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Help Need to back up texts before hard reset- EVO is on continuous reboot

K

KerrieB

Newbie
:(:(

I have an HTC EVO 4G that started doing a continuous reboot, and can not get to the main screen. Out of frustration, I've already purchaed a new handset and upgraded. NOW, I need to get my text messages off of my EVO, but cant get to the main screen. HTC says my only option is to do a hard reset, but I NEED TO get this info off the phone first.

Is there a way, either some sort of software or some phone repair shop, etc. that I could go to to pull this data off my phone even though its in continuous reboot mode? If I do a reset, I'll lose all the data that I need. Help!!
 
can you make a nandroid backup? If so, you should be able to copy it to your new phone and use AppExtractor (from play market) to pull the SMS/MMS messages out of the nandroid to your new phone.
 
Welcome to the forums!!! :D

Like Pupkact said do you have a nandroid of your latest rom? Are you rooted?

If you aren't rooted, we may be able to get you booted, but it may take some fenangling.

Pull the battery, then put it back in. Hold the volume down button, then press and hold the power button simultaneously until a white screen with Andy riding a sketeboard appears. This is your bootloader, or hboot. Use the volume button to highlight recovery, then press power to select. If you get a black screen with an exclmation point in a red triangle, this is the stock recovery. Hold both the vulume down and volume up buttons, the press and hold the power button. You should get a few options, use the volume keys to highlight wipe the cache partition, the wipe the dalvik cache. Reboot the phone and see if it works.

Post back and let us know!! :)
 
Granite1 said:
Welcome to the forums!!! :D

Like Pupkact said do you have a nandroid of your latest rom? Are you rooted?

If you aren't rooted, we may be able to get you booted, but it may take some fenangling.

Pull the battery, then put it back in. Hold the volume down button, then press and hold the power button simultaneously until a white screen with Andy riding a sketeboard appears. This is your bootloader, or hboot. Use the volume button to highlight recovery, then press power to select. If you get a black screen with an exclmation point in a red triangle, this is the stock recovery. Hold both the vulume down and volume up buttons, the press and hold the power button. You should get a few options, use the volume keys to highlight wipe the cache partition, the wipe the dalvik cache. Reboot the phone and see if it works.

Post back and let us know!! :)
Click to expand...

I had no clue you could do that from the stock recovery :eek:
 
Granite1 said:
Welcome to the forums!!! :D

Like Pupkact said do you have a nandroid of your latest rom? Are you rooted?

If you aren't rooted, we may be able to get you booted, but it may take some fenangling.

Pull the battery, then put it back in. Hold the volume down button, then press and hold the power button simultaneously until a white screen with Andy riding a sketeboard appears. This is your bootloader, or hboot. Use the volume button to highlight recovery, then press power to select. If you get a black screen with an exclmation point in a red triangle, this is the stock recovery. Hold both the vulume down and volume up buttons, the press and hold the power button. You should get a few options, use the volume keys to highlight wipe the cache partition, the wipe the dalvik cache. Reboot the phone and see if it works.

Post back and let us know!! :)
Click to expand...


I'm a complete Android idiot, so sorry if these are dumb questions. 1. I dont think I'm rooted (unless the phone comes that way). 2. If I do the above, and wipe the cache and dalvik partition will it delete my SMS and MMS data?
 
I don't believe wiping cache will delete your messages (wiping data most certainly will) but I will let Granite1 or someone else confirm that.

If wiping cache gets you back to a running EVO, then your SMS/MMS question is far simpler. There is a free app in the market SMS Backup + (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zegoggles.smssync&hl=en) that you can load on your Evo and back all of your messages up to your gmail account. You could then simply load it up on your new handset and do a restore.
 
I'm partially there. I went into recovery, and wiped the cache. It is not giving me the option of wiping hte dalvik partition, I am only given the option to

1. Reboot now
2. Apply update from SD card
3. Wipe data/factory reset
4. Wipe cache partition (which I've already done).

Am I missing somehitng here?
 
Looks like you cannot wipe dalvik cache without root, so I'll let granite help you on this part, it sounded like he had some other ideas for getting you up and running.
 
I wasn't 100% sure the option to wipe the dalvik cache was in the stock recovery. I rooted my evo as soon as I got it. :D

If that's not an option, then you'll need root to wipe the dalvik cache. I'm out with my family at the moment. :) let me take a look in a little while and see if I can dig up another solution.
Sorry it took so long to get back, I just went back to work after a layoff. :)
 
FYI, not sure if it matters but it does give me the option to Update from SD card. Not sure if there is something I can do on the SD card to help. (agian, I'm a total idiout with these things!)
 
KerrieB said:
FYI, not sure if it matters but it does give me the option to Update from SD card. Not sure if there is something I can do on the SD card to help. (agian, I'm a total idiout with these things!)
Click to expand...

Updating from the SD card will only apply if you have an official RUU thats stock and non rooted. Just like receiving an OTA update except you're flashing it from your SD card.

