yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
I have now opened Odin3 v1.85.

Interesting to note that the top black bar says 'Epic 4G'. I don't know if that is of any significance.

I've found the ROM which i relevant to my phone, i think (I9300XXDLIB)

Just to ask, I'm not needing to download any firmware? Different firmware versions were the major results i found when searching. I wouldn't be able to tell you what firmware I'm on, other than to say its Stock o2 UK firmware, whatever that maybe.

Thanks again for the replies.

UPDATE:

I just used odin to try and install the new ROM but it failed.

"

<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> system.img

<ID:0/005> NAND Write Start!!

<ID:0/005>

<ID:0/005> Complete(Write) operation failed.

<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

"

I don't know what else to try :(
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] shinyazz52:
I think that I9300XXDLIB is a polish firmware , are you sure it wasnt I9300XXDLIH ,that is what comes up on sammobile when searching for the stock o2 jb
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
Please can you provide a link? Its my first time on Sammobile so im still trying to find it. Thanks.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
Ok.. After that first try failure I've noticed the phone doesn't even get past the Samsung Galaxy s3 boot screen.

I still have access to CWM through pressing the right buttons.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] shinyazz52:
Mate I think ( if i remember rightly) you need an account on there to download , but here you are

http://www.sammobile.com/firmware/?page=3&model=GT-I9300&pcode=O2U&os=1&type=1#firmware
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
I've just created an account with them and am waiting to download the file. My God, if this works you are my freaking savior! My own personal Jesus f**king Christ.

If doesn't I still really appreciate you helping.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] shinyazz52:
Mate I am no expert myself !, just trying to point in right directions. I am wondering if you should do factory reset from recovery before flashing again , anyone else advise please
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Skander1998:
Alright alright, let's start with some basic stuff here.

1)- Do you have a micro sd card in there? And a card reader to read/write content to it from your PC? (We can use this to flash another ROM directly from CWM).

2)- Did you enter download mode when attempting to flash with ODIN? (Powerdown + Home + Power button)?

Everyone should follow the layout of the first post when asking for help, makes it way easier for people to understand and help.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
Hi,

1) Yes I have a micro SD card, which I can use to place files on from my PC.

2) Yes, I entered download mode when flashing to from Odin (The screen with the warning about installing custom software). I clicked ok, and then Odin detected my phone.

I'm currently downloading PDA:I9300XXDLIH & CSC:I9300O2UDLI3 as I'm aware the last ROM could have been the wrong one.

Any assistance would greatly appreciated.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] shinyazz52:
Hope all goes well mate , skander1998 will have much more knowledge than I :)
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, you may not be an expert but you're one step ahead of me. :)
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Skander1998:
If ODIN doesn't work after all, download Android Revolution or any other stock based ROM, place it in your external SD card, and flash it from CWM, Factory reset and that should work.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
Thank you. I will try this and let you know. Hopefully it will work.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
One n00b question.

When I'm trying to install the ROM in Odin,

Do I choose PDA, Phone or CSC?

Ignore that... I'm ashamed I even asked that.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] robogo1982:
If it fails again, try booting to recovery and formatting /system under mounts and storage.

Just brainstorming. :D
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
Another update.

Ok, I have some interesting news that may narrow down the problem.

I downloaded the PDA:I9300XXDLIH MD5 file from sammobile. I tried using Odin, but it did not work, Odin aborted the install

I put the file onto my sdcard and tried to install it from CWM but again it would not work, CWM aborted the install.

Firstly in CWM I've notice the message "E:Can't open /cache/recovery/log"

In CWM out of curiosity I went to wipe data/factory reset. I tried doing this but in the wiping data section it says (At this point im not bothered about the data that was on there".

"Formatting /data...

Error mounting /data...

Skipping format...

formatting /cache..."

It stays there but then restarts my phone.

After a little more research...

I went to wipe the Dalvik cache but it just returned me to the main system menu.

I went to wipe cache partition and it started to wipe but then my phone just restarted.

I looked into the mounts and Storage menu and it showed me this

"

- mount /efs

- unmount /cache

- mount /system

- mount /data

- mount /preload

- mount /sdcard

- format /cache

- format /system

- format /data

- format /preload

- format / sdcard

"

I'm not sure if that is of any use but, is there anything I need to do with this menu?

