Develop Bugs

[Q] Cyanogen 10.1 mod gone wrong.

AT&T Galaxy S3
Mac OSX 10.8
I know I can get my device back, I'm just not sure how. I successfully rooted using CASUAL, no problems there. Got the normal root applications installed, did the Clockwork backup, everything was great.
I then decided to try a custom ROM - the Cyanogen 10.1. It downloaded fine, and I selected to also install Google Apps, then it rebooted and the Cyanogen boot screen with the spinning circle came up. However, this lasted way longer than I thought it should, so I looked it up, and what I got from the research is that I had the wrong gapps on there.
So, I followed the instructions in this thread (same problem as me), and wiped the system. However, I believe I used the wrong list item, and now everything I had is gone. I can't boot from recovery because it doesn't exist, and when booting into CM I just get the same error message that setup has stopped working. I thought maybe I could put a new ROM on the sd card or phone harddrive and boot from that, but both are inaccessible through USB on my Mac.
I can get it into ODIN mode (where it says "Downloading... Do not turn off target!"), which I'm thinking is what I want, and I have Heimdall installed and it runs and recognizes my device, but I cannot for the life of me find a tar.gz file to use.
If anyone can offer any sort of help, I would super appreciate it.

chazbot7 said:
AT&T Galaxy S3
Mac OSX 10.8
I know I can get my device back, I'm just not sure how. I successfully rooted using CASUAL, no problems there. Got the normal root applications installed, did the Clockwork backup, everything was great.
I then decided to try a custom ROM - the Cyanogen 10.1. It downloaded fine, and I selected to also install Google Apps, then it rebooted and the Cyanogen boot screen with the spinning circle came up. However, this lasted way longer than I thought it should, so I looked it up, and what I got from the research is that I had the wrong gapps on there.
So, I followed the instructions in this thread (same problem as me), and wiped the system. However, I believe I used the wrong list item, and now everything I had is gone. I can't boot from recovery because it doesn't exist, and when booting into CM I just get the same error message that setup has stopped working. I thought maybe I could put a new ROM on the sd card or phone harddrive and boot from that, but both are inaccessible through USB on my Mac.
I can get it into ODIN mode (where it says "Downloading... Do not turn off target!"), which I'm thinking is what I want, and I have Heimdall installed and it runs and recognizes my device, but I cannot for the life of me find a tar.gz file to use.
If anyone can offer any sort of help, I would super appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your recovery shouldn't be affected by a wipe (unless you flashed something over it) as ROMs don't flash recovery, therefor vol up + home + power should get you in it. If you success to, You should be able to mount through recovery.
As for Heimdall, it just got S3 support (last week I believe), therefor it might not be easy to find a stock file for it. That being said, if you have access to any Windows pc, that'd be the easiest solution here (using Odin).

Yes, I can still get into the recovery menu, but when I use "backup and restore>restore" it says No files found. Is there anything I can do to just get a working OS running? Or am I just doing it totally wrong, I'm new to the rooting stuff. The Windows computer will be my last resort haha.

BWolf56 said:
Your recovery shouldn't be affected by a wipe (unless you flashed something over it) as ROMs don't flash recovery, therefor vol up + home + power should get you in it. If you success to, You should be able to mount through recovery.
As for Heimdall, it just got S3 support (last week I believe), therefor it might not be easy to find a stock file for it. That being said, if you have access to any Windows pc, that'd be the easiest solution here (using Odin).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I can still get into the recovery menu, but when I use "backup and restore>restore" it says No files found. Is there anything I can do to just get a working OS running? Or am I just doing it totally wrong, I'm new to the rooting stuff. The Windows computer will be my last resort haha.

chazbot7 said:
Yes, I can still get into the recovery menu, but when I use "backup and restore>restore" it says No files found. Is there anything I can do to just get a working OS running? Or am I just doing it totally wrong, I'm new to the rooting stuff. The Windows computer will be my last resort haha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows pc is definitely the easiest option here but you try mounting your SD from recovery, redownload the ROM and Gapps you wanna use, put them on your device and flash them after a factory reset.
If you wiped your SD card, it's normal that you don't have a backup anymore.

