yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jacopo3001:
Happy new year to you, and that you very much for your help! :)

Basically it's always the same error, no matter which ROM i flash.

it always fails at either Hidden.rfs or Movinand.mst, depending on the ROM.

here is how it looks like when I try GB-Stock-Safe (recommended by Overcome) for example:

<ID:0/018> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/018> boot.bin
<ID:0/018> cache.rfs
<ID:0/018> dbdata.rfs
<ID:0/018> factoryfs.rfs
<ID:0/018> movinand.mst
<ID:0/018>
<ID:0/018> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

If I remove these files (Hidden.rfs or Movinand.mst) from the TAR i can flash with no errors, but the tablet wouldn't boot.

This apply to EVERY Roms i tried so far, with no exclusion.

I am making up a new theory: the first bricking error happened after I flashed JQ1, which has bootloaders. Could it be that those bootloaders go in conflicts with the chinese version of hardware, and thefore the brick?

I am keep trying flashing different combinations of ROM's, I am just afraid to get worst... :S
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dirlan2001:
Hi,

No thanks, you're welcome LOL

The problem seems indeed the bootloaders playing up. I guess you'll need to try repair them with this thread from the same guy that made this thread

I suggest you try to repair the lot via the guides he gives to get a up and running again. After that you can retry to install AF974's latest...

Cheers, and good luck :D
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jacopo3001:
thanks, I know those threads already (read them all!)

the main problem I don't get about the bootloader fix is that chainfire released a APK, which assume you can boot the phone!

He starts the thread saying his phone was bricked and cannot flash anything on it, then he fixes it with a APK! that got me lost, how to get out of the brick first?

regarding AF974, that's not my priority, I am just trying to have this thing working again..
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dirlan2001:
Hi,

He did a 200 mile trip to have the MoBo changed .. LOL That doesn't help you any further I guess...

Did you try to put the renamed kernel.zip and flash that through CWM as I previously proposed ? What is the outcome ? Or eventual errors ?

:D

PS : as long as you can get it in download mode (odin) or CWM it's not a brick, it just not booting completely...
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jacopo3001:
I chickened out last minute! :p

I could upgrade to a latest version of CWM by simply flashing CF-ROOT with odin.

but I was not sure about proceeding mounting Overcome's kernel:

OC's documentation raccomends to mount on a clean and functioning install of JQ1 (which i dont have) and says that its kernel will automatically convert the formatting to ext4.

I am not sure it's a good idea to convert formatting while at this situation.

Would I be able to revert in case something goes wrong?

What do you think?
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dirlan2001:
Hi,

Do I understand correctly your system is up and running again ? In that case I would certainly recommend to run the complete guide to make it first stock again. The kernel indeed does a conversion to ext4, which is a way better filesystem as the rfs from Samsung. Look in the Overcome thread for the mirrors as OC seems still to have serious problems with their serversystem.

And if you take courage (and the habit) you might start looking for a more recent kernel and ROM...

:D
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jacopo3001:
The system is NOT up and running.

It's hanging at the Samsung logo.

But I can at least get to both download and recovery mode.

What happens is that, regardless which ROM I try, I cannot flash neither hidden.rfs nor movinand.mst (depending on Rom's content), they always FAIL on ODIN.

If I flash a ROM removing those 2 it Odin would success, but the tab will not Boot and hang at Samsung logo.

That's why I say the system is not stable now, I am not sure whether it's a good idea to go into changing FS now or would it screw up things even worst...
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jacopo3001:
I updated the first post with a full picture of the situation

I updated the first post making sure to include all possible details, including what I learned these days. Hope it gives a clearer picture.

in short:

If I flash anything containing hidden.rfs or movinand.mst Odin will fail.

If I flash without those Odin will PASS, but tab won't boot and hang at samsung logo.
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dirlan2001:
Hi again :D

I'm getting more and more confident that the problems with the rfs/mst might be caused by a wrong Mr. Pit-file going with the *.tar - files. I (again) urge you to try out the GB-stocksafe v5 that is used in the guide I pointed you earlier too. Nevertheless, if you get again the same errors, reboot and let it sit at the Samsung-logo. Watch it closely, the animation behind it is very difficult to see, but as long as it moves, it's loading the kernel. That can take several minutes (reportedly up to 10-15 minutes sometimes) If Odin says it passed OK, then it's a matter of time to have it booting.