Really staring into a void here. I hope that may help narrowing down the cause of the problem.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Skander1998:
What ROM did you try installing in CWM? Android Revolution? (Linked few steps back), use the super wipe script that comes with it first (available on the same post)
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
I'm trying Android Revolution. I tried downloading SuperWipe but the link did not work.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Skander1998:
Attached super wipe.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
Thank you. I will update when the ROM has downloaded.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
Ok, Looks like I'm getting somewhere but I'm still not out of the woods yet.

I have both Super Wipe and Revolution on my SDcard.

Firstly I went into CWM to run Super Wipe. It started, but then my phone restarted without warning. Not knowing whether it was successful or not I went back into CWM to try and install revolution.

It loaded successfully and I went through all the options (The only one I wasn't certain of what the perseus kernal, so i choose to stick with the stock kernal).

Once I had completed all the steps it began the process but within seconds my phone restarts. Just before it did i noticed the process was doing something to do with mounting or un-mounting, its flashed so quick i could barely see it.

Do you know why it keeps rebooting? It seems like I'm almost there.

EDIT:

I've noticed that at the bottom of CWM Recovery it has the following text

"

E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/command

E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/log

E:Can't open /cache/recovery/log

E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_log

E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_log

"

EDIT 2:

After reading more information I went back into CWM and into the mounts and storage

I cannot mount /cache /system /data

I can format /system but when i try to format /cache CWM crashes. If i try to format /data it says error mounting /data Skipping format.

Boy am I swimming out of my depth.

Edit 3:

I decided to try Odin again with the I9300XXDLIH_I9300O2UDLI3_I9300BWDLI1_HOME.tar.md5

It failed...

This is the message

<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> system.img

<ID:0/005> NAND Write Start!!

<ID:0/005>

<ID:0/005> Complete(Write) operation failed.

<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

I'm starting to sense that my phone is bricked. :( Is there anything I can do with the Re-partition tick box and pit file? I've always read NEVER tick the Re-partition tick box it sounds like my phone needs something like this because the cache, data and system all seem corrupt. This is what my instinct is telling but i could be way off base. Anyone?
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] shinyazz52:
The only thing that I've seen people say you should tick repartition for is when you are flashing pit file. That's just an observation, in no way am I suggesting you should, that's your call :)

Sent from the S3
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
There is definitely something wrong the /cache /system /data I cannot mount or format those directories. When it comes to installing a ROM through CWM the phone resets when it is doing something related to mounting/unmounting. When I try Super Wipe, it resets as soon as it tries format the /cache.

All these observations lead me to the idea that it has something to do with a corruption partition. I'm not going to do it until someone here can confirm what the problem is exactly. I think at the moment its called a 'soft brick', I don't want to hard brick it. :confused:
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] shinyazz52:
I feel your pain mate , this and other random problems reported on here are the reasons i`m still stock on my s3 . Hope it works out for you .
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
Update:

I decided to get ADB running om my computer just in case anything can be done from that command prompt.

I'm still researching exactly what commands do what in ADB, and I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction to how my problem could be potentially fixed using ADB?

Is there anyway to renew the /cache /data /partition so that when i come to install a new ROM it doesn't crash?

I'm getting desperate, punching above my weight, I'm learning a lot but could do with a guiding hand.

Cheers.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] discoguru:
No idea how to solve the problem - but just wanted to say hang in there. I used to be in similar situations when I jumped into Linux few years ago. The Open Source community is pretty knowledgeable and awesome; eventually someone will post something which you help your particular problem.

Also, try running a Google search for the problem. If this problem has occurred once, there is a high chance someone else also faced, and eventually solved it.

For future reference, keep Clockword Recovery Mod on your phone at all times. It will help you out a great deal.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
Thanks for the encouragement. I hope you are right. If it wasn't for CWM I would be in hell right now, having to send my phone off. It is because I can still get into that menu, and also go into download mode for Odin, that i persist in finding a solution.

I've been using google, trying different search terms and the majority of the time it just links back to XDA :p I haven't found a post yet that deals with an identical situation. I've read posts that have some of the symptoms but never all.

Once this is fixed (if it can be fixed) I wouldn't mind figuring out what the hell happened in the first place. I wasn't doing anything, not flashing a ROM or messing around, just a normal day then BOOM, No phone.

I just went back into CWM -

Went to 'format /system' - done.

Went to 'mount /system' - crashed. Restarted.

Me = :crying:
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Skander1998:
Might have to do something with broken partitions?

