Database Develop

[DUAL-BOOT][RECOVERY] Ouya Boot Menu for Support of Kernel Image Chain-loading

Hello everyone! Just like others here, I've been somewhat spooked by our inability to enter Ouya's Recovery partition at the earliest stage of booting, meaning a bad flash of the Boot partition would leave the device inoperable. When I heard that Ouya's stock firmware updates were possibly bricking a few units out there, I decided to block updates on mine and see if I could transform the Boot partition such that it would become a logical extension of the bootloader. What I ended up with is something close to the "Ouya Safe Recovery" project, where a user should only need to flash Boot one additional time, along with chain-loading support as well.
Chain-loading in this case refers to the booting of ROM kernel images that reside as regular IMG files under the /sdcard and/or /system filesystems. With this capability it is possible to choose an image to run when the Ouya turns on. As an example, one may wish to set up a 2nd/test kernel+ramdisk image to use with your installed ROM, or he may wish to run Tuomas Kulve's Debian project from time-to-time without having to set up the USB cable for Fastboot mode. When dealing with distinctly different ROMs (not just alternate kernels), only one of them may install to the Ouya's built-in storage (e.g., /system); others must have been designed/created to use external storage.
An image for the Recovery partition is available along with the Boot. The former may be helpful if you wish to try out the boot menu before performing the flash of the Boot partition, or are generally okay with bouncing to Recovery before invoking a chain-load. Either of these may be tested from Fastboot mode, but do note that a successful chain-load requires that the image actually be flashed to the Ouya. (Otherwise it just reboots.) The ClockworkMod (CWM) recovery application is available on both images and is accessible from the boot menu.
Additional Information
There are a few things to consider when deciding if this approach makes sense for you:
- Users of the "Ouya Safe Recovery" project may want to stay put unless the dual-boot aspect is of interest. If so then it would be cleanest to choose my Boot image; the Recovery partition (your ROM image) could be left alone.
- The images here are not compatible with Ouya's stock firmware, due to the auto-update nature of Ouya's ROM. Either your flashed Boot image would get overwritten, or an installed non-Ouya Recovery might cause that update to hang. Therefore, you should be prepared to switch to one of the ROMs here at XDA. If you're currently on stock and don't want to switch right away, that's fine; we'll go over how to block updates for the time being.
- The Ouya CM10 ROM is nice in that it provides the IMG file separately, allowing us to handle it as we wish. However, the other ROMs end up placing their boot.img in the main ZIP. This is standard practice for other devices, but we need to be careful ensuring our Boot partition doesn't get reflashed as part of the ROM installation. Therefore, it would be necessary to investigate repackaging the ROM with an alternate updater-script prior to installation. See my StockPlus post on page 2 for more. (This shouldn't affect those who've opted for my Recovery image.)
This feature is based on CWM's initial ramdisk, and includes a new boot menu application that comes up prior to CWM itself. Basically, CWM shows up later if the menu application exits for any reason. The Ouya stock kernel (561) has also been compiled with HDMI's copy protection turned off, and includes two patch sets:
- KExec-HardBoot is the key to chain-loading on our platform. It overcomes standard KExec's lack of hardware reset (and thus failed execution) by triggering a reboot in the middle of the preparation of the new kernel. This ingenious system has been developed by Tasssadar and others over in the Nexus forums. (Be sure to enable CONFIG_TEGRA_HARDBOOT_RECOVERY if interested in compiling a Recovery kernel.)
