Help Bricked Desire HD on 3 network (UK) - help please!!

[MerkyBlud]

Hi all, impressed by the in-depth fixes I've seen on here but haven't found anything similar to my current problem. I'm a bit of a noob with the techy side of playing with my DHD so please bear that in mind!

So my situation is:

I have a DHD locked to the 3 (UK) network (I've heard this network can be a **** to work around their firmware..?). Tried to root it a few months back, didnt succeed but phone worked fine for a few months after so not sure if its related to that, or if my lack of success fixing this current problem might be. A couple of weeks back my phone started rebooting itself every so often, becoming more frequent, and sometimes when restarted would freeze. Eventually it went into a bootloop, starting the 3 logo animation and then the HTC logo, sometimes it would boot and run ok for a few hours, sometimes just looped over and over. I tried the HBOOT recovery screen thing and after a few tries it worked for a couple more days, then started going as far as the HTC screen before freezing. I eventually tried a factory reset, worked for another half-day then nothing since. I can get to the HBOOT menu, otherwise just powering it up does nothing, I get the 3 logo and thats it, just sits there displaying that. I made a goldcard a while back while trying to root but didnt really get around to using it, its no use to me at the moment as it checks the .img and gives me a CID (?) error. I've got the SDK manager downloaded but it isnt clear to me how I should be using it. HBOOT screen tells me:

ACE PVT SHIP S-ON RL
HBOOT--0.85.0024
MICROP-0438
RADIO-26.09.04.28_M2
eMMC-boot

Thats about as much help as I can be at the moment. Love this phone and would like to resurrect it if possible. Really appreciate if anyone can help!

 

[MerkyBlud]

...anyone?

 

[D-U-R-X]

Sorry that you haven't had a reply MerkyBlud - I meant to have a look at this the other day when you posted it, but got side tracked!

I will have a bit of a look later, if I get chance, I am going out pretty much as soon as I get home from work... bear with us, we will try and help you out

 

[D-U-R-X]

Could you post a link to the method you tried to use when you tried to root previously?

 

[MerkyBlud]

Hi - cheers, appreciate the help

Not quite sure of the exact method now as it was at the start of the year, pretty sure it was one on xda... I tried Visionary+ and another one-click type root app whose name I forget which didnt work but also didnt seem to cause any harm at the time, and tried with the goldcard method but no luck - didnt get too far into the process tbh. Not very helpful I realise...

 

[MerkyBlud]

Right, so the tools I have are the SDK kit, android AIO flasher, and a few RUU files both .exe and .zip to try. PC doesnt see the SD card when its in my phone but card is ok, works in seperate card reader. Not sure how to progress...

 

[MerkyBlud]

...........?

 

[D-U-R-X]

Sorry I've not been back to you... I was out ALL weekend (left before you had even posted back to me on Friday) and did not get home until late last night... have been in work today and only just seen it!

 

[D-U-R-X]

AIO flasher

Not sure what this is?

 

[ral]

Passed through this thread several times... but really have no ideas. My initial impression is that it is a hardware issue. If that is the case there is not much that can be done on this end. Does not hurt to try.

Unless you enabled USB debugging before the phone went dead, the PC utilities you have will not really be useful.

Have you tried booting the phone without the SDCard installed?

Can you still get to Hboot? If not, try removing the battery for 20 seconds and putting it back in. After you put it back in press the volume button down and press power.

If you can get into HBoot we would have to find the RUU image for your phone.

 

[scotty85]

to add to what ral said,you can do the following to help us try and finda proper ruu for you to run:

first download and install these drivers: revolutionary drivers

then,download this small file:
mini-adb.zip

-unzip it,and place the unzipped folder onto the root of your C drive(not inside a folder)

-open a cmd window(with win 7,click start bubble,type "command" or "cmd" in hte search box)

-now change to your mini-adb directory(assuming you didnt chagne the name). type in the black cmd window that opened on your PC:
cd c:\mini-adb

-pull the battery in your phone for a few seconds. hold volume down,then power. hold them both until you see the white/colored writing hboot screen

-select "fastboot" from the hboot menu with the vol rocker/power button

-in your cmd window type:
fastboot devices

it should output your phones serial number. if so youre good to go. if not,youre apparently having a driver issue. i usually recomend these drivers from Revolutionary: modified htc drivers download and install the drivers(you should just have to run that file). afterwards,unplug your phone,plug it back in. make sure its in fastboot. as soon as you get a result from "fastboot devices" your ready to procede to the next step.

