Database Users

[Q] Problems with stock rooted rom when flashed from recovery.

Let me give you the timeline. A few days ago I rooted the device using the method outlined in this video. I verified my root status with Root Checker and my device was indeed successfully rooted. I installed BusyBox (basic) and TitaniumBackup Pro. Made a backup of my user apps+data to the external SD. I then downloaded Goomanager and used it to install the latest version of TWRP.
All of this was successful. I went into TWRP and created a NAND backup. I backed up: Boot, System, and Data. I did not back up EFS, Preload, Cache, or Recovery.
I performed a wipe and format of user data. Flashed to SlimBean, had some issues. Wiped. Flashed CM10.1. Again, some issues. I decided I'm going to wait a while for these roms to stabilize a bit before I try using any of them on a regular basis. I wiped and restored my original NAND backup of my stock rooted ROM. The restore appeared to go fine. I don't know if this will have anything to do with anything but I went ahead and ran a PRL and Profile update. The device was functioning okay until...
I noticed that the time was off. The lockscreen time was correct but the time in the upper right status bar was stuck at about an hour before. I decided I'd just try restarting the device to see if that fixed anything. Well when I did it wouldn't boot. I'd get stuck on the first Samsung Galaxy S4 logo screen. Took the battery out, waited, put it back in, restarted. Still... stuck on the logo screen. I tried booting into recovery (Vol. Up + Power). The black SGS4 logo would come up with a tiny blue notification in the upper left corner (Recovery Boot). Then the device would restart and get stuck at the SGS4 logo screen again.
Eventually I was able to get it to boot to TWRP (maybe I was just holding the power button too long?)
I wiped. It failed. I tried again. It worked. I recovered my CM10.1 setup and it's been working "okay" on CM10.1 ever since.
I want to get back to my stock rooted rom but I want to understand what happened first.

Anyone? Please?

Stu_Gots said:
Anyone? Please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What version of TWRP were you on? If it was 2.5.0.3 then there's your culprit. That version of TWRP is known to have issues. You need to flash version 2.5.0.2 found here.......http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2277480. Scroll down to install Alternate recovery and download the 2.5.0.2 .img file.
Once you've downloaded the file, go to your Goo Manager folder and delete the file there. Then paste the file you downloaded from the above link into that same folder. After that, open Goo Manager and go to Install Recovery Script. It should see the file you have in your folder and then download it from their server. Make SURE it says you are downloading 2.5.0.2. Once Goo does its thing, reboot into Recovery and make sure you're running the 2.5.0.2 version of TWRP. Now you can flash all you want because it will function properly. I would first download a stock rom and clear out any skeletons in the closet. Then go into TWRP and wipe EVERYTHING. This includes data, dalvik cache, cache, system and then factory reset as well 3 times each. MAKE SURE you don't delete the internal or external sd cards. Flash the stock rom, set it up how you wish, make a nand of that file( Include EFS and Preload because it can't hurt to be safe) and then flash whatever you like. You should be good to go.
---------- Post added at 01:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:17 PM ----------
Stu_Gots said:
Anyone? Please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another question I have is what version of software/firmware are you on? Go to Settings/More/About Phone and check what your software and baseband versions are? If its MDC, then rooting via MotoChopper was a good method to use. If it says MDL, that could also be the reason why the phone was acting so quirky. There is a new method to rooting if you are on MDL and it's also found in Mudavo's thread found here...http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2277480

For the record. I was using the phone stock rooted for a week or so without any problems. I hadn't had any issues until after restoring the backup I made in TWRP. When I wiped prior to installing SlimBean/CM10.1 I did the standard auto-wipe AND I wiped data
Oh yeah. To answer your questions.
TWRP Version: 2.5.0.2
Software/Baseband versions: L720VPUAMDL
Earlier today I just tried wiping (default TWRP 2.5.0.2). Then restoring the backup again. This was so I could get you the information on what software/baseband version I was on. When the restore completed I went to reboot. The phone stuck on the SGS4 logo screen. I then rebooted in recovery and wiped as before and then I wiped data. The phone was then able to boot into the stock rooted rom. I have so far noticed the times being out of sync from the lock screen and the status bar. I reset the phone again. Stuck at SGS4 logo again.
My trouble getting back into TWRP was my own fault. I was holding the buttons down too long. I can get back into TWRP no problem.
So. What are my options at this point? I would like to be on the latest stock everything... with root and stock wireless tether enabled. The way I was. If I can't restore my backup then I'm going to have to reflash the stock rom. I can't seem to find a comprehensive index of information. Every time I think I've got something figured out I stumble on new bits of information.

