Develop Bugs

SGS3 is not responsive, please help

My SGS3 won't turn on, it won't go into download mode, and I can't even get into recovery...
The last time my phone was working, I simply updated my phone to CM10's latest update for the phone. Everything was working perfectly fine. All I did was download the latest rom from get.cm for my sgs3.
Then I read online that this new 4.1.2 rom came out. As a new member XDA won't allow me to post the link of the rom...but you can find it in the Original Development Thread of the T-Mobile SGS3. Slim-i9300-2.7.0-OFFICIAL is the name of the rom [I copied it directly].
After making a backup of my current rom, installing this rom and installing the new gapps, I rebooted the device and nothing has worked since... [this happened about 12 hours ago].
Now, when I take out the battery and plug the charger in, the notification light becomes solid red. But nothing works...I can't go into download mode, I can't go into recovery. I knew this immediately when the phone did not vibrate after me holding down the power button for a few minutes.
The red notification light only turns on when I plug in the phone when the battery is out. If I put the battery in, after a few moments it goes away. I honestly thought maybe the battery was just dead...but I left it plugged in all night and I still can't do anything with the phone.
As of right now, the phone is fully charged [since I left it charged overnight] and it is still non-responsive. Please help...I'm so scared that my device is bricked...

The only one I saw was Slim bean d2tmobile. Looks like you may have tried to flash the international rom? If so then as I understand it, your hard bricked and will have to send it somewhere for a jtag repair (I think).
Someone else should be able to verify this.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Looks like that was for the international version. Slim bean for t-mobile says for t-mobile not I9300. You are more than likely hard bricked. I hope I'm mistaken but don't think I am. Good luck, hope your able to fix it!!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

I don't quite understand...mind explaining? D:

jeikei4life said:
I don't quite understand...mind explaining? D:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I ask what recover you were on? Because the same thing just happened to me. I tried flashing a rom that I already flashed before. Made a backup, flashed the rom, said that it flashed, cleared caches and then hit reboot. The phones bricked - nothing.
Edit: disregard this post. I know what I did wrong now. I still have a folder for s11 roms on my sdcard. I got the s111 now. I'm glad that I know why it happened. Good thing for insurance, the bad part is their on back order so I'm stuck teathering a junk phone to my old evo for now.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

jeikei4life said:
I don't quite understand...mind explaining? D:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You cannot flash any internatonal gs3 rom on our US version. It will brick. You said you flashed Slim-i9300, well that would be the international Slim Bean. The one in our Orig Dev section is Slim Bean-d2tmobile.
Like the other guy, I hope I'm wrong, but it doesn't sound that way.
How did you download the rom? From the forum? From an app?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

bluezr1 said:
Can I ask what recover you were on? Because the same thing just happened to me. I tried flashing a rom that I already flashed before. Made a backup, flashed the rom, said that it flashed, cleared caches and then hit reboot. The phones bricked - nothing.
Edit: disregard this post. I know what I did wrong now. I still have a folder for s11 roms on my sdcard. I got the s111 now. I'm glad that I know why it happened. Good thing for insurance, the bad part is their on back order so I'm stuck teathering a junk phone to my old evo for now.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was using clockworkmod recovery. I agree, thank goodness for insurance...I had to get a new phone through them. Yours was on back order? What insurance company do you have?
DocHoliday77 said:
You cannot flash any internatonal gs3 rom on our US version. It will brick. You said you flashed Slim-i9300, well that would be the international Slim Bean. The one in our Orig Dev section is Slim Bean-d2tmobile.
Like the other guy, I hope I'm wrong, but it doesn't sound that way.
How did you download the rom? From the forum? From an app?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's really disappointing... I always thought that if anything I could always just hop right into recovery. As soon as I couldn't boot into recovery, I knew something really bad happened. I googled "official jelly bean sgs3" and a news article came up saying that there was a version of 4.1.2 for the sgs3, so I decided to check it out. I came across the download link, and then i looked up slim bean on xda to make sure it was legit, and it looked real, which I'm still assuming it is. I downloaded it and the 4.1.2 gapps and after rebooting, bam.
Looks like I have a brick of an SGS3 now...x-x" -sigh-