-in your cmd window,type(or copy/paste,is much easier):
fastboot getvar all

-copy the info that outputs here. right click in your cmd window,click mark,highlight it all in white. hit enter. paste the info here. it will help us know which ruu for you to run.

 

[MerkyBlud]

Hi all, and cheers...

D-U-R-X, Android AIO flasher is this: Android AIO Flasher Makes ADB and Fastboot Easier – xda-developers - looks useful but no luck with it so far.

Ral, booting the phone without SD card doesn't make a difference, phone acts the same. I can get to the HBOOT menu however. I did set the phone up for USB debugging a while ago but have done a factory reset since then so I guess that its not set up anymore.

Scotty: thanks - I'd tried getting that number before but had no luck, must have been missing the drivers. Here's what I got:

INFOversion: 0.5
INFOversion-bootloader: 0.85.0024
INFOversion-baseband: 26.09.04.28
INFOversion-cpld: None
INFOversion-microp: 0438
INFOversion-main: 2.50.771.2
INFOserialno: HT0C7RX08056
INFOimei: 352668049062746
INFOproduct: ace
INFOplatform: HBOOT-7230
INFOmodelid: PD9810000
INFOcidnum: H3G__001
INFObattery-status: good
INFObattery-voltage: 4057mV
INFOpartition-layout: Generic
INFOsecurity: on
INFObuild-mode: SHIP
INFOboot-mode: FASTBOOT
INFOcommitno-bootloader: a3d4fa0f
INFOhbootpreupdate: 11
INFOgencheckpt: 0
INFOregion-id: 0
all: Done!

 

[D-U-R-X]

Hi all, and cheers...

I called in the cavalry, as I was a little stumped

D-U-R-X, Android AIO flasher is this: Android AIO Flasher Makes ADB and Fastboot Easier – xda-developers - looks useful but no luck with it so far.

Hadn't seen that before! It only works on rooted phones... not useful in this instance

Thanks for the other info... I'm sure Scotty will be able to point you in the right direction for the right RUU (he seems to be able to find them ALL)

 

[ral]

I called in the cavalry, as I was a little stumped

Oh we all were. If we get this thing running, it will be really satisfying.

Hope scotty finds one. I was searching for a DHD ROM from Three UK (I think the is the correct service provider) and all I found is someone looking for the same thing.

 

[ral]

INFOcidnum: H3G__001

Interesting.

RUU_Ace_H3G_UK_1.37.771.3_Radio_12.28b.60.140e_26.03.02.26_M_release_158897_signed.exe

Wait for scotty85 or D-U-R-X for advice.

I do not see the harm in downloading it.

This part worries me a bit:

INFOversion-baseband: 26.09.04.28

26.03.02.26

 

[MerkyBlud]

You're telling me it will be satisfying to get this thing working! either that or it gets driven over hahaha

I had already downloaded that file as it looked like the closest match, however I haven't done anything with it yet

Why the worry, out of interest?

 

[ral]

I think what you have on your phone is a newer version. But don't pay attention to me. Probably not a problem. Best wait for scotty or D-U-R-X to pop back in.

 

[scotty85]

I think what you have on your phone is a newer version.

Yup.

I.haven't.forgot about you. I'll be.home from.work in.a couple hours.

 

[MerkyBlud]

Just to add, I'm not too bothered about keeping all the specific 3UK stuff on there (bootup animation goes on forever!), a generic or custom ROM is fine too if thats any easier...

 

[scotty85]

Do you have another android phone that you can use to.create a gold card?

