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Fastboot> Recovery dosen't find *.img file on SD card

Hi Guys!
I am trying to root my nexus, unlocked it, installed the right usb drivers, I can see the phone and everything looks right.
Downloaded Superboot for ERE27 with himem enabled and ran this. no problem.
I put the img file on the SD card and when I boot the phone in Fastboot / Recovery it does not find and img files on the SD card.
I tried 2 different cards and also different img files.
When I do this I get first the message no images found than I see the droid with a triangle and a ! in it. - Have to pull the battery.
Ideas anyone?
Thanks

What are you trying to do?
1) you had to unlock the bootloader which enables you to install a new recovery image (which is needed to allow you to install new roms)
2) you had to apply the recovery image Amon RA via a command prompt and a batch file if you use Windows. The phone's USB connection needs to be in development mode and once the batch file executes and successfully finishes you need to reboot the phone.
3) you restart the phone into bootloader mode, use the volume rocker to select the recovery console. If you end up with an andriod and exclamation symbol the Amon RA recovery file was not installed.
4) the new recovery console allows you to clean the SD card. Install roms from the SD card and some other commands. The Roms for the Andriod are in ZIP format and do not need to be unziped. In other words all you need to copy to the SD card is the full ZIP file (approx 75MB) and install that directly from the recovery console.
If your android stays in the booting sequence which is shown as the X with flying little pixels, it's most likely because you did not wipe the device clean first. That item is in the recovery console as well.
Hope this helps. I am just as new to this as you are.

You didn't unzip them did you?

You're trying to root with superboot. Great, but the recovery is not capable of flashing .img files, only .zip updates and roms and such. .img files have to be flashed using fastboot, not recovery, and are flashed from the connected computer.
If you read the superboot instructions from wherever you got the file, you'll see that you have to put the .img in the same directory ON YOUR COMPUTER as fastboot, connect via USB, boot the phone into fastboot, then enter the appropriate command line on the computer to flash the file.
If you've done that, then you are officially DONE with the rooting process.
Also, make damn sure that the superboot version matches the software version on your phone. They're both ERE27, right?
I'm not sure what anosis's post is talking about, but that looks more like the process for installing a custom rom (ie cyanogenmod), than rooting.
To root your phone, you DO NOT need Amon-RA's recovery. You only need that if you want to install custom roms, etc. It wont hurt to have it, as it includes many more functions than the stock recovery, but just to root, you don't need it.
Summary:
If you flashed the superboot.img from your computer via fastboot, your phone is rooted. Done.
You don't need to do anything in the recovery at all for rooting. Only for installing update.zips and custom rom.zips.

Hey, So I have been scouring the forums trying to find some answers about this and you seem to be the closet to my situation. Here is what I did:
So I was running a CM9 Aplha, reverted back to stock 2.3.6 [1ada25375426.signed-soju-ota-189904.1ada2537]) so that I could then apply ICS update [VQ8PQk_V]) which I sucessfully did. This was about a month ago and it was all going well.
Then yesterday I wanted to upgrade to 4.0.4 [hR7QFEtn] so I did and superuser wasn't working properly but then I reinstalled it and got it to work. However I got to the point where everything was working fine EXCEPT for the Google Play store kept on force closing. I spent hours trying last night and could not find a solution.
I tried restoring the previous ICS update that I had and it worked, and then I tried updating again. Also side: My clockwork was on the fritz lately so I was using Zedowmaxs force into clockwork recovery image [fastboot boot recovery3101.img] to force it in sometimes.
Anyway bottom line here is where my REAL ISSUE begins. I decided just to wipe everything and start anew. I factory reset/ wiped properly [cache partition and davliche cache] and then locked my bootloader again. Then tried rebooting. Got stuck on Google screen. Then I unlocked my bootloader again. Tried again, same issue.
So, here is where I am at. Cannot get into recovery from fastboot, takes me back to fastboot. AND, everything is wiped because I locked/unlocked my bootloader. All I can do is adb commands.
I don't know what to do from here and there is a lot of things going on. If you could help that would be great!? What I am going to try next is to flash some recovery on, but I don't know which one/ try to mount a file to my sd card from adb commands.