There is a guide on how to recover your phone in the dev section check it out..
And was android debugging "On"?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

shahkam said:
There is a guide on how to recover your phone in the dev section check it out..
And was android debugging "On"?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? I ought to check that out. Yeah, it was on.

shahkam said:
There is a guide on how to recover your phone in the dev section check it out..
And was android debugging "On"?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is hard bricked, this wont help

billard412 said:
The phone is hard bricked, this wont help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What thread was he talking about?

This one
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1727401
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

jeikei4life said:
What thread was he talking about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The one posted above me ^.^
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

jeikei4life said:
I was using clockworkmod recovery. I agree, thank goodness for insurance...I had to get a new phone through them. Yours was on back order? What insurance company do you have?
That's really disappointing... I always thought that if anything I could always just hop right into recovery. As soon as I couldn't boot into recovery, I knew something really bad happened. I googled "official jelly bean sgs3" and a news article came up saying that there was a version of 4.1.2 for the sgs3, so I decided to check it out. I came across the download link, and then i looked up slim bean on xda to make sure it was legit, and it looked real, which I'm still assuming it is. I downloaded it and the 4.1.2 gapps and after rebooting, bam.
Looks like I have a brick of an SGS3 now...x-x" -sigh-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to hear that man.
The I9300 partition layout is different than ours. So when you tried to flash it it tried to write the rom to the wrong partition. Not sure which but it may have tried flashing to the recovery partition, kernel part., etc. (I'm pretty sure this is what happened anyway.)
That's why you couldn't just fire up recovery or odin and move on.
When you get it fixed just make sure you come to this forum directly to find your roms/mods. Good luck man.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Yeah im sorry to tell you its probably a paperweight now :/ always always check what file you are flashing and dont rush to do it take your sweet time.. open 10 threads a day if you have to get answers to your question we are here for that !
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

This is really unfortunate. Thankfully, I got a new SGS3 in the mail today with insurance, but we have a new problem now...
I tried injecting a rooted version of the stock rom with Odin into my phone, but I kept getting strange error messages like TouchWiz isn't working and some other android process isn't working.
That didn't work, so I decided to try a different method. This is where I ****ed up, because I forgot to go back to stock rom...
Anyways, after that, I tried to use the SGS3 Toolkit [if you search sgs3 toolkit xda, it'll come up] and I tried to use that to root. I went to "rooting options" and i selected option number 3, the all in one. I got to the point where it mentions your phone must be in USB debugging, and now nothing comes up when I try to start the phone..but it vibrates whenever I hold the power button long enough [as if it was working normally]. I can't get into download mode right now, either...
How do I reverse this and go back to stock? Please help...thank you so much.

