[Q] 4.2 Upgrade Problems-- verizon gnex - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

My vzw nexus has been running mRom version x.x for sometime. I went to install the upgraded 4.2 rom via clockworkmod, (wipe cache and dalvik, flash over current rom) and it appeared to install successfully. However, when I rebooted I saw the lock screen for a split second and it just started to boot loop. I rebooted back into recovery and wiped all data and tried to reinstall the rom via through the new 0 partition, but I get the error symlink: some symlinks failed
E: Error in /sdcard/0/mRom_v3.0_JOP40C.zip (status 7)
I think that this may have something to do with the multiple users in 4.2, but don't quote me on it. I cannot get my computer to recognize my phone, when I go to mounts in cwm I can mount everything except the sdcard, although I think this problem was evident before I flashed. Any suggestions? I could try to restore to stock using galaxynexusrestore-- http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1743939 but I have not tried it before so I cannot speak to weither it will work or not.
HELP!

Always always wipe data when changing an Android version. Unless it comes via OTA, which is specifically designed to fix all the little problems that will arise.
As to how to fix the problem, flashing a factory image
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1626895 will probably work. Just follow the rules for Toro. The toolkit you linked may work, but it's generally a better idea to not use them and actually familiarize yourself with how to fix things yourself, you'll be less likely to make mistakes in the future.

Same thing happened to me.
when i try to restore from backup Clockwork can't locate the backup file because the root file structure has changed to \0.
Is there an update to Recovery that fixes this?
Help!

Misread OP.

ironerd said:
Same thing happened to me.
when i try to restore from backup Clockwork can't locate the backup file because the root file structure has changed to \0.
Is there an update to Recovery that fixes this?
Help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Clockwork dev said he knows about the issue and is working on a fix.
TWRP already has a patch out that solves the problem. If you decide to temporary move to TWRP it can be flashed through fastboot or Goomanager. CWM and TWRP backups are not compatible however.
http://teamw.in/androidmultiuser useful reading for how TWRP fixed it.

same problem, stuck at JB logo
Marisa said:
Clockwork dev said he knows about the issue and is working on a fix.
TWRP already has a patch out that solves the problem. If you decide to temporary move to TWRP it can be flashed through fastboot or Goomanager. CWM and TWRP backups are not compatible however.
http://teamw.in/androidmultiuser useful reading for how TWRP fixed it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was running stock JRO03O with Clockwork Recovery Mod and decided to flash the JB 4.2 ROM from Grouper (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1993545 - I can't post there since I'm too new).
The update must have succeeded, because I can see the new 0/ partition on my phone, but it won't boot past the "X" logo. I can boot into CWM and try various things, but of course because of the data structure changes, I can't actually recover to my last save. When I'm home, I'm hoping I can get the CWM backup off my phone to restore later, but without a terminal in CWM, I can't try to fix the path.
It's nice to hear that CW is working on a fix - I hope it's retroactive (I mean, helpful to those of use who already screwed up). Also, I've never flashed anything but OTA, so I didn't realize I needed to wipe data before flashing something that's supposed to be almost stock. I guess it matters how different from stock the ROM actually is.
What's next? I'll try to interface with my PC at home. If others have this problem, I'd be happy to hear your success (or fail) stories. I'll share mine once I've tried it.

The issue with non-OTA version updates is that the OTA is specifically designed to know what little bits and pieces need to be updated, removed, or left alone.
Flashing a ROM is usually intended as a fresh slate, as the dev cannot know exactly from where you started. Basically without the wipe, you could end up with old files loitering about the system and making it do things incorrectly at boot.
Koush
When trying to restore CWM backup move previous backups AND blobs folder to /data/media/clockworkmod if the folder does not exist simply create one or if unsure just go to recovery and make new backup, it will create necessary folders for you then move (or copy to be safe) files to location.... The blobs folder is what I was missing and why I kept getting error while trying to restore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This should help your problem solving for the moment, if you're familiar enough with ADB to move the files that way it shouldn't take very long at all

thanks, and update of my status
Marisa said:
The issue with non-OTA version updates is that the OTA is specifically designed to know what little bits and pieces need to be updated, removed, or left alone.
Flashing a ROM is usually intended as a fresh slate, as the dev cannot know exactly from where you started. Basically without the wipe, you could end up with old files loitering about the system and making it do things incorrectly at boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the extra insight. I wrestled with my phone all night and finally got it back to 4.1.1 (JRO030). Along the way I screwed up my adb or fastboot drivers, and for all my efforts I couldn't get any of my nexus toolkits to recognize the phone as in fastboot mode. Adb was fine, but fastboot was a no-go. I moved to a fresh computer after someone else had success with that, and read up on how to do a manual (adb command line) flash to factory image.
Now that that's done, I'm hoping I can restore from CWM to get back to where I was. If not, then yuck, but I'm optimistic.

