Database Users

[Q] Any way to "install" system.img?

I've been tinkering with building aosp framework and kernel from source. I've got it loaded and running on my N7. I've made some changes to an xml file, and the subsequent build resulted in only a new system.img file being generated. Is there any way to "install" the system.img file without wiping the system area first? Or is "fastboot flash system system.img" the only way to update the system area of the ROM? I don't want to have to use Recovery to install gapps and supersu again if I can avoid it.

Try mounting the .IMG file into a folder you created with
sudo(or su) mount -o loop ~/system.img /path/to/created/folder
It may mount it and you should be able to get what you want out of the file and then just replace the individual files and reboot or flash them by themselves in a .zip.

di11igaf said:
Try mounting the .IMG file into a folder you created with
sudo(or su) mount -o loop ~/system.img /path/to/created/folder
It may mount it and you should be able to get what you want out of the file and then just replace the individual files and reboot or flash them by themselves in a .zip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried everything I could think of including specifying all different types of filesystems including iso9660 and nothing recognizes the image. I tried it on my Ubuntu 12.04 machine as well as the tablet, no success, I guess I'll just have to flash it with fastboot.

There is ways to do it. Aosp used to include the necessary tools to do it, but I haven't really cloned aosp source since gingerbread so I can t remember exactly where or if they're still there(if I do some digging I can figure it out but you may already have flashed. I'll still look into it cause it may be of use to others).

Maybe try this in the future
Here's a binary that should work, make it executable first--
http://db.tt/OZnlRJ4L
./simg2img system.img output.img
Then
mkdir systest(make this folder anything you want)
mount -o loop output.img systest(or whatever you made the folder above)
I haven't tested this but I may when I get a chance.

Way cool man, it works. I was able to mount the output IMG without issue. . :good: :good: :good:
Sent from my aosp N7 JSS15Q w/A029 TouchScreen firmware

[Q] How do I install TWRP Recovery?

I've problems installing CM11 and a user recommended me this but i dont know how to intall it :/ help?

Download the recovery
Save it to wherever you want.
Make sure the image name is recovery.img, rename if needed.
Download any root file manager, which can mount and show hidden folders.
Mount /.cust_backup as rw.
Copy and replace recovery.img from SD card to /.cust_backup/image/recovery.img

there's no /.cust_backup on my phone :/ do you know any other way to install google apps without flashing it?

ASGolden said:
there's no /.cust_backup on my phone :/ do you know any other way to install google apps without flashing it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a /cust folder? If yes that's the same as /.cust_backup.

[Q] how to recover data from a phone that will not boot

I have jamal2367's [AOSP] official 4.4.2 - S4 Google Edition ROM installed (final R1.2) a SGH-1337M.
The other day it started getting stuck on boot; the blue, red, yellow, green circles just continually go in and out without anything else happening. I have booted into CWM Recovery (v6.0.4.4) and done a wipe cache partition and wipe dalvik cache but it did not help.
Can anyone provide advice/steps on how to copy the data (mostly pics and WhatsApp history) off this phone? SMS history would also be nice but not necessary.

toggly said:
I have jamal2367's [AOSP] official 4.4.2 - S4 Google Edition ROM installed (final R1.2) a SGH-1337M.
The other day it started getting stuck on boot; the blue, red, yellow, green circles just continually go in and out without anything else happening. I have booted into CWM Recovery (v6.0.4.4) and done a wipe cache partition and wipe dalvik cache but it did not help.
Can anyone provide advice/steps on how to copy the data (mostly pics and WhatsApp history) off this phone? SMS history would also be nice but not necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would make a backup in your recovery and then flash the rom you had installed. See if that helps.
Edit: You didn't try to update. I changed my comment saying you had tried.

1. Download Aroma File Manager
2. Put a external sd into your phone.
3. Boot into the custom recovery and flash the Aroma file.
4. It will boot into a file browser and you can copy all the files from internal to your external.
ps it's possible that your custom recovery already has a filemanager build in. Then all these steps are obsolete.