Bummer
I spent about 16 hours trying to find this. Finally. Im sorry to hear about the bad flash. I am glad you got a new one though. I dont want to say much about getting back into download because I bricked mine yesterday. I was trying to use Heimdall and it wouldnt upload completely to the phone but it did mark a flash in the counter. I printed the pit and it showed cache was #17 and recovery was #18 and boot was #7. I had also tried to flash RECOVERY and CACHE, not the numbers, no luck either. I tried a different recovery.img and cache.img.ext4. One time I tried all three and it uploaded the boot. I thought maybe they had to be in an order. It did upload another boot.img and that was the end. Im hardbricked and all I get now is the red light for about 3 minutes when I plug it in. My mistake. My last 3 phones ive done with fastboot or nvflash and dd. I let my guard down.
Anyone know if this right...
Code:
Downloading device's PIT file...
PIT file download successful.
Entry Count: 27
Unknown 1: 1598902083
Unknown 2: 844251476
Unknown 3: 21325
Unknown 4: 14413
Unknown 5: 13881
Unknown 6: 48
Unknown 7: 0
Unknown 8: 0
--- Entry #0 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 1
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 8192
Partition Block Count: 122880
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: MODEM
Flash Filename: NON-HLOS.bin
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #1 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 2
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 131072
Partition Block Count: 256
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: SBL1
Flash Filename: sbl1.mbn
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #2 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 3
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 131328
Partition Block Count: 512
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: SBL2
Flash Filename: sbl2.mbn
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #3 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 4
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 131840
Partition Block Count: 1024
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: SBL3
Flash Filename: sbl3.mbn
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #4 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 5
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 132864
Partition Block Count: 4096
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: ABOOT
Flash Filename: aboot.mbn
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #5 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 6
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 136960
Partition Block Count: 1024
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: RPM
Flash Filename: rpm.mbn
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #6 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 7
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 137984
Partition Block Count: 20480
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: BOOT
Flash Filename: boot.img
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #7 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 8
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 158464
Partition Block Count: 1024
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: TZ
Flash Filename: tz.mbn
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #8 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 9
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 159488
Partition Block Count: 1024
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: PAD
Flash Filename:
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #9 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 10
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 160512
Partition Block Count: 20480
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: PARAM
Flash Filename:
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #10 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 11
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 5 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 180992
Partition Block Count: 27904
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: EFS
Flash Filename: efs.img.ext4
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #11 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 12
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 208896
Partition Block Count: 6144
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: MODEMST1
Flash Filename: nvrebuild1.bin
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #12 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 13
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 215040
Partition Block Count: 6144
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: MODEMST2
Flash Filename: nvrebuild2.bin
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #13 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 14
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 5 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 221184
Partition Block Count: 3072000
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: SYSTEM
Flash Filename: system.img.ext4
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #14 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 15
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 5 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 3293184
Partition Block Count: 25665536
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: USERDATA
Flash Filename: userdata.img.ext4
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #15 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 16
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 5 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 28958720
Partition Block Count: 16384
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: PERSIST
Flash Filename: persist.img.ext4
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #16 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 17
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 5 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 28975104
Partition Block Count: 1720320
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: CACHE
Flash Filename: cache.img.ext4
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #17 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 18
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 30695424
Partition Block Count: 20480
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: RECOVERY
Flash Filename: recovery.img
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #18 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 19
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 30715904
Partition Block Count: 20480
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: FOTA
Flash Filename:
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #19 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 20
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 30736384
Partition Block Count: 12288
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: BACKUP
Flash Filename:
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #20 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 21
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 30748672
Partition Block Count: 6144
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: FSG
Flash Filename:
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #21 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 22
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 30754816
Partition Block Count: 16
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: SSD
Flash Filename:
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #22 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 23
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 30754832
Partition Block Count: 10240
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: GROW
Flash Filename:
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #23 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 70
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 0
Partition Block Count: 34
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: PGPT
Flash Filename: pgpt.img
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #24 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 71
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 34
Partition Block Count: 16
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: PIT
Flash Filename: MSM8960.pit
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #25 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 72
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 50
Partition Block Count: 32
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: MD5
Flash Filename: md5.img
FOTA Filename:
--- Entry #26 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 73
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size: 30777311
Partition Block Count: 33
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: SGPT
Flash Filename: sgpt.img
FOTA Filename:
Ending session...
Rebooting device...
Releasing device interface...
Re-attaching kernel driver...
Thanks again.
PS. Thanks Doc, I think I found some of my answers.

