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Root [International] Stuck in boot loop after trying to make nandroid backup - Please help!

C

ChristoffGp4gP

Member
I tried creating a nandroid backup (I've done so in the past with no issues), after a long while it gave an error at the end saying it couldn't backup the /data folder or something. I tried again, this time saving to the internal SD card. Same problem.

I rebooted, and it just stuck in a boot loop (Samsung logo, then the Three logo, then repeats over and over).

Can someone please tell me what to do? I can get into download mode and recovery mode.

Should I try recovering from the backup I just tried? Or a previous one? Should I do something else? (I read something about wiping the Dalvik cache but not sure if I need to do anything else along with that, or if that's even the right thing to do?).

Would be really grateful if someone could help, I don't have a backup phone and need this sorted asap.

Thanks
 
So I've just wiped the Dalvik cache and it gave the message "Android is upgrading" and counted apps that were upgrading or something.

Thought it was working, but now stuck in a boot loop again. This time, it's now giving a small vibrate each time.

Please somebody help.
 
Do you have an older nandroid that backed up properly mate?
Restoring that should be fine.
Ive never heard of making a nandroid causing a bootloop tbh, idk what would have caused that.
Hope you do have an intact backup :beer:
 
Panic over, at least for now!

I wiped the cache as well as the Dalvic cache and it did the trick (it was in another part of the menu than a site I was looking at was saying though).

When it finally booted though, I got a message about low memory (internal SD card) and it was down to about 300MB. I'm guessing the data backup might've failed because there wasn't enough room, but it also failed on my first attempt on the external SD card and there was plenty of room there, odd. But perhaps the low space could've had something to do with the boot loop? Even if that was the case though, it was still low on space when it did finally manage to boot.

Thanks for your reply though, much appreciated.
 
Also, weirdly, my S3 seems quite a bit quicker at the moment. It has been really sluggish recently (months actually). Could that be to do with wiping either of the caches?
 
Feels like a new phone right now, it was lagging so badly before.

Hopefully it stays this way and I don't have any other issues, I have no idea why it got stuck in a boot loop, but now I'm really not confident trying another backup or even powering the phone down :(
 
Dont be paranoid man. Most things like that can be fixed if you dont panic. Id clear some space and make a good backup. Once you have that, not much can go wrong.
Between my phone and tab ive had 3 bootloops tonight lol :D
 
funkylogik said:
Dont be paranoid man. Most things like that can be fixed if you dont panic. Id clear some space and make a good backup. Once you have that, not much can go wrong.
Between my phone and tab ive had 3 bootloops tonight lol :D
Click to expand...

The backup was around 1GB I think but an additional 3GB or so for the data portion of the backup, which seems pretty high? And it could've been higher had there actually been room, I'm not sure. I don't think my previous backups have been that high.

And I can't help being paranoid or panicky lol. I very rarely do this stuff. I rooted my phone pretty much for backup purposes and a few other root apps, never installed a custom ROM or have any other reason to mess around so it's rare I even boot into recovery, so for something like this to go wrong does make me rather nervous.

Shame this has happened now too, as I'm planning on getting the S5 when it's out, or possibly the HTC One successor, and was thinking I might give a custom ROM a go, but the thought of bricking a
 
funkylogik said:
Id clear some space and make a good backup. Once you have that, not much can go wrong.
Click to expand...

Also, there was plenty of space on the external SD card though, and I still got a message saying that the data element of the backup didn't work properly. That's why I then tried to backup to the internal card.

Plus the phone was working fine before, so something did go wrong, just not sure what :s: Which is why I don't feel confident even trying again. It should've worked, I don't know why it didn't, and then I got a boot loop for no apparent reason. I don't really want to risk the same happening again, without a recent backup having been made (last one was a few months ago), but I need to risk it to get a recent backup lol.
 
Actual hard bricking is very very rare but i do understand man. I was the same. Do you have a lot of apps?
I have 298 and my latest backup is nearly 3gb uploadfromtaptalk1391904736171.jpg at least make a backup of just system and boot and forget data and it will be much smaller but be able to save you as a last resort.
Lol DragonSlayer i know man, my careless tinkering gets me into trouble sometimes :D
 
I have just less than 200 user apps according to Titanium Backup.

How do you make a backup of just the system and boot without data? I don't remember seeing that option. I may have just forgotten it was there though!

If I backup apps (and data) with Titanium Backup anyway, is there a need to backup the data with recovery?

I'm using Clockwork Mod.

While we're on the subject, when I open up the CWM Manager app it gives a popup that says "This version of CWM Manager should be used with CF-CWM v1.1 or newer. It appears you are running a different recovery. Various features have been disabled."

Not sure why it says this, this installed itself when I rooted, so I'd have thought it'd be the right one. Not sure if that makes much (or any) difference when booting into recovery though.
 
