/efs partition not being mounted - Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I just got a note 2 (i317m - canadian carrier model) that got messed up some how. When attempted to boot the phone it said unable to mount efs partition. My research tells me that partition that contains module info such as IMEI, bluetooth, wifi are stored in that partition. Now I realize why the repair guy wanted $350 to fix it.
Is there a way I can tackle this problem on my own and try and fix it? Apparently there is a tool here in XDA that can wipe the partition but I am not sure if that would rebuild it and allow me to mount it so I can create a new data file with the IMEI number in it.
Where should I start to attempt to fix the problem.
Please note, I can still access recovery (currently TWRP installed) and download mode and use ODIN if necessary to flash back a stock rom BUT can't mount to the computer for any file transfers nor can I boot the android device (stays at samsung logo). I have no issue using ADB is neccessary if I am lead in the right direction. This phone is already trashed in the eyes of the owner so its basically a little project for me to tackle when i have time to kill.

Bloodyskullz said:
I just got a note 2 (i317m - canadian carrier model) that got messed up some how. When attempted to boot the phone it said unable to mount efs partition. My research tells me that partition that contains module info such as IMEI, bluetooth, wifi are stored in that partition. Now I realize why the repair guy wanted $350 to fix it.
Is there a way I can tackle this problem on my own and try and fix it? Apparently there is a tool here in XDA that can wipe the partition but I am not sure if that would rebuild it and allow me to mount it so I can create a new data file with the IMEI number in it.
Where should I start to attempt to fix the problem.
Please note, I can still access recovery (currently TWRP installed) and download mode and use ODIN if necessary to flash back a stock rom BUT can't mount to the computer for any file transfers nor can I boot the android device (stays at samsung logo). I have no issue using ADB is neccessary if I am lead in the right direction. This phone is already trashed in the eyes of the owner so its basically a little project for me to tackle when i have time to kill.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried flashing your official rom? Flash your official firmware by downloading it from sampro.pl or sammobile.com, flash it with PC Odin under PDA tab.
After you done, don't let reboot your phone, goto recovery by pressing vol up+ menu key then power key(continuously hold it until your phone restarts might be 4~8 secs.) Then check 'Wipe Cache Partition', and then reboot phone.

Yup and nothing worked.

Anyone?

So the only solution is a $300 fix?

Related

System partition, Internal SDcard issue?