Stu_Gots said:
For the record. I was using the phone stock rooted for a week or so without any problems. I hadn't had any issues until after restoring the backup I made in TWRP. When I wiped prior to installing SlimBean/CM10.1 I did the standard auto-wipe AND I wiped data
Oh yeah. To answer your questions.
TWRP Version: 2.5.0.2
Software/Baseband versions: L720VPUAMDL
Earlier today I just tried wiping (default TWRP 2.5.0.2). Then restoring the backup again. This was so I could get you the information on what software/baseband version I was on. When the restore completed I went to reboot. The phone stuck on the SGS4 logo screen. I then rebooted in recovery and wiped as before and then I wiped data. The phone was then able to boot into the stock rooted rom. I have so far noticed the times being out of sync from the lock screen and the status bar. I reset the phone again. Stuck at SGS4 logo again.
My trouble getting back into TWRP was my own fault. I was holding the buttons down too long. I can get back into TWRP no problem.
So. What are my options at this point? I would like to be on the latest stock everything... with root and stock wireless tether enabled. The way I was. If I can't restore my backup then I'm going to have to reflash the stock rom. I can't seem to find a comprehensive index of information. Every time I think I've got something figured out I stumble on new bits of information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, at this point, you need to unroot and reroot again using the method in Mudavo's post. You used the wrong method to root with motochopper. Motochopper was only for the MDC version. That could be why you are having the issues that you are. That's all I can suggest at this point. Start with a clean slate and try it again. Trust me you aren't the only one to do this. I've done it a few times myself. It sucks but at least you know you did everything right. You're going to have to flash a stock MDC rom that came shipped with the phone via Odin. Then take the OTA to update your phone to MDL and then just follow Mudavo's post to root the proper way when you're on the MDL version.

What about the TWRP recovery I have installed? Am I going to have to deal with that in some way?
What are the advantages of Odin over TWRP? I'm not trying to question your judgment btw. I'm legit curious because I've only ever used TWRP to
Flash roms.
Sorry for all the dumb questions.
Btw . While I was waiting for your reply I tried trouble shooting a bit myself. To see if I could fix my own problem. I found a thread with MDL stock rooted and a bunch of firmware and kernel files. I flashed to it in TWRP and it's working reasonably well so far. I'm still dtf for other methods if mine is somehow flawed.

My method didn't work. When I restarted from TWRP (after no other issues) the phone for stuck.
The phone was restarted several times and booted fine. It wasn't until I restarted into TWRP then and then back into normal boot that I had issues
this time. So I'm going to do what you suggested. I just have a couple questions.
If my rom/recovery is corrupted how do I fix my problem. I would need a working rom AND recovery to flash stock rom. I'm not sure where to start since everything is all messed up.
Thank you so much for your help. You're the best!

You should do a Full Odin restore to Stock and start from scratch if you continue to have issues.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2270065
You can also try this thread to ensure a full wipe before flash
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2277261

gharlane00 said:
You should do a Full Odin restore to Stock and start from scratch if you continue to have issues.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2270065
You can also try this thread to ensure a full wipe before flash
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2277261
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Installed Mobile ODIN Pro from the play store for $5... I hope that's the right Odin!

Stu_Gots said:
Installed Mobile ODIN Pro from the play store for $5... I hope that's the right Odin!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
download Odin 1.85 or 3.07 on your PC don't use mobile version for something like this
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium

Do I need to flash the stock kernal too? Will this eliminate my TWRP recovery installation as well?

