Root S-OFF, root, & Fix Everything All-in-One!

[O1i]

Just noticed its the exact same problem to 'MArcelloMayhem' a few posts up.
Would really appreciate it if someone could help out, thanks again!
FYI, I have no other programs running nor can I find the adb process in the task manager

 

[OakIris]

I haven't even begun the procedure yet but am concerned about downloading the necessary files. I clicked on the first one in the Step one, S-off section (for adding the "open command window" to the right click menu) and the Dev-Host site wants me to download some sort of HD flash player; says it is recommended, free, but won't let me do anything until I download it - hitting the cancel button does nothing. This looks like some sort of malware to me. I checked the next file that needs to be downloaded; Dev-Host won't let me download it either, says I need to "Update my Player Downloader" (whatever that is.)

Why do I need some sort of video player in order to download a file? This makes no sense...

I have the latest Adobe Flash plug-in installed; my OS is Windows 7 64-bit.

I have glanced through this thread and find nothing mentioned about this flash player "free" download. Am I being overly cautious?!? I just want to download remanifest's files so I can root my phone, not put a bunch of crap on my computer!

Holly

 

[Brian706]

No, don't download that stuff. It's just advertisements I assume on the download page. I'm mobile at the moment but will take a peak when I get back to the pc.

 

[OakIris]

No, don't download that stuff. It's just advertisements I assume on the download page. I'm mobile at the moment but will take a peak when I get back to the pc.

Thank you, Brian. I think I have it figured out - I was clicking on the download button closest to the file description window and it was the wrong one. lol and DOH!


Hope this is not a sign of things to come with my first attempt to root a phone!

Holly

 

[Brian706]

Glad you got it!! Good luck! This was my first phone to root as well, but it sure taught me a lot!!

 

[OakIris]

I reached the end of step 2; here are the instructions:

6) Select the BOOTLOADER option from your HBOOT. Move down to RECOVERY and select it. Congratulations, you're all done! You can now flash almost any ROM for this phone!

So I selected recovery, and a 4EXT Recovery screen came up warning me that "recovery is in safe mode this is because the following partition is not accessible "cache." Please enter the Wipe menu and wipe cache!...." I ignored this, perhaps foolishly, and told it to reboot anyway.

Now the phone seems to be stuck in the old reboot loop - the white screen HTC comes up for a few seconds, then goes away, comes back....etc. I was able to get back into 4EXT and selected recovery again; back to bootloop...

Is there a fix for this?

Holly

 

[Brian706]

Don't worry about the cache thing, that's not the cause of your bootloop. Though, before flashing any new rom, you should wipe everything. Just use the wipe all partitions except sd card option.

What rom are you trying to flash? Is it a jellybean rom? The most likely cause of the bootloop is that you wiped the /system partition and didn't flash a rom or you flashed a rom that's incompatible with your hboot version.

If you are trying to flash a jellybean rom, you will need to downgrade your hboot. If your issue was that you didn't flash a rom after wiping, then that's easy, just flash a rom.

Only downgrade your hboot if necessary, so don't do this if you are wanting to use an ICS/stock based rom.

For jellybean roms, download jb_1.50.5050 hboot from this post: http://androidforums.com/cdma-evo-3...hboot-firmware-all-downloads.html#post5210029

Then follow these instructions step by step to allow yourself to downgrade without getting stuck in yet another bootloop situation. Read through it first, take not of the special instructions at the bottom. You'll want to follow that part.

How to use a PG86IMG.zip file!
First let me start by stressing something important! Verify the integrity of the download by checking the file against its md5 checksum that I provided for each file. You can use a free software such as MD5 Checker to do the job. Or if you'd like to check on your phone without a pc, download MD5 Checker for android from the play store. If for whatever reason your download gets corrupted, using a corrupted file can brick your phone! So use an md5 checker to verify the integrity of the file, it's quick and easy and can keep your phone safe!

1. Download File. Check md5 for a match

2. Place the file on the root of your sd card (not in any folders).

3. Rename the file to PG86IMG.zip

4. Reboot into bootloader.

5. When asked to update, say yes by hitting volume up.

6. When it's all finished, hit power button to reboot.

7. *Important! After booting up, immediately rename or delete the file.