BWolf56 said:
Windows pc is definitely the easiest option here but you try mounting your SD from recovery, redownload the ROM and Gapps you wanna use, put them on your device and flash them after a factory reset.
If you wiped your SD card, it's normal that you don't have a backup anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's aaaliiiiiiive! Grabbed an extra micro SD I had, threw Cyanogen 10.1.0 RC4 on it, and installed it just fine. Now updating to RC5. My only question now is how to get Google Apps on there. Does this need to be done beforehand, or can it be done after?

chazbot7 said:
It's aaaliiiiiiive! Grabbed an extra micro SD I had, threw Cyanogen 10.1.0 RC4 on it, and installed it just fine. Now updating to RC5. My only question now is how to get Google Apps on there. Does this need to be done beforehand, or can it be done after?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You usually flash the Gapps right after flashing the ROM, before rebooting.
P.S.: fully reading the instructions helps before flashing
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

BWolf56 said:
You usually flash the Gapps right after flashing the ROM, before rebooting.
P.S.: fully reading the instructions helps before flashing
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotcha, sorry about that. Thanks for all the help good sir. This is actually way faster than my stock ROM, I'm pretty stoked on it, Google Apps or not.

chazbot7 said:
Gotcha, sorry about that. Thanks for all the help good sir. This is actually way faster than my stock ROM, I'm pretty stoked on it, Google Apps or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need to apologize. Glad you got it back up! And it was mostly to keep you from making similar mistakes in the future
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

also one thing you need to know
First boot after you flash will always take longer than normal. After that, it's fine

[Q] Recovery bootloop after Odin/Kies/Heimdall STOCK flash, only boots to DL mode

Hi folks, long time reader, first time noob answer seeker.
I'm no stranger to rooting, flashing, hacking about and such - I even spend most of my day as a software engineer, and I've finally given up on this one - so here I am (rock me like a hurricane), please be kind.
SM-900T - It was rocking pretty darn well on Jedi Elite which I had flashed over rooted stock 4.3 MI7 - then (probably after one too many XPosed modules) it just kept rebooting randomly. Thinking it was no biggie, I thought I could just reflash to stock and call it a day. Thirteen or so flashes later, I gave up on 4.3 and figured I'd just take the thing up to 4.4.2 NB4 by upgrading everything to 4.4.2 via Kies.
That's when I first ran into the bootloop issue, read a lot about it, and managed to get it up(ish) on stock, rooted, with Philz 6.X... Couldn't flash a ROM to save myself and wound up with another soft brick.
Flash forward to Friday - decided to start from scratch again - attempted to flash stock 4.4.2 from Kies, from Odin, From Heimdall... Nothing seems to be able to get me out of the current state it's in:
Only boots to download mode. Flashes seem to work fine, but on that first reboot where it tries to go to stock recovery to finish up on the device itself, it never gets there - boot loops trying to load recovery no matter how it wants to get there. If I pull the battery and start up (either straight to system or by cancelling out of download mode), it boot loops trying to load system. Boots fine to download mode, where I attempt to flash again with the same results.
Yes, I've tried Odin 3.0.9, 3.0.7, 1.8.5, Heimdall on Mac, Heimdall on Windows, Kies on Mac, Kies on Windows - repartition via PIT and not. Installed, uninstalled, and reinstalled all software and drivers multiple times, tried multiple cables on multiple USB ports.... Most of the time it looks like it's going to be fine (sometimes the flash fails, usually through Kies), but never surivives that first reboot after the flash.
Every answer I've seen says to do the things I've already done or cannot do (flash stock via Odin, pull the battery and boot to stock recovery and do a factory reset - which I'd LOVE to do, but can't). No problem recognizing the sucker on the PC/Mac
Next step: try flashing a N9005 ROM...
Any other thoughts? I do have another N900T that's working but has a blacklisted IMEI, and I've been tempted to swap the IMEIs a last resort (although either I'm too dumb to make it stick, EFS pro says it succeeds in writing the IMEI after I do a EFS format, but it doesn't stick.... Either I'm missing something, or I need a UART cable) - is there a way of swapping just the radio hardware or just the internal storage? OR, is there a way of taking a full system image of my working phone and making an Odin-flashable tar from that?
Failing any of these options, perhaps I'll wait for an Odin-flashable 4.4.3 if such a thing exists - or, hope to get lucky and swap it out at a store praying they don't see I've tripped Knox.

