Database Users

Tab 7.7 P6810 SERIOUSLY bricked..!! :(

Hi Folks,
I'll try to be as detailed as possible..days ago, I flashed a custom ROM on my ICS 7.7 stock Tab, however it kept on a boot loop. I made a backup via CWM so I tried to restore back to ICS...can't restore it ("Error while restoring /system") OK, no worries....
I tried to flash the HC and ICS stock back using ODIN....can't do it (in both times, It keeps getting stuck at "factoryfs.img" at the beginning)...starting to get worried..
Tried to use adb shell and e2fsck -cy /dev/block/mmcblk0p9.... no luck (kept getting the "error reading block *numbers increasing* (Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted in short read) while reading inode and block bitmaps. Ignore error? yes Force rewrite? yes" and then nothing happened...tried to wipe/format data...CWM crashed
Tried to flash a P6810 PIT file to repartition the tab...no luck, ODIN still stuck at "factoryfs"
Tried to flash Android Stock Recovery...finally got wipe/format data to work...tried to flash "SkyHigh ROM" based on stock ICS (Remember that ODIN method doesn't work?) it installs, BUT when rebooting, it just stays looping at the Samsung Logo... now oficially Freaked out..!!:crying::crying:
Finally everytime I went to recovery mode, I get the following:
"E:failed to mount /preload (Invalid argument)
E:install_application_for_customer:can't mount /preload
your storage not prepared yet. please use UI menu for format and reboot options
copy aplication failed"
Like I said, I can wipe/format data and cache on stock recovery (can't do it on CWM) and also can flash ROM .zips (can't do it in ODIN)
So, to sum it up:
- Can't flash anything using ODIN (stuck at factoryfs)
- Can't flash using CWM (getting Samsung logo bootloop)
- Can't wipe/format data on CWM, it crashes (althought I can do it with stock recovery)
- VERY BASIC skills in adb shell (don't know to use it very much)
- I know (hope) it's not hard bricked because I can enter Download and Recovery modes
- Basically at this point, yeah I'm pretty sure to start banging my head on the wall
Can anyone help me out on this one..??? It's been 4 days trying everything
Any, ANY help will be deeply appreciated... :crying:
Thanks

have you wiped using the stock recovery? this happened to me before (there's a thread here entitled stuck at bootscreen/boot loop) some let the device drain it's battery, what I did was wipe it using the factory wipe the connect via ODIN to install the stock HC ROM

I wiped using the stock recovery...however, everytime I try to flash HC or ICS stock ROM using ODIN, It gets stuck at the very beginning of the "FACTORYFS" phase....
Last night tried to adb shell but now it gives me the "/system/bin/sh failed: no such file or directory"
I've been reading every single thread about how to revive it, but somehow I can't....

Go to notes forum they have threads how to repartation yr tab n make it work
Sent from my GT-P6800 using xda premium

i got stuck at the 'FACTORYFS' in ODIN no matter what i tried. i had flashed CWM using ODIN, but no ROM would flash.
turns out my usb cable being plugged into a USB hub was the culprit. it still flashed CWM like that, but the first time i tried flashing the ROM with the USB plugged right into my desktop, it worked.
just throwing that out there.

Yes. Seems like you have emmc bricked your tab. There is a fix for it. Search for emmc bug
Sent From the Tab

idiotekniQues said:
i got stuck at the 'FACTORYFS' in ODIN no matter what i tried. i had flashed CWM using ODIN, but no ROM would flash.
turns out my usb cable being plugged into a USB hub was the culprit. it still flashed CWM like that, but the first time i tried flashing the ROM with the USB plugged right into my desktop, it worked.
just throwing that out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to add to this. while i was experiencing this, i too could not flash any zip rom via CWM, it would bootloop also.
however i could wipe cache using CWM, which you can't.

Finally got it working... !!! However I could only installed CM9 "successfully" since it keeps freezing and crashing...Is there any stable custom ROM that I can install via CWM..?? (Odin keeps hanging at "factory's")

