking guides for AMD systems that was written years ago, revised a couple/three years ago and is still used to this day, even though I've long since moved over to Intel's "dark side". I also participate pretty deeply in helping others at a couple PC hardware forums pretty much daily, even though that's my actual job - I own 2 computer repair businesses in my hometown, and with well over 20,000 computers to fix, I'm ALWAYS busy but still always find time to help others in need.
As for adding ***SOLVED*** to the title, I'd love to...but it won't let me. Perhaps it's because I don't have a high enough post count, or because it's reserved for Mods, but I can't do it.
Thanks for everything once again - it's quite refreshing to be on the receiving end!
Psychlone

[Q] Acer A500 bricked. Is it fixable?

So, my neighbor bought an Acer A500 a few months back. He ended up not liking it so I bought it off of him. My tablet and I got really close and I fell in love. I started neglecting my girlfriend and all that. We had a beautiful relationship; my tablet and me. But, a couple days ago I was playing N.O.V.A 3 and it froze. I thought nothing of it and just powered it down. To my dismay, it froze at the Acer screen. I restarted it again and got the same thing. My life was over. My heart felt like it was ripped from my chest... I shed a manly tear.
I've tried vol- and power, vol+ and power, the reset button, D/Ling several different update.zip files and copying them to my SD. I've spent the last couple days reading and trying everything. All I get is the Droid guy with the blue thing swirling in his chest and then him laying on the ground with a red triangle and an exclamation point.
I'm told it's most likely not a hardware issue as things things are almost bullet-proof. But, I am pretty good at breaking things
Am I screwed or does someone have a miracle they can share. My gaming life depends on it.
-Dennis.

DennisPimps said:
So, my neighbor bought an Acer A500 a few months back. He ended up not liking it so I bought it off of him. My tablet and I got really close and I fell in love. I started neglecting my girlfriend and all that. We had a beautiful relationship; my tablet and me. But, a couple days ago I was playing N.O.V.A 3 and it froze. I thought nothing of it and just powered it down. To my dismay, it froze at the Acer screen. I restarted it again and got the same thing. My life was over. My heart felt like it was ripped from my chest... I shed a manly tear.
I've tried vol- and power, vol+ and power, the reset button, D/Ling several different update.zip files and copying them to my SD. I've spent the last couple days reading and trying everything. All I get is the Droid guy with the blue thing swirling in his chest and then him laying on the ground with a red triangle and an exclamation point.
I'm told it's most likely not a hardware issue as things things are almost bullet-proof. But, I am pretty good at breaking things
Am I screwed or does someone have a miracle they can share. My gaming life depends on it.
-Dennis.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know what you were running on this thing? Was it stock Honeycomb, scock ICS, or was it running a custom ROM? (If so which one?)
Was it ever hooked up to your PC? (This would help with retrieving CPUID, if it was.) Do you know your CPUID? (Or SBK?)
You should at the least know the answers to these questions before you attempt any type of repair, as it is almost certainly salvageable, but you will almost certainly need your CPUID.

Danny2 said:
Do you know what you were running on this thing? Was it stock Honeycomb, scock ICS, or was it running a custom ROM? (If so which one?)
Was it ever hooked up to your PC? (This would help with retrieving CPUID, if it was.) Do you know your CPUID? (Or SBK?)
You should at the least know the answers to these questions before you attempt any type of repair, as it is almost certainly salvageable, but you will almost certainly need your CPUID.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was running 4.0.1 ICS. I do have my cpuid and SBK. I tried flashing a new rom using blackthund3rs flash tool but it got to about 25% and stopped. I keep losing sync with my PCs, though.

DennisPimps said:
I was running 4.0.1 ICS. I do have my cpuid and SBK. I tried flashing a new rom using blackthund3rs flash tool but it got to about 25% and stopped. I keep losing sync with my PCs, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, do you want to go back to stock, or to a custom ROM? If you wanna go stock, the easiest way would be load a 3.01 EUU, & upgrade on the play market to 4.03. That will prove it isn't a hardware issue. Alternatively, you could root, load a recovery, a bootloader, & flash a new ROM.

