Database Users

Tips and tricks when Odin and Kies dont work

Ok, I want to leave a message on here for future noobs like me with a Galaxy S
i9000 but it might work for others too.
My issue when flashing custom roms is that I have not been able to access my galaxy from my computer via usb since literally day 1 (when it did work once).
I spent a week trying to connect to Kies on multiple computers (vista and Windows 7). Tried via Android SDK, even tried hiemdall. I almost tried in ubuntu also but I never did get that working as I really don't know linux well enough. I've now given up...
So then I saw that you can do flashing all on the phone with the clockwork mod. With clockwork, my first rom flashed, well, like clockwork! But then I had some issues with lag and hang ups and reception and I decided to switch to another rom (seearms jl2 based rom - good stuff so far).
However this rom install went sideways... It said that it had installed ok but on reboot it stalled on the Galaxy I9000 screen and froze. Luckily I could still use the 3 button recovery to boot to clockworks but the hitch was that I HAD NO OTHER ROM to flash back to.
I had done a backup through clockworks but when I tried to restore it said the systems.img file was missing so it skipped it and the end result was the same freeze.
Normally everone says to reflash at this point with odin but that was not an option for me. So this is where I got lucky. The SeeARMs rom included Steam recovery module (though I thought it was the stock 3 button recovery menu for a while - I was panicking a little). I highly recommend seeing if you can get steam because it allows access to the External SD card for flashing which can be a lifesaver. Ahh, finally I could get the old rom on that, reflash it and go one with my life. My theory being that at least the issues would be aligned with the this rom and it worked.
So the lessons I learned:
1) Always have your new rom and your old rom on the interanal SD card in case of issues.
2) check your nandroid backup - even try testing it? - they don't always work perfectly with every device.
3)I highly recommend finding out if Steam or similar will work if you cannot access the USB connection and load things on when things go wrong.
Some tips I saw that also worked for me
1) flash a new kernel before you flash a new whole rom.
2) if things go sideways, try redownloading or retransferring the file to make sure there were no errors.
I did both and then reflashed (with my old rom Voodoo Doctor, SeeArms Rom and Darky's 8.1 rom on the card just to have options) and all was good!
PS: the steam recovery knocked off the first letter of the file when executing for some reason so I had to make 2 copy's of each rom I wanted access to ie Darkysrom.zip and arkysrom.zip just look for that error when you are doing this.

Good post - hopefully it'll help someone out who's stuck.

Hopefully
I'd like to stick some of that in on the thread for your rom but I need put another 7 half relevent messages out there before I am worthy... I understand the rule but I'd rather only post where it is meaningful...
GF

Please, help a n00b. I think I broke my Nexus S 4G

Let me first start off by saying that I am on a Mac.
I used these directions to get my phone unlocked and get ClockworkMod Recovery or whatever running on my Nexus S 4G.
I then loaded Cynogen onto my SD card, booted into Clockwork, wiped my phone, then tried to install Cynogen. It failed- it couldn't install boot.img or something.
Now, when I try to boot up my phone, it just shows the Google logo with the unlocked icon below it. It never successfully boots. I can still get into Clockwork Recovery, but below every menu section over the logo, it always shows some error like
Code:
E: failed to something something /cache
Can you guys please, PLEASE instruct me on how to get my phone working normally? I don't need it unlocked, just running the stock OS.
Anyone who can successfully help me do this on a Mac will receive a nice PayPal donation if they wish.
Thank you so much in advance.
And yeah, I know I shouldn't have been attempting this because I am such a n00b.

westinl said:
Let me first start off by saying that I am on a Mac.
I used these directions to get my phone unlocked and get ClockworkMod Recovery or whatever running on my Nexus S 4G.
I then loaded Cynogen onto my SD card, booted into Clockwork, wiped my phone, then tried to install Cynogen. It failed- it couldn't install boot.img or something.
Now, when I try to boot up my phone, it just shows the Google logo with the unlocked icon below it. It never successfully boots. I can still get into Clockwork Recovery, but below every menu section over the logo, it always shows some error like
Code:
E: failed to something something /cache
Can you guys please, PLEASE instruct me on how to get my phone working normally? I don't need it unlocked, just running the stock OS.
Anyone who can successfully help me do this on a Mac will receive a nice PayPal donation if they wish.
Thank you so much in advance.
And yeah, I know I shouldn't have been attempting this because I am such a n00b.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What version of CWM did you flash?