Hello.
I am writing here as i am hoping that one of You experienced android users will be able to help me to fix my phone (i8150).
I am rather new to android and so far i have been following instructions very carefully and it wasn't the very first time i was flashing rom.
I did rooted my phone, flashed CWM Recovery via adb, used titanium backup, root explorer etc. Also its been long time since i started using Kezra V4 rom with ICS theme, unmodified vold.fstb. I never ever had any issues with the phone or rom.
To make things as clear as possible i will start with the brief info on what i did to my phone last week.
Last weekend (a week ago) i did a fresh install of Kezra v4 rom with ics theme, original vold.fstab, root explorer and launcher pro (placed in system/app).
Flashing process went fine, no errors in CWM (and yes i did wipe dalvik, cache, formatted system). Several apps were restored with titanium. Phone and rom were working as intended, no signs of slowdowns, errors etc.
Couple days latter i decided to add 1 ringtone and 1 notification sound. Both are ogg files and were placed to system/media/audio/ringtones and notifications. I did remember to mount as r/w change permissions and remount it as r/o. I rebooted phone once but i didn't see new ringtone or notification sound on the list so i rebooted it again. After second reboot the phone booted without any problems but once the system was loaded touch screen stopped to respond and the phone froze. I rebooted it again and this time everything went back to normal.
Yesterday i tried to copy new Kezra rom to my INTERNAL sdcar in order to flash it with CWM. But instead of that i stumbled upon a problem that is beyond my knowledge and comprehension. I DID NOT FLASH ANYTHING AT THIS POINT AS I LOST ACCESS TO CWM
- CWM Recovery disappeared - when i am trying to boot to CWM my phone turns off. There is very very very quick flash of the screen showing recovery but that is it.
- when copying 270mb rom to INTERNAL sdcard it stops at 10% with message that the file can not be read
- when copying smaller files, files are being copied from pc to phone but once the phone (usb storage) is disconnected from pc the files that were copied to internal sdcard are not there as if they were never copied
- i can copy files from external sdcard to internal sdcard with rootexplorer but after rebooting phone the files are gone from internal sdcard
- i can install any app from market or from sdcard but after rebooting, the installed app is gone, it doesnt exist in data/app, the cache files on internal sdcard are gone as well and the installed app is not on the list
- i can take pictures and if they are saved to internal sdcard they vanish after rebooting phone
- if i change any settings of the phone (volume, brightness, wifi settings, any settings) after rebooting phone the settings that i changed are reverted to the state from before rebooting
- i did try to delete those 2 files - ringtone and notification sound from the system/media/audio/ringtones and notification but after rebooting the phone they are still there not deleted (i do remember abot mounting r/w r/o and permissions)
- after formatting internal usb storage (settings/storage/format usb) and rebooting phone all the files are there - as if it was not formatted at all
- after formatting internal usb storage from pc and rebooting phone all the files are there - as if it was not formatted at all
- after "factory reset data" and rebooting phone nothing has changed as if it has not been reseted
- i tried to update superuser binary (my binary is 3.0.3) via wifi - there is new ver 3.0.3.2(ok), update(ok), downloading(ok),
gaining root(ok),remounting /system as rw (ok), md5sum(ok), changing file mode to 06755(ok), moving su (ok), checking md5sum(ok),
remounting /system as ro(ok), installed ver 3.0.3, update failed - superuser message -> "this updater cannot update the su binary on phones that have some kind of write protection on the system partition like S-ON"
Now i guess you are wondering if the phone works. Yes it does.
- it is eu phone bought in England and used in England
- the phone is not assigned to a network carrier, it is not locked in any way - network lock (off), network subset lock (off), SP lock (off), CP lock (off)
- I can make/receive calls and messages
- wifi, g3, tethering, bluetooth, gps, camera etc. are working fine
- all the applications including new apps are working fine as long as i don't reboot phone.
- I don't experience any slowdowns, crashes or freezes
- I have access to system files via root explorer, the phone is rooted
- i don't get any messages that file system is write protected
- rumdump works
- download mode works
Here is what i tried so far:
- flash CWM Recovery via adb but after rebooting i still have no access to recovery (no errors in adb - process completed)
- flash original stock recovery via adb but after rebooting i still have no access to recovery (no errors in adb - process completed)
