[Q] VZW i800 tab data partition hosed. - Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Alright, so I've got a rooted Verizon OG Galaxy tab (SCH-i800). For the last couple months I've been running this ICS ROM:
-------------------------------------------
http rootzwiki dot com slash topic slash 11697-rom-cdma-aosp-ics-cm9-build101-0418
-------------------------------------------
A couple weeks ago, I plugged in my tab to charge and went to bed. When I woke up in the morning, the tab was powered down. I powered it back on, and it took at least 15 minutes to boot and when it came up the system was giving a warning that it tried to convert the system to an encrypted system and failed. It then said to hit "ok" to format data and reboot factory-fresh. So I said "ok" and tried that. It booted up into the same error screen another 15 minutes and just kept repeating this every time I tried.
So I went into CWM Recovery and tried to do a manual wipe data/cache partition from there. It also appears to have failed.
Lastly, I tried using Heimdall to reflash the tab to 2.3.5 rooted (where I started before the ICS ROM). When I do this, the tab boot-loops at the Verizon Wireless animated screen. If I go into stock recovery I get this error message immediately upon boot:
http i dot imgur dot com slash DSuyt.jpg
If I ignore that and select "wipe data/factory reset", then I get these error messages:
http i dot imgur dot com slash Ofr8s.jpg
As best as I can tell, the /data partition is messed up in some way. I'm GUESSING that due to the encrypted conversion, it's probably no longer formatted as ANY kind of filesystem so linux can't mount it.
I'd love to be able to fix this, but when I plug the tab in to my machine (Win7 64bit), adb doesn't see it.
Could REALLY use some help here. Thanks guys.

Wow that's pretty hard core. Failure to mount cache could be a serious problem. Hopefully someone else can jump in and help as well... I'm afraid there could be a hardware failure. I.e. You may need to go to Samsung to have it repaired (replaced).
Some questions about how you flash to stock 2.3.5:
Did you repartition (flash pit file) when you restock your tab? -- and a just-in-case question -- You did choose a CDMA version of 2.3.5, right?
For the undetacted problem, you need to retry several (or many) times while odin (or heimdell) is started. Sometimes Odin (or Heimdell) will detect the tab before your computer can detect it as unrecognized device.
If you can go pass this detection issue, try to flash cache.rfs from a cdma ROM.
I hope this can solve the problem.
If not than it is almost 100% chance hardware failure, and SAMSUNG service center should know what to replace (I imagine it's the internal SDCard).
Good luck and I hope you are still under warranty.

yappoe said:
Some questions about how you flash to stock 2.3.5:
Did you repartition (flash pit file) when you restock your tab? -- and a just-in-case question -- You did choose a CDMA version of 2.3.5, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not re-partition. I've never been able to find a VZW PIT file, and the PIT's that I've found (Sprint CDMA) I could never get Heimdall to do anything with. I'm sure I've been doing something wrong.
As far as a CDMA version, yeah. I'm using the VZW 2.3.5 Stock Rooted to go back to stock with Heimdall.
You need to retry several (or many) times while odin (heimdell) is started. Sometimes it will detect the tab before your computer can detect as unrecognized device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never actually had any real problems with Heimdall recognizing the device (as long as the drivers are installed right) and flashing the firmware. The problem is just trying to recover from this /data corruption.

bdsmchs said:
I did not re-partition. I've never been able to find a VZW PIT file, and the PIT's that I've found (Sprint CDMA) I could never get Heimdall to do anything with. I'm sure I've been doing something wrong.
As far as a CDMA version, yeah. I'm using the VZW 2.3.5 Stock Rooted to go back to stock with Heimdall.
I've never actually had any real problems with Heimdall recognizing the device (as long as the drivers are installed right) and flashing the firmware. The problem is just trying to recover from this /data corruption.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just edited my earlier post.
Try to repartition with a pit file. Moving from ICS to Gingerbread requires different partition system (the EXT to RFS) -- This might be the problem. You can do it with ODIN easily. I'm sure you can use Sprint's PIT file without a problem.
Try that first, if you still have mounting problem, you need to find both dbdata.rfs and cache.rfs from a good CDMA rom.
If after you replace those three things, and you still can't boot it up.. you may have, as I said eariler, fried some hardware.
---------- Post added at 11:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 AM ----------
Hey, read this guy's post. He downloaded pit file available with the heimdell and he has verizon tab.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=26067940&postcount=2