I'm going to get another htc guru involved here tonight and see if he has any ideas that I haven't thought of. I was really optimistic that wiping the cache would fix the bootloop. :o

I can tell you I at least believe the phone can be saved and brought back to a bootable state, but that will involve wiping the phone completely, and that will delete your texts and sms's. :(

Let me get a hold of Scotty and see if he can help. :)
 
wow! this is a toughie. are we correct to assume that you are on the most current firmware version?

granite,would this version have hboot 2.15.0001,or 2.16.0001 and thus be supported by revolutionary?

i wonder if we could put the phone in stock recovery(so its not bootlooping) and then run revolutionary? then wed just need to install a recovery thru hboot,and make a nandroid.

unfortunately,every idea i can currently think of hinges upon being rooted... ill keep thinkin on it :)
 
well,not lookin too good for that. i just tried running revolutionary on my thunderbolt in both fastboot,and the stock recovery. 'waiting for device...' :mad:

evo may be different, it may still be worth a shot.

edit: it did start working as the phone booted. there may be hope :)
 
unfortunately this is a known issue with evo's. it even happened to me and i had to get a refurbished one which fortunately does not have this issue. not really sure if there is a way to retrieve your data from a phone that is in a bootloop not even sure that a factory reset will fix it as it did nothing for my phone.
 
scotty85 said:
wow! this is a toughie. are we correct to assume that you are on the most current firmware version?

granite,would this version have hboot 2.15.0001,or 2.16.0001 and thus be supported by revolutionary?

i wonder if we could put the phone in stock recovery(so its not bootlooping) and then run revolutionary? then wed just need to install a recovery thru hboot,and make a nandroid.

unfortunately,every idea i can currently think of hinges upon being rooted... ill keep thinkin on it :)
Click to expand...

I assumed she was on the latest ota which is hboot 2.18.
That hboot isn't rootable with revolutionary unfortunately. :(
I believe the new root method requires a bootable phone as well to work.
I think the phone is saveable unless Ocn is correct, and its a hardware failure causing the bootloops. Possibly if we factory reset it, it might be bootable, but again she'll loose the messages. I'm pulling hair out of my bald head! :D
 
yeah,i keep rackin my brain on it,but every idea i have requires the phone to be rooted. besides the nandroid,we could also simply dump the 'data' partition.

is there a temp root that works on the latest OTA? if adb sees the phone in the stock recovery,then that may be possible.

the thunderbolt is not recognized by adb in the stock recovery,but that may be apples and oranges since its an emmc device. let me fire up the junk incredible run an ruu... ill see if adb sees it :)

edit
grrr... sees it,but offline :mad:

Code: 
C:\Users\Scott>adb devices
adb server is out of date.  killing...
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached
HT117HJ00242    offline

i dont think theres a way to make it online,but ill do some searching and more thinkin
 
I certainly appreciate all of the thought, effort and hair pulling. I understand it s a long shot, and I may just have to give up on the cause. I have a few months worth of texts from my aunt who passed away, and I miss her. I'm kicking myself for not backing them up!

I'll hold out on trying to do a factory reset a little longer hoping for a miracle. And thank you both again for trying! It means so much.
 
KerrieB said:
I certainly appreciate all of the thought, effort and hair pulling. I understand it s a long shot, and I may just have to give up on the cause. I have a few months worth of texts from my aunt who passed away, and I miss her. I'm kicking myself for not backing them up!

I'll hold out on trying to do a factory reset a little longer hoping for a miracle. And thank you both again for trying! It means so much.
Click to expand...

I'm just along for the ride with your boot looping piece as I have little experience with HTC Devices. I just wanted to say that you are in the hands of some of the smartest, most helpful folks I know here.

I'll continue to follow along and learn and if they get you back up and running, I'll help with restoring your messages from your aunt.
 
unfortunately,i cant come up with anything that doesnt involve being rooted. :( i also cant find a way to force the stock recovery to be "online" with adb. i hAvent given up yet,tho :)
 
Me neither. :(

I can try Captain Throwback and see if he has any additional ideas. I'm stumped, and the more I think about it, I think Ocnbrze is right. The bootloops are from a hardware failure like his phone had. Otherwise wiping the cache in the stock recovery would have allowed the phone to boot. Grrr...
 
scotty85 said:
ill send a pm to scary and eu1... the eris is also a mtd device,so maybe one of them will have an idea.
Click to expand...

Scotty,

Yeah, the only thing I can think of also involves root or "pre-root" (i.e., a compliant HBOOT that would allow a fastboot boot to allow soft-booting a pre-root system image, but I'm guessing that's not easily achievable with Revolutionary? (if it is, I could build a pre-rooted boot.img with adb / root, etc.)).

BTW, you won't see adb access in stock recovery since there isn't an adb daemon running at that time (that I'm aware of).

If you can get wider-open fastboot access, we might have an opening...

Cheers!

edit: also, just saw this on AC: http://forums.androidcentral.com/thunderbolt-rooting-roms-hacks/162217-tool-bypass-downgrade-get-s-off-no-data-wipe.html (I'm not a member there at AC so I didn't follow all the links, but if this would work for this device, it might be helpful?)
 
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