Root Rooted Desire Won't Boot

[hawkinau]

Hi Guys, I have an old Desire rooted with Oxygen rom, Hboot 6.93.1002, radio 5.11.05.
all of a sudden it wont boot but gets stuck on the slash screen, I can get into Hboot but when trying to get into recovery after pressing the power button it goes back to the splash screen I then have to do a battery remove and reboot it into Hboot again, I did get into recovery once and cleared the Dalvik cache, all the user info and formatted the sd card and that's the one and only time I have been into recovery but to make things even trickier the usb wont connect to the pc while its in Hboot mode, it says "HBOOT USB PLUG" on the screen and "FASTBOOT USB" on the fast-boot screen I hear the pc do its boom boom thing when I plug it in but nothing shows up , I have HTC sync installed but that wont pick it up as I cant boot the phone, so I cant re flash anything without USB connection or Recovery mode, I have the PB99IMG_cm7r2_telstra.Zip on the sd card and all other unnecessary files in the boot directory ready to go along with the Runnymede_AIO_V6.0.4.3_Special_Edition Rom which looks wicked, so anyone got any ideas? I'm stumped atm lol

 

[Hadron]

Are you S-On or S-Off? That might affect the options available.

If a factory reset from recovery didn't fix it then we need to reflash one way or another. You can do this with a PB99IMG file, but we need to work out what is the best thing to flash first. What is the PB99IMG_cm7r2_telstra.Zip file (cm7r2 implies a hboot, telstra implies an RUU, so I can't guess the content)?

Off the top of my head, my first responses are either to try to flash a new recovery (if S-Off) or RUU it back to stock (if not), but it's best not to rush into stuff in these circumstances.

Was there really nothing of note you did before the problem arose? Being unable to enter recovery is unusual (and being able to do so just once perhaps even more so).

 

[hawkinau]

Hi thanks for the quick response,

I am S-Off, in recovery I just wiped the Dalvick cache, wiped data and reformated the SD yes the PB99IMG_cm7r2_telstra.Zip is the same as the PB99IMG file but for Telstra phones on the 850 network although I will have to check and make sure it is a Telstra phone as it was rooted before I got it so no network bloatware and no logos on the phone if it isnt then the PB99IMG file will suffice.

There was nothing that I can think of othr than it was becoming gradually unstable sometimes boot looping before booting up and staying on the splash screen and I would have to reboot but now its just stuck, it seems that if I leave the battery out for awhile it will sometimes go into recovery but that is hit and miss,

I am going to leave the battery out tonite and c how it is in the morning, but that still doesnt solve the pc connection problem which wont help me reflash Hboot if I have to, I have D/L the AlphaRev Hboot reflash utility but need to be able to access it.

Are you S-On or S-Off? That might affect the options available.

If a factory reset from recovery didn't fix it then we need to reflash one way or another. You can do this with a PB99IMG file, but we need to work out what is the best thing to flash first. What is the PB99IMG_cm7r2_telstra.Zip file (cm7r2 implies a hboot, telstra implies an RUU, so I can't guess the content)?

Off the top of my head, my first responses are either to try to flash a new recovery (if S-Off) or RUU it back to stock (if not), but it's best not to rush into stuff in these circumstances.

Was there really nothing of note you did before the problem arose? Being unable to enter recovery is unusual (and being able to do so just once perhaps even more so).

 

[Hadron]

Was it showing signs of overheating (e.g. reboot when under load)? And if so, is it a PVT-1 device (top of hboot screen)?

I didn't think the hboots depended on network.

Wiping dalvik and data should be pretty much the same as a factory reset, and if your sd reformat included the ext partition then that's the other bit. But if you only reformatted the fat32 then that's not a full factory reset yet. But none of that explains problems loading recovery.

You don't need the alpharev reflash utility. If you wish to reflash hboot or run an RUU you just need fastboot mode working, which at least on the phone it seems it is. Check the adb and fastboot faq (linked in the All Things Root sticky post) to see about setting up fastboot. But TBH right now the hboot looks like the one thing that is working, so I think you only need to do this if it comes to running an RUU (since a 6.93 hboot will be immune to the RUU, and a stock ROM won't work in those partitions).

