[Q] Help recovering from softbrick.

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bostonprotected

New member
Aug 3, 2012
4
0
So I previously had a 4.1.2 rom on my phone (forget which one exactly), and tried upgrading to 4.3 via beans mj9 file.

This is where things got a little messy.

I started out using Odin3.07 and loaded the I605VRUEMJ9 file in the PDA section of odin and booted my Note II into download mode and started it.
It would make it to NAND Write Start and just never do anything from there. Tried it a couple times and it repeatedly did the same thing.

After that my phone would only boot up to the point where it says Samsung Galaxy Note II and get stuck there, and if you didn't know, that's the very first thing that pops up...

After this I tried flashing a I605VRALJB restore file and when I try to flash that, I get a runtime error from Odin

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: Odin3 v3.07.exe
Application Version: 3.0.0.0
Application Timestamp: 4fc5bb56
Fault Module Name: Odin3 v3.07.exe
Fault Module Version: 3.0.0.0
Fault Module Timestamp: 4fc5bb56
Exception Code: 40000015
Exception Offset: 0005094f
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 8e16
Additional Information 2: 8e16b15caa56fa8c0ef9ce8f2b79c390
Additional Information 3: 5a25
Additional Information 4: 5a25709930e2cc5d14d66d8861791ad9

Now my phone will ONLY boot into download mode. No recovery and no normal startup.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Been fighting with this thing for days trying to find the answer on google to no avail.
 

mattnmag

Senior Member
Feb 6, 2013
434
171
@bostonprotected,


Since you were on 4.1.2 and you never took the 4.3 OTA, then sounds like your best bet would be to restore back to stock 4.1.2, and then root again with Casual. (Don't flash VRALJB... it won't work since you were on 4.1.2).

If you go to XDA member Droidstyle's Guide at this link:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=34891181 [... I think you'll find what you need to fix your phone.

In the guide, go to "Section 1b: How to return to stock 4.X Jelly Bean coming from any rom with Odin." You'll need to download the file for the "Official VRAMC3 4.1.2, 5/5/13." Also ... make sure you download and ODIN flash the Pit file... you should flash the ROM in PDA and the pit in Pit... and you can do both together in one Odin flash. Follow each step carefully and it should restore you back stock 4.1.2.

Give Droidstyle a thanks if his guide helps you.

Good luck! :)

Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
 
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bostonprotected

New member
Aug 3, 2012
4
0
@mattnmag

Thanks, and I'm not 100% why I was trying to use the 4.1.1 file when I had already been on 4.1.2, but then again it is only 2 days after 4/20 and all.

Anyway, I'll try this as soon as I get off of work.
 

mattnmag

Senior Member
Feb 6, 2013
434
171
Followed these instructions to the letter and now it's starting to boot at least, but I'm getting a bootloop.

Hmm... I'm not sure what the next step would be. Maybe try the restore process again to see if it takes the second time. If I were you, I'd post a question in Droidstyle's guide to see if he or other users there have some ideas. Let them know all the steps you took so far... including flashing 4.1.1....I hope that flashing 4.1.1 didn't cause a problem. Sorry, I wish I could be more help. Hope you can fix it. :)

Edit: Another idea....If you can get it to boot into stock recovery, try doing a factory reset to see if that would help.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
 
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mattnmag

Senior Member
Feb 6, 2013
434
171
@mattnmag

It did let me boot to stock recovery and I tried factory reset.

When I tried that, it said:

E : Failed to mount /data (Invalid Argument)

@ bostonprotected,

I’m shooting in the dark here, but I have a couple more ideas that might help (they shouldn’t hurt at least if they don’t work).

When you restored back to VRAMC3 with Odin, did you wait for ODIN to give a green Pass at the top before unplugging your phone from the computer? (I think it takes at least 10 minutes or so for Odin to do its thing and give the green pass… and the green pass doesn’t happen until several minutes after it reboots your phone). Even if you did, I would probably try reflashing both the VRAMC ROM and the PIT file again in ODIN. (If you are interested in a good Youtube video with step by step instructions how to ODIN restore your phone— I think this is a good one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qtbEevn1VA (I would probably stick with the download links though from XDA and just use the video for reference).

The only other thing I can think of is that you might have had a corrupted download of the 4.1.2 ROM or the PIT file… I would check the MD5 checksums for both the VRAMC3 stock ROM and the PIT file before trying again with ODIN.

If you go to Imnut’s thread here: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2040264 , and choose the VRAMC3 “Mirror 2” download link, you will have the MD5 checksum available so you can confirm you have a good download.

Adam Outler provided a link to the PIT file in one of his old threads… and it includes the MD5 check sum— (you can find his PIT download link at this link: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2043636 ) …. I double checked the PIT MD5 on Droidstyle’s guide against the one on Adam Outler’s… and the MD5 for both download’s is: 6e874ba443d59ea114e48c1a57f3dfaa …. So, all you really need to do is confirm the MD5 on PIT file from Droidstyle’s guide and if it matches the MD5 above… it is a good download.

(If you don’t have an easy way to check MD5’s, I would recommend this tool: http://www.winmd5.com/ ….. It’s really easy to use, just create a file folder and download the zip file to it… then extract the zip into that file and double click on the application to open the program).

I hope some of this helps. :) I'd also encourage you to hit the thanks button for the people who provided us all the helpful information-- (Adam Outler, Droidstyle, and Imnuts).
 
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