If you odin back to stock it also has the kernel and stock recovery this will start you all over. Also of it doesnt boot past galaxy s4 screen then boot into recovery and wipe data after you odin back.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium

devoureddreams said:
If you odin back to stock it also has the kernel and stock recovery this will start you all over. Also of it doesnt boot past galaxy s4 screen then boot into recovery and wipe data after you odin back.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright... so another problem. I need the latest Samsung USB driver right? Unfortunately...
1.5.25.0 as linked to in this thread cannot be downloaded because uploaded.com or whatever says I've exceeded my allowance. Trouble is... I haven't downloaded anything from them ever. I have this problem all the time because of my ISP (Satellite Internet).
Is there a rehost? Do these drivers not install themselves automatically when the device is plugged into the PC?

http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/c...ng_USB_Driver_for_Mobile_Phones_v1.5.14.0.exe
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium

I'm so freaking frustrated by this whole process. It looks like by all accounts there are a dozen different ways to do everything and I just know i'm going to mess it up.
I'm following the directions in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD5CHlrPQJQ&feature=youtu.be
When I extract the file I downloaded I get an MD5 file not an ODIN file.

Stu_Gots said:
I'm so freaking frustrated by this whole process. It looks like by all accounts there are a dozen different ways to do everything and I just know i'm going to mess it up.
I'm following the directions in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD5CHlrPQJQ&feature=youtu.be
When I extract the file I downloaded I get an MD5 file not an ODIN file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Follow this tutorial here
http://www.sxtpdevelopers.com/showthread.php?p=2599
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium

Alright guys. I got it done a while back. Phone is back to normal stock.
Perusing the internet I found this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_hXUJ-u-cw
As it happens I linked to the wrong video in my OP. The method in that video is exactly what I did to root in the first place. The proper way. I installed TWRP from GooManager.
So if I rooted correctly and I installed TWRP correctly what do you suppose caused my problem? I want to root and install custom recovery again!

If I root using the CF-Auto-Root method will I then be able to install custom recovery in goomanager or does custom recovery need to be installed in some other special way?

Stu_Gots said:
If I root using the CF-Auto-Root method will I then be able to install custom recovery in goomanager or does custom recovery need to be installed in some other special way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats all there is to it.

[Q] Internal memory volatile?

I can't seem to get a stable rom on my phone anymore. I noticed when I upgraded to triforce rom 3.0 some of my apps were disappearing randomly on reboot (all installed on internal mind you). After doing a full complete wipe and reinstall I cannot reboot my device anymore. I install the rom go into it once and that's it. If I reboot my phone for any reason it wont go past the samsung galaxy s4 logo. I even restored a nandroid of my forcerom 2.0 that I had backed up. It's showing the same issue of not being able to restart. Does anyone have any ideas? or is my hardware screwed.
To make clear of what is happening
wipe
install rom
boot into rom (everything is cool/works)
restart phone
stuck at black screen with galaxy s4 logo
can still boot into TWRP, but not the rom

Quiksmage said:
I can't seem to get a stable rom on my phone anymore. I noticed when I upgraded to triforce rom 3.0 some of my apps were disappearing randomly on reboot (all installed on internal mind you). After doing a full complete wipe and reinstall I cannot reboot my device anymore. I install the rom go into it once and that's it. If I reboot my phone for any reason it wont go past the samsung galaxy s4 logo. I even restored a nandroid of my forcerom 2.0 that I had backed up. It's showing the same issue of not being able to restart. Does anyone have any ideas? or is my hardware screwed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To update right now, in TWRP Internal Storage (0MB)
When I format in TWRP the internal storage went back to (9673 MB)
Once I format the storage and restart the phone I'm able to get past the Black galaxy s4 screen and get to the boot screen, but since there obviously isnt a rom installed it wont go past that.
It looks like after the reboot (where I can't boot into the rom anymore) the internal storage is labeled as "(0MB)"

Something must have gotten corrupted and your best bet is to star new, I would download the stock mf9 tar. Do a factory reset and then install the tar through Odin. That way you are starting from scratch with everything working , hopefully. Then use cf-autoroot to root the phone and install whatever recovery you prefer. At that point, I would make a nandroid of your stock rooted rom so its easier to restore if you run into problems again.
Sent from my icrap 2 using Tapatalk HD