Pm me and we will use a chat service (aim, yahoo messenger) and I will walk u through it.

My suggestion of what I would do is this. Find a windows computer somehow. Go to the development section and look for the sticky about rooting the ns4g. Look for the link to flash the d720 back to stock. Download all those files to a flash drive. Take the drive to the windows computer and set things up then flash the phone back to out of the box stock.
Then you can go back to the Mac and do the root and 3024 cwm recovery and rename the sh file that puts stock recovery back in at boot time. After all this you can do what you want but I would suggest staying with the stock experience. This might be extreme to fix this but in my opinion, I wouldn't waste time trying to fix it, especially since you are new to this. It's like computers, yeah you could try to fix it but you could be opening a can of worms. It might take less wasted time putting it back to complete stock instead of f-ing around trying to figure out what happened and how to fix it. You could take hours trying to fix an install of windows that keeps falling on it's face, or you could format and install windows fresh and new in maybe thirty minutes. Which is easier?

CM7 will not work at the moment because it still uses 2.3.3, go find instructions for a 2.3.4 Nandroid. if you want though,i heard that supeaosp works on a ns4g.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

westinl said:
Let me first start off by saying that I am on a Mac.
I used these directions to get my phone unlocked and get ClockworkMod Recovery or whatever running on my Nexus S 4G.
I then loaded Cynogen onto my SD card, booted into Clockwork, wiped my phone, then tried to install Cynogen. It failed- it couldn't install boot.img or something.
Now, when I try to boot up my phone, it just shows the Google logo with the unlocked icon below it. It never successfully boots. I can still get into Clockwork Recovery, but below every menu section over the logo, it always shows some error like
Code:
E: failed to something something /cache
Can you guys please, PLEASE instruct me on how to get my phone working normally? I don't need it unlocked, just running the stock OS.
Anyone who can successfully help me do this on a Mac will receive a nice PayPal donation if they wish.
Thank you so much in advance.
And yeah, I know I shouldn't have been attempting this because I am such a n00b.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, you can't flash regular Nexus S ROMs on the Nexus S 4G.
Reflash the latest clockwork recovery.
Use fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
then...
Go to recovery, mount the USB storage, and put this zip on the usb storage:ROM
Go to recovery and flash that zip

here's the recovery that works. cwm and stock. How many times is this going to happen with new people and this phone in this forum section before a new subsection is made? We are going to be putting out a lot of these unnecessary fires with people making first time mistakes until something is done so as to not confuse them. Some don't realize that there are different versions of the same phone that aren't necessarily compatible with each other.
The way things are set up now, it isn't making this problem go away. I think that a different method should be tried if the current one isn't working too well. I'm flogging a dead horse now......

I'm looking to root my new NS4G as well -- and do it right the first time. On a Mac as well.
If the similarly-suited OP had issues I'm a bit more skeptical about my effort.
A separate forum might be necessary so people with the D720 hardware don't have near-brick experiences.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App

soooo....did the op ever get it running again? i wonder if anyone ever took up on his paypal offer

Recovery / Bootloader

Ok, i realize i have a different phone from this thread but it is close and my problems closely reflect the issues ive seen with the Galaxy S.
A little background. Im no perfect i know what im doing when it comes to rooting. I have an HTC Tbolt and rooted many of those, an older touch pro 2, and this is first time doing a samsung. I am getting the hang of ODIN (i wish everyone would just use this program instead of bouncing back and forth between heimdall and ODIn but whatever) Im liking ODIN cause it works well. I was successful at flashing a new rom into this Samsung phone. 95% of it worked, wifi i think didnt but everything else worked. While trying to fix the phones wifi somehow i have stopped the phone from booting into CMW recovery unless forced or booting into a rom. I can get into CMW but i must hold down the Vol Down button to get there, otherwise a clean basic boot takes me to the stock android system recovery screen and will not boot a rom.
I have something backwards or out of order. I am just trying to get the rom to identify the installed CMW and the installed ROM through CMW but it wont do it.
Any help would be appreciated, i dont want my GF to find out i jacked her phone lol

Which phone do you have? SGS? I can just talk about SGS+ but I guess its similiar.
Try to install CWM with Odin, normally it should replace the stock recovery (haven't heard of both running at once).
Once you have installed CWM you can install your custom ROM with CWM (look at the install instructions).
If you want to install stock ROM with Odin it will replace your CWM with stock Recovery.
Post the link of the thread/recovery you want to flash.

