a500 nvflash formatting partition error - solution

whats_cookin · May 1, 2014

I created an account here just to post this.

For a long time I have been try to fix my a500. About a year ago it was attached to my wall. One day I turned it on after having been away for a while and it was broke. I tried to reset it, but saw the dead droid, then got stuck at the acer screen.

For 2 straight days I tried to fix the issue. I learned more than I care to know about nvflash, "babsector", blackthunder, and jimmydean or whoever. I had lots of nvflash issues. Everyone said you could just solve all your problems with it but I kept getting

Code:

sending file: flash.bct
- 4080/4080 bytes sent
flash.bct sent successfully
odm data: 0x100c0105
downloading bootloader -- load address: 0x108000 entry point: 0x108000
sending file: bootloader.bin
| 714385/714385 bytes sent
bootloader.bin sent successfully
waiting for bootloader to initialize
bootloader downloaded successfully
setting device: 2 3
creating partition: BCT
creating partition: PT
creating partition: EBT
creating partition: GP1
creating partition: SOS
creating partition: LNX
creating partition: APP
creating partition: CAC
creating partition: MSC
creating partition: FLX
creating partition: AKB
creating partition: UDA
creating partition: GPT
Formatting partition 2 BCT please wait.. FAILED!
command failure: create failed (bad data)
bootloader status: specified partition is invalid or does not exist (code: 7) message: nverror:0x42008 (0x6042008) flags: 0

...or some other similar nvflash error. I put the tablet away (as I began to go crazy) for about 4 months. 3 days ago I took it out again. Again I tried messing with nvflash ... I got very close to loading an ICS ROM on but it would never boot. At some point I got stuck in APX mode and nvflash wasn't working... again same error.

Today I had a breakthrough
I was searching through results for the BCT error in Google that I had not clicked before when I came across a Russian site with the following comment:
"There was a problem:
"Formatting partition 2 BCT please wait ... FAILED!!!
Replies (except carry screenplay) is not found, he decided to try it myself.
turned to revive in the following way:
make out about 24 hours warmed hairdryer (took my wife) motherboard within 30 minutes, collected and made UnBrick. All went well until the works)) I do not know what helped warm or disable the battery on the day.
luck and ATP for UnBrick."

Fortunately Google translate provided me with this translation, as my Russian isn't very good. The post made me remember putting hard drives in the freezer to make them work just long enough to get data off them.

I took my a500 and put it in the freezer. After a few hours I tried nvflash again... same issue. So I figured cold didn't work I should try heat like my Russian comrade. I turned my oven to 200 degrees (F). I put the tablet in for 20 minutes. When I took it out I could barely hold it due to the heat. I plugged it in and ran nvflash... IT WORKED!
...at least long enough to get past the BCT partition. Then it gave another error. I restarted into recovery (which now worked) and loaded my ROM. (twrp couldn't load my sdcard so I had to load the ROM from USB mounted as sdcard). The rom installed went through and booted into ICS!

tl;dr; - If you are having trouble with nvflash and you suspect hardware failure put your a500 in the oven @ 200 deg F for 20 minutes. I call this the Russian sauna technique.

83li190 · May 4, 2014

Oven method works also for me!!

Just to confirm that I had exactly the same problem, my A500 was stuck in APW mode and I have tried during hours all the methods (babsector, blackthunder), and I get all the time ' FAILED msg because of bad data' At the end, I put desesperatly the A500 in oven for 20 minutes (90 degres Celcius (or 200 ° F) and tried again the flashing and it's works! (Actually, I tested the 'Russian method' twice because one day after I wanted to upgrade in Ice Cream and brick again the device (the first time of brick was for an unknow reason (no root, no play with it before)

eldarion27 · May 28, 2014

What facing?