I'm having the same issue with a friends VZW Tab and I believe the Data partition is screwed up and is in some sort of read-only mode.
I am able to install different roms but can never wipe the data(or cache) partitions.
Once I installed ICS I got the same encryption msg as you.
I think there may be a way to create the data & cache partitions on an SD card.
The other option is replacing the internal flash chip.
bdsmchs said:
Alright, so I've got a rooted Verizon OG Galaxy tab (SCH-i800). For the last couple months I've been running this ICS ROM:
-------------------------------------------
http rootzwiki dot com slash topic slash 11697-rom-cdma-aosp-ics-cm9-build101-0418
-------------------------------------------
A couple weeks ago, I plugged in my tab to charge and went to bed. When I woke up in the morning, the tab was powered down. I powered it back on, and it took at least 15 minutes to boot and when it came up the system was giving a warning that it tried to convert the system to an encrypted system and failed. It then said to hit "ok" to format data and reboot factory-fresh. So I said "ok" and tried that. It booted up into the same error screen another 15 minutes and just kept repeating this every time I tried.
So I went into CWM Recovery and tried to do a manual wipe data/cache partition from there. It also appears to have failed.
Lastly, I tried using Heimdall to reflash the tab to 2.3.5 rooted (where I started before the ICS ROM). When I do this, the tab boot-loops at the Verizon Wireless animated screen. If I go into stock recovery I get this error message immediately upon boot:
http i dot imgur dot com slash DSuyt.jpg
If I ignore that and select "wipe data/factory reset", then I get these error messages:
http i dot imgur dot com slash Ofr8s.jpg
As best as I can tell, the /data partition is messed up in some way. I'm GUESSING that due to the encrypted conversion, it's probably no longer formatted as ANY kind of filesystem so linux can't mount it.
I'd love to be able to fix this, but when I plug the tab in to my machine (Win7 64bit), adb doesn't see it.
Could REALLY use some help here. Thanks guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

bdsmchs said:
Alright, so I've got a rooted Verizon OG Galaxy tab (SCH-i800). For the last couple months I've been running this ICS ROM:
-------------------------------------------
http rootzwiki dot com slash topic slash 11697-rom-cdma-aosp-ics-cm9-build101-0418
-------------------------------------------
A couple weeks ago, I plugged in my tab to charge and went to bed. When I woke up in the morning, the tab was powered down. I powered it back on, and it took at least 15 minutes to boot and when it came up the system was giving a warning that it tried to convert the system to an encrypted system and failed. It then said to hit "ok" to format data and reboot factory-fresh. So I said "ok" and tried that. It booted up into the same error screen another 15 minutes and just kept repeating this every time I tried.
So I went into CWM Recovery and tried to do a manual wipe data/cache partition from there. It also appears to have failed.
Lastly, I tried using Heimdall to reflash the tab to 2.3.5 rooted (where I started before the ICS ROM). When I do this, the tab boot-loops at the Verizon Wireless animated screen. If I go into stock recovery I get this error message immediately upon boot:
http i dot imgur dot com slash DSuyt.jpg
If I ignore that and select "wipe data/factory reset", then I get these error messages:
http i dot imgur dot com slash Ofr8s.jpg
As best as I can tell, the /data partition is messed up in some way. I'm GUESSING that due to the encrypted conversion, it's probably no longer formatted as ANY kind of filesystem so linux can't mount it.
I'd love to be able to fix this, but when I plug the tab in to my machine (Win7 64bit), adb doesn't see it.
Could REALLY use some help here. Thanks guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever get this sorted out? I can't believe ICS roms can fry a device so badly. From what you wrote, it looks like I'm in the same boat, but all threads lead to nowhere.

This sounds like the ICS Encryption Unsuccessful bug. There are reports of Captivate owners (and probably others) who have seen this message at boot, and were left with broken phones. It seems the internal storage was permanently broken or at least locked. So far there's no real explanation what's causing it, or how to fix it. There's a workaround, switching the internal storage with the external storage. I don't think Tabs have been damaged permanently, However, these reports seem to occur more nowadays, so some may have been burned. I've seen this message a couple of times myself, but the Tab was working again after reboot, though it did a kind of factory reset every time. However I noticed it seemed to occur more frequently the longer I was running ICS. Restocking to GB with Kies even failed initially, and only succeeded with an emergency recovery. For the time being I've decided to stay with CM 7. I do hope JB will fix it, and it will be safe to run it on the Tab.

I can get into CWM recovery and put the Tab into Download mode, and the battery takes a charge. I refuse to accept that a spontaneous encryption could brick a device. I'm going to try this, though I've never used ADB, so I have a lot of learning to do (any help would be appreciated still):
http://0xfeedface.org/blog/lattera/2012-06-04/installing-cm9-encrypted-android-tablet

I find it very interesting that people that converted there tabs to mtd to run ics are experiencing this issue. Has anybody experienced this issue running a stock rom?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2

DaKillaWilla said:
I find it very interesting that people that converted there tabs to mtd to run ics are experiencing this issue. Has anybody experienced this issue running a stock rom?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that I've seen. I was leery about trying something like this, precisely because it requires a change from which you seemingly can't recover. Everybody says "restock with Overcome." Welllll...that doesn't work for the CDMA Tabs (wish I knew that before). I've had the Tab since it came out, so it's not a terribly painful loss, but I certainly would have preferred it not happen. Now, I'd be tickled pink just to get the Tab back to stock/unrooted
I still haven't tried the technique in the guide I linked to (have a lot to learn about adb).
Oh, and bdsmchs moved on. He got some help on rootzwiki which indicated his Tab was physically damaged after his ICS upgrade, and apparently had insurance to cover a new one. So...word to the wise.
I don't think my Tab is as bad as his was, but we'll see.