Related

BOOTLOOPS GALORE! help :(

Hey guys,
glad to say that ive been able to debrick my phone like 5 times in a row successfully which is a weight off my shoulders.
however, once im debricked, rooted, cwm installed, and all .img's pushed i try to flash a custom rom. i've tried every one and i get bootloops every time... they seem to install just fine. very normal timing and everything, no errors. any ideas?
Don't format /data. Are you doing that? Link the steps you're taking when you are in cwm to flash over the rom. Maybe something is amiss.
nope not formatting data. ive been doing wipe cache, wipe dalvik, and format /system.
Man I was in the same boat as you but was finally able to get it sorted this morning. What I highly, highly recommend is starting as fresh and as clean as you possibly can. That is before you do CWM or anything like that restore your phone with the Korean kdz, push all the images (system being last) then make sure you have a bootable, working phone. Also I would recommend using different/new/fresh .img files...I downloaded ones from the unbricking thread and only used a copy of my baseband.img. I had a feeling one of my files wasn't quite right so starting with all new ones may have helped.
Don't try anything from a backup or do a restore or anything-start fresh and make sure everything works as it should. From there do CWM and then do your ROMS. I know you're almost there and its a headache to keep starting from the bottom but do it all one step at a time, in order and you will find success.
Good luck!
good call. i havent been pushing all the .img's. just the three he mentioned above. let me try this for the 80th time. ill let you know how it goes. just curious, do you use the v10f or v10i kdz?
Are the ROMs installing in less than 30 seconds or 2-5 minutes? If its less than 30 seconds, you need to flash it again.
If i was you i would install the new CWM, once it installs the new CWM it'll work.
gte460z said:
Are the ROMs installing in less than 30 seconds or 2-5 minutes? If its less than 30 seconds, you need to flash it again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep i know that part. thanks
Revolution said:
If i was you i would install the new CWM, once it installs the new CWM it'll work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
new cwm?? as in the newest version available?does it work on the nitro?
[CWM][24/01] ClockworkMod 5 Recovery For LG Nitro HD
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1448
Follow instruction's then try flashing a ROM it should fix your problem.
ive been using cwm... doesnt get rid of the bootloops
mic.mayorga said:
ive been using cwm... doesnt get rid of the bootloops
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure you understand bro, there is a NEW UPDATE
Update your CWM and it'll fix this issue.
I had the same problem for awhile. Had to use the Unbricker:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1412367
Followed ALL instructions, including "Restoring Nitro HD partition images" before flashing CWM. After that, no more bootloops and installed Revolutions rom w/out issue. Reboots just fine after.
I used the V10i-the direct download from LG...I think all the other recommendations are spot on but first and foremost get everything squared away with a fresh install of the kdz, all the images (in the proper order), the new version of CWM and then your rom of choice...Hope you're making some progress!
I'm on the new CWM and still have a loop if I reboot. Then I need to restore from CWM to get going again.
The soft brick boot loop I got was caused solely by format /system. I did not format /data.
I went through the whole deal last night and this morning and was able to get a fresh start on everything and am now running the HD ROM and haven't had a boot loop since I got everything back up and running...
I really think starting with the freshest install and making sure everything is functional step by step is where you'll be able to get through all that mess...just stay away from and restores or using any .img files that may have any software glitches as you'll get back to square one every time.
Hope you get it sorted out!
nah bro, i had the new update. no worries tho i pushed all the images in the debrick and fixed it. thanks for all the help guys B)
Tight work-glad you were able to get it straight! Now once you get it where you want make a new backup with Nandroid and CWM and you'll be golden in case anything else happens.
Hi all,
I'm in a boot loop too, so may I ask you guys a stupid question:
How to restore the previous system.img?
Thanks
huydq5000 said:
Hi all,
I'm in a boot loop too, so may I ask you guys a stupid question:
How to restore the previous system.img?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go look at the thread "[Solved] Unbricking solution...". Follow it to the T, however, i'd recommend using v10i.kdz rather than v10f.kdz. Definitely try the f version first but if it doesn't work try i. That's what I did. Basically what you're going to want to do is:
1. Restore the phone to a korean image using the v10i (or f) file and the LG software provided and referenced in the unblocking thread.
2. Once booted, root the phone. (specific instructions for v10i are in a thread somewhere linked by [email protected] v10f use either SuperOneClick root or DoomLord v4. Make sure you have adb installed for doomlord.
3. Once rooted use adb to push over stock .img files in this order: boot, recovery, firmware, baseband, system.
4. after the files are pushed boot into phone and root again (optional).
5. Install CWM5 through adb or terminal emulator.
Good luck, let me know if you have any questions and I can go into more detail.

Be Warned: Nandroid backup can cause bootloop

Just a friendly reminder that Nandroid alone are not sufficient for data protection. Your /sdcard partition is not a safe place.
Last night an update came out for the ROM I'm on so I decided like we all should to do a Nandroid backup before flashing.
Well..
Backup errors out on /data and after that (with no other changes, just the attempted backup) My phone is bootlooping at the Google logo.
I cleared cache and dalvik...no change. Did a factory reset within recovery and reflashed the version of the ROM i was already on, no changes.
Tried to restore an older nandroid backup...restore fails on /data.
Used fasboot and reflashed, bootloader, radio...nope still bootloop.
Final Fix:
Open up stock 4.0.1 firmware package and fastboot flash boot,system,userdata which then booted up fine on stock 4.0.1 android. I then proceeded to flash the ROM, etc and all is fine. However flashing those images did wipe my /sdcard partition so I lost everything on there.
Thanks for the heads up
Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk
Not to be an ass, and I really do feel for you, but you know what you signed up for when you unlocked. There is always that chance and to avoid it all stay unrooted.
But, again, thanks for the heads up and I hope there wasn't too much on your SD.
Same happens to me, in my older phone it was stuck in the boot up screen spent weeks trying to fix it nun worked, so I had to save up money to buy a new one
But on a lighter note I restored back to custom rom now SIM card don't work but o well, that's y I like to do it to figure out the problems
I know how u feel wen I lost my form of communication lol
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium
Ouch! Good thing it's not a common reoccurring problem.
sucks, but you could unmount sdcard from recovery and transfer all of your stuff to your pc, and then fastboot flash 4.0.1
@OP did you happen to reneme the back-ups at all with spaces?
good day.
To address a few people.
-I have nothing on my phone that is important so as far as 'you know the risks' yes I do and I never said I cared that this happened in any big way but it was a little scary that it wouldn't even restore a nandroid. It happened late last night and after fiddling with it for 10 minutes I just turned it off and then hooked it up to my computer @work this morning and within 45 minutes had everything working again and setup exactly like I did before.
-No I did not rename my backups lol.
[email protected] I didn't know that thanks for the tip, all I really had on /sdcard was some wallpapers and a few ROM downloads. I keep my phone pretty lean since I'm abit of a flashing whore.
-This thread is more of a heads up for people, as you could search I never posted any kind of thread asking for help, the fix was pretty simple, really just a matter of going down the list of least 'destructive' fixes and trying those out before trying out those that involved wiping the entire phone. Its not like it was bricked I had recovery and boot-loader access. It's just strange that it happened I mean doing a backup is not making writes to the system its simple a read operation and then writes to the /sdcard partition.
FWIW I was using CWM Touch Beta5 from Nathan Grebowiec.
sluflyer06 said:
[snip]
Final Fix:
Open up stock 4.0.1 firmware package and fastboot flash boot,system,userdata which then booted up fine on stock 4.0.1 android. I then proceeded to flash the ROM, etc and all is fine. However flashing those images did wipe my /sdcard partition so I lost everything on there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a little note: the /sdcard "partition" is actually just a symlink to /data/media. So, if you flash the userdata partition, you are effectively wiping you sdcard.
If you booted CWM, then used ADB to pull all the data from /data/media, you would still have everything on you /sdcard.
nonione said:
sucks, but you could unmount sdcard from recovery and transfer all of your stuff to your pc, and then fastboot flash 4.0.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unmount sdcard eh?
Is the rest of the data partition unavailable when the sdcard folder is mounted?
i've used nandroid backup over 200 times between my 4 android devices. i have NEVER ever had an issue like this.
and just the last week i've done 15 backups and recoveries on my gnex. no issues.
Hi, happend to me exactly same thing... twice. And trying to flash other Rom was causing strange behavior, there was no lock screen phone go straight to home screen after pressing power button. Flashing stock image fix the problem, I can only add that if you backup your nandroids buckup(s) and then put it back to your phone (after stock flash) they will work fine. Sorry for my terrible english.
Be Warned: User error can cause boot loops.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Nandroid has become considerably less reliable since Koush switched to tar.
Ugh, just had this same thing happen to me when trying to flash a rom. If I had known this before I wouldn't flash anything anymore and count on nandroids. lol Oh well, you live and learn. So I've never flashed a stock img through fastboot or anything so I'm going to try that when I get home. I tried to mount my sd card here at work with no drivers and got this error when trying to mount usb 'unable to open ums lunfile no such directory blah blah' I'm assuming it's just because I'm on a computer with no drivers.
Anyway, so if I can get my phone to usb mount to my laptop through cwm I can back up my sd card on the laptop before I flash the stock images that will wipe my sd? I do have some pictures and things on there I would like to keep if possible. Thanks. Wish I read this earlier, 30 minutes too late lol
Anyone know what causes this?