Looks like you've tried almost everything. Take it in and have them swap it.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

Coming from you...
noobtoob said:
Looks like you've tried almost everything. Take it in and have them swap it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from you (I have read, and am quite thankful for, many of your posts), sounds like that might be the best option, however disconcerting.

bondidave said:
Coming from you (I have read, and am quite thankful for, many of your posts), sounds like that might be the best option, however disconcerting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I do have a few ideas... Got done questions though.
1. Do you have an external SD card?
2. It goes all the way through flash on 4.4 even with heimdall?
3. Is there anything you have left out? Even the smallest detail can help, and by the op you are detail oriented, so I just need to know.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

... is there a way of taking a full system image of my working phone and making an Odin-flashable tar from that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but I don't have the details handy.
All your attempts suggest to me that you might have some damaged hardware which is causing data corruption during transfer. Open the back and take a good look at the USB port. Tighten the screws and try a transfer while firmly holding the cable in place -- don't move it while transferring.
If that doesn't work then let 'noobtoob' walk you through booting with the removable sdcard. Your second N900T will be needed to write the data to the sdcard. If this works then you can 'dd' write stock partitions to an sd card with #2 then 'dd' write them in #1.
If either of those works then unroot and take it in for warrenty exchange.
Frank

bondidave said:
... then (probably after one too many XPosed modules) it just kept rebooting randomly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This also indicates data corruption, and this is what started it all. Since you have tried various cables and computers that leaves the device, probably the USB port.
Frank

probably the USB port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Swapped the main board with the working phone to rule out the USB port - still no luck.
Definitely interested in trying the boot from external SD, I'll do my own search for it, unless you can quickly provide me with a link - but if it's as easy as it sounds (booting off of an SD in order to be able to send ADB commands to dd copy the partitions from the good phone to SD then from the booted SD back to internal) - I'm happy to give it a shot.
Tempted just to swing by TMO just to see if they'll swap it "under warranty" (despite picking it up from a private sale) - the only way they would notice it's been "tampered" with would be to check the knox counter by attempting to run download mode.
Oh, and yes, it does go all the way through with the flash (at least in Odin - I haven't tried a full flash through heimdall, just boot and recovery, Kies occasionally goes through to the end, but sometimes craps out at the same 57% point at which point the emergency restore screen shows up)
Thanks again guys

bondidave said:
Swapped the main board with the working phone to rule out the USB port - still no luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, but I still think the problem was initially caused by corruption. Maybe the files you have been flashing are corrupt.
Definitely interested in trying the boot from external SD, I'll do my own search for it, unless you can quickly provide me with a link - but if it's as easy as it sounds (booting off of an SD in order to be able to send ADB commands to dd copy the partitions from the good phone to SD then from the booted SD back to internal) - I'm happy to give it a shot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the thread, it would be good to read the whole thing but if you need to save time begin at this message: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=48685247&postcount=158
I have not tried this procedure yet but @noobtoob was actively involved in it.
Tempted just to swing by TMO just to see if they'll swap it "under warranty" (despite picking it up from a private sale) - the only way they would notice it's been "tampered" with would be to check the knox counter by attempting to run download mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please try the SD-boot first so that we can add that experience to this newly developed procedure.
Oh, and yes, it does go all the way through with the flash (at least in Odin - I haven't tried a full flash through heimdall, just boot and recovery, Kies occasionally goes through to the end, but sometimes craps out at the same 57% point at which point the emergency restore screen shows up)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have probably tried it, but if not, download fresh copies of everything and check the MD5 values.
Frank

