Weird new problem w/ damaged sdcard - Galaxy S I9000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

So this is my second GT-i9000 that has suffered from a damaged internal sdcard. This one has some strange behavior though as it wont boot with any stock kernel installed.
I tried flashing back to 2.1 JH2, as well as JM9.. it goes through the animation then dies. I also tried flashing voodoo over 2.1 to see if something was still using ext4 - no dice.
This is where it gets interesting. If I flash oc120_froyo_v2.0_UV_alpha.tar over JM9 the phone boots, with the warning Damaged Internal SDCARD. I can use it - but get constant FC's and no access to the /sdcard mount.
I tried running parted and print the partition it but it said invalid disk label. I tried creating one but no dice.
I want to flash it back to stock so I can bring it in.. any idea what this kernel would potentially do to the phone that can't be undone with a flash???
Edit: Just exchanged this for my third phone.. Apparently this is a huge problem with the SGS. The dealer said they returned lots of these

Related

[Q] EXTERNAL SD card failure! Phone dead?

Well it finally died. I got the infamous SD card failure message. For the past few days It was getting slower and slower and I was getting odd Force Closes everywhere. Then the red exclamation mark and a message about the SD card.
The very weird thing is that the failure was about the EXTERNAL SD card. Cannot find mount point... cannot read... Not the ususal INTERNAL SD card message.
Sure enough, if I try to read the Transcend 16Gb MicroSD on my pc or laptop, it appears completely fried. (Cr*p, that's were my backup was!).
But the phone wont boot on wihout the external card! Why? All I can get to is the Download mode. No boot and no recovery.
I'm in Montreal so it appears easy to get it fixed... but should I try flashing it first?
davidke said:
Well it finally died. I got the infamous SD card failure message. For the past few days It was getting slower and slower and I was getting odd Force Closes everywhere. Then the red exclamation mark and a message about the SD card.
The very weird thing is that the failure was about the EXTERNAL SD card. Cannot find mount point... cannot read... Not the ususal INTERNAL SD card message.
Sure enough, if I try to read the Transcend 16Gb MicroSD on my pc or laptop, it appears completely fried. (Cr*p, that's were my backup was!).
But the phone wont boot on wihout the external card! Why? All I can get to is the Download mode. No boot and no recovery.
I'm in Montreal so it appears easy to get it fixed... but should I try flashing it first?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sound you have some data corruption (or suffering the Bell BUG http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=883820)
First try to retreive the data from your external Sdcard with your PC, using the tool "testdisk 6.11". Maybe you'll be lucky enough to retreive all your data with it (repairing your FAT).
If the repair is a succes, then backup the data on your PC and do a low format of the ext sdcard to start clean.
When it's done, try to clean everything on your phone (if you can boot it in recovery), clean the Dalvik, clean the cache, do a factory reset, disable all extra tweaks (if you use a custome kernel already: lagfix etc).
If all process is ok, now you ready to flash a stock and clean rom with the usual tools (no external or sim card in it during the flash and first boot).
Report back when it's done.
GL.
TestDisk is now hard at work. Thanks for that. There's hope for the data!
Phone wont go into recovery. I had 3BR but it's not working now.
Download mode is all I have. I could theoretically try reflashing with ODIN. Repartitioning might not be a bad option considering the state the phone is in. Should I try?
davidke said:
TestDisk is now hard at work. Thanks for that. There's hope for the data!
Phone wont go into recovery. I had 3BR but it's not working now.
Download mode is all I have. I could theoretically try reflashing with ODIN. Repartitioning might not be a bad option considering the state the phone is in. Should I try?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can try that, but be sure to flash a stock rom first (go for a 2.1).
GL .
All data recovered thanks to TestDisk!!!
As for the phone...
It flashes with Odin no problem. (used JH2, which is what I had on there anyway)
But still wont boot. The problem appears to be in the boot partition.
Should I try "Phone Bootloader Update"? (I'm a bit afraid of that because I might lose my 3BR fix)
What does "Phone EFS Clear" do?
