Soft Brick: Odin Error

[bwsettles]

SGH-i747
Rom
Paranoid Android for about six months

The phone began to freeze and go to black screen about 24 hours ago with app freezes as well. This morning the black screen was more frequent, so I flashed back to stock.

Odin went all the way through and booted back to Samsung screen where it was stuck for about ten minutes and went dark again.

I pulled the battery and went through a vibrating boot loop.

So I went to clockwork recovery and did the two wipes. I got an error. I cannot remember the error I'm afraid.

I no longer have access to clockworkrecovery although I've tried to flash it with odin with odin claiming success.

I tried stock again and got the same error.

So I downloaded a boot image: boot-stock-att-sgh-i747.tar that went through but it didn't. Just went to the black screen from hell.

Tried stock again, got the same error.

I've tried Odin 1.85, 3.0.4 and 3.0.7

I've also shut down kies and tried all of my usb ports.
Odin Says:
<ID:0/005> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> I747UCALEM_I747ATTALEM_I747UCALEM_HOME.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/005> Odin v.3 engine (ID:5)..
<ID:0/005> File analysis..
<ID:0/005> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/005> Initialzation..
<ID:0/005> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/005> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/005> aboot.mbn
<ID:0/005> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/005>
<ID:0/005> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<ID:0/005> Added!!
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1

Sometimes and only if my battery is fully charged I am able to get into recovery. I tried to reinstall Paranoid Android from my external sd and the error was:
--Install /sdcard ...
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /cache
Installation aborted.
E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/log
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
E;Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_log
E:Failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_install
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_install
E:Failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
-----
Does anyone have any idea how to fix this?

 

[DroidArmy]

SGH-i747
Rom
Paranoid Android for about six months

The phone began to freeze and go to black screen about 24 hours ago with app freezes as well. This morning the black screen was more frequent, so I flashed back to stock.

Odin went all the way through and booted back to Samsung screen where it was stuck for about ten minutes and went dark again.

I pulled the battery and went through a vibrating boot loop.

So I went to clockwork recovery and did the two wipes. I got an error. I cannot remember the error I'm afraid.

I no longer have access to clockworkrecovery although I've tried to flash it with odin with odin claiming success.

I tried stock again and got the same error.

So I downloaded a boot image: boot-stock-att-sgh-i747.tar that went through but it didn't. Just went to the black screen from hell.

Tried stock again, got the same error.

I've tried Odin 1.85, 3.0.4 and 3.0.7

I've also shut down kies and tried all of my usb ports.
Odin Says:
<ID:0/005> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> I747UCALEM_I747ATTALEM_I747UCALEM_HOME.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/005> Odin v.3 engine (ID:5)..
<ID:0/005> File analysis..
<ID:0/005> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/005> Initialzation..
<ID:0/005> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/005> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/005> aboot.mbn
<ID:0/005> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/005>
<ID:0/005> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<ID:0/005> Added!!
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1

Sometimes and only if my battery is fully charged I am able to get into recovery. I tried to reinstall Paranoid Android from my external sd and the error was:
--Install /sdcard ...
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /cache
Installation aborted.
E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/log
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
E;Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_log
E:Failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_install
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_install
E:Failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
-----
Does anyone have any idea how to fix this?

Yikes that's a huge issue! the NAND write fail is not good at all. You also can't seem to mount anything so that's a huge issue. It seems your phone has gone complety insane. There's not a whole lot you can do at this point. I've seen this occur before. When you flashed stock from Paranoid Android or whatever rom it was, did you do a FULL data wipe? These issues can occur when going from AOSP based roms to Touchwiz roms. As for fixing it, I'd say you're pretty screwed

 

[bwsettles]

Yikes that's a huge issue! the NAND write fail is not good at all. You also can't seem to mount anything so that's a huge issue. It seems your phone has gone complety insane. There's not a whole lot you can do at this point. I've seen this occur before. When you flashed stock from Paranoid Android or whatever rom it was, did you do a FULL data wipe? These issues can occur when going from AOSP based roms to Touchwiz roms. As for fixing it, I'd say you're pretty screwed

I did a full wipe but the shenanigans began before I tried to flash anything at all. Now it's just this. Even though you weren't able to fix the issue for me thank you at least for letting me know that it's more likely than not unsolvable. On Xda over one hundred people read the post and said nothing. I guess that I'll just have to bite the 125 insurance payment. I did want to say that while flashing CWM is successful -- shown through ODIN there's no proof when I am able to get into recovery; it's simply regular Samsung recovery mode.