Based on PIT COM_TAR2_MSM8960 i9505_EUR_16G.pit

ID1.Data Basic 8192 25544 APNHLOS NON-HLOS.bin
ID2.Data Basic 33736 105528 MDM modem.bin
ID3.Data Basic 139264 256 SBL1 sbl1.mbn
ID4.Data Basic 139520 512 SBL2 sbl2.mbn
ID5.Data Basic 140032 1024 SBL3 sbl3.mbn
ID6.Data Basic 141056 4096 ABOOT aboot.mbn
ID10.Data Ext4 180992 27904 EFS efs.img.ext4
ID16.Data Ext4 225864 5652480 SYSTEM system.img.ext4
B.R.Gsmcn

R: Based on PIT COM_TAR2_MSM8960 i9505_EUR_16G.pit
This mean there is a Snapdragon leak??

buddy, is it related to Development you have done..??
You have already created a Thread for pit file -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2214865
Again for this, you created another one..??

GSMCN said:
ID1.Data Basic 8192 25544 APNHLOS NON-HLOS.bin
ID2.Data Basic 33736 105528 MDM modem.bin
ID3.Data Basic 139264 256 SBL1 sbl1.mbn
ID4.Data Basic 139520 512 SBL2 sbl2.mbn
ID5.Data Basic 140032 1024 SBL3 sbl3.mbn
ID6.Data Basic 141056 4096 ABOOT aboot.mbn
ID10.Data Ext4 180992 27904 EFS efs.img.ext4
ID16.Data Ext4 225864 5652480 SYSTEM system.img.ext4
B.R.Gsmcn
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you able to attach pit file here plz? Thx.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

how to read it from pit?

romup said:
how to read it from pit?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are apps like pit magic here on xda that can read it and provide a text output.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

garwynn said:
There are apps like pit magic here on xda that can read it and provide a text output.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download link

Question to only experienced users/developers!

Hi!
On any S4 mini (GT-I9195) which has the OLD bootloader without Knox is it possible to backup bootloader partition and restore it to any other S4 mini which has the NEW bootloader?
I mean usind the dd command like this:
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p2 of=/sdcard/sbl1.mbn.img
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p3 of=/sdcard/sbl2.mbn.img
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p4 of=/sdcard/sbl3.mbn.img
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p5 of=/sdcard/aboot.mbn.img
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p6 of=/sdcard/rpm.mbn.img
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p7 of=/sdcard/tz.mbn.img
And the restore to device with Knox again with dd command, like for example:
Code:
dd if=/sdcard/aboot.mbn.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p5
Should the above work or it will brick the phone?
Update #01:
My friend has S4 mini with older bootloader (no Knox) and successfully executed the backup commands above (where if=/dev/... ).
Now I have all those files but I'm not sure whether the restore commands will work and the device "survives".
Attached there is a package of files -> old bootloader
Update #02:
Recevied another old bootloader package from another friend with I9195. Attached.
Can anybody with MJ7 firmware try the reverse DD commands?
Risky operation, device can be bricked!

I think... think... think... my opinion:
Look. If I read something about PIT Magic :
PIT files contain the Partition Information Table (PIT) for Samsung Android phones. Different firmware versions may require different partition layouts so the necessary PIT file 'tells' Odin how to set up the phone partitions correctly for the specified firmware to be installed.
The PIT file contains all the relevant information for each required partition such as Partition Name, Flash File Name, Block Size, Block Count etc. and also contains some unknown properties that maybe identifiers or flags of some sort.
What see Odin on Pit file? Many data about files that it must flash like block size, block count, attribute, etc.
Binary Type: 0 (UNKNOWN)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 5 -------------------------------->> Partition Number.
Attribute: 5 (READ / WRITE)
Update Attribute: 1 (FOTA)
Block Size: 132.864
Block Count: 4.096
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: ABOOT
Flash FileName: aboot.mbn
I don't agree that command dd on terminal emulator can make the same like Odin. We must include some parameters like BS, Count, Attrib, and more in my opinion.
See example for extract a Pit file.
I attach a cmd to extract the pit file 16 GB from the phone, a out.pit made by this cmd and the pit file extracted by PIT Magic. All from i9195.
Then I Quote You : Risky operation, device can be bricked!