Additional symtom: Cant recharge it either (no problem I have external charger so I can always have a full batt for this process). It starts to display the battery charge graphic and then just boot cycles.
davidke said:
All data recovered thanks to TestDisk!!!
As for the phone...
It flashes with Odin no problem. (used JH2, which is what I had on there anyway)
But still wont boot. The problem appears to be in the boot partition.
Should I try "Phone Bootloader Update"? (I'm a bit afraid of that because I might lose my 3BR fix)
What does "Phone EFS Clear" do?
Additional symtom: Cant recharge it either (no problem I have external charger so I can always have a full batt for this process). It starts to display the battery charge graphic and then just boot cycles.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good news for your data!
No doubt if you do a bootloader update with a stock one, you'll lose the 3BCombo (or maybe flash a stock bootloader with the 3BC enabled, not sure if it exist btw??). Try to reflash the 3BC fix only first and see how it work.
Anything that involve EFS is a: DO NOT TOUCH IT =), hope you did a backup of it btw (your EMEI is stored in that folder: No EMEI = No network).
Waiting your feedback.
ttf said:
No doubt if you do a bootloader update with a stock one, you'll lose the 3BCombo (or maybe flash a stock bootloader with the 3BC enabled, not sure if it exist btw??). Try to reflash the 3BC fix only first and see how it work.
Waiting your feedback.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried a couple of things...
A) Updated bootloader with 3BR fix only: No change, Galaxy-S logo then Off.
B) Flashed JL2 (bootloader not checked): Slight change, now it boot cycles.
C) Flashed JL2 + bootloader: Slight change, now it just hangs and the Galaxy-S logo (waited 60 minutes, phone was getting pretty hot so I stopped it).
At all steps I can get back to Download mode but not recovery.
At this point I assume it's hopeless?
davidke said:
Tried a couple of things...
A) Updated bootloader with 3BR fix only: No change, Galaxy-S logo then Off.
B) Flashed JL2 (bootloader not checked): Slight change, now it boot cycles.
C) Flashed JL2 + bootloader: Slight change, now it just hangs and the Galaxy-S logo (waited 60 minutes, phone was getting pretty hot so I stopped it).
At all steps I can get back to Download mode but not recovery.
At this point I assume it's hopeless?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure but really sound like a defect internal SD/or more.
Last hope?: repartition + pit 512 + bootloader and Stock 2.1
That killed it for good. Now it's a paperweight!
No nothing. It's like the on#off button was unplugged!
Oh well. It's really nice to have gotten back the data.
davidke said:
That killed it for good. Now it's a paperweight!
No nothing. It's like the on#off button was unplugged!
Oh well. It's really nice to have gotten back the data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that's a bad news, maybe pulling out the battery during one or two hours will help to revive it.
Otherwise if it's really the internal sd issue you might check that thread about internal SD bug (if not done yet) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=902724 and RMA it.
Don't worry they'll change it with a brand new one. Ring samsung directly if you can.
No worries. I am five minutes away from the service center. Mobo replaced for tomorrow morning they said.
Had I come in before 3PM they left we with the impression they would have changed it while I wait!
Having followed all these threads, I was well aware of the issue long before it actually happened to me. The only thing that surprised me was that it broke the fat table on my external SD.
I was holding back because of the instabilities; with a better unit in hand I'll pop in a fancy rom.
External SD card causes reboot loop
I think I have a similar problem as yours. Just yesterday when I did a restart on my SGS, it suddenly went haywire. The boot loop was continuing for almost 30 mins until it suddenly became stable and reboot as normal.
However, something didn't work out right. I can't view all my pics and videos from gallery, and even my mp3s are not detected inside the music player.
But the very same files are still readable from My Files when I manually dig into these folders.
Same thing happened again just now when I was on my way to work in the subway. I finally had the sense to remove my external sd card and voila, my phone reboots smoothly without a hiccup.
So the question here is, is it that my external sd card is failing or is it that the phone's external sd card reader is failing.
Could anyone with the similar problem share with me their findings?

Internal memory problem?