Daboxk said:
Hey, So I have been scouring the forums trying to find some answers about this and you seem to be the closet to my situation. Here is what I did:
So I was running a CM9 Aplha, reverted back to stock 2.3.6 [1ada25375426.signed-soju-ota-189904.1ada2537]) so that I could then apply ICS update [VQ8PQk_V]) which I sucessfully did. This was about a month ago and it was all going well.
Then yesterday I wanted to upgrade to 4.0.4 [hR7QFEtn] so I did and superuser wasn't working properly but then I reinstalled it and got it to work. However I got to the point where everything was working fine EXCEPT for the Google Play store kept on force closing. I spent hours trying last night and could not find a solution.
I tried restoring the previous ICS update that I had and it worked, and then I tried updating again. Also side: My clockwork was on the fritz lately so I was using Zedowmaxs force into clockwork recovery image [fastboot boot recovery3101.img] to force it in sometimes.
Anyway bottom line here is where my REAL ISSUE begins. I decided just to wipe everything and start anew. I factory reset/ wiped properly [cache partition and davliche cache] and then locked my bootloader again. Then tried rebooting. Got stuck on Google screen. Then I unlocked my bootloader again. Tried again, same issue.
So, here is where I am at. Cannot get into recovery from fastboot, takes me back to fastboot. AND, everything is wiped because I locked/unlocked my bootloader. All I can do is adb commands.
I don't know what to do from here and there is a lot of things going on. If you could help that would be great!? What I am going to try next is to flash some recovery on, but I don't know which one/ try to mount a file to my sd card from adb commands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks like the time when you were locking-unlocking the bootloader, you messed up the recovery. Since your phone can get into bootloader menu, I think you can get out of this issue.
Here is what I would do.
1. Unlock the bootloader.
2. flash clockworkmod recovery using fastboot USB.
3. Download recovery-RA-passion-v2.2.1.img, put it in C:\fastboot\
4. Shut down your phone. Then start your Nexus One in Fastboot mode by holding down the Trackball and press the Power button.
5. Connect your phone to your computer. Open a Command Prompt (Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt), and run the following commands:
cd C:\fastboot
fastboot devices
fastboot flash recovery recovery-RA-passion-v2.2.1.img
now see if you can get into recovery. If you can, just flash a custom rom using install zip from sd card option in the recovery

I didn't read all the replies but fastboot reads from your PC's disk not the sdcard, unless you are running it through shell or something?

[Q] Stuck in boot loop - Save Photos?

Hi,
my Nexus 4 is stuck in a boot loop since 2 days. I found it turned off and assumed it crashed (has done that once or twice before), but after turning it on it's gets stuck on the boot up screen. I've tried restarting it numerous times, left it on the boot screen for hours - nothing.
I can access the recovery mode and according to most things I've found while searching the internet for a solution a "wipe data/factory reset" would hopefully do the trick, but the thing is... I haven't backed up my device in ages. (Stupid, I know.) I'm travelling and took a lot of pictures that I would hate to loose.
Is there any way to save them? I don't care for app data or anything else.
I wouldn't mind rooting it (was thinking about doing that anyway), but I'm pretty much a n00b when it comes to Android, haven't done more with it than simply using it.
I have read up quite a bit about rooting in the last two days (here on the forum and everywhere else) but I'm still not sure how exactly to do it, since all methods seem to require unlocking the bootloader and therefore deleting my photos (or just don't give much in the way of explanation).
I'm using a mac, but if necessary I also have Windows installed. I have installed Adb and fastboot following this guide.
The phone is not rooted, I don't have developer options or USB debugging enabled and it's running on 4.4.4.
I would be really grateful for help.

