Develop Bugs

[SOLVED] Preventing Recovery Overwrite On System/normal Boot

After moving my Mi6 from EU ROM to Global Stable 8.2.2.0, I realised that MIUI has now programmed either the boot.img or system.img to overwrite recovery partition on every "normal"/system boot.
So much for unlocking the bootloader...
Although the source system.img has a recovery-from-boot.p file, but it appears to be different from the stock recovery.img file. Attempting to replace it with the TWRP image or removing it entirely (and flashing the rebuilt system.img) results in boot failure (see below for more information).
Does anyone know:
where the "protected" recovery image may be found? and/or
how to repack/rebuild a system.img which will not cause a boot hang?
Note that I have rebuilt it "correctly" (as "correct" as I know) using the properly extracted file_contexts (as extracted from the file_contexts.bin) from the initrd.img from inside the boot.img using the command:
Code:
make_ext4fs -s -T -1 -S file_contents -L system -l <size of partition> -a system system.img <mount point>
I have tried both a blind fastboot flash system system.img, and also a standard "clean" flash using the MiFlash tool (after ensuring that the correct MD5, CRC and sparse CRC strings are edited in the various files, of course).
Thanks!

fastboot flash recovery TWRP.img
That's the solution.
And if you flash a MIUI rom with TWRP simply flash twrp.img without Reboot under TWRP, after rom.zip flash. That's all

reb00tz said:
After moving my Mi6 from EU ROM to Global Stable 8.2.2.0, I realised that MIUI has now programmed either the boot.img or system.img to overwrite recovery partition on every "normal"/system boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dennis46419 said:
fastboot flash recovery TWRP.img
That's the solution.
And if you flash a MIUI rom with TWRP simply flash twrp.img without Reboot under TWRP, after rom.zip flash. That's all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi @dennis46419,
Thanks for replying. I have always done that upon forced reboot by the MiFlash tool (i.e. the moment it powers off for a reboot, I put it right back into fastboot mode to flash TWRP again, then directly boot with the TWRP.img).
As mentioned, I believe the new global stable ROM actually overwrites recovery on every boot.
Have you experienced this (i.e. when using the global stable ROM)?

OK, seems I missed the solution as already provided by @TheStrix:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72620133&postcount=2
But the instruction (which I missed because I downloaded directly from the TWRP site) was already here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72620133&postcount=2

Help restoring to stock image, after trying to install copperhead os

Hi all,
I'm sorry to ask this question, but I'm really struggling to get my Nexus 5X to boot into stock rom. The install seems to go ok, but there was error when flashing.. See below...
archive does not contain 'boot.sig'
archive does not contain 'dtbo.img'
archive does not contain 'dt.img'
The phone now boots to the google boot logo, then loops back to either the "Unlocked Bootloader" or the Custom OS message. (depending on the locked state of the bootloader)
I cannot get into recovery, as the phone just loops back as described above when selecting it from the bootloader option.
Can anyone advise me on how to restore the phone back to stock os. I've tried flashing version 7.1.2 8.0.0 and 8.1.0, using either the flash-all.bat or manually typing the commands. I'm 110% sure this is not to do with over heating on CPU/RAM, I have another nexus 5x that has the bootloop of death and it's bootloop is very different from what I'm seeing on this Nexus 5x.
Thanks in advance

First, the .sig errors are normal so you can ignore those. I would make sure your booloader is unlocked then manually flash the bootloader.img. Then boot back into the bootloader. Then manually flash the remainder of the partitions. Use the 8.1.0 os.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Ok here's what I've done.
1) Downloaded bullhead-opm2.171019.029.zip from Google factory images.
2) Extracted the zip to a folder and extracted image-bullhead-opm2.171019.029.zip to the same folder to get the boot.img | system.img | vendor.img and recovery.img file. (there was no userdata.img nor cache.img within the zip, so I downloaded 7.1.1 version and extracted those files too)
3) Using SDK tools ADB /Fastboot version 1.0.38, I flashed the following:-
fastboot flash bootloader C:\bullhead\images\bootloader-bullhead-bullhead-xx.xx.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash radio C:\bullhead\images\radio-bullhead-bullhead-xx.xx.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash boot C:\bullhead\images\boot.img
fastboot erase cache
fastboot flash cache C:\bullhead\images\cache.img
fastboot flash recovery C:\bullhead\images\recovery.img
fastboot flash system C:\bullhead\images\system.img
fastboot flash vendor C:\bullhead\images\vendor.img
fastboot flash userdata C:\bullhead\images\userdata.img
fastboot oem lock
Everything flashed without a problem, no error. However the phone still does not boot into the OS nor can I get it to boot into recovery mode.
I cannot understand what I am doing wrong. I think it has something to do with the installation of copperhead I tried. Does anyone know whether copperhead os restricts going back to stock rom due to its additional security features?
I'm stuck!!!
Thanks in advance.