My SGS rebooted overnight and got stuck at the Cyanogen boot screen. I got into recovery and reflashed the cyanogen ZIP but it didn't fix it. When I went to wipe the phone, it said there was a bad block on the cache partition.
When I tried to reflash an image using ODIN, it failed every time. Previously this has always worked fine.
I think it's a hardware problem with the internal memory - does this sound right?
If you tried Odin with repartition turned on, then it looks like a service return might be required
jc
3d_jc said:
If you tried Odin with repartition turned on, then it looks like a service return might be required
jc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, it was!
Got the phone back today. It says they calibrated it and reflashed it. Seems to be working fine.
I'm confused - what do they do differently to Odin?
Edit: Also, I'm worried the memory problem could still be there.
How to expand phone memory ?
How can I expand internal phone memory.
I have avielable only 1,85 GB but I need at lesat 3 GB to upgrade Eclair to Gingerbread.
Pleace help ?

[Q] Encryption unsuccessful

Hi,
Last week i installed the galaxy s value pack firmware XXJVU on my phone and everything went well. I then decided to install Slim ICS 2.5 and for some reason, the phone detected no network. I then decided to return to the XXJVS firmware that i had used before for other ICS ROMS that worked perfectly. This is when my troubles began.
After flashing XXJVS using odin i then installed Slim ICS 2.5. When the phone started, i got a screen asking for a pin code. Even though my sim lock is always off, i thought it required my sim card pin code. After the phone booted, i got a message saying encryption unsuccessful.
After trials and errors, i discovered that this error only comes up on ICS roms. When i use gingerbread ones, the phone is accessible but very unstable. Apps force close every now and then. This happens even with stock roms.
After flashing firmwares with odin, when the phone restarts, i now get the error below in recovery mode.
E:check_point2:sdcard/vox is not directory
E:copy_dbdata_media: Can't unmount /dbdata
Media files copy failed
E:format_volume failed to unmount "/dbdata"
Also my internal USB is read only. I cannot write/delete or even format it.
I have connected it to my PC and used tools like Eraser and nothing works. When i format it on the PC, it appears successful but as soon as i mount it again all the files reappear. This also happens when i use the phone to format.
Does anyone know of a tool or method that i can use to solve this problem. My technical skills are intermediate.
daudi78 said:
Hi,
Last week i installed the galaxy s value pack firmware XXJVU on my phone and everything went well. I then decided to install Slim ICS 2.5 and for some reason, the phone detected no network. I then decided to return to the XXJVS firmware that i had used before for other ICS ROMS that worked perfectly. This is when my troubles began.
After flashing XXJVS using odin i then installed Slim ICS 2.5. When the phone started, i got a screen asking for a pin code. Even though my sim lock is always off, i thought it required my sim card pin code. After the phone booted, i got a message saying encryption unsuccessful.
After trials and errors, i discovered that this error only comes up on ICS roms. When i use gingerbread ones, the phone is accessible but very unstable. Apps force close every now and then. This happens even with stock roms.
After flashing firmwares with odin, when the phone restarts, i now get the error below in recovery mode.
E:check_point2:sdcard/vox is not directory
E:copy_dbdata_media: Can't unmount /dbdata
Media files copy failed
E:format_volume failed to unmount "/dbdata"
Also my internal USB is read only. I cannot write/delete or even format it.
I have connected it to my PC and used tools like Eraser and nothing works. When i format it on the PC, it appears successful but as soon as i mount it again all the files reappear. This also happens when i use the phone to format.
Does anyone know of a tool or method that i can use to solve this problem. My technical skills are intermediate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the exact same problem on my Sprint Galaxy Tab. My tab doesn't retain any data after a boot cause it can't write to internal SD card.
Try to get in the downloadmodus (i used the USB-JIG for that) and flash the stock 3part with repartition and pit file.
After that, i have no problems with this.
Slim ICS with no network: you have to flash a modem seperatly, its not included in the ROM (maybe since SlimICS 2.x).
greets Mr.AfK
I have tried reflashing again with re-partition. Re-partition only works for the system memory, not user memory. I am thinking of flashing the phone back to stock ROM then taking it back to the shop and claim warranty. The only problem is all my ROMS are on the internal memory and there is nothing i can do to delete them.
Did you trie The hardreset by use this Code : *2767*3855# ?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
I've just tried that code. It resets the phone to factory setings but leaves the memory untouched. Then when the phone restarts it goes to recovery mode and I get the same error as before.
Sent from my E10i using Tapatalk
My last Suggestion is : make a Tornado wipe. Cant Link, so Google Form Damian & Tornado With a seperat Forum. This wipe clears more than normal, please read there what happend and what is To do. After the wipe you must mount the sdcard before you can do something!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Thanks Mr.AFK. I have tried tornado wipe and on the device it says the SD has been formatted but in reality nothing is changed.