If you can boot into the bootloader you can install a custom recovery, I'd recommend twrp. Then booting into the custom recovery you could use adb to pull files off your device . But your bootloader needs to be unlocked. If it isn't I'm afraid you won't be able to get your photos
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I957 using XDA Free mobile app

bootloop issue
A.
Try to go into safe mode and backup your data.
Boot into Safe Mode:
1. Press/Hold Power button until power menu shows up
2. Tap/Hold Power off option
3. Choose OK to reboot in safe mode
B.
For bootloop problem:
Boot into Stock Recovery
1. Power+VolUp while booting to enter recovery
2. You can release buttons after you see Google on screen
(Note: Must be this sequence Press/Hold Power, THEN Press/Release VolUp, release Power)
3. Android fallen down screen - VolUp to toggle recovery menu
Now wipe Cache & Dalvik Cache in recovery and reboot the phone.
C.
If the (Option B) does not solved then try to flash the stock rom with the below given mentioned steps.
First download any stock rom and also the related usb drivers. Install the drivers into the PC.
Boot into the bootloader.
Open (fastboot.exe) Cmd prompt as admin. Put the stock rom into that particular folder.
fastboot flash bootloader filename.img
reboot the phone and return back to the bootloader.
Then, we will flash all other partitions.
fastboot flash radio filename.img
Again reboot the phone and go back into the bootloader
fastboot flash boot filename.
fastboot flash recovery filename.img
fastboot flash userdata filename.img
fastboot flash system filename.img
If you want to relock the bootloader of your device after flashing the device, put the device back in fastboot mode. Then type in the following command in the Terminal or Command Window you had opened earlier -:
fastboot oem lock
This will re-lock the bootloader of your Nexus device, restoring your warranty and putting the device back to complete stock.
I hope this helps you out.

Thank you, but is there a way to boot into safe mode if the phone isn't turned on? I can not get to the power menu since I can't turn the phone on...
I can only access the recovery menu.

Data backup
Alternate method you can do is that you have to download a software by name 'DROID EXPLORER' - (try to google it) you will find this software from the internet. Then install the software on your PC or Laptop. Once you open the software it will take some time to download the sdk files from the internet then install the windows sdk files also.
Later you go into the recovery mode with the usb cable connected to your PC. Then open the Droid Explorer software you will see your phone connected picture. Now double click and open it go to sdcard and copy all your pictures and other files to your system.
Finally, Once you backed up all your files now you can reflash with the proper rom from the recovery mode. From directly inserting the rom.zip file into the sdcard and run the custom rom after you wipe the partitions properly in recovery.
Note: Before wiping the partitions always unmount the system, data, cache and then wipe it.

Stuck In BootLoop While updating lollipop

i used nexus root tool kit to update nexus 4 from 4.4 to 5.0... all done in pc but mobile is stuck in boot loop. can anyone tell me how can i restore my phone to normal working...
Please help me i am noob here

is there any one who can help me here
i thought i will get ans with in 1hr... still waiting if someone can help

letsnexus said:
i thought i will get ans with in 1hr... still waiting if someone can help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is why we don't recommended using tool kits. You should try flashing the factory image using fastboot.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app

Same here, i tried re-flashing many times. Darn that nexus root toolkit

any suggetion or link which can help me to use fastboot use and install stock rom
thank alot for help

I am currently in the same position ! Used a toolkit too, always have.

