• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

[Verizon] GNex Appears Soft Bricked, Flash to Stock Failed. Any Help?

S

shinyeyes

Newbie
My dad somehow managed to get his GNex in to a boot loop just through general usage and asked me to try to fix it.

I can get in to the bootloader and stock recovery with no problems. I did a lot of reading on here and XDA the past few days and I have tried to flash both 4.1.1 and 4.2.2 through Wug's Tool and also manually. At the end of each of those attempts it just went right back in to the boot loop. According to Wug's tool it isn't odd for it to go back in to the boot loop for "5-10 minutes" but I let it sit for at least double that each time with no luck.

After reading a lot of similar posts I haven't seen anyone who had those fixes completely fail so I am starting to think maybe it is a hardware issue but since it is not hard bricked there has to be something I am missing.

If anyone has any tips I would really appreciate it.
 
Yeah I thought of that and tried to root the phone using Wug's tool in order to flash Cyanogen or something but when it checks for ADB it says "ADB Device not found" so I can't go past that point. I spent a while figuring out the confusing driver situation earlier and eventually got what I think to be the right setup by using 1wayjohnny's naked driver but something must still be off.

I also have Android SDK installed but similarly when I use command prompt to do "adb devices" I get a blank list; a problem which I haven't been able to solve yet despite seeing some other people solve it on various forums.

Thanks for the quick reply.
 
shinyeyes said:
Yeah I thought of that and tried to root the phone using Wug's tool in order to flash Cyanogen or something but when it checks for ADB it says "ADB Device not found" so I can't go past that point. I spent a while figuring out the confusing driver situation earlier and eventually got what I think to be the right setup by using 1wayjohnny's naked driver but something must still be off.

I also have Android SDK installed but similarly when I use command prompt to do "adb devices" I get a blank list; a problem which I haven't been able to solve yet despite seeing some other people solve it on various forums.

Thanks for the quick reply.
Click to expand...

Getting a blank for adb devices is a sign that the driver isn't installed correctly, or that the computer isn't recognizing it as an adb device because usb debugging isn't on/it isn't in a mode that can use adb.
 
Ah okay, that is close to what I thought based on what I've read. I'm new to all of this but is it true that fastboot is what you use while in the bootloader and ADB is when you are actually booted? If so then is there another way to root that doesn't require an ADB check like Wug's tool does (and therefore being booted in to the OS if my assumption is correct)?

I attempted to use the basic Samsung drivers, PDANet, and one method provided in Wug's driver install guide but didn't accomplish anything with those (I failed his driver test because of the same ADB error). After installing the naked driver I linked above I was finally able to communicate with the phone using fastboot so I assumed I was doing okay but I suppose something is still wrong.

Each time I tried new drivers I made sure to uninstall all the old ones using USBDView so I don't think that is the issue. Right now in my device manager there is a copy of "Google Galaxy Nexus BootLoader Interface" that has a triangular error sign by it and also a copy by the same name which appears to be working. I can remove the one that Windows thinks is installed incorrectly but for all I know it could be done right. Is there another set of drivers I should attempt to use?
 
shinyeyes said:
Ah okay, that is close to what I thought based on what I've read. I'm new to all of this but is it true that fastboot is what you use while in the bootloader and ADB is when you are actually booted? If so then is there another way to root that doesn't require an ADB check like Wug's tool does (and therefore being booted in to the OS if my assumption is correct)?

I attempted to use the basic Samsung drivers, PDANet, and one method provided in Wug's driver install guide but didn't accomplish anything with those (I failed his driver test because of the same ADB error). After installing the naked driver I linked above I was finally able to communicate with the phone using fastboot so I assumed I was doing okay but I suppose something is still wrong.

Each time I tried new drivers I made sure to uninstall all the old ones using USBDView so I don't think that is the issue. Right now in my device manager there is a copy of "Google Galaxy Nexus BootLoader Interface" that has a triangular error sign by it and also a copy by the same name which appears to be working. I can remove the one that Windows thinks is installed incorrectly but for all I know it could be done right. Is there another set of drivers I should attempt to use?
Click to expand...

You are correct in your assumption that the ADB driver is different than the bootloader/fastboot driver. Rooting can be done without wugs, but given the current bootloop situation it will be tricky. You will have to get the adb driver working though in order to accomplish this. I would recommend clearing out the drivers and starting fresh with trying to install them. The Samsung drivers always worked for me in the past, but out of curiosity, which version of Windows are you using?