Try odining the sprint stock tar with its pit (repartition checked), and see if that brings it back. I notice alot of people running ics on the tab have said that it gets warm and the battery drains while its off. Mine was doing that on ics, so I figured something wasn't right. So I went back to a sprint stock ext4 rom. My guess is its either the ics kernel causing it, or maybe the chips in our tab just don't like the mtd partitions. For me its just not worth the risk. I could probably run a themed launcher to get that ics feel if I want. As long as everything just works I'm happy...
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2

Just to clarify, the Encryption unsuccessful problem doesn't have to do with encryption. What happens is that during boot the Tab is unable to read the internal storage. It then assumes it must be encrypted but is naturally unable to decrypt it. It then gives up with the EU message and tells you to reboot. However, the internal storage failure may be caused because ICS uses a function that in combination with a bug in the controller firmware that is said to break the internal storage. If the internal storage is broken because of this, rebooting will not work. Unfortunately not even flashing will work. As far as I know this problem doesn't occur on Gingerbread, only on ICS. I've seen this problem a number of times on ICS, and it seemed to occur more and more the longer I ran ICS. For now I've gone to CM 7.2 to be safe, but I'm hoping JB doesn't have the problem.

Is the cm7 your running ext4 or mtd?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2

ableeker said:
Just to clarify, the Encryption unsuccessful problem doesn't have to do with encryption. What happens is that during boot the Tab is unable to read the internal storage. It then assumes it must be encrypted but is naturally unable to decrypt it. It then gives up with the EU message and tells you to reboot. However, the internal storage failure may be caused because ICS uses a function that in combination with a bug in the controller firmware that is said to break the internal storage. If the internal storage is broken because of this, rebooting will not work. Unfortunately not even flashing will work. As far as I know this problem doesn't occur on Gingerbread, only on ICS. I've seen this problem a number of times on ICS, and it seemed to occur more and more the longer I ran ICS. For now I've gone to CM 7.2 to be safe, but I'm hoping JB doesn't have the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In your experience, did you ever know of anyone recovering? It looks like I won't be able to use adb to follow the steps I linked to, since I can't exactly select "USB Debugging."

well, like ableeker said,
the encryption unsuccessful message has nothing to do with encrypting your android to avoid people reading your /data (which is what your link points to).
It just can't read your /data and "think" it is encrypted because it reads gibberish.
In other words, toasted NAND chip.

priyana said:
well, like ableeker said,
the encryption unsuccessful message has nothing to do with encrypting your android to avoid people reading your /data (which is what your link points to).
It just can't read your /data and "think" it is encrypted because it reads gibberish.
In other words, toasted NAND chip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your insight. Some of the threads I've read pointed to either that, or the fact that the partition had been encrypted, but without knowing the key, you'd never get back into the partition:
"Here's the bad news:
Your partitions for /data and /sdcard are no longer accessible. They may be encrypted with a key you cannot know (completely lost) or just inaccessible (data restoration possible, but not at this time."
So I thought the procedure I linked to might be able to help recover the partition. I have no idea, though, so I'm grasping at straws. Just weird that most of what I've been reading is on custom ICS roms.

So did anyone find a solution to this? I also started running cyanogenmod 9 and after 2 days my tablet wouldnt boot beyond the startup screen. Found out through cw recovery that the /data partition is corrupted. I have tried multiple pit files but no luck yet.
One workaround I was thinking was to mount the /data partition on the external sd card and at least get the tablet working instead of throwng away. Im guessing that the internal nand flash is soldered.
So how does mount the /data to the external sd card? a softlink maybe?!

My friend bought the verizon sch-i800 tab. i was able to use Heimdall and flash over all the files (cache, recovery, ect.) but it tries to go in recovery to do a factory reset and says it cant find file or dir to anything and fails. im so confused.... i used the right everything and it flashed it all over to not read it??...
--wiping data...
formatting /data...
E:format_volume: rfs format failed on /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
formatting /dbdata...
formatting /cache...
E:format_volume: rfs format failed on /dev/block/mmcblik0p1
data wipe complete.
E:failed to mount /preload (no such file or directory)
E:install_application_for_customer:cant mount /preload
your storage not prepared yet, please use ui menu for format and reboot actions.
E:failed to mount /cache (no such file or directory)
E:cant mount /cache/recovery/log
E:cant open /cache/recovery/log
E:failed to mount /cache (no such file or directory)
E:cant mount /cache/recovery/last_log
E:cant open /cache/recovery/last_log
E:failed to mount /cache (no such file or directory)

Related

[Q] Need priceless photos off internal SD. Recovery says can't mount SDCard??