annqx said:
Which phone do you have? SGS? I can just talk about SGS+ but I guess its similiar.
Try to install CWM with Odin, normally it should replace the stock recovery (haven't heard of both running at once).
Once you have installed CWM you can install your custom ROM with CWM (look at the install instructions).
If you want to install stock ROM with Odin it will replace your CWM with stock Recovery.
Post the link of the thread/recovery you want to flash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its a stratosphere. Im using the root and / or stock files in the root method. I use ODIN to flash the StratCWMRecovery.tar.md5 and if i tick "reboot" then it reboots into CWM i install a rom or stock rom and it finishes. I reboot the phone and it instantly goes back to android system recovery. If you like ill make a short video to give you an idea of whats going on.
I will note that im close to making a jig but its not 100% bricked obviously. 3 button method still works (and unecessary at this point since all the phone does is go straight into the stock bootloader) and then after i install CWM i can force it in to CWM but it wont actualy boot into it.
From a programing standpoint i feel the pointers or partitions are incorrect. Its like booting a computer that has a hard drive with windows installed however getting the bios to tell it to boot from the hard drive isnt working. THats the easiest way to explain this.
One thing i want to note is the only errors i am getting are when i try to partition the SD card from CWM. I get an error saying sdparted is not found.
I am not getting a full understanding of how the root system works on this phone.
Again any help is appreciated.
Made a short video. Its uploading now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFZ5Adm5AdQ

So whatever i did i was able to fix. I think me being a very visual person and normally having access to all files i need or could use in a situation is always nice. Here, i didnt but i found them. Here's the link. Its obviously for stratosphere but i took about 10 minutes and let ODIN install all these files and it worked.
original posting but the link doesnt work for download
http://rootzwiki.com/topic/11183-eh2-full-factory-odin-restore/
where i downloaded it
http://www.fileswap.com/dl/t4D235pUTO/SCH-I405.EH2_rel.md5.html
Again this is for stratosphere. Since it really helped me return to stock and allow me to re root in about 15 minutes this thread should be moved but there is no stratosphere area

[Q] SGH-I337 Download Mode Problem?

Greetings everyone,
So will not try to type out a book here, but want to try to include all the info/everything I have done do this point. I recently purchased a Galaxy S4 ( SGH-I337) ATT model. My end goal was to have it rooted with CM 11 installed on it. This is only the second phone I have attempted to root ( First was Atrix HD which went overall fine). I'm basing my end goal off of it, in that I am wanting to have it rooted with CM 11 installed. I started off by downloading Odin and used towel and was able to get the phone rooted. That seemed to have gone without too many problems. I tried to do as much reading as I could, but I'm sure I either misread or overlooked where I went wrong next. I then installed TWRP in the hopes of getting CM 11 installed. This is where the problems start. After installing TWRP ( later reading I saw I probably should have used Philz soft touch??) and restarting my phone it would only go into " Download Mode" and would forever just sit there. I did some searching and saw how to get past this simply by just restarting and holding the volume up and selecting now that I did not want to enter into Download mode. At this point I decided to go download the stock ROM and start over. I downloaded and followed the instructions from
Greetings everyone,
So will not try to type out a book here, but want to try to include all the info/everything I have done do this point. I recently purchased a Galaxy S4 ( SGH-I337) ATT model. My end goal was to have it rooted with CM 11 installed on it. This is only the second phone I have attempted to root ( First was Atrix HD which went overall fine). I'm basing my end goal off of it, in that I am wanting to have it rooted with CM 11 installed. I started off by downloading Odin and used towel and was able to get the phone rooted. That seemed to have gone without too many problems. I tried to do as much reading as I could, but I'm sure I either misread or overlooked where I went wrong next. I then installed TWRP in the hopes of getting CM 11 installed. This is where the problems start. After installing TWRP ( later reading I saw I probably should have used Philz soft touch??) and restarting my phone it would only go into " Download Mode" and would forever just sit there. I did some searching and saw how to get past this simply by just restarting and holding the volume up and selecting now that I did not want to enter into Download mode. At this point I decided to go download the stock ROM and start over. I downloaded and followed the instructions from
androidrootz.com/2014/03/how-to-unrootunbrick-at-galaxy-s4-sgh.html . From that point is where things went to hell in a hand-basket. My phone will load but whenever I try to turn on Wifi to try to re-root I get a Security Information message saying that it has blocked Wifi from turning on. Quick Google search says this is built in security "Knox"? that is causing this. Posts say that I have the wrong firmware for this phone? The bigger problem seems to be that now when I try to boot into recovery, I get a background that says "No Command" and red lettering at the top that says " Android system recovery <3e>. I have options to reboot system now, update from ADB and others. At the bottom it says #Manual Mode# Successfully applied multi-CSC. So somehow I think i have corrupted the boot loader. Of course Odin will not recognize the phone in this state to try to push any kind of firmware or boot-loader to it. At this point I truley am clueless and lost. Not at all above saying I'm above my head and need some guidence or help from someone who knows a lot more about this then I do. I really thought I had read and done plenty of research before I tried this, but non the less I have a phone I can't get into recovery and once booted, I can't get wifi to work. Thanks for your time and insight. From that point is where things went to hell in a hand-basket. My phone will load but whenever I try to turn on Wifi to try to re-root I get a Security Information message saying that it has blocked Wifi from turning on. Quick Google search says this is built in security "Knox"? that is causing this. Posts say that I have the wrong firmware for this phone? The bigger problem seems to be that now when I try to boot into recovery, I get a background that says "No Command" and red lettering at the top that says " Android system recovery <3e>. I have options to reboot system now, update from ADB and others. At the bottom it says #Manual Mode# Successfully applied multi-CSC. So somehow I think i have corrupted the boot loader. Of course Odin will not recognize the phone in this state to try to push any kind of firmware or boot-loader to it. At this point I truley am clueless and lost. Not at all above saying I'm above my head and need some guidence or help from someone who knows a lot more about this then I do. I really thought I had read and done plenty of research before I tried this, but non the less I have a phone I can't get into recovery and once booted, I can't get wifi to work. Thanks for your time and insight.