Frank Westlake said:
OK, but I still think the problem was initially caused by corruption. Maybe the files you have been flashing are corrupt.
This is the thread, it would be good to read the whole thing but if you need to save time begin at this message: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=48685247&postcount=158
I have not tried this procedure yet but @noobtoob was actively involved in it.
Please try the SD-boot first so that we can add that experience to this newly developed procedure.
You have probably tried it, but if not, download fresh copies of everything and check the MD5 values.
Frank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was for hard brick method and no one has verified it works on 4.4 KK yet. There is an image in there though. My mediafire shows it was downloaded 11 times, but yet not a single "this works on KitKat" response. Located here you will find the kkunbrick.img. There is still a problem flashing anything through heimdall after updating to the 4.4 bootloader, so there is no way to tell if the phone actually took the recovery. I have had to switch to Odin for everything afterwards, and in personal experience 3.07 works best with my phone.
@bondidave I was thinking skipping the sd-card trick for now, and trying just a few other things first. Do you have a nandroid of any 4.4 ROMS saved anywhere? I was going to say try and flash the stock image. After it gets through flash and tries to boot into recovery, go back directly to download mode. Flash philz or twrp, whatever you need to. Try and perform a recovery boot, wipe everything, and nandroid restore of a 4.4 if you have one.
Also if you have an external find the efs fix zip and have handy on an sd-card, do the same steps above except the nandroid restore. Basically if we can get into a recovery we should be ok. I had a similar issue when it was just booting over and over into download mode and this was how I fixed it. I have never used the efs fix zip, but many others swear by it. I was able to recover fortunately enough.
Last resort try the sd-card boot. I don't necessarily think it will work with this particular case as you do not have the dreaded QHUSB_MODE and your phone is still recognized by the computer(s) you have been using.
As far as making a complete system backup of your current phone, I highly recommend against it, unless you just want to extract information from it and not re-write it. This could definitely cause some system corruption on a new device.
If none of these methods work, then try and have them swap it under warranty.

Frank Westlake said:
You have probably tried it, but if not, download fresh copies of everything and check the MD5 values
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yessirreeebobbyjimmy, tried several copies from several different places - that and Kies is a moron and redownloads it every time anyways.

noobtoob said:
My mediafire shows it was downloaded 11 times, but yet not a single "this works on KitKat" response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I download these things just to have them handy if something fails.
Do you have a nandroid of any 4.4 ROMS saved anywhere? I was going to say try and flash the stock image. After it gets through flash and tries to boot into recovery, go back directly to download mode. Flash philz or twrp, whatever you need to. Try and perform a recovery boot, wipe everything, and nandroid restore of a 4.4 if you have one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think he got that far into installing 4.4, but I recommend not using anything that was saved after this problem began. If the problem was caused by corruption then the restore will reinstall the corruption.
Last resort try the sd-card boot. I don't necessarily think it will work with this particular case as you do not have the dreaded QHUSB_MODE and your phone is still recognized by the computer(s) you have been using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the problem is bad USB or other bad hardware causing corruption during transfer then the SD-card boot will get past that, then transferring the rest of the partitions by SD-card will continue to be corruption-free. He could then trade-in the phone.
But you are right -- he should try everything else before the SD-card boot. Because if something else succeeds then maybe the hardware is fine, and if he went immediately to SD-card boot he wouldn't know that.
Frank

Thanks for the advice guys - I'm going to try the backup from my other phone, then the efs fix, then the sd-card boot... I'll report back, wish me luck.

A nandroid previous failure, or a ROM install from external SD card was all I meant.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

I got some answers I was looking for here. Glad I read this thread.

Lorettaa said:
I got some answers I was looking for here. Glad I read this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad something good came out of my frustration!
Here's a quick update: I've done everything but the boot from SD card with no luck (and actually thought I had hard(er?) bricked it for a while after trying to copy over a few images from the other phone - turns out it needed to stay with the battery out for at least 20 minutes).
Good news - walked into a TMO brick-and-mortar last night, showed the guy my endless bootloop, and a replacement is on its way to my house for an affordable $20 warranty service fee.
At this point, I'm thinking the internal flash memory is just bad - as a software engineer, I'm ok with chalking this one up to a hardware issue (as much as I was hoping that my first post on XDA would result in some new profound solution to a longstanding issue common to a few folks).
Oh well - new Note 3 on it's way, and a new S5 shortly behind it (didn't hold out much hope on TMO hooking me up, so I ordered an S5)... let the battle of the Samsungs begin!
Thanks again to you guys who helped out - and the whole XDA community in general, I am very grateful.