I boot into AROMA Filemanager but I can't see anything on the internal SD card (see attachment).
Any ideas? Does that folder icon mean the "sdcard" folder is encrypted?

toggly said:
I boot into AROMA Filemanager but I can't see anything on the internal SD card (see attachment).
Any ideas? Does that folder icon mean the "sdcard" folder is encrypted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it encrypted? Then probably it won't work. In that case just reflash the rom you are on without wiping.

toggly said:
Does that folder icon mean the "sdcard" folder is encrypted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lennyz1988 said:
Is it encrypted? Then probably it won't work. In that case just reflash the rom you are on without wiping.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know, that's why I am asking what that icon means?

You say CWM is working, so you can just adb pull everything you need. Applications usually save data in a directory under /data/data or /sdcard/Android/data.
You should find the directories you want with adb shell, then you can adb pull them, then if you reflash your rom you can adb push them back into the same locations. Also, depending where they are saved, your pictures will most likely not be deleted when you reflash your rom. Better safe than sorry though.
If you don't have adb you'll have to download the binary, or you can install the entire Android SDK. Which operating system do you use?

toggly said:
I don't know, that's why I am asking what that icon means?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The icons means that it's symlinked. If it's not encrypted then you should find the data. It can be in an other place then where you are looking. Try looking in /data/media or some other maps in /data
Or just flash the rom you are currently on without wiping.
soldier9599 said:
You say CWM is working, so you can just adb pull everything you need. Applications usually save data in a directory under /data/data or /sdcard/Android/data.
You should find the directories you want with adb shell, then you can adb pull them, then if you reflash your rom you can adb push them back into the same locations. Also, depending where they are saved, your pictures will most likely not be deleted when you reflash your rom. Better safe than sorry though.
If you don't have adb you'll have to download the binary, or you can install the entire Android SDK. Which operating system do you use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Adb won't work unless he already has authorized adb when his device was booted.

toggly said:
I boot into AROMA Filemanager but I can't see anything on the internal SD card (see attachment).
Any ideas? Does that folder icon mean the "sdcard" folder is encrypted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to mount partitions to see the contents.. Go to Aroma File Manager Settings and check the option "Moumt automatically partition on boot".. then restart your recovery and flash again the Aroma File Manager

Lennyz1988 said:
Adb won't work unless he already has authorized adb when his device was booted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had devices where the first thing I did with them was unlock bootloader, fastboot flash recovery, and then go into recovery and adb sideload, all without booting the system.

peppe130 said:
You need to mount partitions to see the contents.. Go to Aroma File Manager Settings and check the option "Moumt automatically partition on boot".. then restart your recovery and flash again the Aroma File Manager
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That did the trick, thanks!!

Nothing

soldier9599 said:
I've had devices where the first thing I did with them was unlock bootloader, fastboot flash recovery, and then go into recovery and adb sideload, all without booting the system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes and I believe that. But from version 4.2.2 android forces rsa encryption. So you need to boot into your rom and enable it. Unless the custom rom/kernel has disabled it, but I haven't seen any that have.

Please Help How fix Unable to mount internal storage

Hello everyone,
Please Help me to fix this issue
TWRP shows E: Unable to mount '/cache'
E: Unable to mount '/data'
E: Unable to mount '/system'
E: Unable to mount '/cache'
E: Unable to mount internal storage
I have twrp v2.5
Actually, I am trying many solutions but nothing change