Is that the Rom Manager app? I wouldnt worry about that shit tbh. Better to do things manually in recovery.
Im on a CWM based recovery now so ill have a look how to leave /data out. The data partition is mainly apps anyway :thumbup:
 
In mine its in backup and restore> custom backup and restore> custom job.
There you can check and uncheck what you want to back up (i recommend backing up EFS too)
If it fails again you should update CWM. thats maybe what the app is moaning about
 
Thanks, I'll take a look at it next time I feel like backing it up (had a bit too much excitement for tonight lol), maybe next weekend.

How do you update CWM? It does seem to be moaning that it's out of date, but it's the one that came with rooting the phone and I've not changed it since, or even know how to.

Thanks for looking into it and your help.
 
No probs mate.
To update CWM you just do a search for the latest version for the i9300, download the .zip file, boot into recovery, install zip, find the zip and thats it updated.
If you ever want to flash a kitkat rom youll have to update CWM first (better still, flash the recovery im using. Same process) :thumbup:
 
Ah right, thanks. I'll have look into that at some point.

I'll probably only start messing with different ROMs once I have a new phone though, then my S3 will become a phone I can use to mess around with that kind of stuff before doing it on my new one.
 
I have read that it (along with other Samsung phones) is easier to root than other phones, and so probably better for practicing that kind of stuff with.

I just hope that if I don't get a Samsung next time, I'll not run into any difficulties. I kind of want to stick with Samsung for my next phone, but also want to ditch them because the AMOLED screens are prone to burn in, and mine has been badly affected by a certain app, don't want it to happen to my next phone. That's why I'm considering whatever HTC or Sony has to offer as an alternative, but to my understanding they're harder to root which will make my decision harder.
 
I havent had a sony since their sony ericsson days so i dont know how easy they are now and ive never had an HTC.
The s3 is really easy to root. I actually found it easier than my nexus tab lol.
Once its rooted and has custom recovery, the processes are the same for every phone. Theyre virtually the same as what i did on my 1st android in 2011.
Speaking of next phones, ill never buy another samsung. Id buy a nexus phone if i had the cash.
Im not a fan of the fancy samsung features though tbh (so im running a nearly pure android 4.4.2 rom on my s3 lol)
I just think samsung are an arsehole company. The s3 was special because it was so well spec'd but nowadays specs arent as important as good software
 
That's why I'm thinking next time I want a custom ROM.

When I first got the S3 I kind of bought into their gimmicky features but soon got bored and realised they weren't really of any use, and probably slow the phone down a lot too, as well as take up valuable space.

So I thought, whatever phone I get, I could install a custom ROM and have a more stock Android experience.

A few months ago I did want the Nexus 5, but I'm not convinced now that HTC and Samsung are soon to bring out their new flagship phones, they'll no doubt easily beat the N5 spec-wise. I also have a friend who just got an N5 and he's not at all impressed with the actual phone/contacts app, or Hangouts as default messaging (true these can be replaced, but apparently they don't work as you'd expect phone/messaging apps to work, and you'd expect that for the stock apps).

I do like my S3 though, though it has been laggy for quite some time now, making me itching to get rid of it (though since the boot loop earlier, it's been much better!), so I do feel like I should go for the S5, it's just the screen issue I have that concerns me. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to check out the competition, it just depends how easy it'll be for rooting really. Rooting the S3 was surprisingly easy, but even that got me nervous because I was worried about bricking it, and then I had some issues with successfully unrooting it which was a bit stressful, on a phone it should be easier on. Ah, if only I had unlimited money to buy unlimited phones to mess around with.
 
Lol. My s3 actually has bad burn in but i do love the amoled display.
Mine is burned in all over (apart from where the statusbar used to be)
I remember seeing a statement from samsung saying they would replace displays on affected devices.
The 2yr warranty is gona end in a couple of months so im thinkin of returning mine to stock and sending it in for repair. What you think?
I totally recommend aosp kitkat on the s3. Its so fast that i cant see how any extra specs would make it faster.
The s3 is the first phone ive had for so long and not really felt that it was outdated.
I do hope the s5 is less bloated. Aparently Google asked/warned them to calm down a bit and run a purer build of android :)
 
Definitely, I'm thinking about doing the same. I bought mine I'm June 2011 so I guess I have until June to get it sorted. I play a game called Wordfeud (like scrabble) and it has a dark grey colour scheme, because I play it so much I can see the outline of the tiles on light colours in other apps, and some areas I can see over pretty much everything.

That's partly why I'm eager to get a new device, I want it before parting with my S3 for a couple of weeks while they fix the screen, and I don't really want to faff around unrooting yet. Also, I have a very small crack in the glass next to the speaker (above the screen), I'm not sure if that will mean they refuse to fix it for some reason?

As I said earlier my S3 has been painfully slow for a good while now so it has actually seemed outdated. However, with it now running more smoothly again it feels much better.

It would be good if the S5 is less bloated, and I'll try out KitKat on my S3 when i get a new phone I think.
 
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