Having said that, I'm sufficiently suspicious that this is a hardware fault that RUU may be on the agenda. Gradual deterioration, problems entering either android or recovery, none of that sounds good.

 

[hawkinau]

I left battery out over nite, booted up this morning and went straight into recovery, no it doesn't overheat feels quite cool when on and yes it is PVT-1, now its in recovery I don't want to touch it anymore until I get a response in case I cant get it back into recovery again lol.

Its around 2.15 am where you are atm, 9.15 am here so I'll leave it in recovery on charge and wait till I hear from you to see what we do next.

Oops! it stayed in recovery for about 30 min then went to splash screen again so will leave battery out till u get back to me and try again.

Got back into recovery again, wiped cache partition, wiped bat stats, wiped dalvik cache, wiped data and formatted SD card then went into advanced and into Mount and Unmount Partition and formatted Boot, System, Data, Cache, Sd card, then I re-mounted them the sd ext didnt mount and it says in the Clockwork Mod Recovery stats "Error mounting SDEXT:1" " No app2sd partition found, Skipping format of /sd-ext" and a bit further down it says "E : Can't mount /dev/block/mmcb1k0p2 (file exists)"

I may have done a bit of over kill but it is now wiped clean back to factory with a couple of errors I guess

Was it showing signs of overheating (e.g. reboot when under load)? And if so, is it a PVT-1 device (top of hboot screen)?

I didn't think the hboots depended on network.

Wiping dalvik and data should be pretty much the same as a factory reset, and if your sd reformat included the ext partition then that's the other bit. But if you only reformatted the fat32 then that's not a full factory reset yet. But none of that explains problems loading recovery.

You don't need the alpharev reflash utility. If you wish to reflash hboot or run an RUU you just need fastboot mode working, which at least on the phone it seems it is. Check the adb and fastboot faq (linked in the All Things Root sticky post) to see about setting up fastboot. But TBH right now the hboot looks like the one thing that is working, so I think you only need to do this if it comes to running an RUU (since a 6.93 hboot will be immune to the RUU, and a stock ROM won't work in those partitions).

Having said that, I'm sufficiently suspicious that this is a hardware fault that RUU may be on the agenda. Gradual deterioration, problems entering either android or recovery, none of that sounds good.

 

[Flumme]

That's hardware, probably overheating.

Try booting into fastboot (back+power) while resting the phone on freezer packs wrapped in a towel (careful with condensation to avoid tripping the water damage tells). Connect the phone to the computer and run the alpharev downgrader, and then the official 2.3 RUU. You'll find it on "shipped ROMS", nearly at the bottom of the page (see the root stickies for link, I'm on my phone).

Get the phone to HTC for a main board exchange.

 

[hawkinau]

Thanks for the input, I have it in the fridge as we speak lol, I can get into fastboot/hboot but have no usb connection to pc I hear it connecting but nothing on the pc screen

That's hardware, probably overheating.

Try booting into fastboot (back+power) while resting the phone on freezer packs wrapped in a towel (careful with condensation to avoid tripping the water damage tells). Connect the phone to the computer and run the alpharev downgrader, and then the official 2.3 RUU. You'll find it on "shipped ROMS", nearly at the bottom of the page (see the root stickies for link, I'm on my phone).

Get the phone to HTC for a main board exchange.

 

[Flumme]

Make VERY sure you don't get condensation on it! That would kill the warranty. That's why I suggested the freezer packs and towel.

Have you installed the drivers (install HTC sync, uninstall HTC sync but leave the drivers)?

Read up on adb/fastboot faq, see if everything is fine on the computer side of things.

 

[nicka3200]

Have you installed the drivers (install HTC sync, uninstall HTC sync but leave the drivers)?

Likewise the hboot drivers.

 

[hawkinau]

I have HTC sync and the drivers have been installed, I will check out the faq though

Make VERY sure you don't get condensation on it! That would kill the warranty. That's why I suggested the freezer packs and towel.

Have you installed the drivers (install HTC sync, uninstall HTC sync but leave the drivers)?

Read up on adb/fastboot faq, see if everything is fine on the computer side of things.