 

[scotty85]

Why the worry, out of interest?

better safe than sorry. the guys just want to make sure that they dont have you do something that could make any change of recovery more difficult(like raising the main version) or that may actually make things worse(like flashing a rom incompatible with the device,or flashing a wrong radio or hboot)

in this particular case nothing bad really could have happened. if you had tried to run the ruu ral linked,it would have simply failed with a "main version older" error,or a CID error if youd tried flashing a different carrier ruu.

ill look a lil more later,but i havent been able to find your exact ruu either. the important info is this:

INFOversion: 0.5
INFOversion-bootloader: 0.85.0024
INFOversion-baseband: 26.09.04.28
INFOversion-cpld: None
INFOversion-microp: 0438
INFOversion-main: [COLOR="Red"]2.50.771.2[/COLOR]  [COLOR="Blue"]<- we need to flash an ruu with this build number or higher[/COLOR]
INFOserialno: HT0C7RX08056
INFOimei: 352668049062746
INFOproduct: ace
INFOplatform: HBOOT-7230
INFOmodelid: PD9810000
INFOcidnum: [COLOR="Red"]H3G__001[/COLOR]  [COLOR="Blue"]<- we need an ruu that is compatible with this carrier id,or we need to make a gold card.[/COLOR]
INFObattery-status: good
INFObattery-voltage: 4057mV
INFOpartition-layout: Generic
INFOsecurity: [COLOR="Red"]on[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]<- this prevents it from being easy ;)[/COLOR]
INFObuild-mode: SHIP
INFOboot-mode: FASTBOOT
INFOcommitno-bootloader: a3d4fa0f
INFOhbootpreupdate: 11
INFOgencheckpt: 0
INFOregion-id: 0

so basically at this point we have 2 options:
1)install htc compatible hboot and install a recovery. at that point we can try and install a rom,wich prolly will not work. what we can do with the booted recovery is use adb to change the main version to a lower one so we can flash the ruu ral provided,wich will match the cid.

2)create a gold card and simply flash any ruu thats got a higher main version,like this one: RUU_Ace_Gingerbread_S_KT_KR_2.52.1010.2_Radio_12.59.60.26_26.11.04.21_M_release_201461_signed.exe - download now for free. File sharing. Software file sharing. Free file hosting. File upload. FileFactory.com

the big disadvantage of #1,is that if your device shipped with GB,it will goof you up,possibly unrecoverably,so you need to be 100% sure it shipped to you with froyo. other than that,the htcdev unlock and adb commands are fairly simple.

the only disadvantage of #2,is that it can be somewhat tricky to make a functioning gold card: directions and you will need another phone to use to do it.

if you go the gold card route,use the app goldcard helper from market. if you use it skip right to the step of "Go to this page and enter this new number into the SD Card Serial (CID) field" and enter the output of the sdcard cid for mmc2 into the goldcard generator site.

i personally would just pick up a small spare sd to use for this. its not really worth the effort of backin up,transfering,etc. the contents of your current sd to make it into a gold card.

 

[ral]

Yup.

I.haven't.forgot about you. I'll be.home from.work in.a couple hours.

We really need to get you a good keyboard for your phone. SwiftKey.

 

[MerkyBlud]

I don't have a spare Android, but I do have a spare sd card that I got to create a goldcard, as I wasn't successful in rooting the phone I'm not sure the goldcard worked. Followed the instructions and looked ok. I removed the resulting .img file while I was trying to fix this problem myself as the phone wasn't happy with it not being a CID match, assume this means the goldcard didnt work..? I still have the .img file on my pc though to put back on the card in case it was something else I was doing wrong... would there be a way to create a new one if needed using a USB card reader, pc-based software and the info I output from my phone earlier? I have the goldcard helper app on my main sd card that I've kept at a safe distance from the phone since it started its antics. Oh yes, my phone did come with 2.2 / Froyo, it was just after the OTA update shortly after to 2.3 that I looked into rooting it and realised I'd just made it more difficult for myself haha! so a factory reset would send it back to Froyo?

Thanks for your continued help guys

 

[ral]

In your situation I think I would try:

2)create a gold card and simply flash any ruu thats got a higher main version,like this one: RUU_Ace_Gingerbread_S_KT_KR_2.52.1010.2_Radio_12.5 9.60.26_26.11.04.21_M_release_201461_signed.exe - download now for free. File sharing. Software file sharing. Free file hosting. File upload. FileFactory.com

If your gold card is not working, or was not properly created then, than the flash would simply fail and there should be no consequences.

