Root CM7 Boot Looping When Sd Card is in?

[Teklogikal]

Ok, I'm pretty sure that I've exhausted my search options, So i'm starting a new thread.

I was previously running Tickerguys B.08 CM7(Final), and my phone started to boot loop for no reason, and then continue to loop at the same time every time it reloaded, so I flashed a Nandroid from about a week ago and it seemed to fix the issue. However, Yesterday I was using Android Assistant to do a batch uninstall I hit "start" and the phone screen faded out and went straight to a boot loop again. At this point I decided that since I wanted to check out Whyzors TG-Reloaded anyways, I would just wipe the phone and install the new rom. Everything was great until I updated my titanium backups and ran a new Nandroid, then upon reboot the same boot loop happened.

I managed to get the phone into safe mode, no dice- still a boot loop, So i removed the SD Card and lo and behold, Phone stays on and running. I removed some apps that I believed were causing the problems, but they obviously weren't because I keep getting stuck.

I have tried everything that I can think of, or have been able to find online but it seems hopeless at this point.

My question is:
What could be causing this, and how exactly would I go about finding out at what point at the boot it goes wrong?

Any Help would be appreciated.

 

[Whyzor]

You need to start with a clean slate. backup your data on the sdcard (manually copy the files from it to a PC dir), format it. Then re-wipe phone & reflash latest ROM + Gapps. Then BEFORE installing any apps, make sure it's stable. Also I don't recommend using Titanium backup. Just reinstall apps manually. Then use NANDROID backups & future CM7 upgrades will only require cache & dalvk-cache wipes, which keeps user data.

 

[Teklogikal]

Thanks, I will do that if it becomes an issue again. I flashed /System from my TG-Reloaded Nandroid and then Fixed permissions as a last ditch attempt before wiping everything. It seems to have worked, but with my luck i'll probably have to do what you suggested anyways. As an aside, Is there a specific reason you don't recommend Titanium Backup? I've never really heard anyone say that, so i'd like to hear your opinion.

 

[Whyzor]

Thanks, I will do that if it becomes an issue again. I flashed /System from my TG-Reloaded Nandroid and then Fixed permissions as a last ditch attempt before wiping everything. It seems to have worked, but with my luck i'll probably have to do what you suggested anyways. As an aside, Is there a specific reason you don't recommend Titanium Backup? I've never really heard anyone say that, so i'd like to hear your opinion.

Titanium tries to pick out app settings, temp storage, databases, and caches associated with all apps in a ROM and backs them up. Then restores them to another ROM that may have a slightly different layout Sometimes the settings change based on what other apps are installed and different formats between ROMs.

NANDroid backups are more reliable because it copies every byte for byte so you have an exact replica in case the phone goes bad. Usually that's the only time you should need to restore a backup anyway. Otherwise just like in the PC world, a system runs faster when there's less clutter from old previous installs & such. The only time you have to reinstall apps & setup settings manually would be when switching major Android versions like 2.2 -> 2.3 or to ICS. So it's a slight hassle for a lot more reliable system.

 

[Teklogikal]

Yeah, The system crashed again. About to go with your suggestion, will let you know how that turns out.

Quick question: Is it possible to get the system logs from when the crash happens, or do the prior logs erase themselves on reboot? I'm only mildly familiar with Linux based OS's (I use Ubuntu as a live disk to fix my Windows PC) so this is all kind of a crash course.

 

[Whyzor]

Yeah, The system crashed again. About to go with your suggestion, will let you know how that turns out.

Quick question: Is it possible to get the system logs from when the crash happens, or do the prior logs erase themselves on reboot? I'm only mildly familiar with Linux based OS's (I use Ubuntu as a live disk to fix my Windows PC) so this is all kind of a crash course.

You may be able to run in a terminal emulator:

su
logcat > /sdcard/log.txt

then when it crashes the /sdcard/log.txt file may contain clues to what crashed.

 

[Teklogikal]

Ok, I seem to have it fixed now. I did what you suggested, installed one at a time etc. and as far as I can tell it was one of 58 programs that I deemed unnecessary or probable causes. I also Updated to your 2-02 version at it seems to be running incredibly smooth for now. Is the Kernel update included in the 2-02 version or is that a separate zip i would need to flash?

Regardless, thanks for all your help.

 

[Whyzor]

Ok, I seem to have it fixed now. I did what you suggested, installed one at a time etc. and as far as I can tell it was one of 58 programs that I deemed unnecessary or probable causes. I also Updated to your 2-02 version at it seems to be running incredibly smooth for now. Is the Kernel update included in the 2-02 version or is that a separate zip i would need to flash?

Regardless, thanks for all your help.

Latest ROMs have latest kernel. Sometimes a more updated kernel comes out if I'm trying to get feedback reports from testers, if it's ok then it goes into the next ROM build. No need to flash kernels separately unless noted for specific reasons.

Btw my email notification had your logcat, and if I had to guess, it was probably a corrupt database from the gallery app, so if it happens again wipe the gallery app cache settings. I suggest usting QuickPic app instead anyway, its a lot better.