[Q] [SOLVED] Recovery Issue/Cache Partition issue

Hey guys! I am in deep trouble (or so I think). I just came back from my Winter vacation but sadly I left my Note 3 behind at my brother's house. I won't be getting it back anytime soon (literally) so I'm back to using the Galaxy S3 as my main phone. Though I wasn't using the S3 as my main phone, I still kept it up to date with the new things (Gummy 4.4.2 with the newest CWM and Ktoonsez (12.20.13 release)).
My problem relies here when I decided to flash a new ROM and tried entering my recovery and got slapped with an Android with a loading bar. It quickly rebooted my phone back and I thought, "CWM is notorious when it comes to issues" and so I went on and flashed TWRP 2.6.3.1 through GooManager. I rebooted into recovery and got slapped again but this time, it was telling me this: "Running OpenRecoveryScript... Installing Zip" follow by an "E:" error. These were the E: errors I was getting:
E: TWFunc: : Copy_Log -- Can't open destination log
E: Unable to open '/cache/recovery/.version'.
I've tried reinstalling the recovery numerous amount of times just to be presented with the same error.
My instincts tells me to Odin back to full stock so it would repartition the recovery but my curiousity asks me, "What if you can't go into the recovery to factory reset in order to boot into the Android firmware?" That would only mean I would be stuck with a phone that hangs in the Samsung logo screen.
I've also discovered that my root cache folder (Cache Partition or so I think) is completely empty (apparently, that's where the recovery folder is suppose to be and such) but for some odd reason, my phone is fully functional (apps, texts, phone calls, etc..) with the exception of entering Recovery Mode.
What should I do before making any kind of moves (my phone is fully functional with the exception of entering recovery mode)?

Recovery Partition is completely different partition from Cache. What you should be doing is flash TWRP with the help of ODIN.

Perseus71 said:
Recovery Partition is completely different partition from Cache. What you should be doing is flash TWRP with the help of ODIN.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my question
I'll try doing that and see if it'll work. I've tried installing TWRP through Terminal Emulator and used the this command to push the recovery into the mmcblk0p18 (recovery partition):
dd if=/sdcard/recovery.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p18
Sadly it didn't work but I will try using your method and see where it'll go.

With Samsung Phones, There is a utility called ODIN that takes out all the hassles of ADB push to the correct partition. There are plenty of Video tutorial on usage of Odin. Here's the main thread.

Perseus71 said:
With Samsung Phones, There is a utility called ODIN that takes out all the hassles of ADB push to the correct partition. There are plenty of Video tutorial on usage of Odin. Here's the main thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It didn't work. One thing I've noticed is that the CWM logo (Samsung logo with the CM alien) pops up before TWRP which makes me thing CWM has something to do with it.

This is the Odin process when I tried to Odin the recovery:
<ID:0/007> Added!!
<ID:0/007> Odin v.3 engine (ID:7)..
<ID:0/007> File analysis..
<ID:0/007> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/007> Initialzation..
<ID:0/007> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/007> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/007> recovery.img
<ID:0/007> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/007> RQT_CLOSE !!
<ID:0/007> RES OK !!
<ID:0/007> Removed!!
<ID:0/007> Remain Port .... 0
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 1 / failed 0)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also used this file to install the recovery:
openrecovery-twrp-2.6.3.1-d2tmo.tar
I took a screenshot of the partitions using diskinfo. Do you see anything wrong with any of the partitions?

That Alien indicates a successful flash of TWRP Recovery. With the latest versions of TWRP, they are including the CM Guy with Glasses logo. See if you can boot into recovery.

Perseus71 said:
That Alien indicates a successful flash of TWRP Recovery. With the latest versions of TWRP, they are including the CM Guy with Glasses logo. See if you can boot into recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It still gives me these two errors before rebooting me back into Andriod:
E: TWFunc: : Copy_Log -- Can't open destination log
E: Unable to open '/cache/recovery/.version'.