 

[Hadron]

You only need a fastboot connection working to flash the alpharev downgrader hboot then run the RUU. So if you read the adb and fastboot faq that will tell you how to set up fastboot on your PC. Then with the phone in fastboot mode, connect it to the PC and it should say "fastboot usb" on the phone screen. That tells you that the phone is recognising the usb connection. If you then type the command "fastboot devices" on the PC and it returns a serial number that means the phone is recognised by the computer.

If things are so bad that you cannot get that to work, there is one more chance. Download the PB99IMG_downgrade.zip from alpharev.nl, rename to PB99IMG.zip (exactly that, case sensitive), place it on the phone's SD card (mount the card from recovery, or use a card reader), and boot into hboot. You will be asked whether you want to perform the update, confirm that and it will flash the new bootloader.

Then you can do the same for the RUU. There is a method for extracting a rom.zip from a RUU - see this thread: http://androidforums.com/desire-all...alkover-slcd-bricked-desires.html#post2015779. If you do that, rename that file to PB99IMG.zip, place it on the sd card (in place of the previous one) and repeat the procedure, that will run the RUU.

I'd suggest using fastboot from the computer, but if you can't get that to work then the PB99IMG method is an alternative.

One thing that concerns me is that the phone only sat in recovery for 30 minutes before rebooting. Flashing the RUU is going to be more intensive than that, so it's possible the phone may crash before it is done. To minimise the risk of that, I'd start the RUU flash with the phone cool. It's important to flash the downgrader hboot first though, because that's the one that the RUU can overwrite, and you need that to happen before sending the phone back to HTC (the warranty will be invalid if you have custom firmware on the phone, including the hboot). Hopefully the RUU will complete, in which case if you still have a problem it is hardware for sure (though I'm pretty certain it is anyway). But even if it doesn't, HTC should still accept it as a warranty repair provided the hboot and recovery have been replaced (you've removed the ROM completely already, so those are the only custom firmware on the phone).

 

[Flumme]

I have HTC sync and the drivers have been installed, I will check out the faq though

Remember to UNINSTALL HTC Sync too. But leave the drivers installed. You'll be asked during the uninstallation process.

For whatever reason, this matters!

 

[hawkinau]

Thanks for all the info I will try your suggestions however after my last post this morning and wiping every thing the phone stayed in HBoot and has been that way for 12 hrs now so there may be hope yet lol I will let you know how it went but first I must shoot off to play with my new One X that just arrived.
Thanks again for all your help
Cheers

You only need a fastboot connection working to flash the alpharev downgrader hboot then run the RUU. So if you read the adb and fastboot faq that will tell you how to set up fastboot on your PC. Then with the phone in fastboot mode, connect it to the PC and it should say "fastboot usb" on the phone screen. That tells you that the phone is recognising the usb connection. If you then type the command "fastboot devices" on the PC and it returns a serial number that means the phone is recognised by the computer.

If things are so bad that you cannot get that to work, there is one more chance. Download the PB99IMG_downgrade.zip from alpharev.nl, rename to PB99IMG.zip (exactly that, case sensitive), place it on the phone's SD card (mount the card from recovery, or use a card reader), and boot into hboot. You will be asked whether you want to perform the update, confirm that and it will flash the new bootloader.

Then you can do the same for the RUU. There is a method for extracting a rom.zip from a RUU - see this thread: http://androidforums.com/desire-all...alkover-slcd-bricked-desires.html#post2015779. If you do that, rename that file to PB99IMG.zip, place it on the sd card (in place of the previous one) and repeat the procedure, that will run the RUU.

I'd suggest using fastboot from the computer, but if you can't get that to work then the PB99IMG method is an alternative.

One thing that concerns me is that the phone only sat in recovery for 30 minutes before rebooting. Flashing the RUU is going to be more intensive than that, so it's possible the phone may crash before it is done. To minimise the risk of that, I'd start the RUU flash with the phone cool. It's important to flash the downgrader hboot first though, because that's the one that the RUU can overwrite, and you need that to happen before sending the phone back to HTC (the warranty will be invalid if you have custom firmware on the phone, including the hboot). Hopefully the RUU will complete, in which case if you still have a problem it is hardware for sure (though I'm pretty certain it is anyway). But even if it doesn't, HTC should still accept it as a warranty repair provided the hboot and recovery have been replaced (you've removed the ROM completely already, so those are the only custom firmware on the phone).