- HDMI visual stability has been improved with a little hack of mine: a significant relaxing of a timer in the driver. (The latest Android source has corrected the instability with a significant design change, but my hack seems fine enough for this project.) Also picked up specific Android fixes in the area of Framebuffer double-buffering, as that needs to be working for CWM usability.
Installation
If you're on Ouya's stock firmware, then you should make sure that any future updates do not get applied. There is a project here ("Mod Collection For Ouya") that should help. I personally side-loaded the Baxy custom launcher to avoid Ouya's update environment. It is also likely necessary to stay out of the Ouya/Discover store if going the custom launcher route as I believe the store app can trigger an update.
At this point you can download your chosen image (Boot or Recovery) and unzip to get the IMG file. Boot your Ouya to a working Root/BusyBox environment (ROM or Recovery), and then transfer the IMG to the Ouya. (An example using ADB would be "adb push boot102513.img /sdcard/boot102513.img".)
Bring up the Ouya command prompt (e.g., "adb shell") and run these commands to get started:
su [command not present on CWM - that's okay]
cd /dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name
ls
You should see the various 3-letter partition names from that last command. Your command prompt should also contain the "#" character to denote root-level access. This next step will save off your current ROM image, both because we may end up overwriting it, and because the saved file will end up as your main bootable kernel for the chain-loader. Run:
cat LNX > /sdcard/kernel.img
(If configured for "Ouya Safe Recovery," then replace the preceding "LNX" with "SOS".)
We are near the flashing stage. Check to make sure your Ouya has a reliable source of power, preferrably from an uninterruptable power supply. Recall that a bad flash of my boot image can leave the device inoperable, but I feel the risk is very low provided the following directions are heeded. Fortunately the flash process only takes a few seconds.
For the Boot image option, verify by running:
md5sum /sdcard/boot102513.img
Do not proceed unless you get "e4b1b1ad553e55ad0b2ce3fb8f5bf623".
Again for the Boot image option, flash to the Ouya by running:
dd if=/sdcard/boot102513.img of=LNX
For the Recovery image option, verify by running:
md5sum /sdcard/rcvy102513.img
Do not proceed unless you get "dda0811a7e8e82a7d4ad3fa4c3ae35e4".
Again for the Recovery image option, flash to the Ouya by running:
dd if=/sdcard/rcvy102513.img of=SOS
You may optionally verify (post-flash) by running "md5sum" on the partition name. Finish up with these commands:
sync
reboot
Usage / Configuration
The menu should come up, defaulting to "kernel.img" for the Boot image and "CWM" for Recovery. That default will then launch after ten seconds of inactivity. You may also briefly press the Ouya power button during the wait to advance through the options. The option list is 1) kernel.img, 2) kernelA1.img, 3) kernelA2.img, 4) CWM, and 5) Recovery Partition.
The defaults from above should be fine for most everyone, but it is possible to fine-tune them. An optional configuration file (/sdcard/bootmenu_b.cfg for Boot, /sdcard/bootmenu_r.cfg for Recovery) may be established to specify the default menu entry as well as the inactivity timeout. As an example, the following command would make Recovery start kernelA1.img after five seconds:
echo "2 5" > /sdcard/bootmenu_r.cfg
It is hoped that the menu would never hang. If it does, then waiting a full minute should allow CWM to start. Otherwise, it may be necessary to attach a wired/USB keyboard and type in the Alt-SysRq-X sequence, similar to Ctrl-Alt-Delete on a PC. The sequence might have to be done early on in the menu startup process, and should blink the Ouya light and place it in Fastboot mode.
The menu may unexpectedly place you in CWM, which would indicate an issue with a chain-load. The reason may be due to a missing or corrupt IMG file. Otherwise you should be able to determine why by checking /tmp/bootmenu.log against the attached source code.
---
I hope this project will be of help to others!
An additional support forum that everyone should be able to post at is available: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2450711.