If that's to no avail, I guess I'm getting at the end of my imagination...

Good Luck anyway :D
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jacopo3001:
I know I sounds like I am trying to be difficult/negative, but I already tried carefully.

When flashing GB-stocksafe-v5, I use the pit contained in the ZIP file, so i guess it's the right one.

Odin will Always fail at movinand.mst, giving the pc-!-phone.

If I want it to pass, I need to remove movinand.mst and hidden.rfs from the .TAR file.

I did that, and left it on the samsung logo all night, nothing happened.

I read somewhere that movinand.mst is not a fundamental file, so I guess it should be fine without it. But I am not sure about hidden.rfs.

I am not sure if NOT having flashed movinand.mst and hidden.rfs is the reason for not booting, or maybe they are not the direct cause but the same reason not allowing movinand.mst and hidden.rfs to be flashed is the same that doesn't allow the tab to boot. I have no idea.

thank you for your patience.. I don't know why everyone on the forum seem to be fixing their problem just trying again few time, while I have been I don't know how many days on this already
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dirlan2001:
:D AFAIK rfs/mst are connected with the protected bootloaders, which can be solved (?) with the chainfire v3.

My imagination isn' stuck yet, so here go another 'wild' guess... As I understand you're using Heimdall/odin to no avail. Did you already try out ADB to mount/check/remove/format or..or...etc.. the partitions in the phone ?

Holidays are over, I go back to work now, it might be some days before i can check-in again, in the mean time, as always : good luck

:D
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jacopo3001:
You mean CF-ROOT? or SGT-Bootloader-Patch-v1.0.0.apk ?

if it'sthe APK, I wouldnt know how to use it as I cannot but in the system.

If CF-ROOT, I can run that, but how to solve protected bootloaders with it?

BTW: CF's SGTBootloaderCheck says my bootloaders are ok.

Plus, I can flash CF-ROOT with odin, which is supposed to fail if bootloaders were protected (which makes me think mine aren't?)

great! wild guesses is what we need most now! :)

No I haven't.

I am trying now to install it on ubuntu and see if I can make it work on recovery mode.

Anyway as I said I can flash Cf-root (with CWM) so I can probably operate most those operation within recovery.

the problem is: what should I do?

Best for your work, and thank so much for support.

BTW Do you have a Donate button? I would like to re-pay some of your time.
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dirlan2001:
Hi,

I'm here for fun, not for money :cool:

Light in the Dark LOL, if you manage to flash CF-root, you have a working system then. If that is running and you get into CWM (dunno exactly which version is included) you should be able to get any other ROM based on zip-install through CWM up and running. If that fails, you still can go back to CF-root and try another ROM. You might try this one Be aware you'll also need to flash modem and dbdata as well...

:D
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jacopo3001:
Something I am confused about (it's new for me!):

I can flash the same Rom's either with Odin or CWM?

I found this guide on how to flash Rom's with CWM.

what are the differences when flashing the same rom on Odin vs CWM?

Also, should I try to work on (don't know doing what) on the partitions via CWM/ADB, or should I just keep flashing different ROMs and let them do the job?
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jacopo3001:
promising...

this is a bit new, and promising:

I flashed GB-stocksafe-v5 using Odin, removing hidden.rfs and movinand.mst (It would fail if I don't do so).

Then I flashed CF-Root-TAB7_XX_OXA_JQ1-v3.3-CWM3RFS

Getting into recovery mode now almost doesn't give any error, and I can even mount the tab as USB storage to my PC.

(of course trying to boot will not give any result thou, this time I get a black screen, not even the samsung logo)

I am almost tempted to try Overcome, eventhou I am not sure how risky could it be (the base ROM is not correctly loaded!).
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dirlan2001:
Hi, me again LOL

I was in bed thinking over and over again this 'issue'... and then it flashed through my mind I've seen this before.

First make sure you have AF974"s kernel and ROM and the correct modem on the external SD.

Second, boot in Download-mode, use Odin to install the Overcome 4 kernel. After flashing that kernel, let it reboot normally. You'll hear some grl talking to you LOL After that you'll kinda stuck on a black screen. Just shutdown the Tab, count to 11 (or 12 LOL) and restart the Tab in recovery-mode...

Third, if you get into CWM you can then pick mount/storage mount everything that isn't mounted yet.