- flash CWM Recovery via ODIN but after reboot i can not boot to CWM
- flash stock rom I8150XXKK1 via ODIN - no changes to rom. Phone is loadin the old rom
ODIN Explanation:
In both cases of flashin CWM and stock rom i followed the procedure step by step with and without automatic reboot. ODIN says that flashing is done and PASS. During automatic reboot phone doesnt reboot it only turns off. After manual reboot phone is loading old rom (Kezra V4 installed a week ago) and there is no sign of CWM.
So now i am wondering:
- is it software or hardware issue
- how can i identify and isolate the problem
- how to make the phone to save the changes after reboot
- how to get a working CWM Recovery so i can flash the phone
- How to make ODIN to flash the phone
What do You make out this?
Man.....I am so sorry.
I have never seen such a well documented OP...
Congrats on that first!!
I really am at a loss as to what to suggest, as you have covered so many bases yourself.
Just to me, looking again at your post, I don't really think those .ogg files have anything to do with it.
It seems your problems originated with flashing the Kezra Custom ROM.
To lose your Recovery Partition must mean some data corruption introduced by the flashing process.
I know you have flashed stock with ODIN, this was One Package??
I am not sure, but I think there may be Stock ROM which has seperate files.......???
It is just a suggestion, perhaps someone else may know.....
At least this will bump your post!!!
All I can say further is best of luck....hope it can be solved.
Also, there also is return for repair to Sammy.....as we say in Ireland.... Play the eejit!!
Sent from my SGW GT-I8150 using Tapatalk!!
Thanks Irish for taking your time to reply.
Well... yes i did my best to make the post as much descriptive as possible due to the nature of the issue itself.
When it comes to ODIN it was one file only. I didn't try with multiple files.
I don't think that ogg files itself are the source of all that mess. On the other hand i wouldn't blame Kezra rom.
As you noticed i tried to track down the time and place when it happend and how it all started.
It may be a coincidence but i suspect that "ogg glitch" (keep in mind that was the very first fail reboot and system crash of my phony since i bought it) has something to do with it. Why? All the settings, apps etc. in the phone are as they were set on Wednesday 28.03 including Alarm set to 8:00am. Same day "ogg glitch" occurred. Betwene Wednesday and Now no flashing has been done except all the mentioned steps (failed) that i have taken in order to restore my phone. Every time i reboot the phone, all the setting, apps etc. are being reverted to the state from before "ogg glitch"
Another thing is the message given by superuser while trying to update su binary. "Some kind of write protection like S-ON". (at this point i didn't have time to do a in depth search on "S-ON")
Now... i am not an expert but it makes me wonder... is it?
- internal phone memory (the chip itself) is corrupted or damaged
- the file system of internal memory is corupted
- system partition is corupted
- there is an issue with root access and permissions
- while copying ogg files to /system/... i made a mistake at some point and set wrong mount rw/ro and wrong permissions
- is such thing as "recovery loop" possible - after every each reboot the phone is "restored" to the state from before "ogg glitch"
When it comes to return to Samsung... The phone is not only working but is rooted, has a custom rom... She is not a VIRGIN mate.
Sorry, I didn't mean to say that Kezra's ROM is at fault......phew...nearly got into trouble there.
I meant that during the flash of the ROM, there may have been an event, loss of power??? which has caused corruption of the Partition system on your phone??
I know there is no locked Bootloader on our phone, which is what s-on indicates....usually HTC phones have/had this....hence problems with flashing Custom ROM's Recovery......
Somehow, your phone has got into a state which mimics locked bootloader, has to be corruption, IMO.
If you can locate ODIN files to flash separately, maybe will work, but I'm not sure..
As for returning to Samsung......
there is a thread here somewhere, Rio Saputro, where Sammy has accepted phones with boot-loops back for repair, due to hardware issues, so I am not sure haw much checking they do!!!
I can still access download mode but i think i wont be able to flash anything.
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: GTI8150
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: NO
CURRENT KERNEL: UNKNOWN !!
Irish would You be so kind and compare that info with your downlod mode please?
Otherwise i think i will have to return my W to Samsung.
Cheers
jbs.sc said:
I can still access download mode but i think i wont be able to flash anything.
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: GTI8150
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: NO