So my phone got stuck at boot screen. Bell says I get full replacement, but I'm gonna lose all the data. I have the internal full of children opening gifts on Christmas.
Reading a million forums. Tried to learn enough to flash the firmware with odin. Tried flashing the stock JH2 back to phone. Phone boots to recovery and says problem mounting SD.
Can ADB be used to connect to phone in "Download mode" to Pull the media???
PLEASE PLEASE help?????
after odin is done the phone reboots to:
E:Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p1
(no such file or derectory)
E:copy_dbdata_media: Can't mount SDCARD:\copy default media content failed
I'm still desperately trying to get my files. I've read about 1254 more threads. Found this one about flashing back to eclair...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=797302
So far I tried JH2, JL2, JM8 and still no luck. Anybody out there got any ideas?? links to help or compassionate remarks?
Phone no boot need remove files inside...is this really an impossibility??
Argh.... it never happens when the internal has useless data aye.
You tried flashing a firmware using all three files (PDA, modem, CSC) with repartition?
P.s. apologies if you have tried all this, just trying to establish a baseline
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
From what i understand the internal SD card has 2 main partitions. One that's about 2 gigs for Android OS and apps and the remainder of the card stores media and such. (I think that's correct) So I've tried carefully to just poke around the OS area of the SD card in hopes that I can get it to boot up just once to connect and get the pictures off it. I'm fairly sure that "re-partition" would erase the whole card.
I'm starting to consider ripping this damn phone apart and physically removing the internal SD, but I'm not even sure if that is possible or helpful.
Hoodmin said:
From what i understand the internal SD card has 2 main partitions. One that's about 2 gigs for Android OS and apps and the remainder of the card stores media and such. (I think that's correct) So I've tried carefully to just poke around the OS area of the SD card in hopes that I can get it to boot up just once to connect and get the pictures off it. I'm fairly sure that "re-partition" would erase the whole card.
I'm starting to consider ripping this damn phone apart and physically removing the internal SD, but I'm not even sure if that is possible or helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Repartition only erases the 2GB portion, ive done several repartitions and it never touched my personal files on the internal SD
Hoodmin said:
I'm starting to consider ripping this damn phone apart and physically removing the internal SD, but I'm not even sure if that is possible or helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That won't work...the 'internal SD' is not a SD card in the traditional sense (standard, mini, micro) - it's a physical chip (IC) that's soldered on to the mainboard.
I haven't heard of anyone being able to pull data off a phone that's got the mmcblk0p1 failure. The best I've heard is of people repartitioning/formating the sd memory in order to get it working again - but of course, that would mean losing all data...sorry...
As what EarlZ said, repartition won't touch the part of the SD dedicated to user data. I've flashed via Odin countless of times and never once did my internal SD get wiped with a repartition so why not flash to something like JPU with repartition using 512 pit file?.
Edit: and reading the error seems to tell me it's a problem in the 2GB portion of the internal SD where the system and such get stored. So yes, do try a repartition. I guarantee you that your user data will be safe. The only time it would get wiped is if you actually choose to format that partition like how one does in Windows or through the settings. Odin flash won't do this most definitely.
If that fails...
Also take a look at this...
This guy seemed to have been lucky and got is supposed dead I9000m SGS working again. Here's his procedure:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=905975
Worth a shot.
Well hot damn them are some good replies. I was brave enough to try re-partition and a few mod roms like in the thread mention as well as a few thread techniques I read. I must have read about 4622 threads by now. Still no luck for me I really really appreciate the help.
Thinkin I might just go wrap up the kids christmas presents tonight while they sleep and just make em open them all again hahaha.
In the mean time I'll just keep readin and keep tryin. Learned a lot at least.
So....
Original problem = boot cycle
-I flash back to JH2 and at least to phone gets to recovery mode and i see the mmcblk0p1 error. progress
-try flashing to the newer JL2 and it goes back to boot cycle
-try flashing back to JH2 to get recover mode again and still boot cycle
-read a million forums about trying mod roms and other techniques and still boot cycle
-get encouraged that re-partition will only affect OS side of SD card and try a million things again. Still boot cycle
-decide to go back to the JK4 that i started on and seems to be the root of all evil and then BAM recovery mode returns and this time it even recognized the device
-any attempt to connect with device either with kies or windows explorer causes PC crash
-phone even recognized by ADB I "think" this program could be used to try and "pull" media from the device but that's just a guess and I don't know how to use it
-the error now is not mmcblk0p1 instead: E:Can't/b mount /devlock/stl10 which could mean something or could be just the same and it leads me to this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=788850
-try flash techniques in the thread and back to boot cycle
-try going back to the JK4 so I have recovery mode again and still boot cycle. progress gone
I'm gonna flash this damn thing again and again until the damn copper lights on fire
Wow i Admire you man.Listen i dont know much about ADB but i think i saw a post of someone that literally pushed files in his internal card with it,and i clearly remember him saying he could browse through his phone although its card was burned.If so then a single copy would be possible.Since i cant help more,you better start reading on how to use it and find basic commands for it.
I wish you the best man!!!!
Have you tried this kernel: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=901772
I seem to be able to get that running on my dead GT-i9000M. It has a file browser so maybe you can see if your pictures are even there/accessible. Also has a USB Mass Storage option but it didn't seem to work for me.
However, phone is still dead and needs to go in for repairs/replacement.
OK so now I'm f&*#ed
Tried JP1 method from this stupid page
http://briefmobile.com/how-to-android-2-2-on-galaxy-s
and now I don't have download mode anymore.
somebody plz just shoot me
EDIT: Ok excuse this panic post. I still had connection to ADB and a simple "adb reboot download" command got me back.
Wow thank JDROM. This recovery mode really looks promising. I got the file manager working but I can't seem to find any directories with DCIM/ label or any media. Sure looks like this could help me somehow. Might only have half the SD mounted or something. I'll have to play around and read some more, but I gotta say this is the best progress I made in a while.
THanks SO much
Edit: Found in File manager to run partition manager and formating options show up. In here there is mounting options to /mnt/sdcard or /mnt/external_sd except when I try it returns the E:Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 to /mnt/sdcard with parameters vfat(null) So hmmmm....
Edit: Also learned a bit more about ADB commands to possibly ""Adb pull /sdcard/DCIM"" if I ever get it mounted.
Well that's it for me. The quest is over. I admit defeat. Memories Lost. Game Over
That sucks man...i had a bunch of stuff on my phone that i lost when the internal died....mine took out the external sdcard i had in it too - so all my backups were destroyed as well!
Moral of story: Save important crap on something like dropbox!
Some dev should make a program that automatically syncs certain directories (like pictures, or backup folders) to dropbox. I'd donate for that.....