pinkstink said:
Ok here's what I've done.
1) Downloaded bullhead-opm2.171019.029.zip from Google factory images.
2) Extracted the zip to a folder and extracted image-bullhead-opm2.171019.029.zip to the same folder to get the boot.img | system.img | vendor.img and recovery.img file. (there was no userdata.img nor cache.img within the zip, so I downloaded 7.1.1 version and extracted those files too)
3) Using SDK tools ADB /Fastboot version 1.0.38, I flashed the following:-
fastboot flash bootloader C:\bullhead\images\bootloader-bullhead-bullhead-xx.xx.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash radio C:\bullhead\images\radio-bullhead-bullhead-xx.xx.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash boot C:\bullhead\images\boot.img
fastboot erase cache
fastboot flash cache C:\bullhead\images\cache.img
fastboot flash recovery C:\bullhead\images\recovery.img
fastboot flash system C:\bullhead\images\system.img
fastboot flash vendor C:\bullhead\images\vendor.img
fastboot flash userdata C:\bullhead\images\userdata.img
fastboot oem lock
Everything flashed without a problem, no error. However the phone still does not boot into the OS nor can I get it to boot into recovery mode.
I cannot understand what I am doing wrong. I think it has something to do with the installation of copperhead I tried. Does anyone know whether copperhead os restricts going back to stock rom due to its additional security features?
I'm stuck!!!
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why don't you use the "flash-all.bat" file? I'm pretty sure you're not wiping your system partition in the process you use.

i.adrian said:
Why don't you use the "flash-all.bat" file? I'm pretty sure you're not wiping your system partition in the process you use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hiya,
I have also tried using the .bat script, it leads to the same place. A phone that does not boot.
thanks in advance.

Can you boot into twrp, fastboot boot twrp.img? If you can try formatting, not wiping, the data partition. It also gives you the option to repairing some other partitions, I don't remember which ones. You could try that.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Pixel XL Bootloop

Hello Everyone,
My Pixel XL is going in bootloop after working for sometime. I have to factory reset it via recovery to get it working again. I am attching log which i got via ADB when it boot up. Can somebody help me with that?
No root no unlocked bootloader.

rkravi85 said:
Hello Everyone,
My Pixel XL is going in bootloop after working for sometime. I have to factory reset it via recovery to get it working again. I am attching log which i got via ADB when it boot up. Can somebody help me with that?
No root no unlocked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No log

Sorry My Bad @Homeboy76

Have you tried these steps below?
If you have modified a little the stock android (hosts file, root, kernel, etc.), you may experience a fail in OTA update;
If you have a bootloop/soft brick/not sure of the state of your android system;
This WILL NOT delete your data and apps. This will remove your custom kernel/root/hosts/recovery through (which is a good thing because it will be clean then).
1) Download your system image for Marlin (Pixel XL) on google website.
download the latest version
2) Unzip the file marlin-nde63v-factory-______.zip
3) Unzip inside the new directory (marlin-nde63v) the image-marlin-_____.zip
Execute fastboot commands (assuming the bin is on your PATH)
Code:
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash radio radio-marlin-*.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash boot_a boot.img
fastboot flash boot_b boot.img
fastboot flash system system.img
fastboot flash system_b system_other.img
fastboot flash vendor vendor.img
fastboot flash modem modem.img
fastboot reboot
to add TWRP;
fastboot boot /path/to/twrp.img
then In TWRP, install twrp.zip for permanent twrp. Goodluck!

Pixel C struck at TWRP and cannot boot to system.

I wanted to root my Google Pixel C. So as a first step I tried to installed twrp3.4.0-0 using the commands like fastboot flash recovery TWRP.img etc as described in many webpages. My pixel C restarted in twrp. When Reboot>System, i get message "Bootloader is unlocked and OS verification is OFF. Device will continue booting in 30 secs ", then a Beep sound then Google logo for few seconds and then again twrp. Fastboot reboot command again bring my Pixel C to twrp. I think it has softbricked and I don't want to lose it . Can someone kindly help what I do to restore it with stock or install custom rom and root it. My ultimate goal is to run Linux on Pixel C. I was using Windows 10 before but now I am using Linux usb. Thanks

I ended my boot looping by installing stock rom (ryu-opm8.190605.005-factory-25b457f3) downloaded from google website. For me flash-all.bat or flash-all.sh were not working and throwing multiple kind of errors. I did two things. First I used this guide from xda to set PATH variable "How to Use ADB or Fastboot From Any Directory on your Windows/Linux PC". Then I copied the .zip ROM file into "platform-tools" folder. Importantly I also extracted the .zip file within the .zip to same platform-tool folder. I manually installed each .img file one by one:
sudo fastboot flash bootloader bootloader_dragon-google-smug.img
sudo fastboot reboot bootloder
sudo fastboot devices
sudo fastboot flash boot boot.img
sudo fastboot flash cache cache.img
sudo fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
sudo fastboot flash system system.img
sudo fastboot flash vendor vendor.img
System now working fine with stock ROM and recovery.

On 1st screen of TWRP, do not swipe to modify system partition, choose the leftmost option to skip that step.
It still allows you to flash zips like Magisk, but system partition remains intact and bootable.

satelliteseeker said:
On 1st screen of TWRP, do not swipe to modify system partition, choose the leftmost option to skip that step.
It still allows you to flash zips like Magisk, but system partition remains intact and bootable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If only I had see this before I installed TWRP

Question Does anyone have FULL Fastboot Flashing steps?