[Q] I guess I bricked my phone. Can't restore via ODIN. Options? -Solved-

Alright so here's what I did, and how I got to my current situation and what the situation is.
What I did:
Had CM10.2 working fine on my rom. Recovery was TWRP (latest). Decided to flash PAC 4.3 cause I really like that rom. Flashed PAC 4.3. Worked fine, decided I wanted to restore titanium backups. Read in a few places that I needed to flash the SuperSU zip from chainfire. Downloaded the latest version from him and flashed in TWRP. TWRP took a -really- long time to flash the zip. After it finished I restarted the phone Wouldn't get past the samsung screen. Uhhh okay no problem.
I still have access to TWRP right? Yup, Still do. Do a full wipe and flash PAC 4.3 and Gapps. Flash is taking forever again. PAC gives no information at all (none of the usual ASCII artwork or anything). GApps loads the installer script but I get a can not mount /data and can not mount /system error.... Oh ****. Now I'm worried.
Download the PDA file from the sticky in the general section. (I337UCUAMDB_I337ATTAMDB_I337UCUAMDB_HOME.tar.md5) Pop the phone into download mode, and flash the PDA file via odin. Great, everything's going well. It flashes System, Flashes recovery, and everything else. Get a message saying All threads completed, Succeeded 1/failed 0. Awesome Right? No....
Phone restarts, goes into the stock recovery screen while something happens and restarts again. Now the phone's stuck on the samsung screen again. I can still access download mode and still access recovery (stock). When I access stock recovery it says "failed to mount /data (stale NFS file handle).... can't mount /data (stale NFS file handle)... E: failed to mount /data (stale NFS file handle).
Now what?... What can I do to fix this?
**EDIT**: Just did format on /data on stock recovery and it seems to have booted... False alert guys. Soft bricked, but nothing else.

Did you try a factory reset in stock recovery?
Sent from my SGH-M919G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Blaze9 said:
Alright so here's what I did, and how I got to my current situation and what the situation is.
What I did:
Had CM10.2 working fine on my rom. Recovery was TWRP (latest). Decided to flash PAC 4.3 cause I really like that rom. Flashed PAC 4.3. Worked fine, decided I wanted to restore titanium backups. Read in a few places that I needed to flash the SuperSU zip from chainfire. Downloaded the latest version from him and flashed in TWRP. TWRP took a -really- long time to flash the zip. After it finished I restarted the phone Wouldn't get past the samsung screen. Uhhh okay no problem.
I still have access to TWRP right? Yup, Still do. Do a full wipe and flash PAC 4.3 and Gapps. Flash is taking forever again. PAC gives no information at all (none of the usual ASCII artwork or anything). GApps loads the installer script but I get a can not mount /data and can not mount /system error.... Oh ****. Now I'm worried.
Download the PDA file from the sticky in the general section. (I337UCUAMDB_I337ATTAMDB_I337UCUAMDB_HOME.tar.md5) Pop the phone into download mode, and flash the PDA file via odin. Great, everything's going well. It flashes System, Flashes recovery, and everything else. Get a message saying All threads completed, Succeeded 1/failed 0. Awesome Right? No....
Phone restarts, goes into the stock recovery screen while something happens and restarts again. Now the phone's stuck on the samsung screen again. I can still access download mode and still access recovery (stock). When I access stock recovery it says "failed to mount /data (stale NFS file handle).... can't mount /data (stale NFS file handle)... E: failed to mount /data (stale NFS file handle).
Now what?... What can I do to fix this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try factory restore / reset in recovery?

Sorry, I forgot to update. The second I posted this I tried to go into the recovery and do a stock wipe. it worked. Thanks for the tip regardless!
I wonder why stock recovery was able to fix it, but TWRP wasn't? I did /data wipes on both recoveries...

goobieracing said:
Did you try a factory reset in stock recovery? Or maybe try odining the pit file also that somewhere on the forum. Maybe your partitions got corrupt flashing some how.
Sent from my SGH-M919G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odining the PIT file is a bad idea. At best, it will not work, at worst, it will cause a hard brick
A. Regardless of what anyone has said or what ODIN reports, there is no evidence that the PIT files that are pulled from AT&T phones work on any other device than the one it was originally pulled from. Signing issues are to blame.
and
B. Messing with PIT files can hard brick a phone that was only soft bricked. PIT files (when they work) must be accompanied by a firmware files or else no data will be on the phone.
---------- Post added at 02:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:50 AM ----------
Blaze9 said:
Sorry, I forgot to update. The second I posted this I tried to go into the recovery and do a stock wipe. it worked. Thanks for the tip regardless!
I wonder why stock recovery was able to fix it, but TWRP wasn't? I did /data wipes on both recoveries...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like to me you need to do a lot more reading and learning before you do anything else. It has been a well known fact, and widely discussed in the AT&T S4 forums that a factory reset needs to be done after flashing firmware in ODIN in order for the previous data to be wiped from the phone and for it to boot up again.