Sounds like something wonky with Partition table. You may want to Odin back to stock. Make sure to use Android 4.1.2 version UVDMD5.
DO NOT FLASH UVUEMJC Stock firmware.

Perseus71 said:
Sounds like something wonky with Partition table. You may want to Odin back to stock. Make sure to use Android 4.1.2 version UVDMD5.
DO NOT FLASH UVUEMJC Stock firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure it's safe to Odin back to stock despite the fact I can't enter recovery mode? My plan was to Odin stock but sometimes in order to boot into android, you must go into recovery mode and do a factory reset. It's the reason why I ask if it's safe to Odin back to stock (root or no root?).
By the way, thank you again for taking your time out to help me

Your fears are valid. Here's 2 things you need to know.
1. When you use ODIN to flash stock firmware, The .TAR files have both bootloader AND Stock recovery in addition to modem, kernel and rom. So it is going to overwrite anything and everything no matter what.
2. If you really feel strongly, you can do a Factory reset using Settings > Backup and Restore > factory reset in current state.
By the way, you are welcome, That's what we are here for.

Perseus71 said:
Your fears are valid. Here's 2 things you need to know.
1. When you use ODIN to flash stock firmware, The .TAR files have both bootloader AND Stock recovery in addition to modem, kernel and rom. So it is going to overwrite anything and everything no matter what.
2. If you really feel strongly, you can do a Factory reset using Settings > Backup and Restore > factory reset in current state.
By the way, you are welcome, That's what we are here for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For some odd reason, when I press 'Erase Everything', it doesn't do anything. Maybe it's because I'm using a 4.4.2 nightly from Gummy. Is there another way to factory reset besides entering Recovery and Factory Reset from phone?

There does not seem to be any reliable method. There is one method involving ADB. But that too boots the phone into recovery.
Another thing. If you flash stock via odin, Don't just boot afterwards. Instead boot directly into stock recovery using the 3 button combo. (Vol UP + Home + Power)

Perseus71 said:
There does not seem to be any reliable method. There is one method involving ADB. But that too boots the phone into recovery.
Another thing. If you flash stock via odin, Don't just boot afterwards. Instead boot directly into stock recovery using the 3 button combo. (Vol UP + Home + Power)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In other words, I should uncheck A.Reboot (Auto Reboot) when I Odin back to Stock?

You got it.

Perseus71 said:
You got it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it matter whether or not I use pre-root Stock firmware? Should I also use TriangleAway to reset the Binary Count?

Noobiologist said:
Does it matter whether or not I use pre-root Stock firmware? Should I also use TriangleAway to reset the Binary Count?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it does not matter. Its personal preference really. Since you are likely to flash custom rom once all this is sorted, you can go either way. Triangle Away is necessary only when you intend to stick with stock firmware alone or intend to send in for Warranty exchange.
Another thing I remembered. When your stock flash is done and everything is fine, you will want to take a backup of your EFS partition AKA NV Data.
Install Terminal emulator from Play Store. Then in the Terminal enter following command.
su
reboot nvbackup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It helps if you happen to loose your IMEI in future at some point.