Flashing pit files is risky, can't recommend that, but it might be the only way out before your trip to the Service Center.. :/
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
I was afraid you were going to say that... My only worry about the service center is the fact that its been rooted and its counter is on 1. I've heard cases where the service center has just returned an unfixed phone.

Now I need to start learning about PIT files.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Frag1le:
Did you consider it could also be a hardware problem?

The internal flash chip that contains these partitions could be failing because the flash is partly defect.

(thus giving write errors)

I do not have much experience with the internal flash in phones but i'm comparing this with corrupt sectors on harddisk drives that can make whole partitions on them corrupt and unreadable.

A single corrupt partition doesn't mean the whole HDD will fail, other partitions could still be accessible.

Perhaps the block containing the CWM recovery is still readable so it can still boot into that, but then CWM can't write anything to the other blocks/partitions cause they are corrupt cause of a hardware problem.

Because both ODIN and CWM don't behave like they should you could be just unlucky and have failing internal storage.

From: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=27329503&postcount=6
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
Thanks for your input. I have considered that it could be a hardware fault. That would explain a lot about why i can't format or mount and also the randomness of its occurrence.

If this is so, then it looks like its a return to the service center situation. In which case I need to find out how to make it look like the phone hasn't been tampered with.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Skander1998:
Alright then, if you feel a little brave and want to try out the pit (at your own risk - choose the correct pit file), if that works, well wonderful!

If not, the device won't boot and they won't (hopefully) know it was tempered with.. Just tell them it crashed by itself, kept bootlooping the whole night then died.

Service centers change from country to country, here in Qatar, i sent my device with a custom rom, rooted and they were like asking how did that happen and i told them my friend tried to fix a problem with me and it was just like that after, they simply fixed it for me for no cost :p
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] slaphead20:
my first point of concern is the fact that Odin said your phone was an epic 4g, that indicates problems from the start
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] robogo1982:
Tried flashing with Odin v3?
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
This option is looking more and more likely. Pretty much, the PIT solution seems to be my only option at the moment. I hope my service centre has the same attitude as yours :)

At first (in my noobness) i didn't know what epic 4G was. Now i do know and its certainly not a good sign.

The Odin version I am using is Odin3 v1.85

-------------------------

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond and for trying to help me in this situation. Its much appreciated. I'm going to try the .pit option as I really can't see any other way (unless there is an adb wizard in the house). Going to do some .pit research tonight after the city game. I'll post any questions I might have.

Regardless of the outcome, one good is, I've certainly learnt a lot about my phone and how it runs.

Thanks again!
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jumbobombo:
Reading the thread I have nothing to say

Odin is most of the time the last hope for brick phone.

I would suggest you to brick your phone completely no recovery no download mode no light... this way Samsung also won't be able to figure out the root and everything

Also One guy had posted that he connected his phone to a car and started the car to fry the mother board :p

It helped him get a replacement... I'll look for the post and revert

Hang in there :)
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
I've just updated to the latest Odin. I have also found a site that has the .PIT files, however for the SIII GT-I9300 it has 3 possible PIT files. I don't suppose anyone would know which one is right for my phone.

The website is http://www.droidevelopers.com/f363/11722-[download]-ops-pit-files.html

If this doesn't work I'm trying the car thing you suggested hehe :P
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
*Sigh*

I tried Re-Partition with the pit file, in Odin3 v3.04

"

<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>

<ID:0/005> There is no PIT partition.

<ID:0/005> Added!!

<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

"

...There is no PIT partition. I don't know what that means but I know its not good. I can't even screw the phone up to send it back to the shop.

Any suggestions on what to do next? Now I'm at the point where I just want to brick it completely so when I send it back they can't recognize that CWM was there. Is that possible?
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] shinyazz52:
would flashing cf-auto root remove cwm recovery in favour of stock recovery ? or the toolkit can flash stock recovery also .
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] nhb13612:
You should flash an ICS (4.0.4) stock firmware of your region using Odin, which is what I believe the android version of your phone when you first bought it. That was how I unbricked my S3 about a month ago. I couldn't get into either recovery or download mode, my phone was stuck on the Samsung logo. I simply flashed the ICS firmware and the phone booted. Next I rooted my phone and installed a JB Rom, and now I'm on Omega 33.2 (4.1.2).
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jumbobombo:
I'm sorry I could not find the post but I know the member who posted it

Apex_strider

He is a very nice guy. Get in touch with him. he could help you.

Best of luck :)
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Skander1998:
*Sigh* x2.