[Q] What Am I Doing Wrong...?

I have unbricked this phone probably 15 times in the past day trying to just install a custom ROM.
I run through the unbricking process, get root, load the stock AT&T ROM, factory reset, and it boots just fine from there. However, after I load Clockwork Mod and try to load any custom ROMs at all, the phone will just bootloop forever. It also appears to remove the Clockwork Mod recovery image as well, since I no longer am able to get back into recovery after the flash of the new ROM.
I've scoured this forum for hours, and I'm at a complete loss. Any ideas?
P.S. I made a backup of my ROM before doing all of this using the latest version of Clockwork Mod, but was unable to restore it. It seems that the 6.x.x.x version of the recovery for this phone is busted in some way, it always reports that it can't access any of the root folders, even though the phone has been rooted. The 5.x.x.x versions don't seem to do this, but I still have issues flashing.
SectorNine50 said:
I have unbricked this phone probably 15 times in the past day trying to just install a custom ROM.
I run through the unbricking process, get root, load the stock AT&T ROM, factory reset, and it boots just fine from there. However, after I load Clockwork Mod and try to load any custom ROMs at all, the phone will just bootloop forever. It also appears to remove the Clockwork Mod recovery image as well, since I no longer am able to get back into recovery after the flash of the new ROM.
I've scoured this forum for hours, and I'm at a complete loss. Any ideas?
P.S. I made a backup of my ROM before doing all of this using the latest version of Clockwork Mod, but was unable to restore it. It seems that the 6.x.x.x version of the recovery for this phone is busted in some way, it always reports that it can't access any of the root folders, even though the phone has been rooted. The 5.x.x.x versions don't seem to do this, but I still have issues flashing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it possible that your hosts file needs modifying when installing the AT&T ROM? If the LG Support tool connects to LG's servers instead of your local http you set up, it will load the official ICS and completely wipe your phone to install that ROM... With my limited amount of knowledge, that's about all I could see if the process removes CWM Recovery.
Also, CWM 6.x is working fine for me, even manually flashed the touch recovery a few minutes ago, backed up my ROM and installed an updated ROM. No problems at all.
SectorNine50 said:
I have unbricked this phone probably 15 times in the past day trying to just install a custom ROM.
I run through the unbricking process, get root, load the stock AT&T ROM, factory reset, and it boots just fine from there. However, after I load Clockwork Mod and try to load any custom ROMs at all, the phone will just bootloop forever. It also appears to remove the Clockwork Mod recovery image as well, since I no longer am able to get back into recovery after the flash of the new ROM.
I've scoured this forum for hours, and I'm at a complete loss. Any ideas?
P.S. I made a backup of my ROM before doing all of this using the latest version of Clockwork Mod, but was unable to restore it. It seems that the 6.x.x.x version of the recovery for this phone is busted in some way, it always reports that it can't access any of the root folders, even though the phone has been rooted. The 5.x.x.x versions don't seem to do this, but I still have issues flashing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if anyone has tried the unbrick method with the new version of cwm but you might try twrp. When a similar version of cwm was in beta there were all sorts of issues. So maybe they haven't been fixed. Also are you installing cwm from GB? ICS has a locked boot loader so that might also be an issue.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1888910
Now I would start with the unbricking guide for a 16th time but follow the directions to install twrp instead of cwm. You might also find you like it better. Good luck.
Sent from my LG-P930 using xda app-developers app
lordcheeto03 said:
Is it possible that your hosts file needs modifying when installing the AT&T ROM? If the LG Support tool connects to LG's servers instead of your local http you set up, it will load the official ICS and completely wipe your phone to install that ROM... With my limited amount of knowledge, that's about all I could see if the process removes CWM Recovery.
Also, CWM 6.x is working fine for me, even manually flashed the touch recovery a few minutes ago, backed up my ROM and installed an updated ROM. No problems at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't believe that the unbricking process would work if the hosts file was wrong, but I checked it again anyway, and it appears to be correct.
The AT&T ROM gets pushed via the abd shell after the unbrick and rooting process. The root appears to work, as the AT&T ROM that I push works fine, it's just not the ROM I want!
Swetnes said:
I don't know if anyone has tried the unbrick method with the new version of cwm but you might try twrp. When a similar version of cwm was in beta there were all sorts of issues. So maybe they haven't been fixed. Also are you installing cwm from GB? ICS has a locked boot loader so that might also be an issue.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1888910
Now I would start with the unbricking guide for a 16th time but follow the directions to install twrp instead of cwm. You might also find you like it better. Good luck.
Sent from my LG-P930 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After the unbricking process (after I get through all the nonsense on the Korean ROM), the phone is running the GB AT&T ROM, from there I push the CWM recovery.img to the phone using the abd shell. All seems to be working perfectly up until I go to flash the custom ROM! I don't get any errors when I flash the .zip either.
Initially I had installed CWM 6.x.x.x using the ROM Manager application. That's before all this nonsense started, and the phone was on the stock (but rooted) AT&T ICS ROM, so I know that's why I "bricked" my phone the first time.
I'll give TWRP a shot, hopefully that will work.
SectorNine50 said:
I don't believe that the unbricking process would work if the hosts file was wrong, but I checked it again anyway, and it appears to be correct.
The AT&T ROM gets pushed via the abd shell after the unbrick and rooting process. The root appears to work, as the AT&T ROM that I push works fine, it's just not the ROM I want!
After the unbricking process (after I get through all the nonsense on the Korean ROM), the phone is running the GB AT&T ROM, from there I push the CWM recovery.img to the phone using the abd shell. All seems to be working perfectly up until I go to flash the custom ROM! I don't get any errors when I flash the .zip either.
Initially I had installed CWM 6.x.x.x using the ROM Manager application. That's before all this nonsense started, and the phone was on the stock (but rooted) AT&T ICS ROM, so I know that's why I "bricked" my phone the first time.
I'll give TWRP a shot, hopefully that will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so we know it's not the boot loader issue of ICS after dozens if not hundreds of successful installs using the unbricking guide the only thing left is the new version of cwm. Hopefully twrp will do the trick for you. Has anyone out there successfully completed the unbricking guide with the new version of cwm?
Sent from my LG-P930 using xda app-developers app
Swetnes said:
Ok so we know it's not the boot loader issue of ICS after dozens if not hundreds of successful installs using the unbricking guide the only thing left is the new version of cwm. Hopefully twrp will do the trick for you. Has anyone out there successfully completed the unbricking guide with the new version of cwm?
Sent from my LG-P930 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't tried the TWRP recovery a shot yet, since I haven't been home, but I figured it was worth pointing out that the CWM 5.x.x.x (can't remember exact version numbers right now) didn't work for me either. Every time I flashed a ROM, I'd end up with a boot loop on first boot, and then when I'd try to go back into recovery, I'd find that it wouldn't go back in there either.
It was basically acting like when I flashed the ROM that it overwrote the recovery partition, except no one else seems to have this same issue. Yet, if I didn't flash a ROM, I was able to go in and out of CWM recovery as often as I wanted.
Bah.
SectorNine50 said:
I haven't tried the TWRP recovery a shot yet, since I haven't been home, but I figured it was worth pointing out that the CWM 5.x.x.x (can't remember exact version numbers right now) didn't work for me either. Every time I flashed a ROM, I'd end up with a boot loop on first boot, and then when I'd try to go back into recovery, I'd find that it wouldn't go back in there either.
It was basically acting like when I flashed the ROM that it overwrote the recovery partition, except no one else seems to have this same issue. Yet, if I didn't flash a ROM, I was able to go in and out of CWM recovery as often as I wanted.
Bah.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you clarify exactly what method you are using to flash the ROM? I just can't imagine a scenario where flashing a ROM would overwrite the recovery. What ROM are you flashing?
Also, please confirm what phone you have.
drumist said:
Can you clarify exactly what method you are using to flash the ROM? I just can't imagine a scenario where flashing a ROM would overwrite the recovery. What ROM are you flashing?
Also, please confirm what phone you have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, I may be using the wrong term (my first experiences with custom ROMs date back to Windows Mobile, so the terminology probably blends together), but I'm basically loading the .zip from the SD Card in CWM. I've tried both the CM9 P930 ROM and Paranoid Android CM10.
That was my thought too, I didn't think that the custom ROMs even had recovery images in them. I may be wrong in saying that it deletes CWM, but after the wipe and flash I am no longer able to access it.
I have the LG Nitro HD, and from what I can gather, that is the P930, correct? I hope the issue I'm having is as simple as I'm flashing for the wrong phone...
By the way, thank you all for your help and input, I really appreciate it!
SectorNine50 said:
Sure, I may be using the wrong term (my first experiences with custom ROMs date back to Windows Mobile, so the terminology probably blends together), but I'm basically loading the .zip from the SD Card in CWM. I've tried both the CM9 P930 ROM and Paranoid Android CM10.
That was my thought too, I didn't think that the custom ROMs even had recovery images in them. I may be wrong in saying that it deletes CWM, but after the wipe and flash I am no longer able to access it.
I have the LG Nitro HD, and from what I can gather, that is the P930, correct? I hope the issue I'm having is as simple as I'm flashing for the wrong phone...
By the way, thank you all for your help and input, I really appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct, the Nitro is P930. And I'm sure this doesn't need pointing out, but when you download the ROM, make sure it's for P93x and not SU640. Most of the ROMS in the developer section have versions for both models.
Also, when you say you can't access CWM after flashing a ROM, how are you trying to access it? Holding Power+Volume down until the Factory Reset screen pops up? It still shows that screen even with CWM installed, but when you press the power button to perform the factory reset it SHOULD take you into CWM Recovery instead.
SectorNine50 said:
Sure, I may be using the wrong term (my first experiences with custom ROMs date back to Windows Mobile, so the terminology probably blends together), but I'm basically loading the .zip from the SD Card in CWM. I've tried both the CM9 P930 ROM and Paranoid Android CM10.
That was my thought too, I didn't think that the custom ROMs even had recovery images in them. I may be wrong in saying that it deletes CWM, but after the wipe and flash I am no longer able to access it.
I have the LG Nitro HD, and from what I can gather, that is the P930, correct? I hope the issue I'm having is as simple as I'm flashing for the wrong phone...
By the way, thank you all for your help and input, I really appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To access recovery, turn the device completely off. (If you're in a bootloop, pull battery or hold power button for ~20 seconds until screen stays off.) Then when phone is off, press and hold volume down and power buttons at the same time, not releasing until you see text asking if you want to factory reset. Press power button twice to confirm and you'll get to recovery.
Is this the method you're using to try to get to CWM?
My guess as to why you are getting bootloops is that you aren't wiping data first.
Yup, that's how I'm accessing CWM. After the flash, after I press the power button twice, I get something similar to a boot loop. A recovery boot loop, if you will.
Well, I've tried a couple ways now. I've tried using the "factory reset/wipe user data" menu item in CWM, and I've tried going into each partition and wiping them individually before flashing as well.
Just got home, I'll try flashing using the TWRP and let you guys know.
SectorNine50 said:
Yup, that's how I'm accessing CWM. After the flash, after I press the power button twice, I get something similar to a boot loop. A recovery boot loop, if you will.
Well, I've tried a couple ways now. I've tried using the "factory reset/wipe user data" menu item in CWM, and I've tried going into each partition and wiping them individually before flashing as well.
Just got home, I'll try flashing using the TWRP and let you guys know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck. Other possible things to try:
1) Check zip MD5 hash (or just redownload and replace) to make sure it's not corrupted.
2) Reformat entire SD card.
Interesting update:
I decided to give getting back into CWM recovery one more shot before I went through the process of re-unbricking again, and this time it managed to get in (for whatever reason).
So, I did a factory wipe, cleared dalvik cache, flashed the ParanoidAndroid ROM, backed out, did another factory wipe, and tried to reboot into the newly flashed ROM.
No luck. Boot looped, and didn't even get to the ROM animation. Following that, I had trouble getting back into the CWM recovery. Managed to try about 5 times and finally got in, however CWM stated:
Code:
CWM-based Recovery v5.0.2.7
E:Error in /cache/recovery/last_log
(Read-only file system)
So... my phone may have potentially unrooted it's self, somehow... Interestingly, it still shows the file systems as mounted.
So, now I'm doing a full SD card reformat. Figured I'd get that variable out of the way before I go any further.
SectorNine50 said:
Interesting update:
I decided to give getting back into CWM recovery one more shot before I went through the process of re-unbricking again, and this time it managed to get in (for whatever reason).
So, I did a factory wipe, cleared dalvik cache, flashed the ParanoidAndroid ROM, backed out, did another factory wipe, and tried to reboot into the newly flashed ROM.
No luck. Boot looped, and didn't even get to the ROM animation. Following that, I had trouble getting back into the CWM recovery. Managed to try about 5 times and finally got in, however CWM stated:
Code:
CWM-based Recovery v5.0.2.7
E:Error in /cache/recovery/last_log
(Read-only file system)
So... my phone may have potentially unrooted it's self, somehow... Interestingly, it still shows the file systems as mounted.
So, now I'm doing a full SD card reformat. Figured I'd get that variable out of the way before I go any further.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are installing the wrong version of CWM. Never use anything older than 5.8.2.0. This is the one you want: http://download2.clockworkmod.com/recoveries/recovery-clockwork-5.8.2.0-p930.img
Anything older than that is known to not work.
Second thing: You seem to have an incorrect understanding of what "root" means. Having "root" simply means you have administrator access to your current ROM. When you install a new ROM, whether you had root access to your old ROM is meaningless frankly.
drumist said:
You are installing the wrong version of CWM. Never use anything older than 5.8.2.0. This is the one you want: http://download2.clockworkmod.com/recoveries/recovery-clockwork-5.8.2.0-p930.img
Anything older than that is known to not work.
Second thing: You seem to have an incorrect understanding of what "root" means. Having "root" simply means you have administrator access to your current ROM. When you install a new ROM, whether you had root access to your old ROM is meaningless frankly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, thank you! I must've been viewing an old thread. Now that I look at the version number, it appears that's the version I had been hunting for since the newest one didn't work.
Interesting, I most certainly misunderstood, I was under the impression that "rooting" the device was a filesystem level permission change. Good to know!
It seems like we are getting closer to a solution here. Thanks for your patience!
Well, that appears to have been my problem the whole time! That's kind of embarrassing, considering how much time I sunk into this and how simple the solution was!
Anyway, thank you all very much! I assume that TWRP would have also solved my problems as well. It would seem that both the older and newest versions of CWM have some problems (at least for me!).
SectorNine50 said:
Well, that appears to have been my problem the whole time! That's kind of embarrassing, considering how much time I sunk into this and how simple the solution was!
Anyway, thank you all very much! I assume that TWRP would have also solved my problems as well. It would seem that both the older and newest versions of CWM have some problems (at least for me!).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, the new one (6.0.1.5) just came out. I'll have to test it to see if it works for me.
For what it's worth, I haven't had any issues with 6.0.1.5 yet. The touch version is a must, though.
Malnilion said:
For what it's worth, I haven't had any issues with 6.0.1.5 yet. The touch version is a must, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you had a chance to compare to twrp?
Sent from my LG-P930 using xda app-developers app
Swetnes said:
Have you had a chance to compare to twrp?
Sent from my LG-P930 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really enjoy the integration Rom Manager/CM Updater has with CWM. If twrp is capable of running the install scripts those two use, I might consider trying it out, but I don't really like manually going through the steps to flash a rom every day.