Perseus71 said:
No it does not matter. Its personal preference really. Since you are likely to flash custom rom once all this is sorted, you can go either way. Triangle Away is necessary only when you intend to stick with stock firmware alone or intend to send in for Warranty exchange.
Another thing I remembered. When your stock flash is done and everything is fine, you will want to take a backup of your EFS partition AKA NV Data.
Install Terminal emulator from Play Store. Then in the Terminal enter following command.
It helps if you happen to loose your IMEI in future at some point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the input! I believe I have a backup of my EFS partition in my SD Card (had it there since SGS3 was still running ICS) but I will do it again once I Odin the phone. What I'm really starting to believe is the PIT is probably messed up. What I need to confirm this is someone who has a SGS3 (T-Mobile 16GB) to download and run diskinfo from the Play Store and check the total size of the Cache Partition (mmcblk0p17) and/or download and run Terminal Emulator with these command prompts:
PHP:
su
cat /proc/partitions
This is what I got when I used the commands:
PHP:
[email protected]:/ $ su
[email protected]:/ # cat /proc/partitions
major minor #blocks name
7 0 2111 loop0
179 0 15388672 mmcblk0
179 1 61440 mmcblk0p1
179 2 128 mmcblk0p2
179 3 256 mmcblk0p3
179 4 512 mmcblk0p4
179 5 2048 mmcblk0p5
179 6 512 mmcblk0p6
179 7 10240 mmcblk0p7
179 8 512 mmcblk0p8
179 9 512 mmcblk0p9
179 10 10240 mmcblk0p10
179 11 13952 mmcblk0p11
179 12 3072 mmcblk0p12
179 13 3072 mmcblk0p13
179 14 1536000 mmcblk0p14
179 15 12832768 mmcblk0p15
179 16 8192 mmcblk0p16
179 17 860160 mmcblk0p17
179 18 10240 mmcblk0p18
179 19 10240 mmcblk0p19
179 20 6144 mmcblk0p20
179 21 3072 mmcblk0p21
179 22 8 mmcblk0p22
179 23 5120 mmcblk0p23
179 32 15558144 mmcblk1
179 33 15557120 mmcblk1p1
254 0 2110 dm-0
I could use this as a way to see if my PIT matches with a fully functional SGS3 (T-Mobile 16GB).

I actually do have that phone as my DD. Your MMCBLK0P17 values from partitions file do match mine. I didn't check others but I am sure they will match.
I use SlimKat for a Rom so my Diskinfo values will vary.

Perseus71 said:
I actually do have that phone as my DD. Your MMCBLK0P17 values from partitions file do match mine. I didn't check others but I am sure they will match.
I use SlimKat for a Rom so my Diskinfo values will vary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a good thing! That means my PIT (theoretically) is fine. The reason why I asked for the diskinfo is to check the total space of the Cache Partition (Mine shows 826MB of total space). My ultimate theory is of course whether the firmware would actually do something about my Cache Partition (since it seems like the only reason my recovery isn't working is due to the fact it's not retrieving the information that's supposibly should be in the Cache Partition (E: TWFunc: : Copy_Log -- Can't open destination log and E: Unable to open '/cache/recovery/.version')).
It seems to me that the Cache Partition isn't writing the necessary files from the recovery image hence the fear of not being able to enter Stock Recovery to Format Data resulting in a boot-loop.
If you have a root file explorer, could you check the /Cache found in your root to see if you have any content there or something like a recovery folder in it?
Thanks

Error flashing bootloader with heimdall

I need to update the bootloader on a T705 in order to run the Marshmallow ROM. Got the correct sboot.bin file but attempting to flash with heimdall gives the error "Failed to confirm end of file transfer sequence!":
Code:
# heimdall flash --BOOTLOADER sboot.bin
Heimdall v1.4.1
Copyright (c) 2010-2014 Benjamin Dobell, Glass Echidna
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/
This software is provided free of charge. Copying and redistribution is
encouraged.
If you appreciate this software and you would like to support future
development please consider donating:
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/donate/
Initialising connection...
Detecting device...
Claiming interface...
Setting up interface...
Initialising protocol...
Protocol initialisation successful.
Beginning session...
Some devices may take up to 2 minutes to respond.
Please be patient!
Session begun.
Downloading device's PIT file...
PIT file download successful.
Uploading BOOTLOADER
100%
ERROR: Failed to confirm end of file transfer sequence!
ERROR: BOOTLOADER upload failed!
Ending session...
ERROR: Failed to send end session packet!
Releasing device interface...
Can't use odin as I don't have a windows machine.
My pit shows the bootloader as read-only and zero bytes:
Code:
--- Entry #0 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 80
Attributes: 2 (STL Read-Only)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size/Offset: 0
Partition Block Count: 2046
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: BOOTLOADER
Flash Filename: sboot.bin
FOTA Filename:
Is that normal or does it mean the bootloader is locked? Sorry for my ignorance, don't have any experience flashing the bootloader.