Internal SD card issue - Need Guru help

Guys, need some help here
I'm generally ok at fixing these sorts of problems but this one has got me well and truly stumped.
Been trying without much luck to flash a working fw onto i9000 since updating to rom with voodoo and forgetting to disable lage fix before flashing non voodoo rom. Even flashing back with voodoo rom doesnt help.
I think I've finally managed to ascertain the root cause of the issue seems to be that either the internal sd card is somehow write protected or the current journalling on the ext4 partition is undoing and changes to that partition (where does journal reside?). I seem to be in a viscious circle as well. I cant mkfs a new ext2 partition as it complains that it wasnt unmounted cleanly, If I ignore I get a segmentation fault. If I e2fsck the partition it complains it cant write to the superblock, If I use alternate superblock it complains there is data in the journal, trys to replay the journal and complains it cant write the superblock. If I tunefs to disable the journal it complains that the needs_recovery flag is set so need to e2fsck the filesystem first :-S.
I've flashed kernel that has recovery option to disable lagfix. If I choose this and reboot it just sits at Galaxy S boot screen indefinite (over an hour waited). If I mount USB using same recovery mode, I can see the files in the partition, I can (through windows) delete the files so folder shows no files however disk still shows a percentage used. If I eject and remount all the files are back. I have formatted the partition as fat32 and re-labeled the drive. Format completes succesfully (done this both using cmd line and right click format). on eject and remount, label change has remained but files are back again. Partition still shows up as ext4 when looking via adb shell.
Have tried to use parted, but despite all parted functions giving success indicator, no changes are ever made.
I'm now at a loss on how to proceed?
Anyone any ideas on what next steps could yield any further results?
I had a similar issue... what solved it was to flash Darky's ressurection rom. Had to flash it 3 times in a row.. Flashed with Odin 1.7.
Hope it helps, i know how frustrating it is.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
I have tried Darkys res rom, It wouldnt boot, just stuck at Galaxy S boot screen so didnt persue it. I'll try doing it multiple times as you suggest and let you know. Ta
EDIT: Nope tried it 4 times, same result, boots to Galaxy S screen, I get the voice prompt saying its coverting system, will take approx 2 mins, then another voice prompt about restore, then it sits there indefinetly (waited about 20 mins each time). Whilst its in this state adb devices shows device in recovery, and I can get an adb shell, however there seems to be no commands accesible, cd, ls, mount etc
nivenj said:
I have tried Darkys res rom, It wouldnt boot, just stuck at Galaxy S boot screen so didnt persue it. I'll try doing it multiple times as you suggest and let you know. Ta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a way that may fix your bricked phone. If it gets to the SGS logo boot animation, I would try flashing CM7. Try it out and then try reverting back to a stock rom.
Here are the instructions:
http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/topic/15275-gt-i9000-cyanogenmod-7-we-love-bugs-version-20110211/
You MUST follow the instructions to the letter though. Do not deviate from them!
How do I know this may work? Because it happened to me. My phone was bricked, then I flashed CM7 and now it works again. I've tested going back to stock rom and it works. Give it a try. It may be tough reverting back to stock since CM7 gingerbread is awesome! lol
If that doesn't work try flashing one of the earlier Froyo ROMs, I used XXJP2, and then moving on from there. The key is to ensure that whatever ROM you use has all three files (PDA, Modem, & CSC) and tick Re-Partitioning on Odin.
Again this is what worked for me and my device was restored to great working order.
robbiev80 said:
I have a way that may fix your bricked phone. If it gets to the SGS logo boot animation, I would try flashing CM7. Try it out and then try reverting back to a stock rom.
