Help Force Close loop, what next?

[stoneisman]

I have a Sprint Evo 4G. I had it rooted and then had to unroot it back to stock for security reasons at my job. Current info:
*** LOCKED (OOW) ***
Supersonic EVT2-3 SHIP S-ON
HBOOT-2.18.0001
MICROP-041f
TOUCH PANEL-ATMEL224_16ab
RADIO-2.15.00.01.15

I upgraded and gave it to my daughter and she tried to OTA update it, and ever since that we are stuck in a loop of The Application HTC Sense (process com.htc.launcher) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again.

I have restarted it, and pulled the battery. I can access the basic system menu holding power and lower volume down. I can access the SD card on my laptop and see the file system but the recovery option spews the 'can't open /cache/recovery/command' error if I try to load something as PC36IMG.zip. I also tried some of the fixes for that error and cleared the cache to no success.

My preferences would be to get the phone back with the data on it if possible, back to stock no data 2nd and rooted again 3rd if nothing else works. I remember reading something about rooting it a 2nd time being harder but can't seem to find what I followed to restore my phone to stock where they said that. Sorry for the long story, just want to give as much info as possible and hopefully demonstrate I did try some stuff first. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Mikestony]

Welcome stoneisman!
Sorry to hear about your device there
Have you tried to clear storage in bootloader?
That will in a sense, perform a factory reset.

What PC36IMG file did you try to install via bootloader?

 

[stoneisman]

I tried what I think was the stock rom and also the amonra bootloader i remember using before when i first rooted it, but I can't get around that 'can't open /cache/recovery/command' I mentioned. I tried the clear cache option, but was hoping to leave that clear storage option more as a last resort. It sounds like the stock recovery is pretty limited though.

 

[Mikestony]

Ah, you tried to install the AmonRa recovery via PC36IMG? That cannot be done with a locked bootloader. That's why that failed with that message I think.

Well, in my opinion, we can try one of 2 things.....clear storage in bootloader, or try a PC36IMG firmware/ruu.
Both of which will wipe your device.
or depending on how you look at it.

 

[stoneisman]

Ok. I did the clear storage and I am back to a fresh device and the force closing has stopped. Let's say I want to do the second option, what would I need to do that? Do any of my version numbers look funky or like they would cause me any issues? Thanks for your help!

 

[Mikestony]

My second option--an ruu, or your second option in the OP--stock/no data?

What android version do you have now? it should be listed in the "about phone" menu.
Version 5.something.

 

[stoneisman]

It's version 2.3.5, 5.07.651.6 710RD. Stock would be good to have as a backup. Is there anything that would prevent me from rooting it again? For some reason I thought 2.18 was a problem, but I haven't looked into this seriously in a while.