Sorry I can't answer your questions but I'm also a non-windows user (Linux). To use the safer Odin I created a Windows VirtualBox VM with a Windows install iso I downloaded over the net. Subsequently it has been suggested by others that it would have been easier for my to have created a bootable usb. In any event you never have to activate the window license to use Odin just answer that pop-up by clicking later. I download the latest firmware (there is a firmware download tool thread in the general section), quickly and use Odin all in that VM.
I posted a how-to create such a VM in the general section but if doing it again I'd likely go the USB route but either way is likely safe than your current method.
Sent from my SM-T800 using XDA Premium HD app

You're lucky you even got Heimdall to connect on the tab s.
I've had zero success with it on either windows or Linux.
Stick with a VM as suggested. It takes literally a few minutes to set up.
https://dev.windows.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/tools/vms/linux/

Thanks for the advice. Heimdall on Linux previously worked well for me when I flashed TWRP on the same T705 a few months ago. This time though I'll try odin in a VM as you both suggest.

Got odin working. The VM was slightly problematic:
Couldn't get Virtualbox on Mac to work. VM couldn't see the tablet.
Under Linux, had to "modprobe -r cdc_acm" to get it to work, as described here
Even then, Odin was failing with a big red FAIL! message at the completion of the flash. Resorted to pirating Windows 7 and installing on a spare harddrive. Still got the Odin FAIL! So I think it was the files I was using. Would the slightly wrong version cause a flashing error? My tablet is an Australian T705Y and the images may have been for a different region.
Anyway, downloaded the complete official ROM from sammobile and that flashed fine using Odin. Then installed TWRP and now the Marshmallow ROM.

cr1key said:
Got odin working. The VM was slightly problematic:
Couldn't get Virtualbox on Mac to work. VM couldn't see the tablet.
Under Linux, had to "modprobe -r cdc_acm" to get it to work, as described here
Even then, Odin was failing with a big red FAIL! message at the completion of the flash. Resorted to pirating Windows 7 and installing on a spare harddrive. Still got the Odin FAIL! So I think it was the files I was using. Would the slightly wrong version cause a flashing error? My tablet is an Australian T705Y and the images may have been for a different region.
Anyway, downloaded the complete official ROM from sammobile and that flashed fine using Odin. Then installed TWRP and now the Marshmallow ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes I am curious how to flash only sboot.bin through odin (or any other means)

The heimdall command is at the top of the thread.
I never actually attempted the bootloader in odin. I tried flashing the modem (which I also had to update), but as that was failing I never progressed to the bootloader. For the modem I just used a tar file that contained modem.bin. Odin reads the PIT and figures out where which partition it should go in (in this case, RADIO). I expect it'd work for the bootloader too. The official ROM distributions are tar files containing *.bin files:
Code:
-rw-rw-r-- dpi/dpi 1148160 2015-10-23 00:29 sboot.bin
-rw-rw-r-- dpi/dpi 7592208 2015-10-23 00:29 boot.img
-rw-rw-r-- dpi/dpi 7803152 2015-10-23 00:29 recovery.img
-rw------- dpi/dpi 2313405472 2015-10-23 00:30 system.img
-rw-r--r-- dpi/dpi 40231200 2015-10-23 00:31 cache.img
-rw-r--r-- dpi/dpi 217281008 2015-10-23 00:31 hidden.img
-rw-rw-r-- dpi/dpi 28600832 2015-10-23 00:24 modem.bin
odin flashes each one in turn to the appropriate partition. Just use PDA to flash the tar file. Possibly you could use the BOOTLOADER (sometimes called just "BL") button, but I don't think it matters.