Finally you made it fix and enjoy the battle between your phones

Well, sucks it couldn't be fixed, but glad you got a replacement on the way. It pretty much sounded like the partitions were well over written before we attempted anything, but always worth a shot.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

Yes, but I don't have the details handy.
All your attempts suggest to me that you might have some damaged hardware which is causing data corruption during transfer. Open the back and take a good look at the USB port. Tighten the screws and try a transfer while firmly holding the cable in place -- don't move it while transferring. :good:

Continuous reboots, device is almost a brick... Can you help me?

Hi guys,
I had already suffered in the past for sudden reboots, but at least i was able to use the phone for a decent amount of time and fix it. After last night, though, the situation seems desperate. When i woke up i was able to turn off the alarm clock, check my email, but then hell started...
My phone is a gsm Nexus (maguro i9250), with CyanogenMod11 snapshot M5 and the appropriate google apps (at least they were appropriate about 1 month ago). I recently had some minor issue with the Google+ app, after it was updated: it kept crashing, until i uninstalled it and reinstalled after downloading from the Play Store. Should i instead search for a newer gapps packet?
Now the situation is pretty awful. The phone will reboot after at most 2 minutes. I don't really know what makes it crash so bad.
I also have two weird problems. Whatever change i manage to make before the phone reboots doesn't get persisted. For example, the alarm clock will always start activated, no matter if i managed to deactivate it before the reboot.
I'm also not able to reset it to factory defaults. I am using ClockworkMod 6.0.4.7. If i try the reset procedure, the /data and /cache partitions are formatted, but not the sdcard one. Indeed, i get the following output:
Code:
Formatting /data
Formatting /cache
Formatting /sd-ext
E: unknown volume for path [/sd-ext]
Formatting /sdcard/.android_secure
Data wipe complete
When i reboot the phone after this procedure, everything is still there, and the phone will keep doing its reboots after 1-2 minutes.
What can i do? Is there an hardware way to hard-reset the phone? Is there a program i could use?
Thanks in advance!

Fried EMMC (memory)
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Free mobile app

mrgnex said:
Fried EMMC (memory)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe, but if everything is still there after a reboot, sounds doubtful.
Have you tried installing a different rom? Can you connect via adb? Do you have a nandroid?

Format /system under Mounts and Storage in CWM and reflash ROM and GApps?

Hi guys, thanks for your replies! Sorry for the late answer, i was pretty busy.
I spent last night trying everything i could, but i think my phone is gone
I used Skipsoft's Android Toolkit and Odin, with no success.
The first one seemed to succeed: i tried twice, with two different stock roms, but i always ended up with the same CM11, same apps, same everything.
Odin always failed (i tried at least 3 times, i honestly lost the count).
I did find a post in the forums regarding a guy with my same problem, and he was told about the eMMC as well. I am pretty sure that is my problem as well.
Further proofs of that:
1) I downloaded the latest CM11 nightly build, was able to push its zip file on the device using Eclipse (i swear it was there), but when i tried to flash it using CWM, the file wasn't there.....
2) With Android Toolkit i was able to boot into a different recovery tool (TWM, i think). I wiped everything with it, and i was starting to hope.... but the same darn CM11 appeared!
I don't have a nandroid, i formatted everything i could in Mounts in CWM (i got to a point that i formatted everything that was formattable). I also tried to reflash the rom and gapps. No luck, always ended up with the same situation.
I didn't really try a different rom. I didn't try to connect using adb on the terminal, but i think that Eclipse is based on that, so i think adb is working.
Oh well... Right now i'm using an old phone, but i have started looking for a new one, i am tempted by the Nexus 5