[Q] So I Dove Into Rooting

so i recently dove into rooting my s4 after first spending a lot of time reading this great board, thought i had a handle on it, thought things were going very well, but i've hit a snag, which came while attempting my first restore - i'm hopeful someone will give me a little help,
a little background:
1. before rooting i backed up my phone with titanium, also backed it up by copying all of its contents to my pc.
2. i followed the excellent "[SGH-M919] CF-Auto-Root" instructions and it worked without a hitch, it was a quick and easy process, no surprises.
3. confirmed that i was rooted using "root checker", all systems were go.
4. once the root was done i made another backup using titanium and sms backup. i also made a full system backup using online nandroid pro and, to be extra safe, i also backed up efs using efs backup tool.
5. i then moved some folders and files to my external card and once again backed up my phone as before, including to my pc.
6. feeling confident that i could now restore my system to its rooted stock state if things went south, i decided to flash my first rom with cwm, i went with cm11 m7 4.4.3 - i saved the cm11 and gapps zips to my external card using rom tool box pro, rebooted into cwm recovery, selected the two files, and flashed. i also did a data and cache wipe before doing so.
6. needless to say i was thrilled when cm11 loaded perfectly, it worked great, and it was just what i was hoping for.
7. having been bitten by the apparent ease of flashing roms, i decided to restore my system to it's pre cm11 state, to it's rooted stock rom state, and try another rom, rather than just flash another rom from cm11 - i wanted to make sure that returning to my rooted stock rom state would be a simple matter.
and that's where i've run into problems.
1. as i mentioned i made two system backups of my stock rom before flashing cm11, one right after i rooted my phone, and one after moving some folders and files to the external card.
2. after doing a wipe, i chose to restore the second backup, the one i made after moving files and folders, and it didn't quite work out - everything appeared to restore perfectly, but my device was immediately inundated with pop up warnings about stopped apps, i also got a persistent warning that the system had stopped responding as well, prompting me to choose between "wait" or "stop it". not only was the restored backup mired in popup screens, but it was impossibly slow, impossibly "laggy".
3. so i decided to restore the other stock backup, the one i made before i moved folders and files, and the results were the same, pop screens for apps not working, system warnings, severe lags, etc., identical to the first backup.
then i panicked.
1. i decided to flash my phone with the "[SGH-M919] CF-Auto-Root" file again, again with odin, hoping that it would put me where i started - i didn't stop to think that my phone was already rooted, that the file was was for unrooted phones.
2. not only did the reflash not work (my phone just booted as normal, as if the flash didn't get a chance to finish), but cwm recovery in boot mode was gone, replaced by what appears to be the andorid stock recovery screen, a screen with an animated dying/collapsing robot, - the screen was titled: "android system recovery <3e> and asked for an "update" from the external storage or cache.
3. not knowing what "update" it was looking for, i selected a backed system files (the first rooted stock rom backup i made, the second rooted stock backup i made, and even the cm11 file) - none worked.
4. i then downloaded a clean stock rom from cwm's website, converted it from zip to tar, and tried to flash it using odin with my device in upload mode, it didn't work either.
so how badly did i mess up my phone? any help would be greatly appreciated.
aeneas1 said:
so i recently dove into rooting my s4 after first spending a lot of time reading this great board, thought i had a handle on it, thought things were going very well, but i've hit a snag, which came while attempting my first restore - i'm hopeful someone will give me a little help,
a little background:
1. before rooting i backed up my phone with titanium, also backed it up by copying all of its contents to my pc.
2. i followed the excellent "[SGH-M919] CF-Auto-Root" instructions and it worked without a hitch, it was a quick and easy process, no surprises.
3. confirmed that i was rooted using "root checker", all systems were go.
4. once the root was done i made another backup using titanium and sms backup. i also made a full system backup using online nandroid pro and, to be extra safe, i also backed up efs using efs backup tool.
5. i then moved some folders and files to my external card and once again backed up my phone as before, including to my pc.
6. feeling confident that i could now restore my system to its rooted stock state if things went south, i decided to flash my first rom with cwm, i went with cm11 m7 4.4.3 - i saved the cm11 and gapps zips to my external card using rom tool box pro, rebooted into cwm recovery, selected the two files, and flashed. i also did a data and cache wipe before doing so.
6. needless to say i was thrilled when cm11 loaded perfectly, it worked great, and it was just what i was hoping for.
7. having been bitten by the apparent ease of flashing roms, i decided to restore my system to it's pre cm11 state, to it's rooted stock rom state, and try another rom, rather than just flash another rom from cm11 - i wanted to make sure that returning to my rooted stock rom state would be a simple matter.
and that's where i've run into problems.
1. as i mentioned i made two system backups of my stock rom before flashing cm11, one right after i rooted my phone, and one after moving some folders and files to the external card.
2. after doing a wipe, i chose to restore the second backup, the one i made after moving files and folders, and it didn't quite work out - everything appeared to restore perfectly, but my device was immediately inundated with pop up warnings about stopped apps, i also got a persistent warning that the system had stopped responding as well, prompting me to choose between "wait" or "stop it". not only was the restored backup mired in popup screens, but it was impossibly slow, impossibly "laggy".
3. so i decided to restore the other stock backup, the one i made before i moved folders and files, and the results were the same, pop screens for apps not working, system warnings, severe lags, etc., identical to the first backup.
then i panicked.
1. i decided to flash my phone with the "[SGH-M919] CF-Auto-Root" file again, again with odin, hoping that it would put me where i started - i didn't stop to think that my phone was already rooted, that the file was was for unrooted phones.
2. not only did the reflash not work (my phone just booted as normal, as if the flash didn't get a chance to finish), but cwm recovery in boot mode was gone, replaced by what appears to be the andorid stock recovery screen, a screen with an animated dying/collapsing robot, - the screen was titled: "android system recovery <3e> and asked for an "update" from the external storage or cache.
3. not knowing what "update" it was looking for, i selected a backed system files (the first rooted stock rom backup i made, the second rooted stock backup i made, and even the cm11 file) - none worked.
4. i then downloaded a clean stock rom from cwm's website, converted it from zip to tar, and tried to flash it using odin with my device in upload mode, it didn't work either.
so how badly did i mess up my phone? any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it boots at all you didn't kill it.