*The presence of the file on your sd card will prevent you from entering recovery in an emergency situation. It's nothing to panic about, but if you get caught in a bootloop, you will have to manually remove the file using a pc and card reader or another phone. That said, to avoid bootloops and being stuck with no way to boot up and no way to enter recovery, plan ahead. If you are on a rom that requires hboot 1.58 and you flash hboot 1.5, you will hit a bootloop and not be able to access recovery. You would then need to remove the file or flash a compatible rom through fastboot connected to a pc.

Okay. Now with instructions and warnings out of the way, I will give you my personal preference on how to flash a different hboot that will be incompatible with your current rom without getting a bootloop and having to use a pc to fix the situation.

Follow steps 1-3 above. Stop! Now, instead of rebooting into the bootloader, we are going to bypass the bootloader by rebooting directly into recovery. Some roms have this feature built in. I recommend downloading something like ROM TOOLBOX from the play store. It's a great app to have if you are rooted. Rom Toolbox has a built in rebooter menu (with widgets) that allows this function. Alternatively go get QUICK BOOT from the play store. So once in recovery, wipe and flash the rom normally. Once finished, continue to steps 4-7.

This will allow you to do everything completely from your phone and avoid getting stuck. Remember, this is just for when you are changing hboots that will be incompatible with the rom you are already using (ie: ICS to GB). Just following steps 1-7 normally is fine for just flashing radios or switching between different GB hboots etc.

I reached the end of step 2; here are the instructions:


So I selected recovery, and a 4EXT Recovery screen came up warning me that "recovery is in safe mode this is because the following partition is not accessible "cache." Please enter the Wipe menu and wipe cache!...." I ignored this, perhaps foolishly, and told it to reboot anyway.

Now the phone seems to be stuck in the old reboot loop - the white screen HTC comes up for a few seconds, then goes away, comes back....etc. I was able to get back into 4EXT and selected recovery again; back to bootloop...

Is there a fix for this?

Holly

Edit: Since you can't boot up, it's going to be a little different for you. When you get to the part where I have you boot directly into recovery, do this instead:

Option 1:
Use card reader to remove the PG86IMG.zip from the sd card, then boot into the bootloader and choose recovery.

Option 2: (Before starting any of the steps)
Wipe everything and flash a working rom. (Harmonia or similar) Then follow the instructions normally.

Option 3:
-remove sd card
-return battery
-replace back cover
-boot into bootloader
-choose recovery
-remove back cover
-plug into charger
-remove battery
-replace sd card
-replace battery
-unplug from charger
-replace back cover
-wipe everything/flash rom from sd card

 

[OakIris]

I am thoroughly confused now, and getting quite discouraged. Seems to be my state for the last two days.

First of all, I was not trying to flash a ROM, I hadn't even gotten to that point yet, I was just trying to finish the steps after the S-off wire trick. When 4EXT was supposed to go into Recovery was when I got the error message about clearing the cache. I was planning to use the Harmonia ROM but at this point I don't know if I will ever get there!

When I received no response here - guess I should have been more patient - I started going through the Preliminary steps listed for when you are stuck in a bootloop. I finally got through step three, but at the fastboot step it said the phone, or whatever (can't remember exactly) was already locked. I then tried to run the ROM Update Utility. I have no idea if it worked; the install wizard kept going into no response mode and then the next time I looked the install wizard window was no longer there, I have no idea what if anything it did. My phone screen still shows it is on the 4EXT recovery screen.

What, if anything, can I do now?

Holly

 

[adamhos1234]

I am thoroughly confused now, and getting quite discouraged. Seems to be my state for the last two days.

First of all, I was not trying to flash a ROM, I hadn't even gotten to that point yet, I was just trying to finish the steps after the S-off wire trick. When 4EXT was supposed to go into Recovery was when I got the error message about clearing the cache. I was planning to use the Harmonica ROM but at this point I don't know if I will ever get there!

When I received no response here - guess I should have been more patient - I started going through the Preliminary steps listed for when you are stuck in a bootloop. I finally got through step three, but at the fastboot step it said the phone, or whatever (can't remember exactly) was already locked. I then tried to run the ROM Update Utility. I have no idea if it worked; the install wizard kept going into no response mode and then the next time I looked the install wizard window was no longer there, I have no idea what if anything it did. My phone screen still shows it is on the 4EXT recovery screen.