This is why you never use a Toolkit, it's always been mentioned around in XDA that this has always been a developer website of learning and knowledge. You must always know what goes on behind than just blindly flashing things. It's a rule of thumb that you're more likely to brick your phone with a Toolkit than by yourself. Easiest step as follows.
1. Download factory image
2. Download ADB files
3. Make a folder and extract the adb files and factory image inside the same folder.
4. Plug the phone in bootloader mode or simply type adb reboot bootloader (Developer options must be enabled and USB Debugging) by exiting the folder, holding shift, right clicking the folder and pressing open command window and typing the command.
5. Every factory image comes with a flashall.bat, double click it and voila. Updates like it should. (User data will be wiped)
If you don't want your userdata to be wiped, simply open flashall.bat with notepad++, erase the '-w' in "fastboot -w update image" and save the file and launch it again.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

I will try that way later when I get in, I would have assumed that the toolkit did exactly those steps though, just an easy to use frontend

hazwheel said:
I will try that way later when I get in, I would have assumed that the toolkit did exactly those steps though, just an easy to use frontend
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to stock recovery and do factory data reset and reboot phone. First time boot takes very long time (around 10 to 15 minutes). After successfully boot into android L check for the storage space. If it says only 5 GB available instead of 12 GB (My nexus is 16GB) then Go to Settings > Backup & Reset and select Factory data reset.
I had experienced these issues when upgrading to Lollypop and solved them on my own.
Note: If you were not able to boot into stock recovery, try twrp recovery. you have to install it using fastboot
fastboot flash recovery <filename.img>

letsnexus said:
any suggetion or link which can help me to use fastboot use and install stock rom
thank alot for help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
although the link is for kitkat but the same method applies to flashing lollipop
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-4/general/how-to-how-to-flash-factory-image-t2010312

moorthidaniel said:
Go to stock recovery and do factory data reset and reboot phone. First time boot takes very long time (around 10 to 15 minutes). After successfully boot into android L check for the storage space. If it says only 5 GB available instead of 12 GB (My nexus is 16GB) then Go to Settings > Backup & Reset and select Factory data reset.
I had experienced these issues when upgrading to Lollypop and solved them on my own.
Note: If you were not able to boot into stock recovery, try twrp recovery. you have to install it using fastboot
fastboot flash recovery <filename.img>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, I was able to get into recovery with this method, and wipe but I get can't mount cache errors during the wipe , waiting for the phone to reboot now, hopefully it will and get out of the bootloop. stupid thing is I'm not a noob, but stumped by this. Good excuse to upgrade to the N5 I guess
---------- Post added at 03:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:55 PM ----------
Wow, this method worked! Brilliant! Thanks, and dammit, it worked, 10 minutes after she agreed to me getting am upgrade !

For all of you whom are stuck in bootloop a fastboot oem lock comand when in fastboot will solve the problem.
So go into bootloader and run "fastboot oem lock" for some reason on some devices Android 5.0 won't boot with unlocked bootloader.

hazwheel said:
OK, I was able to get into recovery with this method, and wipe but I get can't mount cache errors during the wipe , waiting for the phone to reboot now, hopefully it will and get out of the bootloop. stupid thing is I'm not a noob, but stumped by this. Good excuse to upgrade to the N5 I guess
---------- Post added at 03:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:55 PM ----------
Wow, this method worked! Brilliant! Thanks, and dammit, it worked, 10 minutes after she agreed to me getting am upgrade !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK great. Cheers, I helped someone today in this forum.

bett3rthan said:
For all of you whom are stuck in bootloop a fastboot oem lock comand when in fastboot will solve the problem.
So go into bootloader and run "fastboot oem lock" for some reason on some devices Android 5.0 won't boot with unlocked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That did NOT work for me, the getting into recovery and wiping the device DID work though.
---------- Post added at 04:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:03 PM ----------
moorthidaniel said:
OK great. Cheers, I helped someone today in this forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, Thanks, unfortunately, she has withdrawn the offer of an early upgrade :silly:

thax
Misledz said:
This is why you never use a Toolkit, it's always been mentioned around in XDA that this has always been a developer website of learning and knowledge. You must always know what goes on behind than just blindly flashing things. It's a rule of thumb that you're more likely to brick your phone with a Toolkit than by yourself. Easiest step as follow
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you alot, you help in really good manner
and teached us not to use toolkit
will learn more abt rooting and flashing thank you once again

I am hitting this problem now, I got a OTA. After restarting its keep on looping waiting for more than 20mins still it's looping.