Hi, pal. I have the exactly same problem these days. On my opinion, when you have made wipe and wipe dalvik cache, you just deleted the system folder and data. I did same thing, now I'm stuck! :Д When you are trying to change the firmware, is the logo pictures changing for you every time you flash any other .zip file? We' are now complete lost man. Is your USB working like mine where PCs not detecting it? I think they've launched this kind of firmware only to destroy our device, so we can buy a new one. That's the idea. Go to the service and repair center of Lenovo and ask them for help! I wrote them down before a while, now I'm waiting for the response. We have left only two or three possibilities to flash the Rom with the Terminal in the Recovery. But if your PC recognizing the drivers, you will manage to flash the Stock 4.2.2 Rom with Flash tool , otherwise you are stuck too! I have no idea how to flash it. I can give you the terminal commands for you, which are hard to find, but you and me, we need the proper .img files for the flashing procedure. Go to the 4pda forum and ask for help, if you find any solution, come back here telling it and for me. There's a possibility, but it is difficult to create a proper .zip archive, because I only know that we need those folders and files: meta folder- updater-script, logo. bin, lk.bin, boot.img and system.img.
But when I insert the commands there, I don't know how the whole process must be working, something is happening there. The problem is that one of those lines did not work for me. Those are the commands for flashing any Rom with the terminal in the recovery. But first you must see if the PC is installing your drivers properly, open device manager and look for the drivers on the internet and try to install them. May be you have a working USB port, so there's no problem, just flash the stock rom with the Flash tool. But if it is not working as it is here, no other possibilities left, my boy! The only one left or two of them : Flashing the device either through fast boot mode or adb sideload, but you must install those drivers so PC can find the device. Well, you can always do this at your own risk from the terminal.
Oh, I forgot, those problem came when we deleted fstab file for our device.

Flashing firmware through the TWRP terminal commands:
dd if=/external_sd/system.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p6 (for the memory ROW+ ) or
dd if=/external_sd/system.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p5 (for CN+ memory)
dd if=/external_sd/boot.img of=/dev/bootimg
dd if=/external_sd/lk.bin of=/dev/uboot
dd if=/external_sd/logo.bin of=/dev/logo
First, system.img must be converted to systemEXT4.img, then flashing it and you need to have a systemEXT4 in the .zip archive. But I think my system folder is deleted. :Д
simg2img /external_sd/system.img /external_sd/systemEXT4.img
Good luck to you! According to me there is a space after the dot and it must be like this: system. img, boot. img. But not sure!

Hi again. Tooday It occurred to me where our problem may be came with the tablets. When we flashed a custom Rom, we put it for the wrong MTK processor. Ours is MT8389, not 6589. The stock roms are too for the MT8389 according to me. We flashed a wrong Rom. Now the tab must be formatted somehow either through some commands from the terminal, or USB port and path to the USB must be repaired. Then, flashing with the Flash tools is our only option left! Sorry! );
They killed our device on purpose with the Custom rom. Do not flash them any more with such Roms.

[TOOL][SCRIPT][A520X|A720X] Repartition tool for treble support

Repartition tool for A5 and A7 2017
Disclaimer
Code:
I am NOT responsible for bricked devices or any damage that may happen to your device.
Repartitioning is a dangerous process and may brick your device in the worst case.
Features
This script will set 64MB for your /cache partition and ~4.6GB for your /system partition (The size of /system may be smaller or bigger depending on which variation of A5 and A7 is used)
The script will create a new partition called "vendor" with a size of 300MB
Only /system and /cache will be deleted during the flashing process, your /data partition keeps untouched
Flashing the script for a second time after already having it flashed will delete the /vendor partition and restore your stock partitions
You will still be able to install any recent ROM (Note that A720S may be unable to install any recent ROM. Contact me if you have problems)
TWRP, SHRP and Orangefox are supported
Installation
Make a backup of all your partitions first in case something goes wrong. Repartitioning is a dangerous process!
Make sure to have the latest version of TWRP/SHRP/Orangefox installed before installing this script.
Download the Repartitioner from post #2
If you only want to patch your recovery but already have the /vendor partition, download the RecoveryPatch from post #2
Flash the installer zip and wait until it is finished. It will add the necessary partition, patch your recovery and automatically reboot you to recovery if the installation is successful.
After reboot, make sure that /system, /cache and /vendor are mountable. If not, format them. (See a How-To in FAQ in post #3)
Congratulations, your device now supports treble!
Downloads
Find them in post #2
Support and FAQ
Telegram Group
FAQ (Frequently asked questions)
Credits
Me for the time I spent on this
@corsicanu for his template script
@Reverant for the original repartition script
@osm0sis for AnyKernel
Telegram users for testing
XDA:DevDB Information
[TOOL][SCRIPT][A520X|A720X] Repartition tool for treble support, Tool/Utility for the Samsung Galaxy A Series 2017 A3, A5, A7
Contributors
Simon1511
Version Information
Status: Stable
Created 2020-09-08
Last Updated 2020-09-09