What, if anything, can I do now?

Holly

What ROM were you on?
If you were stock, and you changed hboot to 1.50, which is probably where you at, it will bootloop

Best solution is to wipe everything
Reboot recovery
Wipe everything again
Flash harmonia
Reboot system

Should boot
Harmonia will boot on any hboot.
To know what hboot you are, you need to boot into bootloader

Hope that helps

 

[adamhos1234]

You got the error message in 4ext because you changed your hboot

 

[OakIris]

What ROM were you on?
If you were stock, and you changed hboot to 1.50, which is probably where you at, it will bootloop

Best solution is to wipe everything
Reboot recovery
Wipe everything again
Flash harmonia
Reboot system

Should boot
Harmonia will boot on any hboot.
To know what hboot you are, you need to boot into bootloader

Hope that helps

Thank you for your response, adamhos.

I was on whatever ROM that came with the phone. I was just trying to get S-Off and then was planning to go on to the next step of flashing the Harmonia ROM. I am on HBOOT 1.50.5050, which is where the S-Off instructions left me - that is which version of HBOOT was supposed to be there according to the instructions. Why would they have you end up with a bootloop, or was that caused because 4EXT apparently screwed up somehow?

And how do I flash the ROM if the phone won't boot up? (You can see how lost I am.... )

Holly

 

[adamhos1234]

No problem everything will be fine

Pull battery
Put it back in
Hold volume down and press power
Scroll to recovery with volume button
Select with power
That should take you to 4ext

Now if you haven't downloaded harmonia, do it now on your PC
Then connect your phone USB
In 4ext select USB mass storage
Transfer harmonia to your phone

Go back to the main menu
Select wipe
Wipe all
Back to main menu
Install from SD
Find harmonia and accept
When its done, reboot

 

[OakIris]

No problem everything will be fine

Pull battery
Put it back in
Hold volume down and press power
Scroll to recovery with volume button
Select with power
That should take you to 4ext

Now if you haven't downloaded harmonia, do it now on your PC
Then connect your phone USB
In 4ext select USB mass storage
Transfer harmonia to your phone

Go back to the main menu
Select wipe
Wipe all
Back to main menu
Install from SD
Find harmonia and accept
When its done, reboot

I have Harmonia (the .zip file) on my SD card. In 4EXT there is no option to "wipe all" - there is wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache, wipe cache + davlik, etc. Do I select everything that says "wipe"?

Holly

 

[adamhos1234]

I have Harmonia (the .zip file) on my SD card. In 4EXT there is no option to "wipe all" - there is wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache, wipe cache + davlik, etc. Do I select everything that says "wipe"?

Holly

I personally use wipe everything (except SD)
Then wipe cache and dalvik

The wipe everything should suffice

 

[adamhos1234]

You want to ultimately wipe

System
Boot
Cache
Dalvik
Data


Just don't wipe sd

 

[OakIris]

I personally use wipe everything (except SD)
Then wipe cache and dalvik

The wipe everything should suffice

Sorry to be so literal, but there is no entry that says "wipe everything", or "wipe all"..... Do you mean "wipe data?"

Holly

 

[adamhos1234]

Sorry to be so literal, but there is no entry that says "wipe everything", or "wipe all".....

Holly

Hmm, must be an older version

Click everyone EXCEPT SD

 

[OakIris]

Hmm, must be an older version

Click everyone EXCEPT SD

Ahh, so maybe you mean "format all partitions (except SD card)"?

 

[adamhos1234]

Ahh, so maybe you mean "format all partitions (except SD card)"?

Yes
Sorry...don't have all the terms memorized!!! Lol

 

[OakIris]

It worked! It worked! It worked!

A clarification needs to be added at the end of the S-Off instructions for dummies like me! There should be something telling folks to ignore the cache warning that 4EXT gives, and also that you should now go directly into the flashing ROM steps - DO NOT REBOOT YOUR PHONE, because otherwise, since the stock ROM is not compatible with the version of HBOOT that is now on your phone, you will end up in a bootloop if you try to do a reboot.