 

[scotty85]

We really need to get you a good keyboard for your phone. SwiftKey.

lol,the issue comes from using the gawd awful htc-ime keyboard,while trying to type fast at a stoplight or in a parking lot between deliveries. i drive all day,so i dont have a job i can sneek off to a corner and type detailed messages. ive used swiftkey,but really prefer the good ol' AOSP keyboard.

I don't have a spare Android, but I do have a spare sd card that I got to create a goldcard, as I wasn't successful in rooting the phone I'm not sure the goldcard worked. Followed the instructions and looked ok. I removed the resulting .img file while I was trying to fix this problem myself as the phone wasn't happy with it not being a CID match, assume this means the goldcard didnt work..? I still have the .img file on my pc though to put back on the card in case it was something else I was doing wrong... would there be a way to create a new one if needed using a USB card reader, pc-based software and the info I output from my phone earlier? I have the goldcard helper app on my main sd card that I've kept at a safe distance from the phone since it started its antics. Oh yes, my phone did come with 2.2 / Froyo, it was just after the OTA update shortly after to 2.3 that I looked into rooting it and realised I'd just made it more difficult for myself haha! so a factory reset would send it back to Froyo?

Thanks for your continued help guys

unfortunately no,the factory reset wont send you back to froyo. the reason for the question is that there is something about GB shipped phones that causes a very sluggish boot(10+ minutes ) and difficulty getting to hboot/fastboot. it should be recoverable,but in your current condition would complicate things for sure.

In your situation I think I would try:



If your gold card is not working, or was not properly created then, than the flash would simply fail and there should be no consequences.

i agree. despite the complexness of making the gold card,its a pretty simple operation to flash a different carrier ruu once youve made it.

just make sure youve read the directions carefully(from this page):

*Copy all of the data on your microSD card to a backup location on your PC
*Format the microSD to FAT32 format
*Open a command prompt one again and type the following:
cd [then press Enter]
cd AndroidSDKtools [then press Enter]
adb shell cat /sys/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid [then press Enter]
*You should get a long number something along the lines of 532600bd227d9c0347329407514d5420
*Goto this page and copy the number in the above step into the box and hit Submit, you’ll then be given another long number
*Go to this page and enter this new number into the SD Card Serial (CID) field
Enter the other details and hit Generate Goldcard
*Check your email and save the attached goldcard image file to your pc, I usually save it to the desktop as you’ll be needing it shortly
*Download HxD Hex Editor from here and install
*Open HxD Hex Editor. If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, you must run the application as administrator
*Go to the Extra menu and select Open Disk. Under physical disk, select Removable Disk (your microSD card), uncheck Open as Read-only and click OK. Note that you should select physical disk NOT the logical disk
Go to the Extra menu again and select Open Disk Image. Open the goldcard image that you received by email and saved above
*You should now have two tabs; one is your removable disk and the other is your goldcard image. Press OK when prompted for Sector Size (selecting 512 (Hard disks/Floppy disks)) and click OK
*Click on the goldcard image tab. Go to the Edit menu, choose Select All then select the Edit menu again and select Copy
*Click on the Removable Disk tab. Highlight offset (line) 00000000 to offset (line) 00000170 (including the 00000170 line), then click on the Edit menu and select Paste Write
*Click on the File menu and select Save, accepting the warning
You now have a goldcard

using the gold card helper app lets you skip directly to the part where you submit the CID and generate the gold card,since it automatically reads the sd card cid,and then generates the second long number.

if you did not use the gold card helper app,then you needed to have gotten the sd card number,then submitted it at the first site to get the gold card compatible number.

then you need to hex edit the sd card itself with the image,it is not as simple as drag and drop the image onto the sd drive.

in short: if the CID you submitted to the gold card generator was properly obtained(using the app or the "long way" in these dirsctions) then you should be able to hex edit your sd using the image you have to make a working gold card. note that you have to use the sd that you used to generate the image,as the image sent is based on thaT Particular CID.

hope that makes sense