goobieracing said:
Did you try a factory reset in stock recovery?
Sent from my SGH-M919G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
scott14719 said:
Did you try factory restore / reset in recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
scott14719 said:
Odining the PIT file is a bad idea. At best, it will not work, at worst, it will cause a hard brick
A. Regardless of what anyone has said or what ODIN reports, there is no evidence that the PIT files that are pulled from AT&T phones work on any other device than the one it was originally pulled from. Signing issues are to blame.
and
B. Messing with PIT files can hard brick a phone that was only soft bricked. PIT files (when they work) must be accompanied by a firmware files or else no data will be on the phone.
---------- Post added at 02:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:50 AM ----------
It sounds like to me you need to do a lot more reading and learning before you do anything else. It has been a well known fact, and widely discussed in the AT&T S4 forums that a factory reset needs to be done after flashing firmware in ODIN in order for the previous data to be wiped from the phone and for it to boot up again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, I never had to use ODIN on the S4 before. Didn't know that. On my S2 I didn't have to wipe after flashing via ODIN.
Good to know, anyway. Thanks.

Blaze9 said:
Sorry, I forgot to update. The second I posted this I tried to go into the recovery and do a stock wipe. it worked. Thanks for the tip regardless!
I wonder why stock recovery was able to fix it, but TWRP wasn't? I did /data wipes on both recoveries...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had to do a stock reset recovery the other day for something like this. Probably just left over files from previous stopping it from booting.
scott14719 said:
Odining the PIT file is a bad idea. At best, it will not work, at worst, it will cause a hard brick
A. Regardless of what anyone has said or what ODIN reports, there is no evidence that the PIT files that are pulled from AT&T phones work on any other device than the one it was originally pulled from. Signing issues are to blame.
and
B. Messing with PIT files can hard brick a phone that was only soft bricked. PIT files (when they work) must be accompanied by a firmware files or else no data will be on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I learned something new today. Back in the infuse 4g days whenever I'd odined back to stock I always used the pit. I was under the influence that set everything up the way it came stock. Hope to see some of your work coming to sthe s4. Maybe you help the sense port going on in the international thread lol. Not trying to add work to ur day but I OK know if u, jt, and entropy can bring ICS to a out dated phone u might have the skills to ad your 2 cent.
Sent from my SGH-M919G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
---------- Post added at 02:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:01 AM ----------
Blaze9 said:
Ah, I never had to use ODIN on the S4 before. Didn't know that. On my S2 I didn't have to wipe after flashing via ODIN.
Good to know, anyway. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had to Odin to stock the first time two days agao but mine booted and I only had stock recovery. When it started up the ROM everything was crashing and that's what fixed it. Glad you fixed it though.
Sent from my SGH-M919G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Pretty much got the same problem. Seems that somehow my device encrypted itself and since I didn't know...I don't have a password to give it. So I got a encrypted device that can't be decrypted, thus, I can't format, install, wipe, etc. Not sure if you got the same, but mine is about the same symptoms.
But is it ok to flash "I337UCUAMDB_I337ATTAMDB_I337UCUAMDB_HOME.tar.md5" on mine? Kinda confused with all this MDL, MDB, and MF3 stuff. Mine was an MDL. So is flashing MDB stock ok anyway? Or should I find the stock for MDL?
EDIT: Just flashed MDL stock anyway. Worked fine and now I'm starting from scratch. No more problems so far. I might stay away from TWRP for a bit now though. Surprised there isn't a guide or warning for this problem though.

gerard0986 said:
Pretty much got the same problem. Seems that somehow my device encrypted itself and since I didn't know...I don't have a password to give it. So I got a encrypted device that can't be decrypted, thus, I can't format, install, wipe, etc. Not sure if you got the same, but mine is about the same symptoms.
But is it ok to flash "I337UCUAMDB_I337ATTAMDB_I337UCUAMDB_HOME.tar.md5" on mine? Kinda confused with all this MDL, MDB, and MF3 stuff. Mine was an MDL. So is flashing MDB stock ok anyway? Or should I find the stock for MDL?
EDIT: Just flashed MDL stock anyway. Worked fine and now I'm starting from scratch. No more problems so far. I might stay away from TWRP for a bit now though. Surprised there isn't a guide or warning for this problem though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The PW TWRP asks for? IT's just TWRP, if I remember correctly.