Tried going to boot-menu and did factory reset and it booted good after ~10 mins.

sububack said:
I am hitting this problem now, I got a OTA. After restarting its keep on looping waiting for more than 20mins still it's looping.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Power off, hold Vol Down + Power, when you get to the Android laying down, press volume up + pwr, then wipe the /cache from the menu (you do not need to do a full factory wipe, just wiping cache will do), and then reboot and wait. It will boot this time properly. @WugFresh is aware of the issue and said will put a fix in 1.9.9 for the N4

Thanks , I have tried clearing the cache and started waiting for an hour. Since it was still looping tried after factory reset/wiping user data. And then after 10min it came good.

I post this on Google Product Forum 2 days ago. Hope it helps
https://productforums.google.com/fo...ce=footer#!msg/nexus/Lv8fHtyJOPQ/wDzRUm4b2UsJ
(updated 29/11/2014)[not perfect but it is a SOLUTION]
The idea of this is to downgrade your nexus 4 without wiping your data, which means stuff you will need includes:
1. adb and fastboot on your computer (I am using mac but you can find it on windows as well. There are tones of website and forums telling you the latest method of getting it onto your computer)
2. factory image of nexus 4(I use 4.4.4, since that's what it was. I don't have the time and energy to try to do the same thing with lollipop. you can try can leave a comment).
update: do NOT try to flash 5.0 rom using this method. You will be stuck at boot loop again
3. usb cable
4. nexus 4 with unlocked bootloader(the process of unlocking bootloader will wipe your device)
5. computer
steps
1. unzip the factory image (something.tgz)
2. for me, after unzipping the .tgz, I still find another .zip inside. unzip that too.
3. hold vol+, vol-, and power button simultaneously to enter fastboot mode
4. open terminal(mac)(it would probably be cmd for windows)
5. connect your nexus 4(in fastboot)
6. to make sure it connect successfully, type "fastboot devices". if something like "005040c0d54bb291 fastboot" appears, you are good. Otherwise, try reconnect your device/boot to fastboot again/use another usb cable
7.now we need to tell the terminal to navigate to the location of the unzipped factory image. to do that, i suggest you put the unzipped folder to somewhere easy to find, like desktop. these are some commands to help you navigate:
"ls" allows you to look at whats inside the current directory of the terminal. For example, this is the output after typing "ls" for me:
some folder Photos
nexus4image.tgz how many folders do you have
5.zip occam-ktu84p
more folder occam-ktu84p.zip
after knowing where you are, use "cd" (below) to go to your folder
"cd" means change directory. For example. "cd Photos" will brings me to the "Photos" folder. And then if I type ls, I will see a whole bunch of photos in my photos. If you go to the wrong folder, type "cd ..", and it will bring you back to the previous folder.
8. flash bootloader.
enter the following command, BUT REMEMBER TO CHANGE THE NAME TO FIT YOURS(DIFFERENT VERSIONS HAVE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FILE NAME AT THE END(type ls first to help you type the correct name)
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-mako-makoz30d.img
9. reboot bootloader. just copy and paste
fastboot reboot-bootloader
10. flash radio
enter the following command, BUT REMEMBER TO CHANGE THE NAME TO FIT YOURS(DIFFERENT VERSIONS HAVE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FILE NAME AT THE END(type ls first to help you type the correct name)
fastboot flash radio radio-mako-m9615a-cefwmazm-2.0.1701.03.img
11. reboot bootloader. just copy and paste
fastboot reboot-bootloader
12. flash system
system.img is located inside the zip, use ls to help you navigate. This steps takes the longest time, total time on this step is 87 seconds while the others are less then 1 second
fastboot flash system system.img
13. flash boot
boot.img is located inside the zip, use ls to help you navigate.
fastboot flash boot boot.img
14. flash recovery
fastboot.img is located inside the zip, use ls to help you navigate.
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
15. format cache(not the memory, so everything should be fine)
fastboot format cache
16. reboot and wait
this will reboot your device. You probably have to wait for a while to initialise all the apps. after than you are good to go!
fastboot reboot
credit: my friend for giving me this idea + http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-4/general/how-to-how-to-flash-factory-image-t2010312 + HelpMyNexus