Wow, really great. Thanks a lot for your effort
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nchantmnt said:
Wow, really great. Thanks a lot for your effort
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My pleasure, nchantmnt. Hope your new Ouya is helping you feel at home!

Yes im happy it already arrived, but after a second miscarriage and lots of stress because of a lawsuit with our neighbour i didn't have time nor nerves to play or code. Seriously this year sucks
Gesendet von meinem One X+ mit Tapatalk

nchantmnt said:
Yes im happy it already arrived, but after a second miscarriage and lots of stress because of a lawsuit with our neighbour i didn't have time nor nerves to play or code. Seriously this year sucks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gosh, I'm very sorry to hear that. Do think ahead to the upcoming holiday season, and may it be a time to reflect and anticipate a fruitful 2014.

@Hal9k+1 - THANK YOU!
I was so nervous flashing CWM and StockPlus as there is no real way to fix things if something goes wrong. This should give people more confidence when flashing their Ouya.
I understand the process using ADB...my question is: can this be used from CWM somehow?
PS. I assume new kernel will always be flashable from CWM, the hack does not require 561 specifically.

Ipse_Tase said:
I understand the process using ADB...my question is: can this be used from CWM somehow?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Ipse_Tase - I do hope the feature will be helpful to you and others.
As I think about your question, I suppose I could have have created a ZIP that would have been installed by CWM. Similarly I could have worked through some form of installation shell script. But for an important operation such as flashing, I prefer the one-at-a-time approach of the interactive shell.
Note that CWM does have an ADB service running with it. Your Ouya would show up as a different device while in CWM, so you'd need to enter Device Manager (Windows) and point the unknown device to the same ADB driver as used for the main ROM.
Alternatively you could skip ADB for this Ouya Boot Menu installation and set up an SSH server on your main ROM. I personally have installed "SSH Server" (Ice Cold Apps). I recall two screens to set up (does require the trackpad in cases), where I enabled automatic start on both, and also set the port number to 2222. After an Ouya reboot I had SSH/SCP capability and could use PuTTY/pscp from Windows.

Hal9k+1...fast reply, thank you.
Just to put my ever-so-senile brain at ease: so I run StockPlus 519r1, and WHILE in the ROM, I start ADB and follow your instructions .
OR...I enter CWM, make sure I get the right ADB drivers installed for THAT instance and go from there.
For a developer, I'm sure it's easier and more familiar to run ADB commands - for people like me (5%-over-the average-user) a CVM option to flash a zip and do all this would be more in-line with the abilities to hack.
I have rooted 4-5 devices so far and the only time I type any ADB commands is at root/unlock time - sometimes not even then (Nexus 4 and the Root Toolkit).
So if you ever consider creating a recovery flashable file, it would help many. Probably not me, as by then I would have done the ADB trick

Sounds like great work! I was hoping to implement something like this myself, but I haven't made any more time for OUYA-related development in a while (due to positive life events/busyness)
I will definitely take a look at your work when I have time!
~Troop

Ipse_Tase said:
Hal9k+1...fast reply, thank you.
Just to put my ever-so-senile brain at ease: so I run StockPlus 519r1, and WHILE in the ROM, I start ADB and follow your instructions .
OR...I enter CWM, make sure I get the right ADB drivers installed for THAT instance and go from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You got it! You don't need to worry about booting to the other partition prior to flashing. That is a given partition (LNX/SOS) is no longer being accessed once the image is booted. For CWM's ADB, you'd simply point Windows to the same INF file that you originally used. Hope this helps.

StockPlus Installation
Well, I finally retired this old stock 393 ROM I was on, and moved to StockPlus 519r2. I was not able to install it the normal way given my Boot image is in place here. So I ended up modifying "updater-script" under META-INF/com/google/android, and then repackaged prior to running the install procedure. I'm attaching my changed version in case it helps anyone, and please note that it makes StockPlus the main image (kernel.img).
(You'll need to right-click to save the attachment. Once done it will need to be renamed such that it does not include the ".txt" suffix.)
The Windows "7-Zip" utility is helpful for packaging. You may start by right-clicking the downloaded ZIP, then 7-Zip --> Extract to "OUYA_[...]". Enter the newly created directory, get to the updater-script, and replace it with mine. Now back up to the area with META-INF, system, and boot.img, still in the new directory. Select all three under Windows (Ctrl+Click), right click that area, and then 7-Zip --> Add to "OUYA_[...].zip". Be sure this new ZIP is the one that makes it to the Ouya.

Still haven't tried this out yet, but I hope to soon.
I missed out on news over the holidays though and just noticed this:
Announcing Ubuntu and Android dual boot developer preview
http://developer.ubuntu.com/2013/12/announcing-ubuntu-and-android-dual-boot-developer-preview/
I'm curious of their dual boot implementation and how it compares and if we can synergize with their approach, but haven't looked into the details of how theirs works yet (its sounds like it uses a custom recovery image, and they have the ability to trigger it to reboot into Ubuntu from an Android app and vice versa, which is cool)
It'd be awesome to be able to multi-boot an Ouya ROM, an Android ROM (CyanogenMod), and Ubuntu with that kind of ease.
EDIT: This may be more our speed though: (MultiROM)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2011403
(did you pull anything from there? Sounds like they have a modified TWRP that can flash zips to the other ROM slots, which is something I was also hoping to implement)
~Troop