Fourth, without leaving CWM, you got to install zip from SD.. pick external SD and flash first the AF974 kernel, without leaving the install mode, flash the AF974 ROM, again without leaving the CWM, the recommended modem ( I use JPZ, but i'm in Europe, it may be better to take another here post nr 10 talks about asian/chinese modem) . Reboot.. if all goes well, you'll get a bootanimation for some minutes and then HOP, you're done...

Hope this makes an end to your burden :D
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jacopo3001:
ok I will try!

Only one thing is not clear to me:

how to mount these?

Isnt everything included in the ZIPs?

I just haven't done this before and couldn't find clear instructions anywhere..

Anyway, i am starting! :)
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dirlan2001:
Hi,

Yep, everything needed is included in the zips. Mind you, The Overcome kernel will convert your system to ext4. The AF974 thread has the files and links included. Make sure you take the ext4 kernel.

Instructions : easy LOL use the volume up/down to scroll up/down, use the home-key to activate the chosen action...So, here go : get into recovery, go to mount/storage, mount the unmounted items, go back, go to install from SD, scroll down to external SD, pick the kernel.zip, flash it , pick the ROM.zip, flash it, pick yhe modem zip, flash it, go back to rthe first screen, reboot now.

Cheers
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jacopo3001:
it didn't go well...

EDIT:

i tried the process again and finally understood what the overcome's converting voice was saying: not enough space on partition!

good lord, another open variable!

-----

yesterday I tried to install AF974.

The install process didn't give error, but the tab would not boot.

this time, instead of hanging at the samsung logo it would hang at the very first GALAXY TAB screen, rebooting every 10 seconds or so.

You can really see the tab rebooting, hanging few secs at the first screen, then reboot again, forever.

Eventhou the install of AF974 itself did not give errors, there were few irregularities on the way (which I recap anyway on the first post):

the base GB-Stock was not flashed completely, I had to remove hidden.rsf and movinand.mst from the TAR before flashing. Odin PASSED, but tab would not boot into JQ1 (hung at samsung logo)

once in CWM Recovery, everything seemed fine BUT /data.

E:failed to mount /data (No such file or directory)

Every operation related to /data (mount/format..) would therefore fail

before installing AF974 I tried to install overcome_7, using overcome kernell.

it would fail verification: E:signature verification failed.

eventhou one could be tempted to think that bootloaders are the cause of all this, I have reasons to think my bootloaders are fine:

CF's SGTBootloaderCheck says my bootloaders are ok.

I can flash CF-root (which is supposed to fail with protected bootloaders)

I was brave and stupid enough to format /boot from recovery. Tab would not boot but I could flash it back from Odin with no problems (still, flashed an incomplete ROM without hidden.rfs)

What looks strange to me instead is the /data partition that recovery says to not exist.

Is maybe this partition where hidden.rsf and movinand.mst are supposed to go?

why is it missing, how to create it and is it really a problem?
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dirlan2001:
Did you check the device with ADB ? Maybe you should have a look at the internal SD, as this is the place where /system and /data etc go... if present try changing the permissions...

If no luck there, I recommend to ask AF974 in his thread if he sees another option to revive the device... I'm done for now :(

:D
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jacopo3001:
this is what I see with ADB. But I have no idea how to read this.