[Q] [Help!] Forgot to activate USB debug mode before wiping, but CWM works

I decided to go to Android 5.0.1 from CM10.2 on my Nexus 4. I guess I did not think it though that well and relied on some crappy guides too much.
I have CWM Recovery 6.4.3 installed, so I thought I just place the factory image on the phone and install it via CWM. So:
1) Copied occam-....tgz on the phone;
2) Rebooted into CWM recovery;
3) Did wipe cache/format system/wipe dalvik;
4) Went to install .zip menu... and figured out that the file is no longer on my phone.
I thought OK, I do it via ADB and cable, so installed ADB, drivers etc. and connected my phone to my computer. However, adb does not see it most of the time (when at logo, bootloader, recovery) and only once adb managed to see it (*some number* device unauthorized) while the phone was at Google logo. And I realized I forgot to set up the USB debug option. What are my options now? I can go into CWM recovery, but ADB does not see the device, as I forgot to set up recovery before flashing. Help, please?
The computer sees the phone as MLP, but I still cannot see its storage in Explorer, so I cannot copy the .zip file.

Update
I managed to make adb recognize the phone, but consistently says that it is not authorized, which makes sense. And there is not way I can mount it as an external storage .

first of all, you have a serious lack of knowledge. not activating USB debugging in android settings has no effect whatsoever on ADB usage ability when you are in recovery mode. Secondly, installing factory images is not done through recovery (the downloaded factory image zip is not even flashable so it would work not in recovery), as factory images also contain RADIO and BOOTLOADER images that are flashable through fastboot (not the recovery). The only thing from factory image that you could flash via recovery is a zip file named - in case of 5.0.1 factory image - image-occam-lrx22c.zip (you can find it if you unpack the downloaded factory image on your PC). And this zip file is a classic ROM (system,userdata,boot,cache,recovery partitions). However, even if you were to flash the correct zip (rather than the zip containing entire factory image complete with ROM, RADIO and BOOTLOADER) Android 5.0 (or 5.0.1) comes with updated RADIO (maybe bootloader aswell, i did not check), so you are supposed to update that aswell prior to switching to 5.0/5.0.1
now here is what you should do:
1. download 5.0.1 factory image from gooogle
2. make sure you have ADB and drivers for Nexus4 correctly set up (in order to check wheter it works go see point 3 of this instruction set)
3. boot to fastboot mode (vol down+power) and check if 'fastboot devices' gives you back device id (you should open command prompt in platform-tools folder, where both adb.exe and fastboot.exe are present)
4. proceed with this instruction, start at step 8 http://androidforums.com/threads/guide-how-to-flash-a-nexus-factory-image-manually.706533/ (in step 11, name of zip file is the one that is INSIDE downloaded factiory image file (image-occam-lrx22c.zip) and you either do the single zip flash or flashing each of .img files separately (system,boot,userdata,cache,recovery)
ps. 1st android 5.0.1 boot after flashing will take up to 15 minutes. (it took 10 in my case)

Update 2
Thanks dzumagos! Sure, I do not claim to be a specialist by any means. I managed to successfully install Cyanogenmod many times, so thought I would give this one a go as well.
I read your post after I fixed the issue. Basically I did exactly what you suggested, but following another guide and it worked fine, also took it around 15 minutes to load the first time. I noticed I do miss a few tricks from Cyanogenmod