What I did instead was reboot the phone after completing the S-Off steps; I did so because I decided that doing the S-Off was enough for one day and I had planned to wait until today to flash the ROM. In hindsight this was obviously a bad idea, but nothing in the S-Off instructions warned about this so I had no idea that a bootloop would be the result.

This was my first attempt at S-Off and rooting a phone; I am sure that more experienced folks knew to read between the lines and avoided the difficulties I ran into!

Thank you so much for your help, Brian and Adam, and thank you very much indeed for putting the guide together, remanifest.

Now to see what I can do with my "new" phone!

Holly

 

[adamhos1234]

Happy flashing!!
Don't forget to backup in 4ext..it can be the difference in a quick fix or a big headache
FYI you can flash jelly bean too!
Sprint ROMs will work as well, however a little more work needs to be done to get MMS working, but its a walk in the park

 

[OakIris]

Some "after-root" questions:

1) I don't see that it would do any harm to leave it on, but is there any reason that you should turn USB debugging back off?

2) Are you supposed to relock the bootloader? (Not that I know how to do that, lol )

3) I know that HTC OTA updates need to be avoided (is it likely that there will be anymore of these for this phone?) when your phone is rooted, but should you do a profile and PRL update?

I didn't see anything in the guide or following discussions about these things - please forgive me if I missed the references.

Also, slightly off topic, is there an updated "tried and true" listing of apps that can be safely removed from a rooted phone? I know most of the bloatware was removed by Leslie Ann (Harmonia) but are there still a few things that can be deleted safely?

Holly

 

[Brian706]

Some "after-root" questions:

1) I don't see that it would do any harm to leave it on, but is there any reason that you should turn USB debugging back off?

2) Are you supposed to relock the bootloader? (Not that I know how to do that, lol )

3) I know that HTC OTA updates need to be avoided (is it likely that there will be anymore of these for this phone?) when your phone is rooted, but should you do a profile and PRL update?

I didn't see anything in the guide or following discussions about these things - please forgive me if I missed the references.

Also, slightly off topic, is there an updated "tried and true" listing of apps that can be safely removed from a rooted phone? I know most of the bloatware was removed by Leslie Ann (Harmonia) but are there still a few things that can be deleted safely?

Holly

1. It could potentially be a safety concern if your device is lost or stolen but I leave mine on all the time. If you use android device manager or similar, you could remotely wipe data if your device is stolen, which would not leave the thief with any data to get their hands on.

2. Relocking is completely optional. The wire trick does actually lock the bootloader though so you should be locked. I like to leave mine unlocked as it gives you more options for recovering your phone in a sticky situation, however with the JuopunutBear hboot you installed it does not matter. That hboot enables the same extra fastboot commands that an unlocked stock bootloader would give you.

3. Doubtful that any new updates will be available. If there are though you will still be able to reap the benefits of the update while rooted. Someone will make it available for root users. Updating profile and PRL can still be beneficial and is still okay to do.

I haven't seen a list of apps for this device like I have with others. My advice would be this if you're going to mess with system apps:
Make a nandroid backup via recovery beforehand. Rather than delete apps, you can "freeze" them using an app like titanium backup or my backup. This allows for much easier restore if necessary. It basically completely disables the app. It will never run. However, if you're looking to free up space, deleting would be the way to go.

Once again always make a backup before messing with system files. If you run into problems you can easily restore your backup. With no backup you'll have to reflash your rom and start from scratch.

 

[OakIris]

Thank you for your response, Brian. I don't have anything especially private on my phone so I am not too concerned about someone stealing my phone and data; I will leave USB debugging on. Sounds as if leaving the bootloader as is won't do any harm, either. I seem to have plenty of room left on my SD card, etc, so don't need to delete anything at this time; I was just curious as to what could be deleted for future reference. Back ups are always a good idea!

Holly

 

[adamhos1234]

Thank you for your response, Brian. I don't have anything especially private on my phone so I am not too concerned about someone stealing my phone and data; I will leave USB debugging on. Sounds as if leaving the bootloader as is won't do any harm, either. I seem to have plenty of room left on my SD card, etc, so don't need to delete anything at this time; I was just curious as to what could be deleted for future reference. Back ups are always a good idea!

Holly

Here is a list of safe to remove apps
http://www.vmroms.com/index.php?topic=213.0