:~/android-sdks/platform-tools$ ./adb shell ls -l
lrwxrwxrwx 1 system system 15 Oct 20 2011 bin -> voodoo/root/bin
drwxrwx--- 4 system cache 4096 Jan 4 15:13 cache
drwxr-xr-x 2 system system 0 Oct 20 2011 data
drwxrwxrwx 2 root root 0 Jan 4 16:13 datadata
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 0 Jan 4 16:13 dbdata
-rw-r--r-- 1 system system 118 Jun 13 2011 default.prop
drwxr-xr-x 9 root root 2960 Jan 4 16:13 dev
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 0 Jan 4 16:13 efs
drwxrwxrwx 2 root root 0 Jan 4 16:13 etc
-rw-r--r-- 1 system system 1605 Jun 20 2011 fota.rc
-rwxr-xr-x 1 system system 123064 May 25 2011 init
-rw-r--r-- 1 system system 1677 May 25 2011 init.goldfish.rc
-rw-r--r-- 1 system system 25094 Jul 26 2011 init.rc
drwxr-xr-x 3 system system 0 Oct 20 2011 lib
-rwxr-xr-x 1 system system 1482 May 25 2011 lpm.rc
drwxrwxr-x 3 root root 0 Jan 4 16:13 mnt
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 0 Jan 4 16:13 preload
dr-xr-xr-x 72 root root 0 Jan 1 1970 proc
-rw-r--r-- 1 system system 0 Jun 27 2011 readme
-rw-r--r-- 1 system system 1714 Jun 13 2011 recovery.rc
drwxr-xr-x 3 system system 0 Jan 4 16:13 res
drwxr-xr-x 2 system system 0 Jan 4 16:13 sbin
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 0 Jan 4 16:13 sd-ext
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 0 Jan 4 16:13 sdcard
drwxr-xr-x 12 root root 0 Jan 4 16:13 sys
drwxr-xr-x 15 root root 4096 Jan 4 15:09 system
drwxrwxrwt 2 root root 60 Jan 4 16:13 tmp
-rw-r--r-- 1 system system 0 May 25 2011 ueventd.goldfish.rc
-rw-r--r-- 1 system system 4987 May 25 2011 ueventd.rc
lrwxrwxrwx 1 system system 15 Oct 20 2011 usr -> voodoo/root/usr
drwxrwxr-x 13 system system 0 Jan 4 16:13 voodoo

mounting data would fails:

:~/android-sdks/platform-tools$ ./adb shell mount /data
mount: mounting /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 on /data failed: No such file or directory

it's try to mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 on data, but it does not exists!

now what?

I found these: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1158377

scary stuff!

in the meanwhile I messed up something, which would probably required to be fixed first:

Seems I cannot mount internal SDCARD anymore, but just the external one.

Basically if I insert a external sd it gets mounted as internal, while the internal one does not get mounted.

If i remove the external SD, then I have nothing.

I guess I should first restore the right mapping..?
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dirlan2001:
Hi,

Restoring the partitiontable looks a good idea, however, the partitions on Tab are different as in the other thread, so you'll be on your own for that ...

I personnally would try now to get into CWM (again) and look at the 'Fix permissions'... then retry to flash OC kernel/repartition and see if the 'lack of space' is still there.

Cheers
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] M3kker:
Hi guys, first off i would like to say, you are not alone with this..

My tab also bricked, and i have the same issues as you...

I came from the overcome rom and tried to flash a stock file.

I can still get into download mode. or recovery for that matter but nothing seems to get it to pass Hidden.rfs or the other file.

I hope you guys can find the fix for this problem cause it has been taking way to long for me to try to fix this..

If i can help with any data.. let me know.

M3kker.

Edit: I got it to boot with the stock gbsafev5
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jacopo3001:
So yours works now? Problem solved?

gbsafev5 fails at movinand.mst in my case, I cannot flash it...
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mel_:
My Tmo Tab soft-bricked a few months ago. I want to stress that I was not flashing or changing anything on my Tab at the time it started acting up. I had been running Overcome 4 since its release (upgraded from the previous version of Overcome), and everything was stable. It had been sitting in my purse all day, untouched, until I turned it on and found it frozen. When I rebooted it, I heard Linda give me the "not enough space for conversion" error message but it was too late to do anything about it. After that, the Tab turn on but would not complete the boot process.

I was seeing the following symptoms:

Odin flash failure at movinand.mst, no matter what ROM I attempted to flash. Able to flash .pit files just fine. Disconnecting after failure gives secondary download screen.

Can flash via one-click Heimdall and get out of secondary download screen, but Tab bootloops after the Samsung logo.

In recovery, missing /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 (I think; I have it written down at home).

In CWM, unable to mount/unmount/format internal SD. Tab seems to think external SD card is the internal SD card.

Unable to partition internal memory via ADB.

Tab was "soft-bricked": it charges, the device powers up, the buttons light up, Odin and Heimdall recognize it, I can get it into recovery and download modes, it does allow me to flash (just never gets past boot).

I tried on and off for several weeks to flash my Tab but no luck . After doing research, I concluded:

The movinand.mst file appears to format the internal memory. I am guessing that it fails at this file because the internal memory is corrupted or has failed.

If you cannot mount the /dev/block/mmcblk0p1/p2, it's probably related to the internal memory not being accessible.

I contacted MobileTechVideo to see if it might be fixed via JTAG. I detailed the error messages I was receiving, and the short answer was "no". I kinda expected that.