Not sure what rom you got from the CWM site. They do recoveries, not roms. The ROM manager app does allow you to download roms, but you can't just convert those from zip to tar. That doesn't make them flashable in Odin.
Here's what you do. Get the stock ROM from either here on XDA (use the search feature to find it) or from Sammobile.com.
Flash that in Odin.
Then you can start over.
---OR---
If you want to try to fix what you've got now, download CWM or TWRP RECOVERY (nor ROM) and flash that in Odin. Boot to recovery, wipe data and system, and flash any other rom you want. That will start you over with a fresh rom of your choice.
Skipjacks said:
f it boots at all you didn't kill it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hallelujah!
Skipjacks said:
Not sure what rom you got from the CWM site. They do recoveries, not roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my apologies, i meant that i downloaded recovery files from the cwm website, not a rom files - i got them from https://www.clockworkmod.com/rommanager - i downloaded both (touch & non-touch) s4 t-mobile versions (6.0.4.7). i'm assumed those were recovery files?
Skipjack" said:
The ROM manager app does allow you to download roms, but you can't just convert those from zip to tar. That doesn't make them flashable in Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
again, my apologies - i meant that i downloaded *.img files, not zips, and converted them to tars for odin use. i used a batch file to convert them from img to tar, found at xda, here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2281287 - it seemed to do the job, odin ran and reported success. wrong files? wrong conversion?
Skipjack said:
Here's what you do. Get the stock ROM from either here on XDA (use the search feature to find it) or from Sammobile.com.
Flash that in Odin.
Then you can start over.
---OR---
If you want to try to fix what you've got now, download CWM or TWRP RECOVERY (nor ROM) and flash that in Odin. Boot to recovery, wipe data and system, and flash any other rom you want. That will start you over with a fresh rom of your choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
given a choice, i'd like to do what's bolded in red - but that's what i thought i was doing by flashing the cwm file i downloaded from the cwm website - but after the flash attempt it wouldn't boot into cwm, it would just boot into (i'm assuming") the stock rom i restored, which was a mess. i also unchecked auto-boot to see if that helped - but when i manually booted it didn't boot into cwm, it booted into the stock recovery, with the animated android.
i'll try downloading cwm from the sources you provided, and see if that does the trick. btw, why do you think i was able to flash the cm11 rom with (seemingly) perfect success, but wasn't able to restore either one of the full system (android) backups i made after i rooted my phone?
anyway Skipjack, thanks a ton for your assistance and i'll report back after i give your sources a try. fwiw, it sure is a great charge when a newbie like me sees a custom rom load for the first time, displaying a new ui as it boots, fun stuff.
Just download the ready yo flash tar files. Cwm has them. Twrp has them.
success Skipjack thanks to your generous time and assistance!
i ended up downloading the latest odin zip i could find and philz_touch_6.08.9-jfltetmo.tar.md5... my first try didn't take, with auto-reboot checked, my phone simply rebooted into the same problematic rom i had restored. i then tried it with auto-boot unchecked and manually booted when odin reported pass/success, and it worked. what struck me as odd was how long it took to flash, to report pass/success, around 3-5 minutes if i had to guess, a big difference compared to when i first used odin to root my phone with the["SGH-M919] CF-Auto-Root *.tar.md5 file - i'm guessing that's why it didn't work with auto-boot checked, just took too long?
anyway once i booted into philz_touch recovery i executed the wipe data/factory reset > clean to install a new rom command and then flashed the cm11 m7 (snapshot) rom, which i had flashed once before, right before i attempted to restore the stock rom it had replaced. and as was the case the first time around, it installed without a hitch and is running smooth and fast.
however now when i boot the phone, as soon as the cyanogen logo appears, very tiny text appears in the upper left hand corner which reads (i had to use a magnifying glass!) - it doesn't seem to effect the performance of he device but i'd like to get to the bottom of it, i've already searched and it appears to be a rather common issue.
kernel is not seandroid enforcing
set warranty bit: kernel
btw, i forgot to mention, when i purchased my sgh-m99 it already had 4.3 installed - when i flashed my first rom (cm11 m7) it included kitkat 4.4.2... could this be what caused my problems? did trying to go back to (restore) a 4.3 rom after flashing a 4.4.2 rom screw things up? can this even be done successfully?
and finally, at the risk of bugging the heck out of you, what roms do you prefer for your s4, assuming you have an s4? do you like aosp roms or touchwiz? does one type have a better reputation of being more stable? the primary reason i wanted to rot my phone was to get rid of a bunch of t-mobile / samsung bloatware, which i thought i could do by installing a lean custom rom. any suggestions, which are your favorites? thanks again Skipkack.
ouhned after
re the two lines of text i now get in the upper left hand corner of the screen whenever i boot, the kernel message:
kernel is not seandroid enforcing
set warranty bit: kernel
well after a lot of searching and reading, including coming across dozens of "fixes" and "solutions" that didn't seem to work for many folks, these two responses seemed to make some sense, what do you think?
eclpsues said:
I'm not an expert in Android OS but I think this is not an error. It is more of a notification that the STOCK KERNEL has been change to a CUSTOM one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Joku1981 said:
You are right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2594483
aeneas1 said:
re the two lines of text i now get in the upper left hand corner of the screen whenever i boot, the kernel message:
kernel is not seandroid enforcing
set warranty bit: kernel
well after a lot of searching and reading, including coming across dozens of "fixes" and "solutions" that didn't seem to work for many folks, these two responses seemed to make some sense, what do you think?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2594483
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The tiny text on the boot screen is basically telling you that Knox has been tripped. You are right. It does not affect the performance of the phone.
Skipjacks said:
The tiny text on the boot screen is basically telling you that Knox has been tripped. You are right. It does not affect the performance of the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks skipjack... btw i'm really liking the cm11 m7 rom but, via the learning curve process, i've discovered it does not support wifi calling, something that apparently all aosp rom lack, guess i'll have to go with a touchwiz rom even tho the selection seems to be few and far between. also, is it possible to revert back to 4.3 once 4.4.2 has been flashed? seems like there's a lot of mixed opinions on this, altho in terms of those opinions it's hard for me tell who the pros are that should believed, and who the other guys are that really don't know. thanks again.
aeneas1 said:
