[Q] Transformer TF101G unable to boot to recovery.

PeekNPoke · Apr 10, 2012

Hi all,

This may sound like an old problem but believe me, it's not. Let me explain.

I've rooted my Transformer TF101G (B90) last year sometime on 3.2.1. This works fine with no issues. I've flashed ClockworkMod after installing ROM Manager. This worked fine, I can boot normally, I can boot to recovery, no problem.

With the latest update available from ASUS via the web, I decided to to allow the annoying icon complaining about upgrading to download and run the upgrade. After downloading the update the Pad rebooted so if to install the new update. This landed me on the CWM with an error message that stated the verification (or something failed). After this, the Transformer wouldn't boot directly to Android, but ended up booting to the recovery partition every time. I had to use the fastboot option to "cold boot" into Android.

This was annoying, so I googled and found the solution on this forum to fix the issue with 5.5.0.4 that kept rebooting to recovery. This solved that problem and I was still able to boot to recovery whenever required.

I decided to update CWM to version 5.8.2.1 via ROM Manager. This seemed to work via ROM Manager, but restarting the transformer and going to recovery showed version 5.5.0.4 still. So I went back to ROM Manager and it showed that it was upgraded to 5.8.2.1. I decided to update this to ClockworkMod Touch by purchasing it via Google market to support the guys that do development on it. This claimed to install also. "Reboot into Recovery" from ROM Manager still showed version 5.5.0.4.

I was now very confused.

So I decided to downgrade CWM from the 5.8.2.1 version it stated was installed to version 5.8.1.9. This worked according to ROM Manager, but rebooting into recovery still showed 5.5.0.4. I mean, WTF!

In the meanwhile the freeken update icon on the task tray still complained about updating Android. I allowed it again to try and update. At the point it rebooted it left me stuck on the "EEE Pad" screen.

Booting up with Vol - and Power takes me to the screen that gives you an option to press Vol + to boot to RCK. Doing so the Pad freezes at "Booting Recovery Kernel Image". My PC then detects USB ADB interface but any adb commands respond with "error: device offline" or "error: device not found".

Booting up with Vol + and Power leaves the screen blank. My PC then detects an USB APX interface. Using "fastboot -i 0x0b05 flash recovery recovery-clockwork-touch-5.8.2.1-tf101.img" only responds with "waiting for device".

The only way to boot my tablet at the moment is to use the "cold boot" option.

I would like to think I've tried everything out there and would appreciated anybody that could point me to maybe something else I could try.

PS: In ROM Manager I get "An error occurred while attempting to run privileged commands" when I use the "Fix Permissions" option.

PeekNPoke · Apr 10, 2012

PeekNPoke said:
PS: In ROM Manager I get "An error occurred while attempting to run privileged commands" when I use the "Fix Permissions" option.

Fixed the privileged error by installing Busybox, but still unable to boot to recovery even when reinstalling CWM with the "Erase Recovery" option ticked.

dragon_76 · Apr 10, 2012

PeekNPoke said:
Fixed the privileged error by installing Busybox, but still unable to boot to recovery even when reinstalling CWM with the "Erase Recovery" option ticked.

I had the same problem. It seems the 5.5.0.4 or whatever recovery has borked the transformer. First, I was just in a recovery loop and when I followed how to get out of it, I have no recovery at all now it seems. I need to find a recovery.img and fastboot to manually install it but I can't find a recovery.img that is current.

PeekNPoke · Apr 10, 2012

dragon_76 said:
I had the same problem. It seems the 5.5.0.4 or whatever recovery has borked the transformer. First, I was just in a recovery loop and when I followed how to get out of it, I have no recovery at all now it seems. I need to find a recovery.img and fastboot to manually install it but I can't find a recovery.img that is current.

I can't get fastboot to work either. I though I might reinstall ClockworkMod via

fastboot.exe -i 0x0b05 flash recovery recovery-clockwork-touch-5.8.2.1-tf101.img

but it never connects.

Is there no tool that could be used from the adb shell that could re-flash ClockworkMod or even the original recovery (if that is available somewhere)?

mmarco80 · Apr 11, 2012

PeekNPoke said:
I can't get fastboot to work either. I though I might reinstall ClockworkMod via

fastboot.exe -i 0x0b05 flash recovery recovery-clockwork-touch-5.8.2.1-tf101.img

but it never connects.

Is there no tool that could be used from the adb shell that could re-flash ClockworkMod or even the original recovery (if that is available somewhere)?

Same problem here(tf101g): tried to update to ics.... stuck on cwm 5.5.0.4
Resolved problem using: echo boot | dd of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p3 bs=1 seek=0

Now i can't access to cwm, even if i update to the last cwm touch....paying...any idea?

Thomas Cardif · Apr 13, 2012

recovery

Sorry for my bad english,
I think I have the solution
First invites you down the driver and the nvflsh see appendix are the drivers are too large as a single file
2 go into the apx and the modern transformer connected to the PC
Third drivers instalation
4 instalation nvflasch
then you have a new recovery
This worked for me

ps I have a B60

mmarco80 · Apr 13, 2012

mmarco80 said:
Same problem here(tf101g): tried to update to ics.... stuck on cwm 5.5.0.4
Resolved problem using: echo boot | dd of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p3 bs=1 seek=0

Now i can't access to cwm, even if i update to the last cwm touch....paying...any idea?

