Boot Loop - Bricked? :(

[thanamesjames]

I'm rooted, unrevoked; currently stuck in a boot loop, with no way to access recovery, only bootloader, and my rom won't boot. Any ideas on how I can get out?

So far I have taken these steps:

Ran two different RUU exe's (with and without sd card in evo)
Flashed RUU as PC36IMG in bootloader
Flashed Amon Ra's Recovery and Clockwork using fastboot in command prompt
Flashed Amon Ra's Recovery and Clockwork as PC36IMG in bootloader
Flashed Sprint Lover's as PC36IMG in bootloader

Each of these methods flashed successfully as far as I can tell... yet I still go into an infinite boot loop.

Anyways I'm at my wits end here, pretty worried, and phoneless, so any help would be amazing.

 

[illwood]

Are you able to connect it to a PC and run adb?

 

[thanamesjames]

I've tried, and couldn't connect. Is there a method to run adb from inside bootloader?

 

[AlphaTango414]

Try this. Download your ruu zip file from link rename pc36img and move to root of phone.

It will be the stock ruu so you would have to root the phone again.

http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc...568-how-unbrick-your-soft-bricked-evo-4g.html

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

 

[thanamesjames]

I'm sorry, I wasn't specific about how I "flashed" RUU, that was actually the method I used already :/
And it was actually you're thread that I used to do it! So I appreciate you previously posting the method before, and then even suggesting it to me.

Unfortunately even once I used bootloader to install the ruu PC36IMG.zip it still went straight into a boot loop

 

[2CupsWithString]

When you flashed the RUU, did it say OK for most items?

 

[cloak.n.dagger]

If your recovery is borked, maybe you can try using the PC36IMG.zip file that thefredelement posted in another thread...

Hey I gots, I actually just put this in a PC36IMG.zip in another thread for someone who had trouble updating. May be helpful here:

clockwork recovery v2.5.0.1 PC36IMG.zip *Compatible with early hboots
clockwork recovery v3.0.0.0 PC36IMG.zip *Newest version for hboot 2.10

--
To install, copy the PC36IMG.zip file to your sd card. Power down your phone, press the volume down button and power button at the same time, release your fingers only when the white screen turns on. If your phone is in bootloader it will pause for a second, read the file and ask if you want to update, press yes. If your phone boots to fastboot, select bootloader and hit yes to update after it scans the file.

Of course you will have to get the PC36IMG.zip file onto your SD card, but that should be the easy part. If you can get rocovery working then you should be able to reflash your ROM.

 

[thanamesjames]

Fredelement, it actually said ok for all, even boot, radio, everything. I posted this same question on xda, and someone suggested trying Sprint Lover's file, it being similar to the ruus. Same result, I got all ok's but I'm still in a constant boot loop.

I'll try flashing Clockmod, but as RA's successfully, yet staid in loop I have a sinking suspicion it's not going to help me. If I could just reach recovery!

I do have nandroid backups, but know little about them, outside of using them in recovery. Can I rename those to PC36IMG.zip and try flashing them?

 

[2CupsWithString]

Did you change your hboot version by chance?

Do you have access to fastboot usb when loading in to the boot loader? We can try to format/flash some partitions from there.

 

[thanamesjames]

My hboot has changed twice.
From .92 or .97, I don't remember
to .76
to 2.10

Fastboot is working.

So about this formatting/flashing partitions?

Btw, thankyou very much for the help, I will say whatever is going wrong I think is happening very early in the boot sequence, because all my flashes are successful, it just doesn't seem like the phone "gets" far enough in the boot sequence before cycling.

One last question, I don't think I have changed my actual bootloader. I tried to flash two PC36IMG's that had bootloader in them (RUU didn't) and they both said "bypassed," should I maybe try and do something about flashing a new bootloader?

 

[2CupsWithString]

Lets just verify a few things first to see where to go.

What hardware version is your phone?