CURRENT KERNEL: UNKNOWN !!
Irish would You be so kind and compare that info with your downlod mode please?
Otherwise i think i will have to return my W to Samsung.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't worry, your phone is not bricked.. Just download the Asian firmware from the development thread (it will have multiple files inside the package) and flash it through Odin (look for flashing process for multiple file package), you will be good to go.
Sent from my Novo704FC-E2 using Tapatalk
I have already tried multi part asian firmware provided by THE-E.
Same thing as with one file firmware.
With auto reboot phone just turns off and doesn't turn on.
Without auto reboot... well it just stays on and that's it.
After manual reboot i am back to the old rom.
I am using odin 4.43
Should i try other versions?
I do have factory gurantee on my phone till 2013 and if they won't accept it...
oh well s*** happens... not for the first nor the last time in my life. There is no fun of modding without a risk.
jbs.sc said:
I can still access download mode but i think i wont be able to flash anything.
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: GTI8150
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: NO
CURRENT KERNEL: UNKNOWN !!
Irish would You be so kind and compare that info with your downlod mode please?
Otherwise i think i will have to return my W to Samsung.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi friend.....
Not sure what your current state of play is, but my download mode was exactly as you have quoted above.
see this from last Christmas,
when I was in despair.....symptoms very similar to what you have now, after failed ODIN flash....I had no recovery and my phone would not boot, just download mode, as you have above.
However, I solved it pretty easily, after modifying my ODIN settings.
Unfortunately THE-E's instructions said "unmark Auto Reboot"......which is not correct.....
this meant the Flash never completed.......
See here for my celebratory post, much relieved...
This was very much like your recent experience.
I think there may be some hope/help for you there!!!!
Let me know......bast of luck......
Irish,
I did try with auto reboot marked. When ODIN starts the procedure of auto reboot the phone turns off but it doesn't turn on. ODIN waits for the phone till the flashing is completed and says PASS but the phone stays turned off anyway.
Btw. Perhaps i should use KIES to try to update and brick my phone.
I would have a valid reason to claim warranty
jbs.sc said:
Irish,
I did try with auto reboot marked. When ODIN starts the procedure of auto reboot the phone turns off but it doesn't turn on. ODIN waits for the phone till the flashing is completed and says PASS but the phone stays turned off anyway.
Btw. Perhaps i should use KIES to try to update and brick my phone.
I would have a valid reason to claim warranty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK.....I think that was my last shot......I am out of ideas!!!
Maybe post screen shot of ODIN procedure if you can??
I can't remember how my phone reacted after PASS and Reboot, but that doesn't sound right.......
Can you post the ODIN Message output.....just so ppl can compare and perhaps help.
OK i tried to flash it again just to take screenshots. And again same thing.
OK.....just have a look at my thread here.......
which is a pdf of the Service manual I "procured"
There is something there about ODIN, which Samsung use as well....
I just noticed a little thing when using multiple files.....
they have also set the " Reset Time = 300" for their Flash.......
P.21....or [6 Level 1 Repair]........
the pdf files are a little out of sequence!!!!
Also, try flash without SD or SIM card inserted.....
Irish,
Just to let you know. I did what you suggested.
Flashing with timer, without sim card and without external memory did't help.
As far as i remember someone had similar problem, unfortunately solution was never found.
I think when it comes to ODIN i run out of options.
Thanks for all the help and assistance.
OK......out of suggestions here!!
It is just such a pity.....
download mode normally means "no brick-can flash"
Sorry we could not fix.....next move?? Sammy??
Best of luck anyway!!
Sent from my SGW GT-I8150 using Tapatalk!!
Did you try to flash only boot img? Not sure if that's possible but it looks like your boot is messed up.
Sent from my GT-I8150 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
I dont think it makes any difference what am i flashing.
Whether it is software or hardware problem it prevents phone from auto rebooting (and applying any changes made during flashing process)
Not only during ODIN auto reboot but also from download mode reboot (once in download mode you can press volume down button to reboot phone)
Just thinking if you try to do it part by part and not whole firmware in 1 go. But if you manage reflash image boot hope you should by fine