frabena said:
Hi guys, thanks for your replies! Sorry for the late answer, i was pretty busy.
I spent last night trying everything i could, but i think my phone is gone
I used Skipsoft's Android Toolkit and Odin, with no success.
The first one seemed to succeed: i tried twice, with two different stock roms, but i always ended up with the same CM11, same apps, same everything.
Odin always failed (i tried at least 3 times, i honestly lost the count).
I did find a post in the forums regarding a guy with my same problem, and he was told about the eMMC as well. I am pretty sure that is my problem as well.
Further proofs of that:
1) I downloaded the latest CM11 nightly build, was able to push its zip file on the device using Eclipse (i swear it was there), but when i tried to flash it using CWM, the file wasn't there.....
2) With Android Toolkit i was able to boot into a different recovery tool (TWM, i think). I wiped everything with it, and i was starting to hope.... but the same darn CM11 appeared!
I don't have a nandroid, i formatted everything i could in Mounts in CWM (i got to a point that i formatted everything that was formattable). I also tried to reflash the rom and gapps. No luck, always ended up with the same situation.
I didn't really try a different rom. I didn't try to connect using adb on the terminal, but i think that Eclipse is based on that, so i think adb is working.
Oh well... Right now i'm using an old phone, but i have started looking for a new one, i am tempted by the Nexus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can try by downloading a clean google factory image and then flash it using bootloader and see it helps, it could be a bad script inside. If this doesn't help then you should totally get the Nexus 5. I got GNex only recently and its still a good device I reassure you. A little tweak and a little overclock makes it as good as a stock N4 minus the bad graphics.

frabena said:
Hi guys, thanks for your replies! Sorry for the late answer, i was pretty busy.
I spent last night trying everything i could, but i think my phone is gone
I used Skipsoft's Android Toolkit and Odin, with no success.
The first one seemed to succeed: i tried twice, with two different stock roms, but i always ended up with the same CM11, same apps, same everything.
Odin always failed (i tried at least 3 times, i honestly lost the count).
I did find a post in the forums regarding a guy with my same problem, and he was told about the eMMC as well. I am pretty sure that is my problem as well.
Further proofs of that:
1) I downloaded the latest CM11 nightly build, was able to push its zip file on the device using Eclipse (i swear it was there), but when i tried to flash it using CWM, the file wasn't there.....
2) With Android Toolkit i was able to boot into a different recovery tool (TWM, i think). I wiped everything with it, and i was starting to hope.... but the same darn CM11 appeared!
I don't have a nandroid, i formatted everything i could in Mounts in CWM (i got to a point that i formatted everything that was formattable). I also tried to reflash the rom and gapps. No luck, always ended up with the same situation.
I didn't really try a different rom. I didn't try to connect using adb on the terminal, but i think that Eclipse is based on that, so i think adb is working.
Oh well... Right now i'm using an old phone, but i have started looking for a new one, i am tempted by the Nexus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I got bad news well not really bad but kinda. If you wiped efs data while you were wiping your phone will never properly connect to the network anymore. That obviously won't matter unless you somehow get out of this bootloop.

[Q] Loading ROM's

Good Morning,
I've searched through the forums and so far haven't had any luck. I apologize if this is a topic that's been covered to death, which it likely has, but I haven't found a solution to my particular problem.
Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1.
I was having problems with TouchWiz crashing, usually 2 to 3 times per day. Sometimes it would lock up the unit, requiring me to reboot. Sometimes it would just come back after 5 or so minutes. Whatever the case, I decided, since I was already interested, that I would try to root the device, clear up some memory, maybe even flash a new ROM to take care of the issue.
First, I successfully rooted the device, no problem. Surprisingly easy, actually, following steps from this website.
I loaded SuperSU, Titanium Backup, Greenify - but still had (more rare) instances of TouchWiz crashing, and even the entire unit rebooting itself occasionally. So, I decided to take a stab at Cyanogenmod 11.
After attempting to load Cyanogenmod using Heimdall and Odin, and having issues I'll add, I finally realized that (theoretically) I could just use ROM Manager to load the file. Cool! So I loaded the zip file for CM11 onto the top level of my SD Card, created a recovery, and attempted to load the new ROM. The first problem I had was that the unit wouldn't just load the ROM like I expected, but it put me into recovery mode. I suspect that's not right, but I attempted to go ahead and use the menu picks to load the ROM anyway. I wiped data/factory reset, them wiped cache partition. Then, I selected "apply update from external storage". I selected the zip file for CM11, which was right where I left it, hit select, and had the following problem.
I got the following errors, two times, in red text (with other yellow text messages surrounding);
E:footer is wrong
E:signature verification failed
So...what do I need to do here, folks? Worst case scenario, obviously, I just keep using TouchWiz, as I haven't managed to brick my device yet, and I would still be able to utilize root access apps. But I have to be close, aren't I? Does anyone have the patience to help out a guy who only knows enough to be dangerous?