Thanks, Trooper. Good to see Ubuntu moving further along in the mobile world.
I briefly looked at MultiROM since it originated from the KExec-HardBoot work, but decided not to go in that direction. The main reason is that I decided not to pursue the setup/learning of an Android build environment, but also because it wasn't clear how I'd deal with our lack of a touchscreen and lack of volume up/down buttons. I ended up creating a small application that fits within Ouya's CWM framework and starts up before CWM itself; it monitors the power button for click events and writes to the framebuffer memory region using regular Linux calls.
I'm not too concerned about the dual-boot aspect of this new Ubuntu, but the lack of touchscreen could be a hindrance if mouse/keyboard were not a viable substitute. Whether this Ubuntu is designed to work from external storage is another question, since our /system and /data would be occupied by Android. But in general I think we could boot it from my framework, and if my Boot image were selected over the Recovery one, then the Ubuntu kernel could reside in Recovery and also be bootable from the Android side with the "reboot recovery" command.
Best of luck, and hope you'll have a chance to try it all!

accidental post please delete

[Q] Questions about Nook HD+

So I just got my Nook HD+ and I've made a stock backup using CWM and have CM11 installed on an SD card but I have a few questions:
1. Is it possible to dual boot on the EMMC?
2. Are there any 'must have' tweaks/hacks/apps (root only, besides e.g. backup software)?
3. Is there a way to remove some restrictions on stock e.g. third party keyboard, install any APK without sideloading, etc.?
4. Is there a way to get the screencast software for CM11 without Google+?
I have tried google but the results I got were old or irrelevant (unless I worded it wrong).
Right now the emmc is not rooted, but I am willing to and I've seen the relevant topic.
Thank you.

tech3475 said:
I have a few questions:
1. Is it possible to dual boot on the EMMC?
2. Are there any 'must have' tweaks/hacks/apps (root only, besides e.g. backup software)?
3. Is there a way to remove some restrictions on stock e.g. third party keyboard, install any APK without sideloading, etc.?
4. Is there a way to get the screencast software for CM11 without Google+?
I have tried google but the results I got were old or irrelevant (unless I worded it wrong).
Right now the emmc is not rooted, but I am willing to and I've seen the relevant topic.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a number of threads that should be helpful to you:
Dual boot. I don't know if anyone has developed a double boot from EMMC (like what, say SafeStrap can do on a Galaxy S4 - assuming that is what you mean). However, if you look at this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2330083 and this one: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=42295360 you'll see that you can set up a dual boot on the HD+ with Stock on the SD card and CM on EMMC
Tweaks, and restrictions on apps - check out the work of leapinlar, from this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2062613
See item 3 in the original post for info on enabling installation from "unknown sources" on stock.
Besides a backup app (Titanium), the other useful utility would be something like ES File Explorer, which I use on both my Nook Tablet (stock, rooted) and my HD+ (CM 10.2)
Hope this helps . . . sorry I can't add anything about screencast

ttablet said:
There are a number of threads that should be helpful to you:
Dual boot. I don't know if anyone has developed a double boot from EMMC (like what, say SafeStrap can do on a Galaxy S4 - assuming that is what you mean). However, if you look at this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2330083 and this one: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=42295360 you'll see that you can set up a dual boot on the HD+ with Stock on the SD card and CM on EMMC
Tweaks, and restrictions on apps - check out the work of leapinlar, from this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2062613
See item 3 in the original post for info on enabling installation from "unknown sources" on stock.
Besides a backup app (Titanium), the other useful utility would be something like ES File Explorer, which I use on both my Nook Tablet (stock, rooted) and my HD+ (CM 10.2)
Hope this helps . . . sorry I can't add anything about screencast
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I have a few days off work so I'll start messing around (main reason I like this over my A2109).
The boot stock from SD will be useful, I want CM as my main OS but want access to Stock for the odd occasion which was why I was wondering over dual boot but CM on the EMMC to prevent wear and in theory faster speeds.

So I managed to try it out yesterday and I have a couple more questions:
1. What is the best version of CM at the moment? I tried stable 10.1 from the CM site but BT gave me problems, I'm currently on CM11 nightly but obviously that can have issues (I think screen accuracy if off but that could be me) and I'm not sure if my battery has gotten worse since I installed it.
2. Is Titanium more reliable than mybackup? I got a free pro license for the latter but with at least one app it didn't restore properly and I had to do it manually.