Nexus Player Stuck In Bootloop

Hello,
I'm hoping to get some help with my Nexus Player that has been down since N Preview 1.
To preface this, yes I've been rooting and romming for years, I would not consider myself a "newb" in the slightest but no matter what I try, I can't get this working.
I enrolled in the dev program and did the OTA for Preview 1. It got pretty laggy so I went into settings and just had it reboot. Ever since I rebooted it, it's been stuck in a boot loop.
I tried the following things in this order using stock recovery only because for some reason I can't get it to flash a custom recovery (and yes, bootloader is unlocked):
1. Wipe cache via stock recovery
2. Factory reset
3. Flash factory marshmallow image via bootloader
4. Manually flash each partition separately
5. Wipe individual partitions and then reflash their respective images
6. Nexus Root Toolkit automated "Back to stock" feature
7. Flash Google's OTA Zip file
8. Ask for help on XDA.
Regardless of what I do or how I do it, I get errors in the command prompt when flashing via fastboot and when I try to do anything via stock recovery I get the error that you see in the video.
Any help would really be appreciated.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/RVctbNjKnRE

Here's a follow up video that shows the errors that I'm getting in detail.
Thanks again for your help.

Is there really anyone that can help me?

Which method did you use to try to flash a custom recovery? Nexus Root Toolkit fails for that function but I have had success when I use the fastboot flash recovery command manually. If you manage to get TWRP 3.0.2-0 to flash and reboot in to it, you can try flashing the latest system.img file from the recovery mode's GUI (after you've saved the file on to an external storage device).

Thanks. I'm know I tried to flash twrp manually at some point but I'll give it a shot. I may also try the "Boot into Custom Recovery" that a lot of the toolkits offer. Although, I'm pretty sure I've tried that in the past too.
I'll update with results.

GabbyWC said:
Which method did you use to try to flash a custom recovery? Nexus Root Toolkit fails for that function but I have had success when I use the fastboot flash recovery command manually. If you manage to get TWRP 3.0.2-0 to flash and reboot in to it, you can try flashing the latest system.img file from the recovery mode's GUI (after you've saved the file on to an external storage device).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright,
I tried flashing via fastboot and the command prompt completes and says it's finished but when I reboot to recovery I just get the standard Android recovery.
I tried locking the bootloader so I could then unlock it and force a factory reset but it wouldn't even allow me to lock it.
Again the command prompt made it seem like it worked just fine but it didn't actually do it.

Try the fastboot boot recovery (filename) command as an alternative. I suggest not using the current version of Nexus Root Toolkit for anything recovery-related when it comes to the Nexus Player. In other words, use the AndroidSDKSlim package and try things manually with the command prompt.

Okay. I'll give it a shot.

GabbyWC said:
Try the fastboot boot recovery (filename) command as an alternative. I suggest not using the current version of Nexus Root Toolkit for anything recovery-related when it comes to the Nexus Player. In other words, use the AndroidSDKSlim package and do things with the command line utility.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That command won't even work for me.
Fastboot boot recovery [file path to twrp]
https://goo.gl/photos/mYKGkxEfsaJE6gXK7

According to the attached picture, the actual command may be slightly different. Based on your most recent pictures, however, it seems that you may not be going through the manual process as I would expect. What I mean, for example, is:
1) Download AndroidSDKSlim.zip and extract it to your C: drive. Copy the twrp.img file to the platform-tools folder.
2) Use the search function of Windows 10 to load cmd.exe.
3) Navigate to the platform-tools directory by using the cd (directory path) command.
4) After you've navigated in to the platform-tools folder, try the recovery flash command I suggested earlier or the one shown in the attached screenshot.