You need to use custom recovery to flash custom ROMs. It sounds like you are trying to use stock recovery.

redpoint73 said:
You need to use custom recovery to flash custom ROMs. It sounds like you are trying to use stock recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but I decided to give TWRP recovery a shot, and was getting an error on the CM11 zip file. I re-copied over the zip file, tried again, and that did the trick. I guess I either had a bad zip file, the wrong recovery, or both.
Thanks!
Robb

Sometimes I had problems flashing zips from external storage, appeared as corrupted, never a problem when zip was in internal storage . Did you try that?

thdervenis said:
Sometimes I had problems flashing zips from external storage, appeared as corrupted, never a problem when zip was in internal storage . Did you try that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I did not try that, as simply recopying the zip file onto the SD card did the trick.
I spent all evening playing with the settings, trying out themes, setting up my apps - and my unit didn't crash one time. Pretty slick!
Now I just need to learn how to use Titanium Backup to store settings so I can play with different ROM's.

sd card and gapps6 problem on cm13

i was running cm12 with no probs on htc one m9
then by mistake i installed the new update and it was cm13.
after the phone rebooted i got google play error saying i need to update google play.
downloaded the latest gapps6 but when trying to install in recovery mode from internal phone memory (as sd card for some reason is not mounted anymore) it gives an error E: FAILED TO MAP
is there a way to go back to cm12 or fix these faults on cm13?

Linx78 said:
i was running cm12 with no probs on htc one m9
then by mistake i installed the new update and it was cm13.
after the phone rebooted i got google play error saying i need to update google play.
downloaded the latest gapps6 but when trying to install in recovery mode from internal phone memory (as sd card for some reason is not mounted anymore) it gives an error E: FAILED TO MAP
is there a way to go back to cm12 or fix these faults on cm13?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install gapps immediately after rom installation, do not allow a full boot..
There is also an issue with the SD and the way it's read, this is an android M issue.

dladz said:
Install gapps immediately after rom installation, do not allow a full boot..
There is also an issue with the SD and the way it's read, this is an android M issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's the problem, i didn't realize it's cm13 (thought it's another cm12 nightly) till rebooted the phone...
now it won't allow me to install anything at all giving that e: map... error.

Linx78 said:
that's the problem, i didn't realize it's cm13 (thought it's another cm12 nightly) till rebooted the phone...
now it won't allow me to install anything at all giving that e: map... error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ask in the forum mate, where u got the rom from.

dladz said:
Ask in the forum mate, where u got the rom from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm really sorry if i posted in wrong place... (please direct me in the wright way)
the rom itself was downloaded automaticaly on the phone as an update and i pressed the option update, so the phone rebooted itself into recovery installed it and then i rebooted the phone myself not even looking what was installed... the rest you already know...

Linx78 said:
i'm really sorry if i posted in wrong place... (please direct me in the wright way)
the rom itself was downloaded automaticaly on the phone as an update and i pressed the option update, so the phone rebooted itself into recovery installed it and then i rebooted the phone myself not even looking what was installed... the rest you already know...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will have to have downloaded the rom from xda surely? The Rom you downloaded initially I assume was cm 12.1, then you updated to cm 13, that thread is in the original android development section, I'm sure you can find your way there as you've been there before. The thread is now called cm13 I believe..
Also make sure you're on the latest TWRP recovery, I'm guessing you are but it'd be nice to be sure.
Might also be worth downloading G apps from the cm13 thread then rebooting to recovery, flashing the rom again and installing gapps whilst once complete, don't allow a reboot.
Wiping cache and dalvic will be fine, don't perform a full wipe just incase you can't install the rom again.
If you get stuck, you can push files to your phone using recovery and the push command..
Not 100% but I think storage works via TWRP, could be wrong about that and I've not tested it with cm13.
Either way you have a way back..
---------- Post added at 06:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:55 PM ----------
Install from your internal memory not your SD card. Get the necessary files on your internal memory instead.

thank you very much, will try there.
yes, you are right, got rom from xda and i'm on latest recovery, but no matter what i do, even after wiping cashe still getting the bloody
E: failed to map file
Installation aborted

Linx78 said:
thank you very much, will try there.
yes, you are right, got rom from xda and i'm on latest recovery, but no matter what i do, even after wiping cashe still getting the bloody
E: failed to map file
Installation aborted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i can't post anything there... not enough posts...
did i brick my phone now? or is there a way to clean install? recovery mode won't work...