I called Samsung as a last resort and found out my Tab was still under warranty. I told them that I had been running a custom ROM and understood that might make any repair "out of warranty". I did say that I thought the problem was with the internal memory. They opened a ticket, told me to send it in and emailed me a pre-paid UPS shipping label. They said it would take approx. 5-7 business days after receipt to assess and fix it if it was covered by warranty. If it was determined to be out of warranty, they would call and give me an estimate of the repair cost and I could either let them repair it or have them return it to me.

I sent the Tab back to them. I got a status update yesterday. It appears the fix

was

covered by the warranty:

Problem Found: Lockup during operation (SW)

Solution: Replaced PBA

So, the problem was fixed via hardware replacement. I sent it in 27 Dec, they received it 30 Dec, I got the repair/ship notice 5 Jan and delivery is estimated for 10 Jan.

Maybe this will help someone else with the same problem know when to stop flashing a dead Tab. In my case, it was something that could only be fixed by replacing the PBA (Printed Board Assembly, I think).

.
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dirlan2001:
Sounds very interesting. Just for the record, where was your Tab manufactured ? Is it a Chinese or Korean built ? Might show up as a series with faulty MoBo's ...

:D
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mel_:
I checked the original box. It says "made in Korea".

I don't think it's a faulty motherboard, though.

•	When I got into standard recovery, I'd get the following errors:

o	Update media, please wait

o	E: Can’t mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 (no such file or directory)

o	E: copy_dbdata_media: Can’t mount SDCARD

o	Your storage is not prepared, please use the UI menu for format and reboot actions

And none of the UI selections seemed to work, other than the reboot function.

•	In recovery, standard or CW, the internal SD card couldn't be found, mounted, or formatted. The system thought my external SD card was the internal SD card. I got: E: Can’t mount /sdcard/ and E: can’t mount /emmc/.

Every error I was getting pointed to the internal memory as the culprit.

Josh over at MobileTechVideos confirmed what I had already suspected: NAND corruption. He went on to say that those partitions wouldn't be mountable via JTAG, and that nobody fixes them because you'd have to remove the bad MoviNAND and re-solder a replacement to the board (a lot of work). I think that Samsung replaced the entire board because removing and reattaching a new NAND would not be cost-efficient.
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jacopo3001:
Thank you Mel_,

It's good to know, at least your case seems to be really closed to mine.

The only reasons that kept me from sending it in so far are:

My tab was working fine until the moment I flashed JQ1, so I guessed it had to be a software problem, but go figure!

my tab is older then 1 yr, I guess it's not under warranty anymore

I bought it in china and I am now in mexico. I already sent it to a local authorized samsung center and they gave it to me with the pc-!-phone and clueless. I haven't tried to the main Samsung center in Mexico city yet.

Anyway it seems I cannot get any better clue, next week I will have to send it to mexico city I guess.
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mel_:
I'd call ahead and explain the errors you're getting, first, just to be sure they will take it. I'd also maybe email MobileTechVideos and see what they have to say about the errors you're getting. It would at least give you a second opinion.

When I was talking to Samsung's CS rep, he told me that off the top of his head, the most expensive off-warranty repair was replacing a broken LCD. That ran around $244.00. So, I figured that my repair should run less than that. I was willing to pay for the repair out of warranty if it came out to less than it would cost me to get a used replacement Tab off Ebay or Amazon (CL here charges way too much for the old Tabs, IMO). At least, I know Samsung looked at it, and I know the condition of my own Tab.

I will say that I had broken down and bought a replacement Tab off Ebay before finding out this one could be fixed. I made a Roto backup from the replacment and flashed that backup onto my broken Tab before sending it in. Not sure if it made a difference, but who knows?
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jacopo3001:
bricked!!

nice, today before going to the samsung shop I tried again the 'flashing routine' but this time when I tried to flash gb-stock-safev5 ... it bricked the tab, it doesn't charge anymore now...

now I HAVE to take it to samsung.
[Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mel_:
Crap!

Have you tried just hooking it up and letting it charge for a while (like a day), then checking and seeing if ODIN recognizes it? I did the same thing and thought I hard bricked, but it turns out some time on the charger was what it needed and Odin was able to see it again.

This did not change the fact that I had to send it to Samsung, though. Just meant that it wanted to live!