[Q] Odd Problem - Soft Brick

Hi,
I installed Galaxian Soup 1.5.1 beta a week ago and all has been running fine. This morning the tab was blank like it had run out battery so I put it on charge and found it wasn't dead. Tried to reboot and it's just stuck at the "Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9" screen. I was using it fine last night and haven't changed anything!
I've tried ODIN to restore Stock Recovery which said it passed and worked, but still the same problem. It has removed CWM though. When I try to do anything in Stock Recovery it complains about not being able to mount the /data directory.
Is there anything else I can try, do I need to use ODIN to flash a ROM again? If so, can you tell me which file to use as there are hundreds in the Galaxian Soup zip.
Thanks!
Flash stock rom with Odin. Unfortunately you also need to wipe data in stock recovery for this to work, so you will loose everything.
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately this hasn't worked, it passes in Odin but then on the tablet it says E:failed to mount /data, and "your storage not prepared yet, please use UI for format and reboot actions.
Trying to factory reset fails.
Any other ideas?
OK, a bit more detail. I use ODIN to flash the stock rom found here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1483168
It passes and goes into recovery but complains in red letters about not being able to mount /data, can't access /system/csc/XEU/system in yellow and can't mount /cache or a few other subdirectories.
I select wipe data which appears to work although it complains about make_extf4fs failing on /dev/block/mmcblk0p8. It then complains about not being able to mount /cache and other subdirectories again.
I then select reboot, it complains again about not being able to mount /data and /cache and switches off, not reboot. If I turn it on again I'm straight back to recovery.
Got to be something I'm missing here!
Any input appreciated.
It seems your partition tables are messed up, but i have no idea how this could happen if you didn't flash anything that could cause this, maybe a hardware problem?
There is a way to repartition the tables, you need a PIT file for this. I have not done this myself, so unfortunately i don't know much about it. Try to search for a PIT file, but make sure it's for your tab model, otherwise you can mess it up completely.
Many thanks - that fixed it! For future reference and for anyone searching this thread I found the pit file here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1406137&page=9 and flashed it with ODIN together with the standard firmware I mentioned in the earlier post.
It's not all good news though. The tablet now keeps freezing. Even in recovery while I was trying a factory reset for the freezing. This leads me to believe it may be a hardware problem that caused the original brick and ongoing freezing issues. What do you think? Does it save a dump anywhere when it crashes?
Glad to see it worked. Maybe try to flash the stock rom again, now without the pit file. Also try factory reset in stock recovery. If you are still having problems, then im afraid its a hardware problem.
Yeah, I came to the same conclusion. It was hanging even whilst in stock recovery which means it had to be a hardware problem. Took it back to the shop and got a refund, new one is on it's way.
Bit nervous about ROMing the new one! The only thing I can think of is maybe overclocking damaged the cpu, although I only set it to 1.4Ghz. Or I was attaching a card reader and it was complaining about a service crashing when I removed it. Maybe it would have happened whether I messed with it or not!
Mbuxton said:
Yeah, I came to the same conclusion. It was hanging even whilst in stock recovery which means it had to be a hardware problem. Took it back to the shop and got a refund, new one is on it's way.
Bit nervous about ROMing the new one! The only thing I can think of is maybe overclocking damaged the cpu, although I only set it to 1.4Ghz. Or I was attaching a card reader and it was complaining about a service crashing when I removed it. Maybe it would have happened whether I messed with it or not!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been flashing different roms, kernels and recoveries on my tab for more then 200 times probably. And i have been using Galaxian-Soup AOSP ICS rom with molteys kernel for almost two months. Never had any problems (that i didnt create myself). Never used overclock, but havent heard of anyone who has had problems with it either.