GabbyWC said:
According to the attached picture, the actual command may be slightly different. Based on your most recent pictures, however, it seems that you may not be going through the manual process as I would expect. What I mean, for example, is:
1) Download AndroidSDKSlim.zip and extract it to your C: drive. Copy the twrp.img file to the platform-tools folder.
2) Use the search function of Windows 10 to load cmd.exe.
3) Navigate to the platform-tools directory by using the cd (directory path) command.
4) After you've navigated in to the platform-tools folder, try the recovery flash command I suggested earlier or the one shown in the attached screenshot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've uploaded what I did to YouTube.

Okay, I watched your video. The picture I attached in my previous post says to type in fastboot boot twrp.img whereas you still left in the word recovery before the file name.

GabbyWC said:
Okay, I watched your video. The picture I attached in my previous post says to type in fastboot boot twrp.img whereas you still left in the word recovery before the file name.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Holy moly, didn't even notice! I'll try now and report back!

GabbyWC said:
Okay, I watched your video. The picture I attached in my previous post says to type in fastboot boot twrp.img whereas you still left in the word recovery before the file name.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright! I tried it and instead of rebooting into a recovery, it just reboots the bootloader.

Which recovery does it boot in to if you then use the bottom button to access recovery mode immediately after this step?
---------- Post added at 04:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:39 PM ----------
If that still doesn't let you in to the custom recovery, I'll quote WugFresh on something else you can try with his Nexus Root Toolkit (if you haven't already done so).
2. The toolkit can be used to flash these factory packages, but if you are experiencing "system.img" not found errors, due to a possible issue with google's package - simply enable FORCE FLASH MODE, which is in the toolkits main options menu (just make sure you have selected the correct device before flashing).
3. If you experienced any weirdness or you device is messed up, simply use "Flash Stock + Unroot' with "Softbrick mode" to restore your device back to stock (you can also use this to flash Lollipop directly - which, as I just mentioned - may be good to enable force flash mode first).

See next post.

GabbyWC said:
Which recovery does it boot in to if you then use the bottom button to access recovery mode immediately after this step?
---------- Post added at 04:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:39 PM ----------
If that still doesn't let you in to the custom recovery, I'll quote WugFresh on something else you can try with his Nexus Root Toolkit (if you haven't already done so).
2. The toolkit can be used to flash these factory packages, but if you are experiencing "system.img" not found errors, due to a possible issue with google's package - simply enable FORCE FLASH MODE, which is in the toolkits main options menu (just make sure you have selected the correct device before flashing).
3. If you experienced any weirdness or you device is messed up, simply use "Flash Stock + Unroot' with "Softbrick mode" to restore your device back to stock (you can also use this to flash Lollipop directly - which, as I just mentioned - may be good to enable force flash mode first).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get the stock Android recovery if I reboot into recovery immediately after that step using the hardware button.
Also, I've tried the force flash through NRT, I've tried manually flashing each image via NRT (and via command prompt via fastboot). It seems to be able to write every single partition EXCEPT the system partition, and clearly it's having issues getting a recovery to stick too.

It's unfortunate that none of these troubleshooting ideas has worked for you. If a preview image of Android N caused this, I'm starting to think that a factory image of a stable Android N release may be necessary to fully flash the device.

GabbyWC said:
It's unfortunate that none of these troubleshooting ideas has worked for you. If a preview image of Android N caused this, I'm starting to think that a factory image of a stable Android N release may be necessary to fully flash the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that will work. Regardless of what image I'm flashing that shouldn't change the fact that I can't write to the system partition at all or that a recovery won't stick.

GabbyWC said:
It's unfortunate that none of these troubleshooting ideas has worked for you. If a preview image of Android N caused this, I'm starting to think that a factory image of a stable Android N release may be necessary to fully flash the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I've waited all this time to flash the stable Nougat build on this Nexus Player and I'm still seeing all the same errors.
When I boot into stock recovery and "adb sideload" the update I get errors saying "unable to mount cache" and when I try to flash via fastboot I get errors saying it can't write the system partition.
I wish we could get some more attention to this thread, this is beginning to seem like it's impossible...