Here are the instructions:
http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/topic/15275-gt-i9000-cyanogenmod-7-we-love-bugs-version-20110211/
You MUST follow the instructions to the letter though. Do not deviate from them!
How do I know this may work? Because it happened to me. My phone was bricked, then I flashed CM7 and now it works again. I've tested going back to stock rom and it works. Give it a try. It may be tough reverting back to stock since CM7 gingerbread is awesome! lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion but this wont work, as I said above, the root of my problem is that the internal SD card wont keep any changes I make to it. Once I upload the zip file and the phone reboots into download mode in order to flash with Odin, the files I would have put on the internal SD card will no longer be there. It seems to me that the FS cant set the recovery_flag to clean and therefore keeps replaying the journal and overwriting any changes on reboot.
I sort of proved this earlier, by managing to flash JP4 with speedmod kernel. This allows the phone to boot, but it has major force close issues. I can take a photo, see it in images, I can even mount it via USB and see it on my laptop. When I reboot, the photo is gone and anything I've deleted is back again.
Fundamentally I need someone who maybe has some experience fixing the filesystem, I cant see any Roms working until this manages to get resolved
thecrucible said:
If that doesn't work try flashing one of the earlier Froyo ROMs, I used XXJP2, and then moving on from there. The key is to ensure that whatever ROM you use has all three files (PDA, Modem, & CSC) and tick Re-Partitioning on Odin.
Again this is what worked for me and my device was restored to great working order.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive tried JP2, but no joy. Also tried
JFF,JS5,DDJG4,Darkys Res,JP4,JM8,JS3,EUGENE373,JPC,JP3,JM5 & Finally JPU, All with a mixture of partitioning and not.
got an ext-sd card? if so remove it, format sd, then try factory reseting,
edit : flash an old rom, like jm2, ascertain its function then yell again (missed a line *doh*)
azuresystem said:
got an ext-sd card? if so remove it, format sd, then try factory reseting,
edit : flash an old rom, like jm2, ascertain its function then yell again (missed a line *doh*)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep tried all that, tried formating via recovery mode, says successful, but all data still exists on reboot. Have tried formating using windows, via command line, via adb shell, they all say they are succesfull but on reboot, same problem exists and all data is still there :-S
nivenj said:
Ive tried JP2, but no joy. Also tried
JFF,JS5,DDJG4,Darkys Res,JP4,JM8,JS3,EUGENE373,JPC,JP3,JM5 & Finally JPU, All with a mixture of partitioning and not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sorry, not sure where to go from there. Keep Googling and maybe you'll come across something helpful.
Sent from my Galaxy S using Tapatalk
Hi. Has anyone come across a solution to this problem. Any changes to the data on my internal SD card are lost on reboot, and many of my apps are not working.
jm_928 said:
Hi. Has anyone come across a solution to this problem. Any changes to the data on my internal SD card are lost on reboot, and many of my apps are not working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try editing the void.fstab to swap the internal sd card and external sd card. --- it won't address issues with internal card, but it may get you up and going again..
fooman123 said:
Try editing the void.fstab to swap the internal sd card and external sd card. --- it won't address issues with internal card, but it may get you up and going again..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks fooman123. Can you tell me where I can find the void.fstab file?
jm_928 said:
Thanks fooman123. Can you tell me where I can find the void.fstab file?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
see this tread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1088474&page=14
use the correct void.fstab for your phone (i9000 and i9003 are different)
backup the original and compare the new and old void.fstab file..