Danny2 said:
So, do you want to go back to stock, or to a custom ROM? If you wanna go stock, the easiest way would be load a 3.01 EUU, & upgrade on the play market to 4.03. That will prove it isn't a hardware issue. Alternatively, you could root, load a recovery, a bootloader, & flash a new ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest, I really don't care as long as I can getting it working again. But I would rather root it.
I think I can get it to work but neither one of my computers will recognize it. It shows up in APX and says something about recovery driver mode when I plug it into the laptop with Vista automatically downloads a driver and installs it again. I've tried turning off automatic driver install but that doesn't work for some reason. The one with XP Pro just shows up APX device but the APX Flash Tool by blackthund3r says it can't find it. I've downloaded the Acer Iconia 500 drivers and installed them but that doesn't work either. I'm at a loss.
Any tips would be great. I think I have a better chance using my laptop with XP, though. I also need to let you know that I truly do appreciate you trying to help. If you're ever in Columbus Ohio, let me know and I'll buy you a beer. lol

DennisPimps said:
To be honest, I really don't care as long as I can getting it working again. But I would rather root it.
I think I can get it to work but neither one of my computers will recognize it. It shows up in APX and says something about recovery driver mode when I plug it into the laptop with Vista automatically downloads a driver and installs it again. I've tried turning off automatic driver install but that doesn't work for some reason. The one with XP Pro just shows up APX device but the APX Flash Tool by blackthund3r says it can't find it. I've downloaded the Acer Iconia 500 drivers and installed them but that doesn't work either. I'm at a loss.
Any tips would be great. I think I have a better chance using my laptop with XP, though. I also need to let you know that I truly do appreciate you trying to help. If you're ever in Columbus Ohio, let me know and I'll buy you a beer. lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry,I thought I responded to this yesterday, but just now noticed I didn't.
Fire it up in APX mode, and install the 3.01 EUU from the development section, (Stock ROM listing) then simply follow the upgrade path to 4.03, then root. If you drivers are installed correctly, everything will work fine, if not, nothing will happen. If it does start to load the stock ROM, then fails with a write error after it attempts to write the bootsector, you may need to run Badsector, or babsector, depending where you look. Search the recent posts on this, you will find lots of stuff.

Danny2 said:
Sorry,I thought I responded to this yesterday, but just now noticed I didn't.
Fire it up in APX mode, and install the 3.01 EUU from the development section, (Stock ROM listing) then simply follow the upgrade path to 4.03, then root. If you drivers are installed correctly, everything will work fine, if not, nothing will happen. If it does start to load the stock ROM, then fails with a write error after it attempts to write the bootsector, you may need to run Badsector, or babsector, depending where you look. Search the recent posts on this, you will find lots of stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How would I go about installing the EUU? I have nvflash and blackthund3r's flashing tools. But I can't seem to get my PC and tablet to connect. When I plug it into my PC without being in APX mode, it just says MTP Device. When I plug it in while in APX mode it does say something about Picasso Recovery Driver.
If you could explain things to me like I'm aN idiot, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks,
Dennis

DennisPimps said:
How would I go about installing the EUU? I have nvflash and blackthund3r's flashing tools. But I can't seem to get my PC and tablet to connect. When I plug it into my PC without being in APX mode, it just says MTP Device. When I plug it in while in APX mode it does say something about Picasso Recovery Driver.
If you could explain things to me like I'm aN idiot, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks,
Dennis
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for late response, I watched for reply from yourself, but you didn't answer for 10 days, I lost track. Still need help?

Danny2 said:
Sorry for late response, I watched for reply from yourself, but you didn't answer for 10 days, I lost track. Still need help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, it's still bricked. I did finally get the flash tool to recognize it but it kept hanging up. I also tried Timmy Dean's EUU tool and that hangs up too. I did a little more research and found that I may have a faulty emmc. I ran babsector and got 'fatal error code 9 cannot format partition BCT.' I found a thread here that discusses how to write around the bad sectors using Linux. I'm going to give that a go... I've always wanted to learn Linux. Hey, I can't screw it up anymore than it already is, right? Again, thanks for your time and effort in trying to help.
Cheers,
Dennis

Hey, before you try that, try different USB cables and ports (if u haven't already)
I had a similar problem with my phone not maintaining stable USB link to PC... after 4 days I tried a diff USB cable and boom, snap, working.
Just a thought.....
Sent from my A500 using xda app-developers app

ericpeacock79 said:
Hey, before you try that, try different USB cables and ports (if u haven't already)
I had a similar problem with my phone not maintaining stable USB link to PC... after 4 days I tried a diff USB cable and boom, snap, working.
Just a thought.....
Sent from my A500 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give that a go, m8.
Thanks!
-Dennis

DennisPimps said:
I'll give that a go, m8.
Thanks!
-Dennis
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just wondering if you ever figured out the errors you were getting during flashing? Currently having the same issues when using babsector.