[Q] SGH-I747 won't boot past splash screen. Can I save my files?

My wife's SG3 SGH-I747 will show the white "Samsung" logo, then the white Samsung Galaxy S3 logo, then it goes black. Pulled the battery several times, no luck. I'm assuming this was caused by a failed update.
I can get it into download mode, I have cleared the Cache and rebooted with no luck.
I'm not a complete rookie at this, but I haven't done it for years and I'm afraid of losing the data on the phone.
How would you suggest I proceed to save the data? (Pictures and movies)
install a previous stock rom via the download mode? Or odin? I don't have a custom recovery installed.
Will the unbrick method work in my situation? If so will it wipe the phone?
I've searched the forum and can't find anyone saying if the data is salvageable.
I know it's my fault for not backing up her data, but she's in tears over losing pictures of the kids. Please help if you can.
Thanks,
Installing a ROM via Odin may require you to do a factory reset before it boots.
Boot into download mode and look at the screen. Do you see anything about a warranty bit?
I just get the download screen. (See attached picture) Nothing about a warranty
Options are:
Reboot system now
apply update from external storage
wipe data/factory reset
wipe cache partition
apply update from cache
Then it shows:
#MANUAL MODE#
--APPLLYING MULTI-CSC...
APPLIED THE CSC-CODE : ATT
SUCCESSFULLY APPLIED MULTI-csc.
.
That is the recovery mode, not download mode. To get into download, press the home button, volume down, and power button. Once the phone starts to boot, release the power button and hold the other two until you see the download message and press volume up to continue.
You were right. In download mode it says:
ODIN MODE
product name: sgh-i747
CURRENT BINARY: CUSTOM
SYSTEM STATUS: CUSTOM
QUALCOMM SECUREBOOT: ENABLE
WARRANTY BIT: 1
BOOTLOADER AP SWREV: 3
DOWNLOADING....
DO NOT TURN OFF TARGET!!
Since the warranty bit is 1, this tells me you have at least a 4.3 bootloader on your phone.
The only thing I can think of to get the files would be to flash twrp onto your phone in download mode. Then mount the drive, connect the phone to your computer, and use Windows Explorer (assuming you're on a Win machine) to copy the files off the phone.
audit13 said:
Since the warranty bit is 1, this tells me you have at least a 4.3 bootloader on your phone.
The only thing I can think of to get the files would be to flash twrp onto your phone in download mode. Then mount the drive, connect the phone to your computer, and use Windows Explorer (assuming you're on a Win machine) to copy the files off the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing a new rom would wipe the phone?
The last full firmware AT&T released was 4.1.1. The AT&T 4.3 and 4.4.2 ROMs were only released as OTA updates for an existing stock ROM and stock recovery on a phone.
If you want to flash a 4.3 or 4.4.2 ROM, you need to use a version found on XDA to to this. Trying to flash a 4.3 ROM onto a 4.4.2 bootloader and modem could brick your phone. In fact, any flashing procedure can result in a brick or a loss of user data.
Even if you successfully flash a ROM, the ROM may not boot without wiping the cache and all user data first.
Good to know, Thanks a BUNCH for the help.
You are awesome!
Now...let's pray this works!
If you install a custom recovery, you can create a backup of the existing ROM even if the ROM doesn't boot.
Cool,
Odin 3.07 sees the phone, i downloaded openrecovery-twrp-2.6.3.0-d2att.tar. Is it is loaded through the pda option?
Thanks again for your help.
Yes, flash it via the PDA section. Do not check anything except F.Reset time.
Flash TWRP, when you see the word Reset in the status windows, remove the USB cable, remove the battery, replace the battery, boot into recovery, create a backup of the rom, preferably to an external SD card. When the backup is complete, attach phone to computer, mount the partitions, locate files on the phone you want to save.
Done with install, backing up to SD now.
Ok, TWRP worked, I was able to safe the files (THANK YOU!!!). I used the file manager to find and copy the files to the sd card, then did a full backup. It never did mount to the computer, even after the drivers were installed.
It saved the backup with the file name: 1970-01-01--00-18-57 KOT49H.I747UCUFNJ1 so I'm guessing that is the build number it was trying to update to (KOT49H.I747UCUFNJ1). I can get to recovery mode and download mode, how should I go about making this phone work again?
I'm not sure how to check what version of bootloader I have. You scared me about the "bricking it" warning about flashing the wrong rom with the wrong bootloader.
If your are sure you saved the necessary files in two different places, boot into recovery and wipe cache , dalvik, and reboot. If it still won't boot, wipe cache, dalvik, and data in recovery, reboot.
Another option may be to use adb to pull files from the phone, you can even pull entire directories. I will work from recovery mode. There are tutorials on installing the toolkit for adb w/o installing all of the platform development tools. I use Linux so I can not verify how to do this on Windows, but it looks as simple as it was for me. Once adb is present on the PC, boot the phone into recovery, and in a command prompt window enter the command
Code:
adb shell pull /path/to/picture/directory C:\path\to where\you\want\it
and example may be
Code:
adb shell pull /sdcard/DCIM/camera C:\recoveredphotos
Check that I did my Windows path correctly