83li190 said:
Just to confirm that I had exactly the same problem, my A500 was stuck in APW mode and I have tried during hours all the methods (babsector, blackthunder), and I get all the time ' FAILED msg because of bad data' At the end, I put desesperatly the A500 in oven for 20 minutes (90 degres Celcius (or 200 ° F) and tried again the flashing and it's works! (Actually, I tested the 'Russian method' twice because one day after I wanted to upgrade in Ice Cream and brick again the device (the first time of brick was for an unknow reason (no root, no play with it before)

As I am having this exact same error, I thought I'd ask, before trying so resolder the entire thing in an oven... were you screen-up or screen-down?

jd4r · May 29, 2014

Hi,

I also have same issue. Tried almost all method. None of them working. I am trying since long time. I just read this article. Its sounds like odd to putting tablet in microwave for 20 minutes. Are you guys kidding or it really works? How to put tablet in oven up side or down side?

eldarion27 · May 31, 2014

Heat to reflow the solder

jd4r said:
Hi,

I also have same issue. Tried almost all method. None of them working. I am trying since long time. I just read this article. Its sounds like odd to putting tablet in microwave for 20 minutes. Are you guys kidding or it really works? How to put tablet in oven up side or down side?

No no no! Not a microwave, that will just make a mess of everything! A conventional oven, so that the heat softens the old (presumably poorly done) solder points, fixing broken connections,

jd4r · Jun 2, 2014

eldarion27 said:
No no no! Not a microwave, that will just make a mess of everything! A conventional oven, so that the heat softens the old (presumably poorly done) solder points, fixing broken connections,

Thanks for your reply. Can you please send me any photos or stuff which shows me that what needs to be taken off after open up the tablet. i mean which parts need to be foiled and put in oven. That would be great and it will help me to get this done. Again i really appreciate your respond.

Thanks.

eldarion27 · Jun 5, 2014

Successfully Baked! (No, in the oven)

jd4r said:
Thanks for your reply. Can you please send me any photos or stuff which shows me that what needs to be taken off after open up the tablet. i mean which parts need to be foiled and put in oven. That would be great and it will help me to get this done. Again i really appreciate your respond.

Thanks.

As per the earlier comments in this thread, 200 degrees for 20 minutes. Pre-heating is advised, so that you don't overshoot-then-cool. I baked it in the case, screen down, on something that would stay flat and not get too hot itself (I used a wooden cutting board). There are threads talking about higher temps and shorter times, but you'd have to remove the mobo and only bake that piece, or the heat would destroy several other components.

I went ahead and baked mine last night. Due to some futzing around, and fat-fingering Linux commands, it was several minutes before I got the flash started... the flash got through the BCT formatting, but failed when installing into the BCT a couple of minutes later (by which time the device had noticeably cooled).

I re-baked it tonight, got the flash running considerably quicker afterwards, and it successfully completed and launched into Android. How long that'll last I can't say, but for now I'm going to let it cool and see what comes of it.

jd4r · Jun 5, 2014

eldarion27 said:
As per the earlier comments in this thread, 200 degrees for 20 minutes. Pre-heating is advised, so that you don't overshoot-then-cool. I baked it in the case, screen down, on something that would stay flat and not get too hot itself (I used a wooden cutting board). There are threads talking about higher temps and shorter times, but you'd have to remove the mobo and only bake that piece, or the heat would destroy several other components.

I went ahead and baked mine last night. Due to some futzing around, and fat-fingering Linux commands, it was several minutes before I got the flash started... the flash got through the BCT formatting, but failed when installing into the BCT a couple of minutes later (by which time the device had noticeably cooled).

I re-baked it tonight, got the flash running considerably quicker afterwards, and it successfully completed and launched into Android. How long that'll last I can't say, but for now I'm going to let it cool and see what comes of it.

Thanks for your respond. You put in oven about 20 minute with 200 degree temperature? You said you put on wooden board with case. Do we just put without removing any part? I am confusing that what part should remove from tablet and than put or just put it without removing cover and anything.

jyouelle · Oct 16, 2014

Same problem no recovery....NV Flash?

Thanks for the Hot Russian tip.
Where did you download nvflash from because I tried to get t from an XDA thread but the given nflash HTML & the vache for cpu ID converter sites did not appear to work. I was only able to download the Batch.RAR file. Or do I need all these files? Perhaps NVFLASH is all that is required to unbrick my A500 tablet.

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