[Q] Seriously Messed Something Up

I was trying to flash my A500 back to stock and something, somewhere, went horribly wrong.
I did everything I normally would: factory reset, wiped cash and dalvik, and then flashed the ICS stock zip. I rebooted the tablet and it said something about updating the bootloader and then went black. Now, the black screen is all I can get.
I've got good drivers on my Win8 computer, and the device is recognized in APX mode, but I haven't been able to do anything with it. I've tried messing around with A500Manager, AfterOTA, and the APX Flash Tool, but I do NOT know my CPUID - which makes everything quite difficult.
I looked through the thread about getting the CPUID from the tablet via USB while in APX mode, but I know nothing about coding or building drivers and the like, and it all went well over my head.
I don't normally ask for help like this, (as one could guess from my post count) as I very rarely find myself in a situation a good amount of reading won't get me out of. This one has me well and stuck though! Any help would be greatly appreciated!
(For the record, I was on the unlocked V8 bootloader, Thor's CWM, and CM10 and tried flashing Acer_A500_1.041.00_WW_CUS1)
Clark

Hi Clark, sorry to hear of yr troubles....there's a recent thread here that sort of describes your issue....I'll post a link in a tick
But what happens when u turn the tab off - make sure pwr led lite is off - and then power on again?
Can u charge yr tab - pwr led is orange?
Flashing stock - did u use an update.zip or EUU or flash via cwm - there's a great guide how to revert to stock the easy way by jdgM3NT4L u should look at.
You might try booting to fast boot pwr volume UP but it sounds like that may not be available as u said yr tab did say updating boot loader...
Once u have the v8 boot loader the ONLY way to revert to stock is a downgrade to HC
Try running the nvFlash manually see civatos boot loader guide, (this requires yr tab to be in apx mode first,) and run the bat file.
IF YR TAB DOES NOT ENTER BOOTLOADER/A500 APX MODE please disconnect everything and don't go any further - you'll end up in more strife!!!
I'm on my way to work so will post links when I get there....
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk 2

Thanks for the response!
I flashed a .zip via CWM to attempt to revert to stock. I flashed an ICS stock ROM (Acer_A500_1.041.00_WW_CUS1), while on the V8 bootloader, might that have caused my problem?
Right now I can only get the tab to do two things: charge and boot into APX mode. No matter what else I do I just end up in a black-screen APX mode. Power+Vol does not do anything other than put me back in a black screen with power LED white state.
I haven't tried doing an nvFlash yet - can I do that without my CPUID?
Clark

tyrahn said:
Thanks for the response!
I flashed a .zip via CWM to attempt to revert to stock. I flashed an ICS stock ROM (Acer_A500_1.041.00_WW_CUS1), while on the V8 bootloader, might that have caused my problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
most definitely....u must flash a stock update.zip....but an EUU is best
u cannot flash ANY ics rom like this UNLESS u have the unlocked bootloader first... and u must downgrade If wanting to revert to stock....
Right now I can only get the tab to do two things: charge and boot into APX mode. No matter what else I do I just end up in a black-screen APX mode. Power+Vol does not do anything other than put me back in a black screen with power LED white state.
I haven't tried doing an nvFlash yet - can I do that without my CPUID?
Clark
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no u can't but if u did have the v8 u must have had yr cpuid....you'll need to find it, u cant do anything now till u get it,
just becoz i wish to spend some quality time here on xda....we are flat.out at work, lol....
u can try theauto flash tools.but. they
rely on the cpuid....there's a guide.in my sig but the.only option u have is eppeP.s method, check.out srbeens guide there..
gotta run, ill check back l8ŕ
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

dibb_nz said:
most definitely....u must flash a stock update.zip....
no u can't but if u did have the v8 u must have had yr cpuid....you'll need to find it, u cant do anything now till u get it,
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your tab has been connected to your pc, you can get the cpuid from your pc, without the tab connected. (using USBDeview)

dibb_nz said:
no u can't but if u did have the v8 u must have had yr cpuid....you'll need to find it, u cant do anything now till u get it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yah, I did have it at one point. I thought I'd saved it in a Google Doc, but I can't find it now ...
Danny2 said:
If your tab has been connected to your pc, you can get the cpuid from your pc, without the tab connected. (using USBDeview)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was, but I formatted my system when I installed Windows 8 last month, so I rather doubt that trick will work
Clark

tyrahn said:
Yah, I did have it at one point. I thought I'd saved it in a Google Doc, but I can't find it now ...
It was, but I formatted my system when I installed Windows 8 last month, so I rather doubt that trick will work
Clark
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well,there is still Linux. Not a Linux guy, but search the forums, you can find instructions for running some linux commands that will find your cpuid. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1751978 is a good place to start.