sprint s4 get stuck on samsung logo on 2nd boot

not sure what is going on but i have twrp recovery and running the triforce rom at the moment. though every rom has done same thing that i have tried. i swap batteries alot rather then charge the phone so this is a pain since the only fix i have found is reboot to recovery which also sometimes freezes on the twrp logo and do complete wipe. then it will boot up fine. but of course everything is gone.

excessive81 said:
not sure what is going on but i have twrp recovery and running the triforce rom at the moment. though every rom has done same thing that i have tried. i swap batteries alot rather then charge the phone so this is a pain since the only fix i have found is reboot to recovery which also sometimes freezes on the twrp logo and do complete wipe. then it will boot up fine. but of course everything is gone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which twrp recovery you using?
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app

openrecovery-twrp-2.6.0.0-jfltespr

excessive81 said:
openrecovery-twrp-2.6.0.0-jfltespr
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Twrp version 2.6.0.0 seems to be buggy either try 2.5.0.2 or 2.6.0.3 they seem to be working for people the most
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app

excessive81 said:
not sure what is going on but i have twrp recovery and running the triforce rom at the moment. though every rom has done same thing that i have tried. i swap batteries alot rather then charge the phone so this is a pain since the only fix i have found is reboot to recovery which also sometimes freezes on the twrp logo and do complete wipe. then it will boot up fine. but of course everything is gone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has been a problem for me as well. I've used TWRP 2.5.0.2 and the 2.6.x.x versions with the same issue. Typically only happens after flashing an AOSP based ROM then restoring a TW nandroid. For me, one of the partitions gets corrupted, I've had /data and /system both get borked. Formatting in TWRP and CWM does nothing to fix the problem. My only solution so far has been to ODIN crawjs rooted stock MF9 .tar and factory reset in stock recovery. This seems to restore the partition. After that, reboot into download again and flash TWRP 2.5.0.2 .tar. Only then can I successfully restore a previous Nandroid.
It's weird, the first boot always works. Haven't heard a definitive answer to why this happens. I may experiment flashing an AOSP with CWM and see if the same issue persists.

smizak said:
This has been a problem for me as well. I've used TWRP 2.5.0.2 and the 2.6.x.x versions with the same issue. Typically only happens after flashing an AOSP based ROM then restoring a TW nandroid. For me, one of the partitions gets corrupted, I've had /data and /system both get borked. Formatting in TWRP and CWM does nothing to fix the problem. My only solution so far has been to ODIN crawjs rooted stock MF9 .tar and factory reset in stock recovery. This seems to restore the partition. After that, reboot into download again and flash TWRP 2.5.0.2 .tar. Only then can I successfully restore a previous Nandroid.
It's weird, the first boot always works. Haven't heard a definitive answer to why this happens. I may experiment flashing an AOSP with CWM and see if the same issue persists.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the 2.6.3 worked thanks

excessive81 said:
the 2.6.3 worked thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That one still gets stuck on team win curtain,,, This one has been the best yet and I've flashed a ton with it :beer::thumbup:
http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23159073880933366
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app

ParkerParker said:
That one still gets stuck on team win curtain,,, This one has been the best yet and I've flashed a ton with it :beer::thumbup:
http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23159073880933366
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that file for 2.6.3.1 is not a tar file how do you flash it?
also i dont have freezing issues anymore but now after rebooting sd card no seen/working. it is there you can see it in settings menu which says it is mounted but the apps i moved to it dont work and the music is gone. if i unmount the card i can not remount it.

excessive81 said:
that file for 2.6.3.1 is not a tar file how do you flash it?
also i dont have freezing issues anymore but now after rebooting sd card no seen/working. it is there you can see it in settings menu which says it is mounted but the apps i moved to it dont work and the music is gone. if i unmount the card i can not remount it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
stock recovery, factory reset. trust me.

excessive81 said:
that file for 2.6.3.1 is not a tar file how do you flash it?
also i dont have freezing issues anymore
Just give it some time you will have curtain hangs... If you flash a lot.. But onto the zip, just flash in recovery, done
Heres the twrp thread if you feel like a read, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2262999
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Major Problem using TWRP