I've solved The problem whit the gnufabio toolsto install recovery. Then Used "reboot to recovery"
Now i've manually installed official ics ....work fine!

hans_zelf · Apr 16, 2012

Thomas Cardif said:
Sorry for my bad english,
I think I have the solution
First invites you down the driver and the nvflsh see appendix are the drivers are too large as a single file
2 go into the apx and the modern transformer connected to the PC
Third drivers instalation
4 instalation nvflasch
then you have a new recovery
This worked for me

ps I have a B60

I tried this combined with the instructions on android.modaco.com/topic/335416-nvflash-setup-instructions-drivers-links-active because I'd never used nvflash before.
I managed to boot my TF101 in APX-mode, but as soon as I do any nvflash-command (e.g. nvflash --sync) the connection to the TF is lost:

C:\Program Files (x86)\nvflash>nvflash --sync
Nvflash started
rcm version 0X4
Command send failed (usb write failed)

After that I have to reboot the TF and shut it down again to be able to go into APX-mode again.
What do I miss? Mine is a B80.

baseballfanz · Apr 16, 2012

hans_zelf said:
What do I miss? Mine is a B80.

You can't use nvflash with a B80

hans_zelf · Apr 16, 2012

baseballfanz said:
You can't use nvflash with a B80

Oops. Fastbook doesn't seem to work either. Any ideas?

PeekNPoke · Apr 18, 2012

Yeah, I can't get fastboot to work either. I still have root access on the device. Is it not possible to flash the recovery from to root prompt on the device?

hans_zelf · Apr 18, 2012

I tried using ADB. That way I actually can access the device and copy the recovery.img to the device using:

adb push recovery.img /data/local/recovery.img
adb shell
$ su
# mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock2 /system
# cd /system
# cat /data/local/recovery.img > recovery.img
# flash_image recovery recovery.img

Works out until the last step. Then I get a message sh: flash_image: not found. Am I missing some files I have to flash first or have I forgotten something else?

hans_zelf · Apr 20, 2012

Success!

Finally I succeeded!

Flashed recovery using Gnufabio's RecoveryInstaller. (After that the TF101 rebooted itself but still got stuck at the splashscreen. Did a cold Linux-boot).
Opened an ADB-session:

C:\Program Files\...\platform-tools>adb shell
/ # su
/ # echo boot | dd of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p3 bs=1 seek=0

5+0 records in
5+0 records out
5 bytes transferred in 0.039 secs (128 bytes/sec)
/ # exit

Click to expand...

Click to collapse
Finally, using ROM-manager I downgraded to CWM 5.5.0.4.

After that I was able to boot into recovery, but not from ROM-manager. I had to hold Vol- but at least I have a working recovery and was able to upgrade to ICS.

I'm not sure if the first step was really necessary but this is how I did it.

PeekNPoke · Apr 20, 2012

Hey hans_zelf,

Wow, I'm glad you got it going. I'll give it a go aswell and give feedback here. By the way, where did you get the recovery.img file you originally tried to flash?

hans_zelf · Apr 20, 2012

Not really sure. I did a search within the forum and found several img's and zips.
But in the end I didn't need it because both RecoveryInstaller and ROM-manager download their own.

PeekNPoke · Apr 20, 2012

Ok,

I did the following:

adb shell
su
echo boot | dd of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p3 bs=1 seek=0
exit

Used ROM Manager v5.0.0.6, selected "Erase Recovery" in the settings menu, then flashed ClockworkMod 5.5.0.4, and powered down.

I then tried to start with Vol + and Power, just a blank screen but the 0955:7820 usb driver loaded. Then I used Vol - and Power, it booted to the Eee screen with the blue progress bar, after this is booted normally to the OS.

I powered it down again, and this time booted with Vol - and Power. Got to the screen that says use Vol + to load Recovery. I did that, and Bobs-Your-Uncle !!!!! IT WORKS !!!

Thanks hans_zelf, I'd still be stuck if it wasn't for you !

PS: I think the trick might have been to flash the 5.5.0.4 back, I'm not sure, and I'm not trying this again

hans_zelf · Apr 20, 2012

You're welcome, but all I really did was combine some very helpfull tips from this forum

In the meantime I flashed my recovery to repacked Touch CWM v5.8.1.8 by Roach2010. Works like a charm. Not only touch support but also keyboard!

mike0122 · Apr 26, 2012

Thanks hans_zelf & PeekNPoke. Got my tf101 back into recovery mode from following what you guys said. I had this problem because I upgraded CWM in Rom Manager. Is that what happened to you guys? If so I think this should be stickied because if was a easy mistake and this is the only thread I could find that helped get my recovery back. Thanks again

hans_zelf · Apr 26, 2012

Yep. Mine was also barked after I upgraded CWM from ROM-Manager.

mmarco80 · Apr 26, 2012

mike0122 said:
Thanks hans_zelf & PeekNPoke. Got my tf101 back into recovery mode from following what you guys said. I had this problem because I upgraded CWM in Rom Manager. Is that what happened to you guys? If so I think this should be stickied because if was a easy mistake and this is the only thread I could find that helped get my recovery back. Thanks again

me too, i've solved whit gnufabio recovery

[Q] Transformer TF101G unable to boot to recovery.

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