thanks skipjack... btw i'm really liking the cm11 m7 rom but, via the learning curve process, i've discovered it does not support wifi calling, something that apparently all aosp rom lack, guess i'll have to go with a touchwiz rom even tho the selection seems to be few and far between. also, is it possible to revert back to 4.3 once 4.4.2 has been flashed? seems like there's a lot of mixed opinions on this, altho in terms of those opinions it's hard for me tell who the pros are that should believed, and who the other guys are that really don't know. thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once you are rooted you can flash any custom ROM 4.3, 4.4, 4.2, etc. and then go back to stock 4.3. And only TW ROMs allow wifi calling
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Kriptik210 said:
Once you are rooted you can flash any custom ROM 4.3, 4.4, 4.2, etc. and then go back to stock 4.3. And only TW ROMs allow wifi calling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
very interesting... i guess i misunderstood the posts i read on the subject, maybe they were discussing whether or not you could revert to 4.3 from 4.4.2 on non-rooted phones, which i'm guessing isn't possible. anyway, as i mentioned previously, i fist rooted my 4.3 phone, did a full system backup (using online nandroid), flashed a 4.4.2 rom which worked perfectly, then tried to restore my 4.3 backup only to encounter a bunch of problems, thought going from 4.4.2 back to 4.3 may have caused the problems but i guess not?
so if i'm using a 4.4.2 custom rom and want to restore a 4.3 backup i should be able to boot into recovery and restore from there? or would i need to do a 4.3 flash first, before restoring a 4.3 backup?
aeneas1 said:
very interesting... i guess i misunderstood the posts i read on the subject, maybe they were discussing whether or not you could revert to 4.3 from 4.4.2 on non-rooted phones, which i'm guessing isn't possible. anyway, as i mentioned previously, i fist rooted my 4.3 phone, did a full system backup (using online nandroid), flashed a 4.4.2 rom which worked perfectly, then tried to restore my 4.3 backup only to encounter a bunch of problems, thought going from 4.4.2 back to 4.3 may have caused the problems but i guess not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you wipe before you restored? And do not misunderstand this, you cannot downgrade firmwares once you go 4.3 and up, but you can downgrade the system, which is what you did with your backup
serio22 said:
Did you wipe before you restored? And do not misunderstand this, you cannot downgrade firmwares once you go 4.3 and up, but you can downgrade the system, which is what you did with your backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks very much for the clarification, i was under the impression that firmware and system were somewhat synonymous in this context, i.e. if you upgraded firmware you were in effect upgrading the system, but i see that's not the case, again thanks. and yes i did do a full wipe before trying to restore the backup, was i not supposed to?
aeneas1 said:
thanks very much for the clarification, i was under the impression that firmware and system were somewhat synonymous in this context, i.e. if you upgraded firmware you were in effect upgrading the system, but i see that's not the case, again thanks. and yes i did do a full wipe before trying to restore the backup, was i not supposed to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Updating firmware does update the system. Based on your previous comment the only thing you did was update the system by flashing a ROM which only contains the system, data, and kernel, so you can still flash the 4.3 firmware. Firmware consists of bootloader, recovery, modem, and system, what you cannot downgrade is the bootloader, the flash will fail every time because it will try to downgrade it. And you should not experience any issues restoring your back up. What were this problems?
btw serio22, do you have a favorite tw rom?
Yea serio22, what is your favorite TW ROM?
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
serio22 said:
Based on your previous comment the only thing you did was update the system by flashing a ROM which only contains the system, data, and kernel, so you can still flash the 4.3 firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but the cm11 rom zip i flashed included 4.4.2, before flashing i was using 4.3 - so didn't i update (or change) both the system and firmware?
btw, fwiw, - now that i'm up and running thanks to skipjacks help, i decided to try restoring my 4.3 backup again. when i tried this in the past it would restore to the same state as it was before but it was virtually unusable because of severe lags and multiple app not working popups that made navigating almost impossible. well now when i try to restore it fails and i get the following message:
checking md summs...
md5 mismatch
serio22 said:
Based on your previous comment the only thing you did was update the system by flashing a ROM which only contains the system, data, and kernel, so you can still flash the 4.3 firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but the cm11 rom zip i flashed included 4.4.2, before flashing i was using 4.3 - so didn't i update (or change) both the system and firmware?
btw, fwiw, - now that i'm up and running thanks to skipjacks help, i decided to try restoring my 4.3 backup again. as i mentioned, when i tried this in the past it would restore to the same state as it was before but it was virtually unusable because of severe lags and multiple "app not working" popups that made navigating almost impossible. but now when i try to restore the 4.3 backup it fails and i get the following message:
checking md summs...
md5 mismatch
update:
well it looks like the *.md5 file was pointing to my internal drive rather than external which is where i had moved the 4.3 backup (and apparently the *.md5 file didn't update or account for the move), anyway i copied the backup to my internal drive and, viola, no more md5 mismatch errors. more importantly, it restored the 4.3 backup perfectly, in the exact same state as before, without all of lagging and pop up issues i was having before, so i'm one happy camper! not sure what i did the first time around, but all is good now, for he time being, sure wish i knew what i mucked up to cause the problems in the first place, i really have no idea, other than being a newbie at this. also, fwiw, the tiny text in the upper left hand corner that appears during boot (kernal message) no longer appears now that i have restored the 4.3 system backup... fwiw2, i'm liking the philz_touch_recovery but it sure has taken some getting used to, the commands are so close together and the thing is so sensitive, very easy to accidentally select the wrong option, and some of the wrong options aren't too friendly if it wasn't what you had intended to select.
aeneas1 said:
but the cm11 rom zip i flashed included 4.4.2, before flashing i was using 4.3 - so didn't i update (or change) both the system and firmware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read my previous post more closely below. Good to see you up and running though! And no I don't have a favorite tw Rom
serio22 said:
Updating firmware does update the system. Based on your previous comment the only thing you did was update the system by flashing a ROM which only contains the system, data, and kernel, so you can still flash the 4.3 firmware. Firmware consists of bootloader, recovery, modem, and system, what you cannot downgrade is the bootloader, the flash will fail every time because it will try to downgrade it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