Hey guys, I am not new to this scene and have been running, flashing, roms since the S2. Today I ran into a major problem I cant seem to fix. I am running TWRP 2.5.0.2, always have for about 4 months with no issues. Today I did a complete Titanium Backup + recovery backup of my rom. After that I wiped for a fresh new rom install and noticed the rom I placed onto my internal storage is not there (it was def there in its own folder but through TWRP its not there). No biggie right? Just mount USB storage and put it somewhere else that TWRP can get to, but then USB wont mount on Windows now. No biggie right? Ill just restore the rom, put it in another directory, then wipe and reflash. However none of my backups are showing up when I hit restore, I had like 3 backups and everything is gone.
At this point what do I do? I tried everything to mount usb from recovery but windows wont take it (win 7). Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

doesntmatterx said:
Hey guys, I am not new to this scene and have been running, flashing, roms since the S2. Today I ran into a major problem I cant seem to fix. I am running TWRP 2.5.0.2, always have for about 4 months with no issues. Today I did a complete Titanium Backup + recovery backup of my rom. After that I wiped for a fresh new rom install and noticed the rom I placed onto my internal storage is not there (it was def there in its own folder but through TWRP its not there). No biggie right? Just mount USB storage and put it somewhere else that TWRP can get to, but then USB wont mount on Windows now. No biggie right? Ill just restore the rom, put it in another directory, then wipe and reflash. However none of my backups are showing up when I hit restore, I had like 3 backups and everything is gone.
At this point what do I do? I tried everything to mount usb from recovery but windows wont take it (win 7). Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nevermind guys I was able to get around it by putting the SD card from my S4 into the S2 and putting the rom files into another location. Once that was done placed it back into the S4, booted into recovery and flashed it. (phew!)

doesntmatterx said:
Nevermind guys I was able to get around it by putting the SD card from my S4 into the S2 and putting the rom files into another location. Once that was done placed it back into the S4, booted into recovery and flashed it. (phew!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:good:

xBeerdroiDx said:
:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I take it back, stuck in a boot loop even after 2 fresh ODIN unroot tasks. Nothing I do gets me out of this, been a long day getting longer now

Can anyone help? Been at it for hours, I have tried everything, phone still reboots at the Samsung logo (the bluish one )
Unrooted 3 times
Launched stock recovery, wiped factory reset
wiped partition cache
removed battery
Cannot connect to Kies for Emergency restore.

Did you do an internal 'sd card'/media data wipe?
Best bet would be to Odin back to stock and start from scratch:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261573
Then from there just use casual to root and install TWRP in one easy step and you're back:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2297900

seanpr123 said:
Did you do an internal 'sd card'/media data wipe?
Best bet would be to Odin back to stock and start from scratch:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261573
Then from there just use casual to root and install TWRP in one easy step and you're back:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2297900
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what I did, I was using Touchwiz and instead of doing a regular wipe I did a format and input "YES". I heard TW has major issues with this and thus screwed me up completely.
To add to my list above I tried this method and also did not work. http://androidfannetwork.com/2013/05/02/fix-your-soft-bricked-att-samsung-galaxy-s4/
Sean, I flashed from Odin like 3 times, how can I install TWRP if I cant get the phone to load up (boot loop)- Ill read up on casual. Thanks.

doesntmatterx said:
I know what I did, I was using Touchwiz and instead of doing a regular wipe I did a format and input "YES". I heard TW has major issues with this and thus screwed me up completely.
To add to my list above I tried this method and also did not work. http://androidfannetwork.com/2013/05/02/fix-your-soft-bricked-att-samsung-galaxy-s4/
Sean, I flashed from Odin like 3 times, how can I install TWRP if I cant get the phone to load up (boot loop)- Ill read up on casual. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you do a factory reset in the stock recovery after Odin? That'll usually get you past the boot loop.

Should I ODIN with the RE-Partition Option?

Just Odined again and no dice. I booted into stock recovery and noticed after wiping factory I get "Can't open /efs/log/boot_cause" which pointed me to this fix someone on the Galaxy note forum said they did and it worked but I dont understand the steps, need some elaboration.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=39523753&postcount=4

jd1639 said:
Did you do a factory reset in the stock recovery after Odin? That'll usually get you past the boot loop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep did that mulitple times, also did wipe cache partition in the same stock recovery. I get to the Samsung logo where the blue halo spins around the name, then it freezes there and reboots.

Hmm, never had to mess with EFS stuff on our phones before.
Did you make a backup ever in TWRP by chance?
Sorry if you tried the stock recovery options there's not much more I'm familiar with.
The good news is since you were able to Odin and get 3e back, you are technically warrantied again and could work with AT&T to get a new phone since your phone just stopped working out of the blue one day

seanpr123 said:
Hmm, never had to mess with EFS stuff on our phones before.
Did you make a backup ever in TWRP by chance?
Sorry if you tried the stock recovery options there's not much more I'm familiar with.
The good news is since you were able to Odin and get 3e back, you are technically warrantied again and could work with AT&T to get a new phone since your phone just stopped working out of the blue one day
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL thanks, yes I may have to do that. I had a backup and it was wiped.