Tl,dr sure looks like a book to me. If you just got an s4 I'm sure the bootloader can't be exploited and you can't use cm. Look through this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=53758227
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app

jd1639 said:
Tl,dr sure looks like a book to me. If you just got an s4 I'm sure the bootloader can't be exploited and you can't use cm. Look through this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=53758227
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the link. Very helpful info. Problem I can't seem to get around is that since any ROM i download will not pass the signature inside the recovery mode, I don't know how to get to where I can flash any kind of ROM to it. Yes sorry for the book, I just see too often people don't ever post enough info on what they have or what they have done. In essence how do i use Odin if i can't get into download mode and recovery mode will not accept any file cause it says it fails the md5 signature? Thanks for the help

bryantjb said:
Thanks for the link. Very helpful info. Problem I can't seem to get around is that since any ROM i download will not pass the signature inside the recovery mode, I don't know how to get to where I can flash any kind of ROM to it. Yes sorry for the book, I just see too often people don't ever post enough info on what they have or what they have done. In essence how do i use Odin if i can't get into download mode and recovery mode will not accept any file cause it says it fails the md5 signature? Thanks for the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want to give you useless information, but make sure you're using the right steps to get into download mode.
1) Power off your device
2) Remove battery for 10 seconds
3) Replace battery
4) Hold POWER + HOME + VOLUME DOWN until you see the "Warning" Screen
5) Quickly hit the VOLUME UP button.
Then you can connect to ODIN, and go from there.

Trying to install TWRP and Lineage . . . vbmeta is in the way

I've been trying for the last few days to root and install Lineage on a brand new S6 lite tablet. I've downloaded Lineage, Odin, stock rom, ADB/platform tools, Ls4 tool, the 7 whatever it is extraction tool. I've unlocked the bootloader (I can recite every option under developer options). I've installed Magisk hoping that it might help if I rooted the dumb thing (spoiler alert: it rooted, it didn't help). I've tried to install it using ADB (before reading that Samsungs don't play nice with it ). I tried to side load it with an SD card; tablet liked the card, poo poo'd the files on it. I've used ODIN in every way shape and form, it always says "Yay! You Pass!" then my tablet reboots saying "Boo! You Lose!". I then reinstall the stock ROM, try something else, reinstall stock ROM, try this solution, reinstall stock ROM. The latest and greatest hurdle: when trying to install TWRP I get the error message VBMETA Error verifying image, not signed (3), verification disabled bit is set. I found info on that here, downloaded vbmeta from my stock ROM, tried to use a blank vbmeta, even went overboard and did something with the PIT function in Odin (saw it in the internet, it HAS to be correct, right?). Nothing nothing nothing.
I've rooted and installed custom ROM on Samsung tablets in the past, but this is ridiculous. It would take me a LONG time to give all the details of everything I've tried, if needed I can. At this point it's the principal of the matter . . . I am going to make this happen one way or another, and any advice someone might have would be appreciated.
About me!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 tablet LITE, SM-P610, running Android 11, UI 3.1, WIFI only.