tech3475 said:
So I managed to try it out yesterday and I have a couple more questions:
1. What is the best version of CM at the moment? I tried stable 10.1 from the CM site but BT gave me problems, I'm currently on CM11 nightly but obviously that can have issues (I think screen accuracy if off but that could be me) and I'm not sure if my battery has gotten worse since I installed it.
2. Is Titanium more reliable than mybackup? I got a free pro license for the latter but with at least one app it didn't restore properly and I had to do it manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "best" version of CM is a matter of preference and opinion. Running 10.1.3 stable (Sept 23 build) I haven't seen any problems with Bluetooth. On the other hand, the only BT device I've used is a GPS receiver that works without any problems. I'd say that for right now, 10.1.3 seems to be the most stable, with the fewest problems. At some point I'll probably move to CM 11, but for now there doesn't seem to me to be a compelling reason.
As for backup, Titanium seems to be what most people recommend . . . I've been using it on my S4, Nook Tablet, and the HD+ and have been very happy. On the other hand, mybackup looks pretty interesting, probably worth trying, especially since you have a freebie

ttablet said:
The "best" version of CM is a matter of preference and opinion. Running 10.1.3 stable (Sept 23 build) I haven't seen any problems with Bluetooth. On the other hand, the only BT device I've used is a GPS receiver that works without any problems. I'd say that for right now, 10.1.3 seems to be the most stable, with the fewest problems. At some point I'll probably move to CM 11, but for now there doesn't seem to me to be a compelling reason.
As for backup, Titanium seems to be what most people recommend . . . I've been using it on my S4, Nook Tablet, and the HD+ and have been very happy. On the other hand, mybackup looks pretty interesting, probably worth trying, especially since you have a freebie
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The BT bug was that I was having trouble pairing with my other tablet in fact I wasn't sure if it was permanently discoverable.
I had tried mybackup but it's unreliable (ended up manually transferring something) so I can't recommend it.

I've had another issue come up.
On my nook's ext-SD card I currently have 4 partitions:
1. Boot (about 128MB)
2. Stock ROM (about 1GB)
3. Stock ROM Data (I think? about 4GB)
4. Storage (about 50GB)
Currently my Nook will automatically mount the first partition but I want the fourth partition mounted either as well or instead on boot.
Is there anything I can try?
So far I've tried having a large 'boot' partition instead of '4' but it then doesn't boot off the card.

UPDATE: I think I may have a kludge to get a secondary partition to mount instead so I'll post this guide for anyone interested although I've since reformatted the card so the layout is slightly different (this guide is based on there being two partitions but it should work with more).
It's very hacky and could be cleaned up/enhanced (or better yet replaced) but this is beyond my current knowledge.
This guide is based on two different sources and I just modified where necessary and involves an init.d script to unmount and remount the partition I want. In theory this could allow multiple partitions to be mounted but it's untested by me.
Part 1 (init.d script):
The script does the following:
1. Unmount the current ext_sdcard/sdcard1
2. Mount the second partition as ext_sdcard/sdcard1
3. Run the media scanner for said card
First step is to create the script, here is my example:
#!/system/bin/sh
sleep 2
umount /storage/sdcard1
mount -t vfat -o umask=0000 /dev/block/vold/179:26 /storage/sdcard1
am broadcast -a android.intent.action.MEDIA_MOUNTED -d file:///mnt/sdcard1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The part "179.26" was derived by using the program "Android System Info" where I identified the partition already mounted (179.25) and guessed it was the next increment.
I then saved it as "11sd_remount" and placed this in the /etc/init.d/ folder using a file explorer (remember to give it root permissions and mount /system as rw) and then changed the permission to 755 using the terminal commands "su" and "chmod 755 /etc/init.d/11sd_remount".
If you have init.d support in theory this should be enough, unfortunately my CM11 rom doesn't so I had to try alternative methods trying "init.d trigger" and "universal init.d" which somehow seems to work.
In my case there are the following issues:
1. Delay after boot for it to mount the partition
2. You need to replug in USB
3. Another delay for the media scanner
Overall a few minutes from when you get to the home screen.
Two alternatives I can think of apparently involve editing fstab (which I think I read is now located in boot.img) or maybe mounting the extra partition as a different folder but I don't know how to get it mounted for accessing on a computer.
Sources:
Init.d script based on: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=45340859&postcount=3
Android media scanner terminal command: external site (not sure if I'm allowed to post the link).

Running 10.1.3 stable (Sept 23 build); it seems to be the optimal for me. I did install 10.2 few days ago but found performance noticeably sluggish compare to what I was used to on 10.1 so I went back.
No bugs that I could report for 10.2; just speed in my case. Hope that helps.

ds18s20 said:
Running 10.1.3 stable (Sept 23 build); it seems to be the optimal for me. I did install 10.2 few days ago but found performance noticeably sluggish compare to what I was used to on 10.1 so I went back.
No bugs that I could report for 10.2; just speed in my case. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the late response.
Thank you I might give 10.1 another go since 11 is giving me wifi issues.