 

[grenefroggie]

I am not a dev, just a dude with an I747 that has soft bricked his many-a-time doing things I probably shouldn't, a gamble with a $700 phone, but why not? If someone sees something here I have said that won't work, please speak up.

Feel free to look in to what I have to say about it, but I cannot be held responsible for what happens if you flash the wrong files.

First and foremost: Can you link the stock file you flashed? Where did it come from? Was it a reputable source? It could be corrupted. If it is corrupted, it will not work at all, and give similar results to what you are seeing in Odin. It looks like the ICS firmware from what I can tell. Maybe try a JB firmware.

Second: If you can get in to the recovery, wipe it 3X. Is it necessary? I don't know, but I have been doing it since my Atrix 4G to make sure all data is wiped. Then try and flash a proper working stock Samsung file.

It is also quite possible this has occurred:

Taken from here:

The Problem: Sometimes when you flash a ROM (TouchWiz or AOSP), there is a risk of the /system and /data partitions not wiping correctly thus leading them to be formatted with R/O permissions rather than R/W. This makes it impossible for the phone to boot up because no data can be written. Not even a typical ODIN flash back to stock or rooted stock will fix this. Using CWM to flash another ROM will yield the same no boot results. Furthermore, the stock recovery will not work and it becomes impossible to perform a factory reset. Sound frustrating? It is.

KEEP IN MIND THIS IS A FIX FOR THE VERIZON S III, NOT THE AT&T S III!!!

So if I am understanding what I am reading, a bad wipe could yield results similar to the above description. If I am not mistaken, you will have to flash a PIT file to fix the issue. I am assuming that this rewrites the PIT tables with the proper permissions. I have never had the need to flash a PIT file. I am not familiar with it. There is a PIT file for the 16GB AT&T I747 GS3. You can try flashing that to fix the mounting issue, then try flashing to a 4.1.2 stock Samsung firmware.

Typically, you should never have to flash a PIT file. It is pretty rare to have to do so.

You can find the PIT file here. Make sure you get the file named sgh-i747-16gb.pit or you will run in to more problems than what you have started with.

Again, I will say it one more time: I am not 100% sure you need to flash the PIT file. Based on what I have read, it sounds like it could be a solution to your issues. Unfortunately, I have not found one single thread saying it will explicitly correct the problem you are having. The thread I linked, which is for the Verizon S3, was the closest thing I came to.

Recap: Try flashing a good stock JB firmware with Odin. I would get it from SamMobile. It does require you to make an account, and the download will be large and slow, but worth it. Let us know what happens from there. Good luck!

 

[DroidArmy]

I am not a dev, just a dude with an I747 that has soft bricked his many-a-time doing things I probably shouldn't, a gamble with a $700 phone, but why not? If someone sees something here I have said that won't work, please speak up.

Feel free to look in to what I have to say about it, but I cannot be held responsible for what happens if you flash the wrong files.

First and foremost: Can you link the stock file you flashed? Where did it come from? Was it a reputable source? It could be corrupted. If it is corrupted, it will not work at all, and give similar results to what you are seeing in Odin. It looks like the ICS firmware from what I can tell. Maybe try a JB firmware.

Second: If you can get in to the recovery, wipe it 3X. Is it necessary? I don't know, but I have been doing it since my Atrix 4G to make sure all data is wiped. Then try and flash a proper working stock Samsung file.