Danny2 said:
Well,there is still Linux. Not a Linux guy, but search the forums, you can find instructions for running some linux commands that will find your cpuid. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1751978 is a good place to start.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fantastic! I've got a laptop running Ubuntu and I'm pretty comfortable with being a script-monkey in terminal, I'll give it a whirl when I get the chance to spend some quality time with the tab.
Thanks for the link too, I had not found that one before. I had seen eppeP's guide and it made my head spin pretty quick, the srbeen one you linked to looks like someone with no dev experience like myself might be able to pull it off.
*fingers crossed*
Clark

HAAAA!!!! Success!
Well, I had some trouble with my linux laptop being 32-bit and spitting out the wrong UID, but got that sorted and snagged my UID and SBK.
Used blackthund3r's APX Flash Tool to get the V8 bootloader and Thor's CWM back, and then flashed rooted stock - all is good!
Not sure if I'll try getting back to full stock or not, still deciding if I want to sell the tab or give it away as a Christmas present.
Thanks so much for the help everyone!
Clark

that's gr8 m8.....u feel like writing up a bit of a 'how to' on wot u did, would come in mighty handy for others in the same boat?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

tyrahn said:
HAAAA!!!! Success!
Well, I had some trouble with my linux laptop being 32-bit and spitting out the wrong UID, but got that sorted and snagged my UID and SBK.
Used blackthund3r's APX Flash Tool to get the V8 bootloader and Thor's CWM back, and then flashed rooted stock - all is good!
Not sure if I'll try getting back to full stock or not, still deciding if I want to sell the tab or give it away as a Christmas present.
Thanks so much for the help everyone!
Clark
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad it worked out for you, that's what these forums are about, helping each other.

dibb_nz said:
that's gr8 m8.....u feel like writing up a bit of a 'how to' on wot u did, would come in mighty handy for others in the same boat?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could, but I'd be pretty much just replicating srbeen's thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1751978
The only thing I could really note is that eppeP's code that's linked to in srbeen's OP will only work on a 64-bit install of Linux. If you're running a 32-bit system (like I was) you need to scroll a bit further down the 1st page and grab the proper code for a 32-bit script.
Clark

a500 hard bricked help

hi all and thanks for your help in advance...
i have been assigned an a500 which is bricked and only shows the acer logo and nothing goes on from there
i have tried multiple roms along with custom roms as an update.zip into an SD card but it stops at the same position which is about 30% everytime on every rom
ive tried fastboot, says the BL is locked and when i tell it to unlock it it just says OKAY and stays locked
now blackthund3r with his apx flashing tool presented some hope as it detected the apx mode but after the flashing starts it wont go into bootloader mode the screen is just black
i have attached a screenshot of my pc trying to identify the tablet with apx not installed for no driver is found
i have installed every driver i can put my hands on starting with the latest from Acer drivers and none of them seems to give me the apx driver.
i think the only problem i have is the apx driver, can anyone point me in the right direction? ive got my SBK from afterota only one time and it never worked after that time. can anyone help with the drivers?
#edit:
i forgot to mention that even though it says apx is not installed, when i connect it in apx mode i have a little usb icon which says "eject APX" call me crazy but that just says apx IS installed right?

ssvNormandy said:
hi all and thanks for your help in advance...
i have been assigned an a500 which is bricked and only shows the acer logo and nothing goes on from there
i have tried multiple roms along with custom roms as an update.zip into an SD card but it stops at the same position which is about 30% everytime on every rom
ive tried fastboot, says the BL is locked and when i tell it to unlock it it just says OKAY and stays locked
now blackthund3r with his apx flashing tool presented some hope as it detected the apx mode but after the flashing starts it wont go into bootloader mode the screen is just black
i have attached a screenshot of my pc trying to identify the tablet with apx not installed for no driver is found
i have installed every driver i can put my hands on starting with the latest from Acer drivers and none of them seems to give me the apx driver.
i think the only problem i have is the apx driver, can anyone point me in the right direction? ive got my SBK from afterota only one time and it never worked after that time. can anyone help with the drivers?
#edit:
i forgot to mention that even though it says apx is not installed, when i connect it in apx mode i have a little usb icon which says "eject APX" call me crazy but that just says apx IS installed right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Generally, the APX (boot recovery download) driver should be installed with just the normal Acer drivers from the web site. On a Win8 pc, it can be a real pain, so if you have a Win7 pc, I would advise it. I suppose you are looking in Windows "Device Manager"?
Not sure about the "eject APX" message. Sounds strange to me, but maybe it says that on an XP PC, been to long to remember.
Stock Acer bootloader has no "Fastboot" capability. This was added after ICS with a patched bootloader.
Either way, you will need your CPUID number to use any of the NVFlash tools. There are stickies on how to get this, but more than likely you will need a Linux set-up, not sure if there's a windows method.
If the tab had been rooted, and a custom recovery added, there's a possibility there was a backup done, and it would be in the Clockwork Mod folder on externalSD card.