[Q] M7 missing /dev/block/mmcblk0p22 and higher

Sorry for the novel, but I want to show the whole backstory to rule out quick fixes... I have an m7 a coworker asked me to take a look at. I don't know the full story, but apparantly he didn't do anything to the phone, he just woke up one day and it was suddenly broken. I'm not sure whether I believe him but I digress...
When I got it, about half the time the phone would just hang at the htc logo. If you power it off and back on, the other half of the time it would automatically bring itself to the bootloader. The bootloader said Tampered, locked, and security warning at the top.
I fought with it for a while, factory reset did nothing. I used htcdev to unlock the bootloader, and flashed twrp 2.8. Twrp was full of errors saying can't mount /data, can't mount /system, can't mount /cache etc. any time I tried to do anything it would keep complaining that it couldn't write to /cache/log/whatever.
Trying to format / wipe any of the partitions would fail. When I went to the mount screen, it showed "internal storage: 0mb" and clicking on that let me choose from internal storage 0mb and dgs USB 0mb.
Trying to adb side load in twrp failed as well, it would just say side load failed as soon as I entered the side load screen.
I installed twrp 2.3.6, and it did the exact same thing.
I then installed CWM touch 6.0.4.8, and it had basically the same errors about not being able to mount any partitions. The only difference with CWM was that the ADB side load would start, but trying to actually send any files to it fails. (Sending the file from the computer counts up and gets to 100%, but as soon as it gets to 100% it says the file is invalid (don't recall the exact error)
I finally found this link: (too new to port links, but google htc recover corrupted partitions, it's the first hit, from android revolution blog) and followed those steps, but when I run mkfs.ext4 for mmcblk0p36, 35 or 34 it complains that mmcblk0p36 is not a block special device.
I opened up adb shell, and ran ls /dev/block, it shows some mmcblk0, mmcblk0p1, mmcblk0p2, etc all the way up to p21, but there's nothing higher than 21. When I run that same command on my own m7 (running cm11) it has all the way up to p37.
I've tried to find more info about what's going on from there, but the only people I've found with similar problems all sent their phones back for warranty, and this one is out of warranty now.
So long story short, at this point am I right that it looks like a hardware fault and I'm sol? Or is there anything I'm missing about why half of those blocks would be missing? Do I stand a chance of remapping /data /system and /cache to lower numbered blocks or am I out to lunch?
This post was long enough without attaching logs or exact error messages, but if anyone thinks they might be of value let me know and I can include them.
Thanks!

joetomato said:
Sorry for the novel, but I want to show the whole backstory to rule out quick fixes... I have an m7 a coworker asked me to take a look at. I don't know the full story, but apparantly he didn't do anything to the phone, he just woke up one day and it was suddenly broken. I'm not sure whether I believe him but I digress...
When I got it, about half the time the phone would just hang at the htc logo. If you power it off and back on, the other half of the time it would automatically bring itself to the bootloader. The bootloader said Tampered, locked, and security warning at the top.
I fought with it for a while, factory reset did nothing. I used htcdev to unlock the bootloader, and flashed twrp 2.8. Twrp was full of errors saying can't mount /data, can't mount /system, can't mount /cache etc. any time I tried to do anything it would keep complaining that it couldn't write to /cache/log/whatever.
Trying to format / wipe any of the partitions would fail. When I went to the mount screen, it showed "internal storage: 0mb" and clicking on that let me choose from internal storage 0mb and dgs USB 0mb.
Trying to adb side load in twrp failed as well, it would just say side load failed as soon as I entered the side load screen.
I installed twrp 2.3.6, and it did the exact same thing.
I then installed CWM touch 6.0.4.8, and it had basically the same errors about not being able to mount any partitions. The only difference with CWM was that the ADB side load would start, but trying to actually send any files to it fails. (Sending the file from the computer counts up and gets to 100%, but as soon as it gets to 100% it says the file is invalid (don't recall the exact error)
I finally found this link: (too new to port links, but google htc recover corrupted partitions, it's the first hit, from android revolution blog) and followed those steps, but when I run mkfs.ext4 for mmcblk0p36, 35 or 34 it complains that mmcblk0p36 is not a block special device.
I opened up adb shell, and ran ls /dev/block, it shows some mmcblk0, mmcblk0p1, mmcblk0p2, etc all the way up to p21, but there's nothing higher than 21. When I run that same command on my own m7 (running cm11) it has all the way up to p37.
I've tried to find more info about what's going on from there, but the only people I've found with similar problems all sent their phones back for warranty, and this one is out of warranty now.
So long story short, at this point am I right that it looks like a hardware fault and I'm sol? Or is there anything I'm missing about why half of those blocks would be missing? Do I stand a chance of remapping /data /system and /cache to lower numbered blocks or am I out to lunch?
This post was long enough without attaching logs or exact error messages, but if anyone thinks they might be of value let me know and I can include them.
Thanks!
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I don't know if the Unbrick Project would help or not. At least take a look at it to see if your situation might fit the criteria.