Help, partially bricked phone

I’m hoping someone can help me out with my phone. I have been searching the forums but it’s all getting a little much and i just need some advice please.
The background
I flashed my UK sgs (i9000 i think) with a darky modded ROM which has worked fine for about 6 months my phone has become more and more unstable. Seeing as i can work Odin i thought i would flash it again and fix my issues. Then my phone crashed and wouldn’t boot up, it was stuck on the Samsung Galaxy screen, before the flashing S. I then downloaded the official 2.3.3 ROM’s from the link of official Samsung ROM’s from the thread in the General forum and flashed it. This all went fine until i rebooted my phone, it went into recovery mode fine, although i got some error messages about being unable to mount the SD cards (i can add the proper error message tomorrow for you) i cleared user data and cache, rebooted and my phone came up with a new Gingerbread ROM. This was fine until i realised it had not mounted either my Internal or External SD cards. The operating system worked fine but i could not format or mount my SD cards. I then decided to reimage the phone using the same image i had downloaded in case something had gone wrong but i got the same error messages and now i couldn’t boot into the OS. Since this has happened i have downloaded a 2.2.x ROM and flashed that but i still have the same problem. I have also downloaded and flashed the Darky Resurrection ROM but that doesn’t seem to have helped. I have asked Odin to repartition, i have used PIT 512 and a couple of others, 1 and 3 file ROM’s and if i am honest, i have got nowhere apart from a headache.
I think i have some how corrupted the internal SD card and need to reimage all the right folders and stuff but with the huge amount of official ROM’s, custom ROM’s, recovery tools and tips and tricks, my head is just swimming. Can someone please just point me in the right directions and hopefully i can have a working phone in the morning.
Many thanks in advance,
Simon
do you have any lagfix before you flash to the official 2.3.3 ROM’s ?
I'm having a similar issue w/ mine. The external sd wouldn't mount and i had kind of already started the process to update the rom. It was a dumb mistake. i knew the sd wasn't mounting so i used a different phone to mount put the updates on. Nevertheless i can't use my phone, other than to get on clockwork.
I think i may have had a lag fix on it but as i was unable to get my phone to start there was no chance of removing it before i reflashed the phone. Now i just need to get the damn internal SD working again so i can have a working phone, can you help?
Also, sorry if my main post is a little rambling, i wrote it when i got home from the pub drowning my sorrorws and may have been a little drunk...
Ok, now i've had a coffee and my headache is dying down i can add a little more info which will hopefully help.
I just downloaded GT_I9000_XWJS7_XXJPY_XEEJS1 from Darky rom user guides page on restoring a SGS to a stock ROM and followed all of the instructions. the flash in Odin goes just fine, no errors or anything, my phone the reboots, gets to the Samsung Galaxy screen and i get into the recovery mode with the following messages :
Update media. please wait
E:Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p1
(no such file or directory)
E:copy_dbdata_media: Can't mount SDCARD
Your storage not prepared yet, please use UI menu for format and reboot actions
copy default media content failed.
This is where i then get stuck, my phone will just get stuck in a boot loop and there seems to be no way to get into the phone. This is starting to drive me to dispair now as everything i have tried has failed badly! Does anyone have any idea how i go about recovering from this?
ok so,
-flash froyo firmware (2.2.1 might be better) then flash speedmod kernel
-get into recovery mode and check your phone's file system in lagfix option
-if it is rfs change it to ext4
-if it is ext4 change it to rfs
im not sure about this method but i ever had this preblem after i converted system to rfs (ext4 before)
hope it helps you and tell me that it works or not,thanks.
edit:wrong word
FLash darky's resurrection Rom ...that error caused by you forget disable lagfix before...
or try Flashing a full rom (3files) with .pit to repartitioning your phone... thick repartition...and thats not "Brick" if you can go download mode...
Come on lets see
I once had the same problem. Same error.message. I searched a lot in xda n finally read something which says to flash Rom with 812 pit and eclair (2.1) with 3 files. After flashing the error message came again so I relished using only pda file. Next time it rebooted normally into home screen. Hope it helps
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
OK, we're getting somewhere now but not there yet. Flashing the speedmod kernel lets me boot the phone which is further than i have got for a day so thats good, but it still won't recognisse any internal or external SD cards, if you look in the settings section it just shows options to format the sd cards.
I tried changing the filesystem to ex4 as recommended but once it reboots when it says it will go to the recovery menu to debug it just presents me with the option to convert it again as it says the filesystem for /data is RFS still.
Any ideas why it would be doing this and why it won't recognise any of the memory cards? I have also noticed that when i connect the phone to my PC now and tell it to go into Mass storage mode, it shows the drives but says there is no media there! I'm very confused by the whole thing now but at least i do have a phone again of sorts!
So i flashed Darky's resurrection ROM and this is now booting up much as the phone was with the speedmod kernel flashed but i still have the same issue where it won't recognise either the external or internal SD cards so i have no storage space at all. Is it possible i have broken them? I assume at least a bit of the internal card is working or the OS wouldn't be there but why can it not see the other half of the card?
Right, after messing about for far too long i have bitten the bulit and sending it in for repairs, i've read through a couple of posts that seem to say it's the only way to fix it so will see how good the Samsung techicians are!
Thanks for all the help though, you've got me a working phone again, even if i can't save anything on it!

Internal SD mount issue

Hello all. I have this issue posted in one of the rom threads, but seeing as there is no information on this issue for this particular device, and google has not been able to help, I thought I would create a topic incase anyone else is having this issue.
I have a vzw tab, and was happily using psirens rc1, when i attempted to update to rc2. upon doing so, i noticed titanium backup was not installing my backups (only about 6 of 120 reinstalled), so I attempted a flash back to stock dj11 using heimdall. The flash back to stock worked no problem, however, now my internal sd card is not being read. Multiple external cards work, as does the internal memory, but I am unable to get the internal card to work.
When attempting to format using normal recovery, I get this:
""e: can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
(invalid argument)
e: install_application_for_customer: can't mount HIDDENSDCARD:"
then below in yellow it says "your storage not prepared yet, please use UI menu for format and reboot actions""
Research on google mentions others having this issue with other models, as well as quick fixes that can be flashed in recovery. However, nothing exists for the tab.
I mistakenly assumed a flash to stock would revert any changes I've made while flashing custom roms, but this sd issue has me stumped. I loaded up ubuntu, and using the disk manager, it did notice the internal card, but would not let me format as it "did not exist". I am really hoping i am not screwed here. the tab does work just fine otherwise, but this issue will drive me insane until I understand how to fix it. My knowledge of adb is minimal, but if pointed in the right direction, I am more then willing to try anything to solve this issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I don't know verizon system, but for gsm tabs, we use a file called a .pit file, and we repartition all of the memory. Do you have something like that?
i am familiar with .pit files. the stock files i have do not have a .pit file to use though