[Q] i897 Internal SD card unmountable and flashing ineffective

I've never used a forum before, but I'm having a very tough time with my i897 captivate. Its previous owner left it in a box while software updates passed it by. When I came in possession of it, I used rooting, custom ROMs, and flashing to update it to more useful firmwares. I mainly stuck to CM 7, 9, and 10. Eventually I fell victim to that "ICS Encryption Unsuccessful" error and clicked reset, triggering a period of bootloop. I've since fixed the bootloop issue but I still can't get my phone to boot to any firmware. Over the past year, I've been trying all sorts of things to get my phone to work again and I don't know if I've made the problem worse or not. I can get my phone to boot the At&t screen, download mode, and whatever recovery kernel I'm on at the time, but nothing more. I don't even think I have a ROM installed anymore.
What I've tried:
several Odin One-clicks
Heimdall One-click unbrick
Partitioning my external sd card to act as an internal one
ADB sideload
ADB push and install zip from sd card
The errors I run into the most are the "can't mount sd card" ones when I'm trying to flash a custom ROM in recovery. I guess my internal sd is corrupted somehow? Is there a way for me to fix this mess?
asertap said:
I've never used a forum before, but I'm having a very tough time with my i897 captivate. Its previous owner left it in a box while software updates passed it by. When I came in possession of it, I used rooting, custom ROMs, and flashing to update it to more useful firmwares. I mainly stuck to CM 7, 9, and 10. Eventually I fell victim to that "ICS Encryption Unsuccessful" error and clicked reset, triggering a period of bootloop. I've since fixed the bootloop issue but I still can't get my phone to boot to any firmware. Over the past year, I've been trying all sorts of things to get my phone to work again and I don't know if I've made the problem worse or not. I can get my phone to boot the At&t screen, download mode, and whatever recovery kernel I'm on at the time, but nothing more. I don't even think I have a ROM installed anymore.
What I've tried:
several Odin One-clicks
Heimdall One-click unbrick
Partitioning my external sd card to act as an internal one
ADB sideload
ADB push and install zip from sd card
The errors I run into the most are the "can't mount sd card" ones when I'm trying to flash a custom ROM in recovery. I guess my internal sd is corrupted somehow? Is there a way for me to fix this mess?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sd card issues are usually due to kernel, have you tried flashing a custom one to boot in recovery?
If your internal is dying, partitioning an external sd should work but since it's still not fully booting, I feel like that's not the issue. I had that happen to mine, tried many Odin and Heimdall, when finally one Heimdall worked (after like 10-15 different attempts). Shortly after my internal died though.
So I would start by flashing a kernel with Odin 1.7, see if you can boot in recovery (always took me a few attempts to get it). From there you can flash a custom ROM (I always suggest GamerzROM for the cappy but really it's personal preference). Otherwise, your 2nd option is bashing your head on Odin/Heimdall one-clicks lol
PS.: Just came across this if all else fails: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=61479845&postcount=58
I have this exact same issue... Thank god I'm not alone! I wondered what that stupid "encryption failed' message was all about.
So I've done just about everything the above has done, except the problem is I continue to get a boot loop. The ODIN one-clicks all boot loop. Ive been able to install a custom kernel and CWM, and surprisingly my internal storage is still accessible, but when I try to install the CM9 that's on there it freezes at "opening update package".
So, stuck between a rock and a hard place. I can't put any other ROM's on the internal storage because I have no way of accessing it. Therefore I have to rely on a ODIN one-click. All of which boot loop or just fail outright. Is there a way to access the internal storage without fully booting android?

Categories

Resources