It is also quite possible this has occurred:

Taken from here:

The Problem: Sometimes when you flash a ROM (TouchWiz or AOSP), there is a risk of the /system and /data partitions not wiping correctly thus leading them to be formatted with R/O permissions rather than R/W. This makes it impossible for the phone to boot up because no data can be written. Not even a typical ODIN flash back to stock or rooted stock will fix this. Using CWM to flash another ROM will yield the same no boot results. Furthermore, the stock recovery will not work and it becomes impossible to perform a factory reset. Sound frustrating? It is.

KEEP IN MIND THIS IS A FIX FOR THE VERIZON S III, NOT THE AT&T S III!!!

So if I am understanding what I am reading, a bad wipe could yield results similar to the above description. If I am not mistaken, you will have to flash a PIT file to fix the issue. I am assuming that this rewrites the PIT tables with the proper permissions. I have never had the need to flash a PIT file. I am not familiar with it. There is a PIT file for the 16GB AT&T I747 GS3. You can try flashing that to fix the mounting issue, then try flashing to a 4.1.2 stock Samsung firmware.

Typically, you should never have to flash a PIT file. It is pretty rare to have to do so.

You can find the PIT file here. Make sure you get the file named sgh-i747-16gb.pit or you will run in to more problems than what you have started with.

Again, I will say it one more time: I am not 100% sure you need to flash the PIT file. Based on what I have read, it sounds like it could be a solution to your issues. Unfortunately, I have not found one single thread saying it will explicitly correct the problem you are having. The thread I linked, which is for the Verizon S3, was the closest thing I came to.

Recap: Try flashing a good stock JB firmware with Odin. I would get it from SamMobile. It does require you to make an account, and the download will be large and slow, but worth it. Let us know what happens from there. Good luck!

This is excellent information, but at the moment it seems like he can't properly flash anything. Then, by using that logic, how could he flash the pit file? I thought about that and how it might be able to fix it, but he currently can't flash anything

 

[grenefroggie]

This is excellent information, but at the moment it seems like he can't properly flash anything. Then, by using that logic, how could he flash the pit file? I thought about that and how it might be able to fix it, but he currently can't flash anything

He would get the Odin fail if he isn't flashing the proper firmware, no? I can honestly say the one thing I have not done, is flash the improper firmware to my phone. I could try for it the hell of it to see if I can replicate the issue. I have backup phones, but my S3 is my daily driver. The PIT file should be the LAST thing that is tried. The only reason I even suggested it is because there is a chance his last wipe messed up his partitions which could lead to why it won't mount.

OP needs to make sure the .tar he is flashing isn't corrupted. Also, if he was on 4.2.2 with the updated bootloader, and trying to flash an ICS ROM, that could cause some issues too, though I do not know for sure. Just a guess. The .tar file is failing. It is not obvious to me as to why. When trying to flash a ROM from recovery, he can't mount the partitions he needs to do so. This lead me to believe the partitions are not correct.

That is the line of thought I was thinking, based on what little I do know about it.

 

[DroidArmy]

He would get the Odin fail if he isn't flashing the proper firmware, no? I can honestly say the one thing I have not done, is flash the improper firmware to my phone. I could try for it the hell of it to see if I can replicate the issue. I have backup phones, but my S3 is my daily driver. The PIT file should be the LAST thing that is tried. The only reason I even suggested it is because there is a chance his last wipe messed up his partitions which could lead to why it won't mount.

OP needs to make sure the .tar he is flashing isn't corrupted. Also, if he was on 4.2.2 with the updated bootloader, and trying to flash an ICS ROM, that could cause some issues too, though I do not know for sure. Just a guess. The .tar file is failing. It is not obvious to me as to why. When trying to flash a ROM from recovery, he can't mount the partitions he needs to do so. This lead me to believe the partitions are not correct.

That is the line of thought I was thinking, based on what little I do know about it.

You are correct about the fail with improper firmware, but the possibility he used the wrong one is slim. It's still a possibility though

 

[grenefroggie]

It looks like the firmware he is using is correct, but the download could be corrupted. That is why I recommended another source, just to be safe.