TWRP - Unable to mount storage (Moto Z Play on Nougat)

​I've been using the forums for a while but this is the first time I post on here, so I'm not so sure if I'm posting this in the right place. But I need any help I can get at this point.
​So a while ago I unlocked and rooted my Moto Z Play by flashing TWRP recovery with the fastboot ADB tools. Things were fine, but then I accidentally let the phone do an automatic OTA update. When the phone was going to boot, it went straight to TWRP recovery and after I input my unlock pattern, it gave me a couple lines of text. In these lines was a red line of text saying "Unable to mount storage" and then it would go to the recovery menu. It won't boot past the recovery anymore.
​I looked it up but I can't seem to find clear answers anywhere, as many that I have found have their storage indicating that they have "0mb" when they go to backup. I don't have that problem as all my storage is present and even MTP is enabled. Hopefully someone can help me out here anyway possible.
You can not install OTA updates on ROOTED phone with TWRP recovery.
For working OTA you must have stock recovery and NO ROOT.
If you have XT 1635-02 version, you can reflash your phone using this RSD LITE unbrick tool https://forum.xda-developers.com/ge...orola-usb-drivers-rsd-lite-firmware-t3042687- and you can try to use this firmware for Moto Z Play : https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=673791459329058517
Your phone data will be deteled.
Ax1qwer said:
Your phone data will be deteled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This sounds a bit too hard for me. Usually it is sufficient to flash a firmware with a similar version like you currently have installed, omitting "erase userdata", meaning you do a dirty flash keeping the data.
Alternative, if you want to keep data but erase the phone installing a firmware, you may do backup in twrp and restore data after the phone runs. But keep in mind that a) there were some problems restoring Nandroid backups on Z Play and b) /data/media must be treated separately, which usually is the data you want to keep (mainly: photos and videos you made). You need to enter your phone pin to decrypt data to mount it, maybe that is the missing step.
If you cannot receive OTA updates on a phone with custom recovery, even after (say) restoring a full TWRP System Image backup. . . doesn't that imply, in practice, that you cannot ever return to a stock experience?
I have a stock Z Play with the latest 7.1.1 updates. If I decide to unlock and install LineageOS, there is no way to get back to stock? ever? I mean, I knew about the warranty, that safetynet won't pass, and that I can't re-lock the bootloader. I'm fine with all that. But I thought I could at least get back to the stock ROM, and continue to receive OTA updates. Instead, it sounds like running my backup would be hell: the phone would constantly nag me to install OTA updates, yet if I ever slipped up and said "yes" it would be bricked.
Is there no way to back up the original recovery partition too, so that you can make the OTA updater happy?
mark04 said:
Is there no way to back up the original recovery partition too, so that you can make the OTA updater happy?
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The are several easy possibilities.
You can get some firmware which you install using fastboot flash. You may decide to only flash stock recovery. For a successful update you need to have system, boot, recovery, logo, oem (from memory, hope I got this right) in exactly the same version.
You can use fastboot boot to start recovery. Then you should be able to restore your recovery backup.
My usual way: if you have stock, never install twrp. Always boot it when needed using fastboot boot. Then you don't need to care about recovery when updating.
If an update does not work, your always can decide to install a full stock ROM, if you omit the command "erase userdata", your data usually survives fine. No guarantee of course, always do a backup. Don't forget data/media where personal things are stored and never covered by Nandroid backup of twrp.
tag68 said:
My usual way: if you have stock, never install twrp. Always boot it when needed using fastboot boot. Then you don't need to care about recovery when updating.
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Aha---great suggestion, thanks! I would never have thought of that, even though I had to do it on another device once where the bootloader kept overwriting the recovery.
tag68 said:
If an update does not work, your always can decide to install a full stock ROM, if you omit the command "erase userdata", your data usually survives fine. No guarantee of course, always do a backup. Don't forget data/media where personal things are stored and never covered by Nandroid backup of twrp.
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I was just reading up on how to wipe and install a full stock ROM (factory image). It seems reasonably straightforward, IF you can find the correct image. This worries me a little, because my device is RETUS and there aren't many of those images floating around. None on lolinet.com for example. Some people say to use a RETAIL image but does anyone actually understand how they are different, and what the repercussions might be?
mark04 said:
... and there aren't many of those images floating around. None on lolinet.com for example.
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You may have a look at firmware.center. They have a lot, but I'm not sure if all are working fine. You may need to do a backup and try. But you nowhere get the safety it's right, because Lenorola does not release signed versions (which would also allow relocking).
Note: For me all the firmwares from there worked by now.
mark04 said:
Some people say to use a RETAIL image but does anyone actually understand how they are different, and what the repercussions might be?
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Changing update channel is said to be possible, but I never tried it. If you really want it you may try searching a bit in xda forums of similar but older phones how experiences with this are.

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