Downloads
v1.2
Repartitioner: Google Drive | Androidfilehost (Will resize your partitions AND patch recovery)
RecoveryPatcher: Google Drive | Androidfilehost(Will ONLY patch your recovery for treble support. Flash this if you upgrade from an older version.)
Changelog
Spoiler
v1.2
Spoiler
Removed TWRP version check
Added support for SHRP and Orangefox
v1.1
Spoiler
Fixed a typo that prevented the script from creating new partitions on A720F and korean A5 variants
v1.0
Spoiler
Initial release

Reserved
FAQ (Frequently asked questions)
I cant mount /system, /cache or/and /vendor. What do I do?
->In recovery, go to Wipe, Advanced Wipe, select the partition you have problems with and tap "Repair or Change File System". Choose "Change File System", choose EXT4 and confirm the process. Reboot to recovery again to complete the process.This may be slightly different depending on which recovery you are using.
Restoring my /system backup always fails! What do I do?
->This seems to be a general TWRP problem. To fix, wipe /system, reboot to recovery, install the ROMs zip you had installed before, reboot to recovery again and restore your backup.
I have an A720S and cant install any recent ROM! Why?
->A720S has the smallest /system partition of all A5 and A7 variants and Lineage and every other ROM currently has its stock partition sizes set. Just flash the repartition ZIP again to revert the changes and contact me so we can resolve this problem.
How do I upgrade from an older version to the latest?
->The latest version doesn't change anything in terms of partition size. Therefore, you don't need to upgrade unless you have any issues.
How do I patch my recovery to support treble?
->Download the "RecoveryPatch" ZIP from the download section above and flash it in recovery. It will patch your recovery to support treble. If you want to switch to non-treble recovery, flash the recovery IMG/ZIP or the RecoveryPatch ZIP again.

reserved

in a720f can't format or mount /system, /cache or/and /vendor
says unable to wipe them
error changing file system
After second time installing "repartitioner-v1.0-a57y17lte.zip" reverse process fails to restore /cache partition to first /cache

matkali said:
in a720f can't format or mount /system, /cache or/and /vendor
says unable to wipe them
error changing file system
After second time installing "repartitioner-v1.0-a57y17lte.zip" reverse process fails to restore /cache partition to first /cache
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you have TWRP 3.4 installed before installing the repartition script?
If not, thats likely to be the cause.
Also, dont forget to format /system, /vendor and /cache after installation.

Simon1511 said:
Did you have TWRP 3.4 installed before installing the repartition script?
If not, thats likely to be the cause.
Also, dont forget to format /system, /vendor and /cache after installation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes I do all of them

matkali said:
in a720f can't format or mount /system, /cache or/and /vendor
says unable to wipe them
error changing file system
After second time installing "repartitioner-v1.0-a57y17lte.zip" reverse process fails to restore /cache partition to first /cache
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah same issue here,. A720F

deleted

Updated the script to fix A720F and korean A5 support.
Sorry for the circumstances.
Downloads can be found in post #2

UPDATE
repartitioner v1.2: Google Drive | Androidfilehost (Will resize your partitions and patch recovery)
RecoveryPatcher: Google Drive | Androidfilehost (Will ONLY patch your recovery for treble support)
Changelog
Removed TWRP version check
Added support for SHRP and Orangefox