[Q] Galaxy S (GT-I9000) SDCard Problem

Hello,
I've owned a Samsung Galaxy S for about 2 years and it recently started to give me problems. Before having the problems I'm going to describe I never rooted or flashed this phone.
It started a few months ago when I restarted my phone, it went to the initial screen with the "Galaxy S / GT-I9000" white text and instead of going to the next screen it just went black and returned to the same screen. I was afraid it would endlessly loop like this, but it didn't. After around 5 minutes it was able to start the phone like usual (I did nothing that could have fixed it, I just kept watching it while it looped and suddenly it didn't loop). After that, with the phone turned on, everything worked just fine.
This problem didn't go away, everytime I restarted my phone it would just sit there looping for what seemed to be a random amount of time (from 4-5 minutes to about an hour) until it was able to turn on. So I decided to try to fix this problem.
I don't know much about smartphones so my first idea was to try and reset the phone to factory settings (In Settings->Privacy if I recall correctly). I did this a few days ago and I guess it didn't help much, since when it restarted after the reset it kept trying to boot for more than an hour before I just removed the battery and came online looking for solutions.
The first solution I encoutered (on this forums) was this one: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2247484
I followed it and flashed the Semaphore .tar file in my phone. After that, booting in recovery mode would lead me to the CWM Recovery v6.0.1 menu where I was supposed to Partition the SD Card (That's what I understood from that thread).but the problem was that i couldnt even mount the /sdcard folder. (Nor the /data and /emmc folders). At this time I was only following the instructions and didn't really understand much of what was happening so I skipped to the next step, Install the firmware (I9000XXJVU_I9000OXAJVU_OXA.zip).
So this time I placed the pit file and the 3 other files that were inside the .zip I mentioned above in Odin and flashed my phone. This proccess went OK and after the phone rebooted it seemed to be installing something and gave me an error: "Failed to mount /sdcard (File exists)" (I actually found a picture in this forum with the exact same screen.
Now I was totally lost and "without" a phone, and it was actually really late and I needed to sleep. So I tried to repeat the previous steps, I returned to CWM but it still couldn't mount the /sdcard so I couldnt format or partition it. I cleared the cache and tried to install the firmware again. This time, surprisingly, it worked! After the flash the phone rebooted and was able to boot into android in the first try.
I used the phone for about a day thinking all the problems were gone but they weren't. The following day I rebooted the phone and found myself back in the boot loop. It went eventually turned on after around 15 mins but I realized I was back at the starting point.
So this time I tried another solution, since I thought the problem was in the sdcard i used SDFormatter (in Windows) and, with the phone USB connected to my laptop, I formatted the internal sd_card (I found this solution in another topic, also in this forums). After this I turned the phone off and when I tried to boot it I was back to the loop, I didn't feel like waiting so I just went back to the first solution (this time with the internal sdcard formated) and it made a difference, this time I was able to mount the /sdcard in the CWM recovery menu and was also able to partition it (according to the instructions from the solution I posted). When the partition was done I tried to flash the firmware and it worked perfectly, It booted and I was able to use it, but it wasn't detecting the internal storage, it only had the system storage (In Settings->SD card...). I found this really weird and was about to reboot the phone when it simply crashed and rebooted (It happened when i tried to turn on Wi-fi). Obviously I ended up on the boot loop again.
So now I've returned to the CWM Recovery and I can't mount /sdcard, /data and /emmc. I tried to flash the firmware I was using but now I get the same error I was getting before and trying it again doesn't seem to work (I guess I was really lucky before). I've checked the log and this is what happens when i try to mount those folders (I don't know much about Android so I don't know if this is useful):
W:failed to mount /dev/block/mmvblk0p1 (No such file or directory)
Error mounting /sdcard!
W:failed to mount /dev/block/mmvblk0p2 (No such file or directory)
Error mounting /data!
W:failed to mount /dev/block/mmvblk1p1 (No such file or directory)
Error mounting /emmc!
I've been searching for another people with similar problems and it has led me to believe that the internal sdcard is dead, but I don't know. If it was dead it probably wouldnt boot at all but in my case it just takes a while (sometimes a "long while") to boot, I can't confirm if it boots now since I can't even install the new firmware. The solution I found for these people was to use an external sdcard and divide it into 2 partitions etc, I can try to do that but first I wanted to know if there is another way to come back from this problem? Is the internal sdcard the problem?
Thanks for reading
TL;DR: Phone used to be stuck at boot loop before turning on (took from 5 minutes to 1 hour), I tried to fix it, Formated internal sdcard using SDFormatter, seemed to be working fine but phone crashed and was back on boot loop, now I am on CWM Recovery and can't mount /sdcard,/data,/emmc. I don't know what is the problem.
EDIT: I just turned my phone off and started it again in recovery mode and surprise! now I can mount the /sdcard, I dont know why this happens. One moment I am in CWM Recovery and can't mount it, I turn it off and back on and now I can.
shams94 said:
I turn it off and back on and now I can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
basically, your internal SD card may need some re soldering, and only professional technicians can do it or internal SD card may be failing look here about embedded SD card
Check this out! Links to useful Guides and " Banned " Documentaries ​
Thanks for the reply!
I followed the links on your signature and followed some guides to partition my external sdcard and use it to run the phone and it worked! I got my Galaxy S back, atleast for now (even upgraded from 2.3.6 to 4.0.3).
If anyone finds this and has the same problem my solution was this post. It even has a video showing some of the steps.
Again, thanks for your reply, without it i probably wouldn't have found the solution

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