Did you try redownloading the samsung drivers (uninstall kies and reinstall it) and see if that helps with the ODIN problems?

If no luck there i pretty much don't have any more options to give :S

EDIT: If the drivers don't help, i am more certain that the internal SD is probably damaged, same problems and symptoms from people @ the I9003 forum, they had to change the board.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ag4751:
[Can Kies detect your phone when you connect to your PC, if it can try this.

Just an option as I didn't notice that you tried it.

First of all remove the battery and note the exact Model Name from the sticker under the battery, then replace the battery.

Start Kies then go to Tools > Firmware Upgrade and Installation, enter the information relating to the Model Name and click OK. You should get on screen instructions and finally the option to Start Upgrade.

If this works it will completely wipe your device and create all new partitions etc then install the latest firmware so anything that you have not backed up will be lost but that is the least of your problems.

Afterwards root your phone with this CF Auto-Root from the second post

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1957273

The install this instead of trying to use CWM as Chainfire no longer supports CWM for 4.1.1 firmware

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1768142
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
[Ignore]
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
Thanks for your response.

At the moment unless I am in CWM or Download mode the phone just boot loops. I tried to see if kies can detect my phone when it is in download mode but it does not.

One thing to note: last night I was wandering around adb command prompt. From there I restarted the phone, this shows that ADB can send commands to the phone. I was wondering if there is any way I can fix the phone using adb, or if there was a way to wipe it so that when I send it into the service centre they cannot see Odin or cwm?
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] robogo1982:
From this little experience I have with Sammy devices, I'd say your /data partition is corrupted. Sniff around the Galaxy Note forums, people there had some success restoring their devices in working order.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rab1412000:
I feel your pain man, but from your first symptom (encryption error) to your last (can't find pit), it does seem like a corrupted sd partition.

Unfortunately, this points more to a hardware defect, but as the poster above suggests try looking in the note forums for a way to resolve this via software.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Sent from a Galaxy far, far away
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
I've been onto support at o2 and this is the line they gave me about the repair of the phone

"We need to get the phone checked by our engineers they will check the phone and email you if there is any cost, as the warranty only covers manufacture faults.

Usually it takes 7 working days under Standard services, but I'll repair your handset and return back to you within 3 working days free of cost as a goodwill gesture. If there is any charge for repair our team will check the phone and email you."

At this point I'm worried they are going to charge me when they find Odin and CWM.

They are coming to pick the phone up on the 3rd. What are my options?
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] JJEgan:
They are at liberty to charge you as the warranty is void as the phone has been rooted .

Boot to recovery and wipe and factory reset is all you can do .

jje
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
£118 pounds for repair. That's a kick in the knackers!
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rab1412000:
What is it exactly that they fixed?

Sent from a Galaxy far, far away
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
They didn't go into any details regarding what they have done. They just said 'the presence of unauthorized software'. I've asked them to tell what exactly is wrong with the phone and as of yet, i have not said yes to the repair. I waiting for their response.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
Well I found out that the motherboard was broken, but they said it broke because of the unauthorised software that was on there. This does not make any sense to me because the only thing I had was root. The OS and everything else was stock. There was no way for me to argue with them though so it looks like I'm going to have to foot the bill.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] xcly:
They probably day that because you rooted your phone. They can lie to you and you won't be able to argue back.. Kinda sad but can't do much about it. Just hoping your future adventure is trouble free.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rab1412000:
Well the only good thing about this is you get virtually new internal hardware and it's gonna make you immune to the sudden death 'bug'.

Sent from a Galaxy far, far away
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
I'd just like to thank everyone in this thread who tried to help me. The positive out of all of this is that I've learnt a hell of a lot about the inner workings of my phone, despite not being able to fix it.

So thank you. :)
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Starchini:
Update.

I've got my phone back. They swapped the motherboard out. The one good thing about this is that my 16gb SIII is now a 32gb SIII.
[Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] spamtrash:
Good for you. Now you can use knowledge gained here to kindly ask Samsung for refund. Of course, if they did not provided you with the detailed evidence how rooting/flashing damaged motherboard.
[Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Kilbert:
I know you guys are probably sick of this question, but I really would like to hear what ROM you guys recommend for the Samsung galaxy S i897 captivate. There are soooo many choices. I am used to using gingerbread on my previous phone, so I am looking for gingerbread or higher (I am @ 2.2 froyo now) , with stability being #1 importance. Thanks for your suggestions.