Anyone have any suggestions at all? I can't be the only one who has had this boot-loop / partition problem without a fix... or maybe I am lol.

doesntmatterx said:
Anyone have any suggestions at all? I can't be the only one who has had this boot-loop / partition problem without a fix... or maybe I am lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try flashing using cwm. It'll probably work fine. Then you can go back to twrp. That's worked on other devices. Seems one you flash it once with cwm then twrp works from that point forward. Idk why

doesntmatterx said:
Anyone have any suggestions at all? I can't be the only one who has had this boot-loop / partition problem without a fix... or maybe I am lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did your odin flashes include the pit files ? Have you tried flashing twrp or cwm with odin?
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app

jds3118 said:
Did your odin flashes include the pit files ? Have you tried flashing twrp or cwm with odin?
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried flashing with a PIT file I found online but it fails through ODIN everytime. I tried on multiple versions of ODIN as well. I also cant seem to find readily available PIT files to test as well, (perhaps the one I used does not work). Also I did try to flash a CWM through ODIN but failed, but again there isnt anything that I have read that says "hey you can do this that way and it will work".
From what I understand I need to be rooted to install CWM or TWRP, and since I unrooted to try and fix the problem I cannot root myself through conventional methods. Everything I found online requires the phone to completely start up. (to the menu screen etc)

What stock firmware are you flashing with odin? I get firmware from sammobile.com. since you had a custom recovery I'm guessing you where on mdl firmware to start with.

jd1639 said:
What stock firmware are you flashing with odin? I get firmware from sammobile.com. since you had a custom recovery I'm guessing you where on mdl firmware to start with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never flashed a custom recovery through Odin < I can try that though, where can I get one? Im assuming this firmware will have root with CWM or TWRP?
Ive only flashed using official Samsung firmware from sammobile.com I tried both that are available for SGH-I337 with the PIT file as well and no dice.

doesntmatterx said:
I never flashed a custom recovery through Odin < I can try that though, where can I get one? Im assuming this firmware will have root with CWM or TWRP?
Ive only flashed using official Samsung firmware from sammobile.com I tried both that are available for SGH-I337 with the PIT file as well and no dice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know what firmware you were on? Was it mdl or mf3?

[Q] Can't flash recovery zip

Hi,
I'm at my wits end. I had SlimRom installed for a week and all was fine, but I was curious about what new ROMs were out there so I backed up my phone using ROM Manager and did all the usual stuff to get a new ROM. I installed Gummy, but didn't like it; I installed one other ROM that I can't remember its name, but also didn't like that. I realized my comfy home of SlimRom was where I wanted to be, so I tried to flash the backup.zip that I had created but it kept saying installation aborted (Status 0).
After hours of countless attempts and just weird behaviour (sometimes boot loops, sometimes not booting into recovery, etc.) I finally got my phone back to stock.
I downloaded the latest SlimRom file 3 times to make sure it wasn't a corrupt zip (twice from my PC and once from my phone directly). Both the zip directly from Slim as well as the backup.zip that I made with ROM Manager give me the same installation aborted. The other error it gives is "E: Error in /data/media/0/slim....zip". I'm wondering if somehow my partition is screwed up. I tried using Odin's repartition, which just erased my recovery partition, but I got that back thankfully! When I wipe data/factory reset it says wipe complete (and the ROM does reset to factory) but it also says "E:unknown volume '/sdcard/.android_secure' "...I'm wondering if that relates to why the backup.zip file won't read properly. Maybe the partition got screwed up somehow?
I can flash a SU zip so it's not a flashing problem, per se. And thankfully Odin always works!
I think I may need the stock PIT file for the Telus S4 l337m, which I found but my phone says "secure check fail: pit"
I'm not sure where to go from here...

Rom manager is your problem. That software I'd waaaaay out of date and rarely ever works on newer phones.
Get you goo manager. Allow SU. Then hit the menu button and then hit install openrecoveryscript. You will get TWRP recovery. Then you follow the OP of your ROM of choice to install.
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Thanks for the suggestion. I used Goo but it was no help. I can flash other ROMs fine. It seems to be just SlimBean that I can't flash :s. I've used TWRP recovery as well as CW and neither work.
Any other ideas?

This is a pickle I am completely unsure about, then... I am sorry I can't be of more assistance. It does seem like the partition is borked.
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