Root Problems with boot loop

[roan242]

Evening,

i successfully rooted my desire last week then decided yesterday to go a step further and install a custom ROM with ROM Manager which seemed to work. however i didnt like it so i tried to revert back to my original one. since then i have been stuck in a boot loop. the recovery shows that it is doing something but it then says right at the end that the sd-extimg hasnt worked or something hasnt worked. i have also tried inserting my sd card into my pc but it wont read it. now u have an android picture with a triangle with an exclamation mark in it on the screen.

can anyone plese please help?

 

[shauny13]

did you do a nandroid backup first after you rooted?

 

[roan242]

i dont think so. wish i never bothered now

 

[Hadron]

sd-ext is the image of the external partition (for a2sd+). If you could tell us exactly what the error message is it might help someone identify the problem.

However, the important thing is that for whatever reason you can't restore from the nandroid, and the bit about the PC not being able to read the card is a bit worrying.
The question is, is the card OK? Because if it isn't that could explain problems with the restore (if the backup was corrupted).

So, a few thoughts. Firstly, have you considered/tried just reflashing the ROM you didn't like, just to get a working phone?

Otherwise, what happens if you boot the phone into recovery, connect it to the PC, then mount the card from recovery (should be an option "mounts and storage" or something like that)? Can the PC see the card then? If it can, back up anything you want to the PC (just in case), then you could put another ROM zip onto the card and try to flash that. If your original ROM was stock then this one should be pretty similar.

Have you had the card long, and where did you get it from? I ask because there have been a number of people who've bought cards off ebay which turned out to be fakes (low capacity cards that have been hacked to identify themselves as larger ones), and if you have one of those I could imagine something like this happening. If this is the original card, or bought from a reputable source, then don't worry about this question.

 

[Hadron]

i dont think so. wish i never bothered now

If you didn't do a nandroid, how are you trying to revert? I assumed that was a nandroid restore.

Jargon watch: a backup made from recovery is a nandroid. If you've used ROM manager () I guess the option "back up your current ROM" (or something like that) would also be a nandroid.

 

[shauny13]

try turning on device while holding volume down, if you can get into (clockwork mod recovery (black with green writing), wipe phone, put your new rom on root of your sd card and install from recovery. If you can do all this make a nandroid backup straight away. Ps, ditch rom manager, it's nothing but trouble!

 

[roan242]

some error messages
E cant mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
(filr exists)
Error mounting sdext:!

no app2sd partition found. skippig format of sd-ext

all well over my head

 

[roan242]

i think i have just formatted my sd card whilst in the phone and it all blank now?

 

[shauny13]

can you get into recovery as in my previous post? if you can, it's just a matter of putting the rom of your choice onto the sd card and flashing it from recovery... THEN NANDROID!

 

[Hadron]

some error messages
E cant mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
(filr exists)
Error mounting sdext:!

no app2sd partition found. skippig format of sd-ext

all well over my head

OK, the messages about sdext are not a problem. Most of us use a script (built into most ROMs) that uses an ext partition (second partition on the SD card, with a different filesystem format) to extend the internal memory of the phone. When you try to restore a nandroid backup it will format the internal memory and the sd-ext, in order to wipe completely before restoring. All these messages say to me is that you don't have an ext partition. Unless you have made one yourself that would be correct, so nothing to worry about.

The first one I've not seen before, but might be related ("mmcblk0p2" sounds like a partition - "mmcblk" could be "multimedia card block"). Trying a bit of a google on that.

 

[shauny13]

i was thinking this, hadron, if you try to install a a2sd rom without a partition first, it will usually bootloop.

 

[Hadron]

True, but roan242 says that the ROM install was OK, but attempting to restore back produced the bootloop.

 

[shauny13]

i'd guess he didn't wipe first maybe?

 

[Hadron]

i think i have just formatted my sd card whilst in the phone and it all blank now?

Ah, missed this post - sorry!

So can you read the card from the PC now? If it's readable, then at least we have a way forward.

If the card has been formatted and is completely blank you won't have a nandroid to restore from either (as that was on the card), unless you backed that up at some point. And if you've attempted an unsuccessful nandroid restore I assume it's wiped your ROM, so the phone won't boot into Android.

So assuming this is an accurate summary of the situation, my instinct is to load a stable rooted stock ROM, so that you have a working phone again. The thread I linked in my earlier post is for the ROM I used to use last year. Download one of the init.d ROMs, i.e. one without a radio (if you know what software version your original was, pick the one closest). Do not download a radio - you'll be fine without, and now is not the time to start messing with radios (that is potentially hazardous). Copy to your sd card, wipe and install from recovery. That should get you a working phone with something similar to your original firmware.

Unfortunately, if your card has been formatted then any app/data backups that hadn't been copied elsewhere are gone. Any paid apps can be restored from the market, at least.

 

[Hadron]

Note: I'm making assumptions here about what software you would prefer - feel free to ignore me! But if you haven't got an sd-ext partition you need a ROM which doesn't require that. I'm just guessing from your mail that you previously had stock, and hence suggesting a stock ROM.

 

[shauny13]

i dont know if he can get in recovery, he wont answer me.

 

[roan242]

Flippin hell, its the micro sd card adapter thats faulty, i can see the card now! so i just download another ROM on to it and place it in my phone?

 

[Hadron]

i'd guess he didn't wipe first maybe?

You shouldn't need to wipe before restoring a recovery backup - it wipes the phone as part of the restore (I've done it often enough, and I'm sure it talks about formatting various memory partitions as the first step).

That's the bit that bothers me - restoring from a recovery backup is in my experience rather reliable. OK, it might have been a bad backup - it would be easy to blame ROM manager, but I don't know whether that is amongst its faults. Or it might have been finger trouble. I'm just hoping it isn't a problem with the card itself.

 

[roan242]

if so do i have A2SD+ or not?

 

[Hadron]

Flippin hell, its the micro sd card adapter thats faulty, i can see the card now! so i just download another ROM on to it and place it in my phone?

Ah, that is a relief (card adapters being much cheaper than phones!)

Yes, just download a ROM onto the card, place it in the phone, boot into recovery (as shauny gave instructions for), select "install zip from SD card", select the zip and go.

Wipe first, because I've no idea what state the phone is in currently. But that should do it.

 

[shauny13]

no Hadron, i dont think he had a backup, i meant he didn't wipe from the rom he was on, just tried to install the old rom he was on b4, over the top of it.

 

[roan242]

i had a back up originally and in my ignorance i wiped the card when it wouldnt work so i think i just need to down load another one and hopefully it will work? which one from the link suggested above should i try?

 

[Hadron]

if so do i have A2SD+ or not?

Unless you have a second partition, ext formatted, you do not want a ROM which requires a2sd+. From the messages you quoted I don't think you have that partition. Do you think you should have, i.e. did you use ROM manager or GParted to create an ext partition?

Of course you could just go ahead and create one now! If so, read the apps2sd FAQ in SUroot's sig first. But personally if my phone had been through that I might be tempted just to get it working again, and worry about adding this later.

 

[roan242]

exactly and i have learned not to get ideas above my station, its a phone, i had no need to do any of what i did, i only did it to see if i could, the phone was plenty for me ion the first place. lesson learned! i'll try in now and thank you both for your time, might be back yet though!

 

[shauny13]

just remember to nandroid when you get it working, i cant stress this enough!