Nook HD+ hardware diagnostic?

Hi guys,
I have a Nook HD+ running cm-11-20141112-SNAPSHOT-M12-ovation for a long time with no problems but yesterday something happened and now it boots very slow and keeps restarting after bootup animation. I did factory reset, tried reinstalling cm-11-20141112-SNAPSHOT-M12-ovation or installing the latest nightly build, but nothing helped. So I suppose it's a hardware problem, most probably with RAM or ROM, but how can I check it for sure? Is there any way to run some diagnostic software? Any help is much appreciated

Whatever I do - deleting files and directories in adb shell, formatting partitions, flashing ROMs and recovery images... it says: ok, completed successfully, and then I mount the filesystem and it's all there - my cm-11-20141112-SNAPSHOT-M12, CWM v6.0.4.6, even all the user profiles and data. I can't delete a single file. Is there any software protection that causes such a behavior or it's a hardware fault? IMO some memory circuit needs replacement but I'm a hardware guy, new to Android and CM and I may be missing some stupid detail

recover /data partition, data loss after shutdown - maybe due to f2fs

Hi
I just discovered that my phone's /data (and /cache) partitions (f2fs filesystem) seem to have gotten corrupted.
my suspicion is that it didn't shutdown safely (powerloss during shutdown, maybe the battery was already emptier than the os thought it was, starting the shutdown then increased the power usage)
The battery is less than a year old. (official replacement, not done by myself)
I didn't connect my 3T to power last night (forgot about it)
I connected it to power the next morning and went to eat breakfast, when I came back it was booted up. It still recognized my fingerprint and last app sessions still have screenshots from my apps. The home screen background is still the same. My apps are all still there as far as I can see.
But: all the data is gone. My apps start like I installed them fresh from the store and opening my file manager none of my files are there any more. only 15gb of 128gb used up. (it was closer to 100gb)
Upon noticing this I immediatly went to twrp (3.2.3-10) to use it's repair feature for the partition. -> Error 139
I did the same for my /cache partition and got the same error so I suspect it got corrupted as well.
I'm running Havoc OS 2.4, Android 9.0 (didn't get around to update it and it ran smooth without any major issues for months)
Is there any way for me to backup what is still there (maybe even sector copy (dd))?
Is it possible to repair such an image in Linux or recover some of the files from it?
Is it possible that a newer twrp version actually still can repair my /data partition?
Or is all hope lost? Did my smartphone automatically reformat /data? or has it maybe not touched the partition but cannot use it correctly?
What happens in this case on Android? Would've been nicer (for me) to run into a bootloop instead so I can figure out what's going on, before any hope is lost.
I'm pretty sure encryption was turned off due to magisk/root.
Once I set up the smartphone again I'll switch ext4. I currently blame f2fs but I'm not sure.
I have backups of the important data that was on my smartphone, but if there is any way, it would be nice to recover the rest (images, videos in original resolution etc.)
:fingers-crossed:
If anyone could contribute ways for me to look into this or show me how to proceed, I would be very greatful.
and maybe it's not even f2fs's fault after all.
Regards
EDIT:
in twrp's file manager the file system looks the same btw. (/storage or /sdcard look like factory default)
EDIT2:
I managed to create an .img file from my userdata partition by using the adb command from twrp's adb shell
adb shell 'dd if=/dev/block/sda15 2>/dev/null' > sda15.img
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Click to collapse
I hope that will help
I'll try https://www.forensicfocus.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=17133/ once it finished transfering the img file