9918
Moscow Desire said:
Generally, the APX (boot recovery download) driver should be installed with just the normal Acer drivers from the web site. On a Win8 pc, it can be a real pain, so if you have a Win7 pc, I would advise it. I suppose you are looking in Windows "Device Manager"?
Not sure about the "eject APX" message. Sounds strange to me, but maybe it says that on an XP PC, been to long to remember.
Stock Acer bootloader has no "Fastboot" capability. This was added after ICS with a patched bootloader.
Either way, you will need your CPUID number to use any of the NVFlash tools. There are stickies on how to get this, but more than likely you will need a Linux set-up, not sure if there's a windows method.
If the tab had been rooted, and a custom recovery added, there's a possibility there was a backup done, and it would be in the Clockwork Mod folder on externalSD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am running win7 x64 and the apx drivers seem to be installed as blackthund3r recognizes it, its just that in blackthund3r apx tool it never seems to want to get into the bootloader mode i have no idea why.
also regarding my CPUID when i used afterota it showed me :
Tablet Serial : 485FEFA483118011
Tablet Cpuid : EMULATOR-5554
Tablet Sbk : 0xF5030000 0x00000000 0xF0D1E302 0xF0D1E302
Android Build : GT-N7000-user
Bootloader : 0.03.01-HC
now isnt the CPUID a 15-16 digit hex number?
and if my CPUID is wrong in this case above it should mean my SBK is wrong aswell right?
the build number is of a galaxy Note device which is also strange.
also, the device came with no SD card and it has not been rooted or a custom recovery installed on it, the owner says "it just died"
I had the Linux idea in mind as a last resort i suppose its time.
thank you for your help

ssvNormandy said:
I am running win7 x64 and the apx drivers seem to be installed as blackthund3r recognizes it, its just that in blackthund3r apx tool it never seems to want to get into the bootloader mode i have no idea why.
also regarding my CPUID when i used afterota it showed me :
Tablet Serial : 485FEFA483118011
Tablet Cpuid : EMULATOR-5554
Tablet Sbk : 0xF5030000 0x00000000 0xF0D1E302 0xF0D1E302
Android Build : GT-N7000-user
Bootloader : 0.03.01-HC
now isnt the CPUID a 15-16 digit hex number?
and if my CPUID is wrong in this case above it should mean my SBK is wrong aswell right?
the build number is of a galaxy Note device which is also strange.
also, the device came with no SD card and it has not been rooted or a custom recovery installed on it, the owner says "it just died"
I had the Linux idea in mind as a last resort i suppose its time.
thank you for your help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh man, Somebody must have tried installing a Galaxy Note Rom? Got me a little confused on just exactly what you have there mate.
The CPUID as you stated, should be an alpha numeric sequence such as for example (mine)038061c7409fa617.
Why it's telling you it's Emulator-5554 is quite strange. Tell me, how exactly did you get this CPUID? As if the tablet won't boot past the bootloader (Acer screen), then the usual discovery tools we have, can't get it, and this I can promise. I'm guessing it's just spitting out some programming error.
And, I can also say your SBK number is suspect also. Looks weird. Here is mine (no, won't work on yours) 0x79531F00 0xBB680C01 0xFB22E803 0x8ADE2003
I would suggest the following;
There's a user here, dibb_nz, and he has some links on unbricking. Currently he is abroad, so won't answer PM. Also, there is a thread "Why CPUID is Important (might be the same things). In there, are some steps on how to get the number from a dead tablet. No, I've never personally had to do this, but other folks have. I know there's steps from Linux, but believe there may also be windows steps as well.
Another good link from Linux (you can run I dual boot, as I do) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1751978 This should be easy to follow, and probably best chance at getting it.
Another good thread from Dibb_nz http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2049778 Has several unbrick procedures.
I have several factory Roms here on my server. I try getting one whenever I come across them. Acer in all of their infinate wisdom, have shut down their OTA servers for quite some time, and also, they add and delete factory Roms from their official support site all the time.
If I can help you, I will. Some things may be out of my control, but will help as much as possible. We have some pretty good folks here in the 500 forums, but the tablet is getting a bit old, and most have moved on to somehing newer.
MD