Linx78 said:
i can't post anything there... not enough posts...
did i brick my phone now? or is there a way to clean install? recovery mode won't work...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it'a not bricked..
Are you installing from internal or external memory?
Connect your phone to your computer and go to recovery, then mount storage in recovery, copy G apps to internal memory.
Make more posts in here, i think you need ten

I tried it and found Android 6.0 is having issues with my PC, not recognizing my SD Card, not even the Internal SD !!! :S I know it is pure Super fast but i cant live without connecting my phone to PC.
Also I tried to flas Gapps just after installing MM (not reboot and with Aroma) and the installation freezes, so im stuck with pure Android no Google Apps, so I did return to Lollipop VipeOne 3.5.0 with a full backup made with TWRP.

Sorted. Avoid it til it'a fixed like me unless you want to be a Guinea pig.

dladz said:
Sorted. Avoid it til it'a fixed like me unless you want to be a Guinea pig.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry, i did copy everything onto internall memory, still no luck...
also the cm13 updated the recovery aswell, and i can't even do a factory reset...
please is there a way to go back to cm12.1?
once again i can't install anything in recovery mode.

Hang on you just said you reverted back to viper?
You should be able to install things now?
At this point I'm not too sure mate.. Sorry, perhaps install recovery again, might not be the right thing to do though, ask in the viper thread, you might have enough posts now.

dladz said:
Hang on you just said you reverted back to viper?
You should be able to install things now?
At this point I'm not too sure mate.. Sorry, perhaps install recovery again, might not be the right thing to do though, ask in the viper thread, you might have enough posts now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that wasn't my post, some else posted here too...
i'm stuck, adb won't install anything too

LLegion said:
I tried it and found Android 6.0 is having issues with my PC, not recognizing my SD Card, not even the Internal SD !!! :S I know it is pure Super fast but i cant live without connecting my phone to PC.
Also I tried to flas Gapps just after installing MM (not reboot and with Aroma) and the installation freezes, so im stuck with pure Android no Google Apps, so I did return to Lollipop VipeOne 3.5.0 with a full backup made with TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i wanted to ask how to go back to cm12.1 from cm13?
i don't have any backups, nor my recovery is allowing to install anything as per post above...
adb method is not working either, just says waiting for the device when rebooted to download and nothing else.
also my firmware is 2.10..... is that an issue?

dladz said:
Hang on you just said you reverted back to viper?
You should be able to install things now?
At this point I'm not too sure mate.. Sorry, perhaps install recovery again, might not be the right thing to do though, ask in the viper thread, you might have enough posts now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i also tried install recovery through adb, didn't work, just says waiting for the device and nothing happens

Linx78 said:
i also tried install recovery through adb, didn't work, just says waiting for the device and nothing happens
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah i'm on 2.10 that's fine.
At this point it appear to be an issue with CM13 rather than anything else, I'm not up to speed with Android 6.0 so I think it would be best if you asked in the thread, you've made over 10 posts now so i'm assuming you can post there.
See what they say, let them know what you've done so far, someone will have either been through it or will know what to do.
Sorry i can't be of more help mate.
PS: Just thought of something, if you have connectivity to your computer / laptop, update your recovery if you haven't already, chances are it's an issue with cm13 but might be worth a try.

I had similar problem - Google Services crashing after unintentional update to CM13.
I realized that I need to install new GApps to fix the issue but GApps installation in recovery was constantly failing.
I used to have some recovery there, I even don't know which one, but during update to CM13 the recovery has been changed to some kind of CM recovery.
After installing TPRW recovery (ir forked for me from the TPRW Manager App from play store) I was able to install Nano GApps.
It solved the issue with Google Services crashing, now I got some Wizard crashing. The issue with crashing wizard is solved by going to privacy setting and allowing the wizard all rights. Later I realized that many other applications were crashing on start as well. I solved it for each of them by uninstalling and installing from Play Store again.