Odin Stuck in Get Partition mapping - Download Mode and Recovery Working

I have n7100, I had corrupted EFS partition, because of which my phone was stuck at samsung logo. I had no backup of EFS partition, so I flashed the EFS i got it from online. My phone was able to boot without any problem but Cell phone is not getting registered to provider because of IMEI.
Next I wanted to root the phone.
I flashed the root file (CF-Auto-Root-t03g-t03gxx-gtn7100) from odin and in haste immediately flashed the recovery file without waiting for the next reboot.
Usually the root file installs the stuff after the first reboot, in my case it didnt happen since I installed recovery on top of that.
Now I am facing problem in full flash with pit file. Odin is stuck in Set Partition, Get Partition Mapping.
I can access Download mode and recovery.
In recovery the following errors are shown
Cant mount /system
cant mount /efs
Is there anything I can do to make the full flash work?
Your eMMC chip is corrupted, or, worse and probably, you have SDS.
Try and flash a stock ROM
Change the USB cable

i747m boot loop, download mode only - data recoverable?

So, a little background. Full stock recovery, latest Telus 4.4.2 firmware.
Phone may have suffered a drop and/or some water damage during an episode of blackout drunkenness. Yes, I know, I'm an idiot.
Worked fine for a day or two, then began randomly shutting off, seemingly at times when the phone's CPU was under stress. Keeping it in airplane mode seemed to help avoid the reboots somewhat but not completely.
This began right before I was leaving for vacation, and had no time to go replace it. Then, after successfully taking a bunch of awesome pictures while on vacation, the phone decides to go into a boot loop. Can only boot into download mode.
I've got another phone now, but would REALLY like to get the data off the phone if at all possible. I'm assuming there must be some hardware issue at this point causing the boot loop, so I'm guessing that restoring the phone to 100% original working order is probably out of the question.
Any suggestions? I'm guessing something got corrupted, but I'm wondering if maybe I can flash a new recovery or re flash the stock rom via odin and hope it boots up long enough to get the data off? Will it wipe all my data if i try to flash via Odin? Should I take it in for a JTAG? are there other options like getting someone to dump the data off the memory chip somehow?
Thanks in advance.
Since the phone will enter download mode, I suggest flashing twrp 2.87 onto the phone, boot into recovery, mount the data partition, connect the phone to a computer, and try to copy the data to the computer.
Okay, where is a reputable source to download Odin, and what version should I use?
Also, can you provide a link to the exact instructions for flashing TWRP? I looked at the info available on their website and it's not that clear...
And so once I've booted into recovery and mounted the data partition, I leave the phone on, correct? Dont do anything, just connect it to the PC, and it should show up there?
Thanks so much for your help
audit13 said:
Since the phone will enter download mode, I suggest flashing twrp 2.87 onto the phone, boot into recovery, mount the data partition, connect the phone to a computer, and try to copy the data to the computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, I was able to flash TWRP successfully and boot into it.
However, when I attempt to mount the data partition, it won't let me. When I go into the log files, it says unable to mount /data, unable to mount /system, unable to mount /cache, etc......
Also says Internal Storage 0mb ....
So.... i'm guessing this is really not good
Any further suggestions??
If it can't mount the partition and the size is 0, looks like the internal memory is shot.
The only other thing you could try would be to re-flash the stock ROM without wiping anything to see if it will boot. If it fails to flash via Odin, I don't there is much you can do.

HELP! restoring stock rom on Verizon galaxy S5 (G900V)

First of all to admins..., I hope I'm posting this in the right section. If I'm not, please move it or direct me.
I have a Verizon S5 - G900V that is soft bricked and I have been pulling my hair out trying to restore stock rom to it via Odin. It fails every time. I have tried so many versions - some fail with aboot, which I understand means that th version I'm flashing is older and I can't downgrade. Fair enough. The only one that seems to work is G900VVRU2DPD1 (which shows up as the version in recovery mode) but it fails at loading the SYSTEM stage. In Odin on Windows it shows fail (AUTH) an on t device it shows secure check fail: system
Reactivation lock on the device in download mode shows OFF And I can't boot into the OS to verify that.
I have all the necessary device drivers installed in windows.
The device, I believe, is not rooted.
Using kies doesn't work because I asks for for device serial which I d know and does n show under the battery (only shows IMEI an model) and using the Verizon repair Assistant doesn't even see the device
I have wiped cache partition and did factory reset from recovery mode.
I have done exhaustive Google searches an been on many xda dev posts for weeks and not finding anything that works.
I've also tried pushing with adb sideload....didnt work.
The only thing I can think of, and think I might have read somewhere, is that my problems are caused by a locked bootloader. I anyone here able to attest to that?
One other thing...in recovery mode, if I select mount system, it gives errors in red e:Failed to mount /system (invalid argument).
Any experts here able to help me get passed this to successfully flash stock rom (or any rom even modified) back into this device and end my madness?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Bump
any experts out there able to help me on this one?

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