[XDA Assist] XDA Visitor:
Hello,

I am trying to recover from a softbrick issue. I have a BLU Studio C 5+5 LTE and therefore can't use TWRP or CWM (At least that is my assumption, maybe someone knows different). Before getting into the softbrick state I took 3 different types of backups in the hopes that one of them could be used in case it was needed. (like this)

Type 1 - I did an ADB shell backup from a completely stock device (unrooted) I used this command-

adb backup -apk -all -f fullbackup.adb

For this method I followed this guide here-

https://linuxiswonderful.wordpress.com/2015/04/04/full-backup-of-nonrooted-android/

Type 2 - I used Titanium backup and performed a complete system and application backup

Type 3 - I rooted the phone and backed up all partitions using dd after reviewing the partition layout of the device. For example, to backup the system partition I did the following at an ADB shell-

dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p21 of=/storage/sdcard1/firmware-img/system.img

I believe the last operation I tried before softbricking was installing the Xposed framework module for my device (running Lollipop 5.1.1).

I am able to still communicate to my device using ADB and I can get an ADB shell. or enter fastboot mode My device presently shows the manufacturer's logo when booting and gets no further.

To recover from this issue I think I have two basic options

#1 restore from backup

#2 locate the problem that is causing the system to hang at startup in the first place

At the end of the day I am trying to find the simplest, quickest method to get back up and running. Both methods are acceptable to me. I am not worried about losing any data.

My challenge/sticking point is how to turn my backups into a usable format to get me back on track or understand the boot process enough to get out of the boot loop.

The first thing I tried was mounting my raw image files created from the dd process. I followed this guide-

https://samindaw.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/mounting-a-file-as-a-file-system-in-linux/

I ran these commands-

#losetup /dev/loop0 /path/to/my/system.img

# mkfs -t ext3 -m 1 -v /dev/loop0

# mount -t ext3 /dev/loop0 /mnt

# cd /mnt

# ls

The various image files I created all seemed to mount "ok" OK meaning that the loopback mount process worked but it appears there is nothing but a lost+found folder in the mounted image. (I'm not sure why that is.)

I am still researching methods to turn my other backups into something usable for recovery purposes.

For using the adb backup file I created, this is what my understanding is-

Adb backup uses a type of compression (don’t remember what kind). I would need to uncompress the file first. After uncompressing and being able to view the file contents I would think I should be able to put together a flashable zip file of some sort.

I think the process for Titanium backup would generally be the same- uncompress/convert file format, create/assemble a flashable zip file

The last thought I had was trying to get the system to boot. To do so, I need to better understand the boot process. I am familiar with how Linux boots as I am a Sys Admin. I know Android is similar but just different enough to make me research this further. I can pull dmesg log for anyone if that will help. I was also seeing where you could use the logcat command. (That is new to me as it seems more Android specific and not used in Linux that I know of)

If there is any other info you need to see, please let me know. I made a lot of notes about the system architecture, partition layout, etc.

Many thanks in advance for your help! :)