Moscow Desire said:
Oh man, Somebody must have tried installing a Galaxy Note Rom? Got me a little confused on just exactly what you have there mate.
The CPUID as you stated, should be an alpha numeric sequence such as for example (mine)038061c7409fa617.
Why it's telling you it's Emulator-5554 is quite strange. Tell me, how exactly did you get this CPUID? As if the tablet won't boot past the bootloader (Acer screen), then the usual discovery tools we have, can't get it, and this I can promise. I'm guessing it's just spitting out some programming error.
And, I can also say your SBK number is suspect also. Looks weird. Here is mine (no, won't work on yours) 0x79531F00 0xBB680C01 0xFB22E803 0x8ADE2003
I would suggest the following;
There's a user here, dibb_nz, and he has some links on unbricking. Currently he is abroad, so won't answer PM. Also, there is a thread "Why CPUID is Important (might be the same things). In there, are some steps on how to get the number from a dead tablet. No, I've never personally had to do this, but other folks have. I know there's steps from Linux, but believe there may also be windows steps as well.
Another good link from Linux (you can run I dual boot, as I do) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1751978 This should be easy to follow, and probably best chance at getting it.
Another good thread from Dibb_nz http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2049778 Has several unbrick procedures.
I have several factory Roms here on my server. I try getting one whenever I come across them. Acer in all of their infinate wisdom, have shut down their OTA servers for quite some time, and also, they add and delete factory Roms from their official support site all the time.
If I can help you, I will. Some things may be out of my control, but will help as much as possible. We have some pretty good folks here in the 500 forums, but the tablet is getting a bit old, and most have moved on to somehing newer.
MD
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Click to collapse
I got my CPUID from afterota "no idea how but it just worked for one time, and later yesterday worked again".
when i try "adb devices" it just shows nothing, while yesterday also i tried the same command and it returned with EMULATOR-5554 as a device connected and i could get in the shell but could do nothing from there...
i have seen those posts before they have been helpful but as far as using "a500 manager tool" to recover my CPUID, the tool hasent worked.
anyways i suspect the only way of getting my CPUID is through a linux distribution,and from there i can stumble around with nvflash from there or go back to windows. As I dont have any linux expertise it would be a good experience.

ssvNormandy said:
I got my CPUID from afterota "no idea how but it just worked for one time, and later yesterday worked again".
when i try "adb devices" it just shows nothing, while yesterday also i tried the same command and it returned with EMULATOR-5554 as a device connected and i could get in the shell but could do nothing from there...
i have seen those posts before they have been helpful but as far as using "a500 manager tool" to recover my CPUID, the tool hasent worked.
anyways i suspect the only way of getting my CPUID is through a linux distribution,and from there i can stumble around with nvflash from there or go back to windows. As I dont have any linux expertise it would be a good experience.
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Click to collapse
Use Ubuntu for the linux distro. It's by far the most common. Basically you can install it 2 ways.
1) As a dual boot (might have to disable a BIOS setting if your PC is pretty new. Usually only if it was a Win8 new system) Benefit is that the Linux OS will get 100% system resources. Downside is that it'll partition your HDD.
2) Run it under cygwin. Basically an emulator which runs within windows, and you create a virtual drive for the Linux install. The benefit is that you can uninstall it rather easily when finished. Downside is it shares Windows resources.
If you're only after the UID, then probably the cygwin method is better for you.
MD

Moscow Desire said:
Use Ubuntu for the linux distro. It's by far the most common. Basically you can install it 2 ways.
1) As a dual boot (might have to disable a BIOS setting if your PC is pretty new. Usually only if it was a Win8 new system) Benefit is that the Linux OS will get 100% system resources. Downside is that it'll partition your HDD.
2) Run it under cygwin. Basically an emulator which runs within windows, and you create a virtual drive for the Linux install. The benefit is that you can uninstall it rather easily when finished. Downside is it shares Windows resources.
If you're only after the UID, then probably the cygwin method is better for you.
MD
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Click to collapse
i've never heard of cygwin, i was thinking virtual machine but i was slacking due to the work it needs doing and my impatience... i must ask if afterota is showing EMULATOR-5554 and i managed to get it in adb mode and it still showed EMULATOR-5554 do you think its even recoverable in ubuntu?