Do you still have S-OFF? (right next to the hboot version number)

hboot 2.10 doesn't provide a lot of fastboot usb commands.

edit: What most likely happened is that the partitions got a little wonky when you went to hboot 2.10 but if you're on 003 hardware with S-OFF then we can flash back to .76, where you can probably re-flash and get to a recovery, you'll have to re-flash a ROM, not just nandroid restore when that's over (because of changed partition information), then after that you *could* potentially get a nandroid back.

 

[thanamesjames]

Honestly I'm unsure what my hardware version is, is there a way to check in my state?
I still have S-OFF.
Should I flash a different hboot?

 

[2CupsWithString]

Honestly I'm unsure what my hardware version is, is there a way to check in my state?
I still have S-OFF.
Should I flash a different hboot?

Your phone originally had the .97 hboot? Did you get it before November?

 

[thanamesjames]

I'm unsure what it was when I very first got the phone, November 4th. No one ever told me to keep tabs of that stuff. However I know that when this mess started, yes it was. However fastboot didn't work, and I read that I should move down to .76, and so I did that to enable fastboot commands. They worked then.

 

[2CupsWithString]

I'm unsure what it was when I very first got the phone, November 4th. No one ever told me to keep tabs of that stuff. However I know that when this mess started, yes it was. However fastboot didn't work, and I read that I should move down to .76, and so I did that to enable fastboot commands. They worked then.

Did the bootloop happen after .76? I'm just trying to figure out where you are kind of.

If you had one problem with a bootloop (most likely a kernel / boot partition problem), then while you had that you flashed down to .76 hboot on 004 hardware the partitions can be pretty screwed up. BUT - since you're able to get in to the bootloader you're probably OK...

Before I have you downgrade your hboot again (from 2.10 to .76), I was wondering what RUU version you had tried.

If the hboot changed your partition information and you were trying a RUU prior to version 3.7 with hboot 2.10 your phone still won't work because the RUU isn't allowed to over-write hboot (which is probably reading where /boot is wrong).

 

[thanamesjames]

The bootloop started when I was .97. It continued after .76.
I was unsure of which RUU to try, and maybe should have done some more research. At the time I just assumed I go with the most recent, so I used "RUU_SuperSonic_S_Sprint_WWE_3.70.651.1_Radio_2.15.00.11.19_NV_1.90_release_161482_signed.zip"

 

[2CupsWithString]

The bootloop started when I was .97. It continued after .76.
I was unsure of which RUU to try, and maybe should have done some more research. At the time I just assumed I go with the most recent, so I used "RUU_SuperSonic_S_Sprint_WWE_3.70.651.1_Radio_2.15.00.11.19_NV_1.90_release_161482_signed.zip"

Alright, that's good (because you were on .97 first) but I'm curious as to why it didn't work. (That RUU updated you to 2.10)

Lets do this first:

[GUIDE] HBOOT 2.10(.02 -?)[</3] Got you Down? - Get 0.76[<3] Back! - xda-developers

 

[thanamesjames]

So looking over this, it says to flash the PC36IMG_210-76.zip first by renaming it to PC36IMG, and then to go into recovery and flash Evo_hboot_0.76.2000.zip. Unfortunately I can't get into recovery. So how should I go about flashing the second file?

 

[2CupsWithString]

So looking over this, it says to flash the PC36IMG_210-76.zip first by renaming it to PC36IMG, and then to go into recovery and flash Evo_hboot_0.76.2000.zip. Unfortunately I can't get into recovery. So how should I go about flashing the second file?

My hope is that the .76 hboot will let you get in to recovery. If you can't, get a PC36IMG.zip file of clockworkmod 2.6.0.1 (just happen to have one here: PC36IMG.zip), Put that on your sdcard AFTER you're back to hboot .76..

Important to note, the first file will give you hboot .76 but will say hboot 2.10!

 

[thanamesjames]

Yeah, I read that, pretty interesting. Alright I'm gonna give this a whirl. Be back in a few.