Does anyone have the full fastboot flashing steps from the Bootloader to everyfile in the image file.zip?

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking. To be rooted? To merely flash full stock firmware? If the latter, just extract the full firmware zip and the latest Platform Tools into the same folder. If you don't want to wipe your phone, edit the Flash-All.bat with Notepad (assuming you're running Windows) and remove the "-w ", and save the file. Then open a command prompt in that folder, type Flash-All.bat and press enter. That's it.
If you're asking what are the steps the Flash-All.bat takes to flash everything that's in the inner zip file that's unextracted, just open the Flash-All.bat with Notepad and take a look.
If you're wanting to be rooted, [GUIDE] Root Pixel 6 Pro with Magisk.
If none of my guesses are correct, please be more specific of what exactly you're asking.

Wouldn't it be just fastboot flash filename "file location" for each file?

spart0n said:
Wouldn't it be just fastboot flash filename "file location" for each file?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every device is different, with Motorola we started with :
fastboot gat-var
and flashed each image seperately.

The "flash-all.bat" only does a "fastboot update <update.zip>" - so no individual flashing of image files.....

s3axel said:
The "flash-all.bat" only does a "fastboot update <update.zip>" - so no individual flashing of image files.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, but i cannot tell where the image.zip is getting hung up at if i run that.

AndroidAddict420 said:
Yea, but i cannot tell where the image.zip is getting hung up at if i run that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could open a command shell and run the flash-all.bat from there - then you at least see the output of the command.
Or you can enter the commands from the flash-all.bat manually in a commandline window (everything starting with "fastboot..." )....

s3axel said:
You could open a command shell and run the flash-all.bat from there - then you at least see the output of the command.
Or you can enter the commands from the flash-all.bat manually in a commandline window (everything starting with "fastboot..." )....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using LIX

AndroidAddict420 said:
I am using LIX
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, I don't know LIX - is that some kind of Linux ?
I would still assume you can execute the dividual fastboot commands from the flash-all.bat (flash-all.sh) manually ?!

s3axel said:
OK, I don't know LIX - is that some kind of Linux ?
I would still assume you can execute the dividual fastboot commands from the flash-all.bat (flash-all.sh) manually ?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LIX is short for Linux

I'm not sure if fastboot would work in a Linux terminal window as I've always used Windows... Best of luck finding a solution!
Oh, and by the way, you can use fastboot in CMD and flash individual partitions with it. An example command of flashing the bootloader file would be:
"fastboot flash bootloader bootloaderfilename.img"
You essentially just have to change the last word before the filename to flash different partitions (aside from when you're flashing the update image, as it's a little bit different then).
Also note that the bootloader.img file would have to be in the exact same location as your adb and fastboot files. But again, I'm not at all sure how it would work on Linux...

NippleSauce said:
I'm not sure if fastboot would work in a Linux terminal window as I've always used Windows... Best of luck finding a solution!
Oh, and by the way, you can use fastboot in CMD and flash individual partitions with it. An example command of flashing the bootloader file would be:
"fastboot flash bootloader bootloaderfilename.img"
You essentially just have to change the last word before the filename to flash different partitions (aside from when you're flashing the update image, as it's a little bit different then).
Also note that the bootloader.img file would have to be in the exact same location as your adb and fastboot files. But again, I'm not at all sure how it would work on Linux...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would anyone ever change their bootloader?

spart0n said:
Why would anyone ever change their bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To update it.

If you want to flash each image separately, you can follow these steps (for some images, sequence is important, so I suggest following the sequence below to avoid issues)
Code:
################################################
### Files from the root of the factory image zip
################################################
# bootloader (replace <version> with the bootloader file version)
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-raven-slider-<version>.img
# reboot to bootloader
fastboot reboot bootloader
# radio (replace <version> with the radio file version)
fastboot flash radio radio-raven-<version>.img
# reboot to bootloader
fastboot reboot bootloader
#####################################################
### Files from the image zip in the factory image zip
#####################################################
# boot
fastboot flash boot boot.img
# dtbo
fastboot flash dtbo dtbo.img
# vbmeta
fastboot flash vbmeta vbmeta.img
# vbmeta_system
fastboot flash vbmeta_system vbmeta_system.img
# vbmeta_vendor
fastboot flash vbmeta_vendor vbmeta_vendor.img
# vendor_boot
fastboot flash vendor_boot vendor_boot.img
# reboot to fastboot
fastboot reboot fastboot
# super
fastboot flash super super_empty.img
# product
fastboot flash product product.img
# system
fastboot flash system system.img
# system_ext
fastboot flash system_ext system_ext.img
# system_other (replace <other> with the inactive slot)
fastboot flash system_<other> system_other.img
# vendor
fastboot flash vendor vendor.img
# vendor_dlkm
fastboot flash vendor_dlkm vendor_dlkm.img
# reboot
fastboot reboot