ssvNormandy said:
i've never heard of cygwin, i was thinking virtual machine but i was slacking due to the work it needs doing and my impatience... i must ask if afterota is showing EMULATOR-5554 and i managed to get it in adb mode and it still showed EMULATOR-5554 do you think its even recoverable in ubuntu?
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Click to collapse
Well, being in the 500 forums, and owning a 501, I can say these tablets are pretty much bulletproof. I've never known one that can't be unbricked. Basically, if it has some life, it can be brought back. Mine blew away the bootloader, hard bricked. Took out the mainboard, slapped it in the oven, reseated some nand chips, and it updated the blob file when I booted it. :good: imagine that!
It's still a little flakey running EUUS files, but it's on 3.2.1 and rooted, so I will leave it on that rather than press the issue any further. Besides, it's only used for You Tube and Browser anyhow.
I would say the Linux method will probably reveal the true CPUID. Afterota seems like it's generating some development code. Like I said, none of those tools will work properly unless the tablet OS is running, so who knows what strange things will happen.
I've never used VM, but it should also boot ubuntu.
This chap just got his CPUID today using a Linux distro.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/iconia-a500/help/a500-brick-firmware-install-t2865167

Moscow Desire said:
Well, being in the 500 forums, and owning a 501, I can say these tablets are pretty much bulletproof. I've never known one that can't be unbricked. Basically, if it has some life, it can be brought back. Mine blew away the bootloader, hard bricked. Took out the mainboard, slapped it in the oven, reseated some nand chips, and it updated the blob file when I booted it. :good: imagine that!
It's still a little flakey running EUUS files, but it's on 3.2.1 and rooted, so I will leave it on that rather than press the issue any further. Besides, it's only used for You Tube and Browser anyhow.
I would say the Linux method will probably reveal the true CPUID. Afterota seems like it's generating some development code. Like I said, none of those tools will work properly unless the tablet OS is running, so who knows what strange things will happen.
I've never used VM, but it should also boot ubuntu.
This chap just got his CPUID today using a Linux distro.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/iconia-a500/help/a500-brick-firmware-install-t2865167
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Click to collapse
the oven? im confused what reflowing the solder has to do with anything lol and i hope im not going to that stage haha
im downloading ubuntu now as we speak, im hoping it will work but im confused about the libraries that i need to download, GCC and the other ones, are they something special and special installation required? or sniffing around google would do the trick?

ssvNormandy said:
the oven? im confused what reflowing the solder has to do with anything lol and i hope im not going to that stage haha
im downloading ubuntu now as we speak, im hoping it will work but im confused about the libraries that i need to download, GCC and the other ones, are they something special and special installation required? or sniffing around google would do the trick?
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Click to collapse
Well, normally after you get an ubuntu install, you can download extra packages. Terminal for one. I'm sure the Ubuntu help center tells you how to get certain packages (lib's and such). Basically you do it via a terminal window. Like I said, I've never used that particular procedure myself, but seems some others got it figured out.
Ha Ha... the oven. Yes, I was skeptical to say the least, but thinking back on rice to dry out a phone, putting a dead HDD in the freezer, well, it seemed plausible. And for me, the oven trick worked. Pressed all the nands back into place, and was able to clear the "Blob update failed" error (was stuck with no working bootloader, hence a hard brick). I attribute it to my 2.5yrs old girl dropping the tab once too often (although was in a good cover).

Moscow Desire said:
Well, normally after you get an ubuntu install, you can download extra packages. Terminal for one. I'm sure the Ubuntu help center tells you how to get certain packages (lib's and such). Basically you do it via a terminal window. Like I said, I've never used that particular procedure myself, but seems some others got it figured out.
Ha Ha... the oven. Yes, I was skeptical to say the least, but thinking back on rice to dry out a phone, putting a dead HDD in the freezer, well, it seemed plausible. And for me, the oven trick worked. Pressed all the nands back into place, and was able to clear the "Blob update failed" error (was stuck with no working bootloader, hence a hard brick). I attribute it to my 2.5yrs old girl dropping the tab once too often (although was in a good cover).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well i have good news and bad news...
i got Ubuntu and i was succeful in retrieving my CPUID and after that my SBK, blackthund3r a500 tool worked and it got into " entering acer download mode" as in it booted in bootloader mode which is very good, but now when i flash something it is stuck at "stage two-uploading image" and the nvflash command screen is stuck at "resume mode".... well great, now what? lol

ssvNormandy said:
well i have good news and bad news...
i got Ubuntu and i was succeful in retrieving my CPUID and after that my SBK, blackthund3r a500 tool worked and it got into " entering acer download mode" as in it booted in bootloader mode which is very good, but now when i flash something it is stuck at "stage two-uploading image" and the nvflash command screen is stuck at "resume mode".... well great, now what? lol
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Click to collapse
Eh, ok, you got the CPUID. Hang on and I'll give you a link for Timmy Deans 3.2.1 rollback.... Sounds like you got a corrupt partition.
OK, download and unzip the contents.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/fo4wqjeald4s3rj/tdv4_rollback_rom.7z
Now, in the contents, you will see the file pbj20upgrage.exe
Run it as "administrator" (right mouse click it and select run as administrator)
Now, don't plug in the tab. After it does a couple things, (installs drivers, starts looking for current build it will eventually prompt you to start your tab in APX mode. Do it. Then connect, enter your CPUID when asked, and it will NVFlash a complete pre-rooted 3.2.1 with CWM Recovery.