I saw the post on XDA, but no one really seemed willing to help, so I decided to take a stab.

 

[bwsettles]

I can flash pit, I can flash bootloaders and I can flash CWM I just can't flash any roms or honestly, I've read so many threads that I can't remember where I downloaded the stock rom from but I know that I did go to sammobile. The pit link that was given to me no longer downloads. The firmware (stock) was gotten from either Xda or Sammobile.

When I flash bootloaders and cwm the phone doesn't restart. Just a black screen. If I flash pit it restarts but goes into the boot vibrating loop. Neither or the tar files I have will flash.

 

[DroidArmy]

I can flash pit, I can flash bootloaders and I can flash CWM I just can't flash any roms or honestly, I've read so many threads that I can't remember where I downloaded the stock rom from but I know that I did go to sammobile. The pit link that was given to me no longer downloads. The firmware (stock) was gotten from either Xda or Sammobile.

When I flash bootloaders and cwm the phone doesn't restart. Just a black screen. If I flash pit it restarts but goes into the boot vibrating loop. Neither or the tar files I have will flash.

That's what I meant. You can flash, but they don't work. That's the real issue. Your whole system is jammed up

 

[bwsettles]

Flashed Pit with Success, Now I'll try to flash stock Odin Says:
<ID:0/005> Added!!
<ID:0/005> Odin v.3 engine (ID:5)..
<ID:0/005> File analysis..
<ID:0/005> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/005> Initialzation..
<ID:0/005> Set PIT file..
<ID:0/005> DO NOT TURN OFF TARGET!!
<ID:0/005> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/005> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/005> RQT_CLOSE !!
<ID:0/005> RES OK !!
<ID:0/005> Remain Port .... 0
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 1 / failed 0)


I'm fighting the urge to call Odin "Simon" since it is pulling my strings.

 

[DroidArmy]

Flashed Pit with Success, Now I'll try to flash stock Odin Says:
<ID:0/005> Added!!
<ID:0/005> Odin v.3 engine (ID:5)..
<ID:0/005> File analysis..
<ID:0/005> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/005> Initialzation..
<ID:0/005> Set PIT file..
<ID:0/005> DO NOT TURN OFF TARGET!!
<ID:0/005> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/005> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/005> RQT_CLOSE !!
<ID:0/005> RES OK !!
<ID:0/005> Remain Port .... 0
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 1 / failed 0)


I'm fighting the urge to call Odin "Simon" since it is pulling my strings.

Excellent! Hopefully it flashes!

 

[grenefroggie]

Excellent! Hopefully it flashes!

Agreed!!!

 

[bwsettles]

No such luck. I'm really just dancing around on my tip toes, sacrificing goats to whomever will listen and hoping for some sort of fix.

 

[DroidArmy]

No such luck. I'm really just dancing around on my tip toes, sacrificing goats to whomever will listen and hoping for some sort of fix.

Ah, that sucks. Maybe ship it off to the guy at mobile tech videos? It's like 50 bucks but he pretty much guarantees it (and it's a lot cheaper than a new phone) http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-jtag-brick-repair/

 

[anon8392723]

I got the same problem once times.. does your download mode work? if it does than you can fix your phone.. just download the cwm recovery for your mobile from the web, and flash it via download mode on your mobile, using odin pda tab.. now you may be able to boot to cwm recovery by pressing up menu and power buttons in sequence.. once you got acess to backup and restore.. you can restore using ext sd card.. well i you have a backup saved in your pc, try copying that in your sd card and restoring through ext sd card.. it worked for my s3 ..

 

[bwsettles]

Hey Thanks for the reply, I gave it a go but it didn't work for me. Still rocking the old school Captivate.

 

[Ba Shah]

i have the exact same problem with my note 3 SM-N900W8 , any advices?

 

[Ba Shah]

BWSETTLES i was wondering in download mode, do you have WRITE PROTECTION: Enable

 

[Ba Shah]

i got mine fixed )))