Im having the same exact problem... I did a mdc full restore in odin. Wiped internal storage and my sdcard and im going to try to root and flash again...its got me stumped.
Also when u try to install rom after u flash does it say ur device does not appear to be rooted?
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Xparent Red Tapatalk 2

noXcape said:
Im having the same exact problem... I did a mdc full restore in odin. Wiped internal storage and my sdcard and im going to try to root and flash again...its got me stumped.
Also when u try to install rom after u flash does it say ur device does not appear to be rooted?
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Xparent Red Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
didn't have that issue of "device does not appear to be rooted"
I was able to fix my issue. I downloaded the rooted stock rom listed below along with stock kernal and recovery.
Download Odexed With Data Wipe Zip
MD5: 6700c52d8a9f7d6c0ff8d6cb453b74a1
Download Stock MF9 Kernel
MD5: ae6e8712be9492d4de374ade043851b5
Download Stock MF9 Recovery
MD5: f843028f419e68aedda2742ce65405a9
from thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2357471
I formatted everything in TWRP, I then installed the odexed with data wipe zip, followed by the kernal, followed by the mf9 recovery. I then booted into the new recovery after flashing (stock recovery) and did a factory reset. I booted into the stock rom and did a reboot. It worked. Once I verified I was back by restarting a few more times, I installed goo manager and installed twrp from there. After that, I went into TWRP and continued along my merry way of flashing back to my custom rom.
Throwing out all details I can for anyone else that experiences this problem. Thanks!

cruise350 said:
Something must have gotten corrupted and your best bet is to star new, I would download the stock mf9 tar. Do a factory reset and then install the tar through Odin. That way you are starting from scratch with everything working , hopefully. Then use cf-autoroot to root the phone and install whatever recovery you prefer. At that point, I would make a nandroid of your stock rooted rom so its easier to restore if you run into problems again.
Sent from my icrap 2 using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the help!

[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.

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...
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Do you know what firmware you were on? Was it mdl or mf3?

Safestrap Note 3 bootloop ?

Appreciate any guidance!
Just got a Safestrap Note 3 NC4 it was running Alliance build 2.
When I got it it had 13gb of internal being used and seen lots of previos owners pictures etc… so I figured id download build 2 again to sdcard and restart from scratch.
I booted to TWRP.
Did a full wipe except MicroSd.
Did format typed yes and it immediately jumped into a Samsung bootloop.
I tried entering recovery again and it says recover loading and goes back to a bootloop.
It will go into download mode but that's it.
What do you suggest my next approach should be?
Thank you I'm traveling and no access to my PC for a few days so just preplanning.

If you wiped system, there's no rom to boot so you have to go into download mode and use Odin to install something. Or if you have system, go into recovery again and flash the rom you want.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

OffTheChainz said:
Appreciate any guidance!
Just got a Safestrap Note 3 NC4 it was running Alliance build 2.....
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Click to collapse
Probably the easiest thing to do would be to use Odin to restore back to 4.4.2 NC4. Then root again with Towelroot, install busybox, and then Safestrap 3.75 again. That will give you a fresh start to put Alliance back on there if that's your plan.
As you found out, you only need to Swipe to factory reset before installing Alliance. I learned the same way that you did when I first got my Note 3 and had to start over again as well after formatting data .
When you Odin restore.... just make sure you don't put any newer stock firmware on the phone beyond 4.4.2 NC4, because there's no current root method for anything past 4.4.2 NC4. You should be able to get 4.4.2 NC4 from Sammobile.com.

@mattnmag
So you say swipe to facory reset was all I needed to do? I shouldn't have done wipe and format?
Lets say you had Build 2 with safestrap and wanted to get a new clean install with build 2.
What was it should I have done to start clean?
Thank you for your detailed info bud!

OffTheChainz said:
@mattnmag
So you say swipe to facory reset was all I needed to do? I shouldn't have done wipe and format?
Lets say you had Build 2 with safestrap and wanted to get a new clean install with build 2.
What was it should I have done to start clean?
Thank you for your detailed info bud!
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Right.. don't use the separate "Format Data" option. From what I understand, it will always cause you to have the same bootloop issue that you just experienced.
I'm not 100% sure why... but I think it might wipe out something needed in Safestrap to allow the phone to boot... maybe the Stock slot... (maybe someone else will comment on this who has more knowledge?).
Someone in the ATT Safestrap thread suggested using the Safestrap File Manager to navigate to the folder "data/media/0," then deleting that folder as an alternative to the "Format Data" option. I'm not sure if I'd recommend it or not, but it's something you could research more to see if it would work.

Thank you very much!