vstarjewel said:
I've been trying for the last few days to root and install Lineage on a brand new S6 lite tablet. I've downloaded Lineage, Odin, stock rom, ADB/platform tools, Ls4 tool, the 7 whatever it is extraction tool. I've unlocked the bootloader (I can recite every option under developer options). I've installed Magisk hoping that it might help if I rooted the dumb thing (spoiler alert: it rooted, it didn't help). I've tried to install it using ADB (before reading that Samsungs don't play nice with it ). I tried to side load it with an SD card; tablet liked the card, poo poo'd the files on it. I've used ODIN in every way shape and form, it always says "Yay! You Pass!" then my tablet reboots saying "Boo! You Lose!". I then reinstall the stock ROM, try something else, reinstall stock ROM, try this solution, reinstall stock ROM. The latest and greatest hurdle: when trying to install TWRP I get the error message VBMETA Error verifying image, not signed (3), verification disabled bit is set. I found info on that here, downloaded vbmeta from my stock ROM, tried to use a blank vbmeta, even went overboard and did something with the PIT function in Odin (saw it in the internet, it HAS to be correct, right?). Nothing nothing nothing.
I've rooted and installed custom ROM on Samsung tablets in the past, but this is ridiculous. It would take me a LONG time to give all the details of everything I've tried, if needed I can. At this point it's the principal of the matter . . . I am going to make this happen one way or another, and any advice someone might have would be appreciated.
About me!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 tablet LITE, SM-P610, running Android 11, UI 3.1, WIFI only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stumbled upon the answer to get Lineage OS and recovery installed . . . AND IT FREAKIN WORKED! Happy Dance!!!!!

vstarjewel said:
Stumbled upon the answer to get Lineage OS and recovery installed . . . AND IT FREAKIN WORKED! Happy Dance!!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you fix? Just for a reader's curiosity sake.

Real_fakename said:
How did you fix? Just for a reader's curiosity sake.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe he used LineageOS Recovery instead of TWRP (since the latter has been abandoned by the developer due to too many problems getting it working properly).

MJPollard said:
I believe he used LineageOS Recovery instead of TWRP (since the latter has been abandoned by the developer due to too many problems getting it working properly).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What he said . . . still my hero!!!! Not sure if it matters or not, but I ended up using Heimdall/ADB to install Lineage. More key strokes but it worked the first time I tried it. Thumbs up for it

I'm hanging installing the recovery, see: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...s-on-galaxy-tab-s6-lite.4417629/post-86603873
How to reboot into recovery after flashing? I always land into Stock ROM

I mistakenly thought that Heimdell could get you right into recovery mode, but upon reading the instructions I sent you it says you need to boot into recovery manually . . . I apologize for the wrong info. I can say that I found that if you don't move them fingers FAST from the reboot mode to recovery mode buttons, you will keep getting plopped back to the stock ROM. Like the SECOND the screen goes dark you switch over to the power and volume up buttons, AND DO NOT LET GO! I do remember having a bit of a pause when booting into the Lineage recovery, and I thought I would have to start over when the recovery screen came up. I did a triple take, couldn't believe I got it to work.

vstarjewel said:
I mistakenly thought that Heimdell could get you right into recovery mode, but upon reading the instructions I sent you it says you need to boot into recovery manually . . . I apologize for the wrong info. I can say that I found that if you don't move them fingers FAST from the reboot mode to recovery mode buttons, you will keep getting plopped back to the stock ROM. Like the SECOND the screen goes dark you switch over to the power and volume up buttons, AND DO NOT LET GO! I do remember having a bit of a pause when booting into the Lineage recovery, and I thought I would have to start over when the recovery screen came up. I did a triple take, couldn't believe I got it to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did your S6 happen to show "KG STATE: Checking" constantly? After 2 hours, even though the console shows that there was success, the device itself appears to constantly be downloading, as per the instructions. But even after 2 hours, there is no notification on the tablet that shows the download is complete.