Moscow Desire said:
Eh, ok, you got the CPUID. Hang on and I'll give you a link for Timmy Deans 3.2.1 rollback.... Sounds like you got a corrupt partition.
OK, download and unzip the contents.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/fo4wqjeald4s3rj/tdv4_rollback_rom.7z
Now, in the contents, you will see the file pbj20upgrage.exe
Run it as "administrator" (right mouse click it and select run as administrator)
Now, don't plug in the tab. After it does a couple things, (installs drivers, starts looking for current build it will eventually prompt you to start your tab in APX mode. Do it. Then connect, enter your CPUID when asked, and it will NVFlash a complete pre-rooted 3.2.1 with CWM Recovery.
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Click to collapse
well well well, it worked and its perfect now. thank you very much for your help MD pbj20upgrade was the answer, now off to install ICS
thank you again

ssvNormandy said:
well well well, it worked and its perfect now. thank you very much for your help MD pbj20upgrade was the answer, now off to install ICS
thank you again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great!
Now, just remember, when you install one of the full ICS Update files (I have a thread stickied in one of these forums), it will change the bootloader, and also do away with the CWM custom recovery. A custom ICS ROM will not run on an HC 3.2.1 bootloader. This is why we had the Blackthunder tool and patched V8 bootloader. Just so you are aware.
Good luck!
MD

Moscow Desire said:
Great!
Now, just remember, when you install one of the full ICS Update files (I have a thread stickied in one of these forums), it will change the bootloader, and also do away with the CWM custom recovery. A custom ICS ROM will not run on an HC 3.2.1 bootloader. This is why we had the Blackthunder tool and patched V8 bootloader. Just so you are aware.
Good luck!
MD
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Click to collapse
blackthunder's tool just WILL NOT RUN on the tab its always stuck on nvflash resume mode, and uploading image, even after i got the tab back to life i have no idea why, and everytime i try to flash the v8 or even v9 BL it just freezes and i get the acer splash screen again, and then i have to rollback again.
is there any detailed tut on installing ics with the correct steps ? it would be much appreciated, HC wont run any recent app and its ticking me

ssvNormandy said:
blackthunder's tool just WILL NOT RUN on my tab its always stuck on nvflash resume mode, and uploading image, even after i got the tab back to life i have no idea why, and everytime i try to flash the v8 or even v9 BL it just freezes and i get the acer splash screen again, and then i have to rollback again.
is there any detailed tut on installing ics with the correct steps ? it would be much appreciated, HC wont run any recent app and its ticking me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the world of corrupted nand memory.
You can try running "babsector" and see if it will NVFLASH repaired partitions.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2049778 and go to the second post.
Not saying it will fix it, but it might.
Have you tried running an ICS Update file?

Moscow Desire said:
Welcome to the world of corrupted nand memory.
You can try running "babsector" and see if it will NVFLASH repaired partitions.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2049778 and go to the second post.
Not saying it will fix it, but it might.
Have you tried running an ICS Update file?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have basically tried every ROM available and got nothing in return, running babsector gave me an error about formatting partition failed, although when i booted i had a green screen with v8 bootloader on it but it wont boot not will it install any rom and it says, kernel failed or something i dont remember. I have decided to abandon the project and just give it back to the owner with HC 3.2.1 and get it over with
edit: i added a picture of the error

ssvNormandy said:
i have basically tried every ROM available and got nothing in return, running babsector gave me an error about formatting partition failed, although when i booted i had a green screen with v8 bootloader on it but it wont boot not will it install any rom and it says, kernel failed or something i dont remember. I have decided to abandon the project and just give it back to the owner with HC 3.2.1 and get it over with
edit: i added a picture of the error
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Click to collapse
Yep, same issue with me. I'm stuck on 3.2 HC
Well, it's a secondary tablet anyhow.

Yep well i figured it was unrecoverable and not worth the effort and time put into it, thanks for the rollback method i couldnt have done it without you MD atleast its working now

ssvNormandy said:
Yep well i figured it was unrecoverable and not worth the effort and time put into it, thanks for the rollback method i couldnt have done it without you MD atleast its working now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, and a little bit of knowledge :laugh::laugh::laugh: (maybe too much)
Am glad I could help out!! :good:

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