Anyhow, to get root, you are going to have to manually flash twrp through fastboot to the device. After that, boot the device into twrp. Since twrp supports the usage of adb, you will have to adb push the root binary zip file to your device. Once it's on the device in a reachable location, you then manually flash it to obtain root. You will likely also have to adb push the necessary CM10.1 and gapps to the device in order to flash them since the device will not boot for normal mtp transferring or downloading.
 
I am running Windows 7 64 bit.

I just tried clearing all drivers and using the One click method in Wug's tool, which lead to a driver that had the error triangle and was titled "Android 1.0". I uninstalled that and tried the SAMSUNG drivers again but when I went to look for the driver in USBDView I didn't see anything new so it must be installing incorrectly. When I plugged the phone back in windows just installed drivers on it's own; titled "Google Galaxy Nexus BootLoader Interface" and installed correctly according to it. Still a blank "ADB devices" list though.

I understand the gist of your 2nd paragraph but I'd have to do some searching to find all the right files to use. Obviously I have to work the drivers out before proceeding but I found a guide on rooting that I think is similar to what you said to do but I don't know if being in a bootloop will make some part of it not work for me, what do you think about it? Am I right that what you were saying about using adb push to move the root binary zip file is similar to what they suggest in Step 9?

Also, if I can get the driver situation worked out then I should be able to just use Wug's for root assuming I get past that ADB error; although I'm sure it would be good to know how to do it manually.
 
Step 9 is the normal way with drop and drag. Since the device is bootlooped, that method is not possible. It will have to be pushed through the adb command terminal instead. But it is more or less the same procedure, just bring executed differently.
 
Right, thanks.

I followed this guide (Parts I and II) because it was suggested on XDA but instead of getting "Android ADB Composite Interface" as it says I should I once again get "Google Galaxy Nexus BootLoader Interface" and a blank list after running "adb devices".

Lastly I deleted that driver and used the Universal one posted here. Based on the story I thought it would solve all my problems but it didn't work either. I specifically chose "Google Galaxy Nexus ADB" when I installed it but ended up with "Google Galaxy Nexus BootLoader Interface" as usual. Any other ideas on drivers? Maybe I'll try it all on my laptop instead of my desktop.

No wonder people charge so much for this work haha, what a hassle. Perks of being the go-to family "electronics expert" though I suppose.
http://www.dominantwire.com/2012/11/how-to-solve-adb-device-not-found-error.html
 
shinyeyes said:
Right, thanks.

I followed this guide (Parts I and II) because it was suggested on XDA but instead of getting "Android ADB Composite Interface" as it says I should I once again get "Google Galaxy Nexus BootLoader Interface" and a blank list after running "adb devices".

Lastly I deleted that driver and used the Universal one posted here. Based on the story I thought it would solve all my problems but it didn't work either. I specifically chose "Google Galaxy Nexus ADB" when I installed it but ended up with "Google Galaxy Nexus BootLoader Interface" as usual. Any other ideas on drivers? Maybe I'll try it all on my laptop instead of my desktop.

No wonder people charge so much for this work haha, what a hassle. Perks of being the go-to family "electronics expert" though I suppose.
http://www.dominantwire.com/2012/11/how-to-solve-adb-device-not-found-error.html
Click to expand...

If the device is in fastboot /bootloader mode, then it won't give you the option to install the adb driver. Try starting the root procedure by flashing twrp and boot into that and try to install the adb drivers.
 
I pushed TWRP like you said and it led to the correct response for "adb devices" so there is one problem fixed.

However, that also showed me a new symptom. Apparently the touch screen isn't working; I assume that isn't normal even if it is soft bricked?

I pushed ClockworkMod Recovery to get around that and pushed an SU.zip to get root.

I then downloaded CM10.1 and gapps and installed them both through recovery and rebooted. Unfortunately I am still bootlooping; it freezes on the CM splash screen now so at least I know I got it installed right.

Any tips would be great, thanks for all your help so far.

EDIT: After letting it sit for a while I'm now getting a screen after the CM screen that says "Android is upgrading...Optimizing app xx of 70" but it crashes and reboots while doing that optimizing.
 
shinyeyes said:
I pushed TWRP like you said and it led to the correct response for "adb devices" so there is one problem fixed.

However, that also showed me a new symptom. Apparently the touch screen isn't working; I assume that isn't normal even if it is soft bricked?

I pushed ClockworkMod Recovery to get around that and pushed an SU.zip to get root.

I then downloaded CM10.1 and gapps and installed them both through recovery and rebooted. Unfortunately I am still bootlooping; it freezes on the CM splash screen now so at least I know I got it installed right.

Any tips would be great, thanks for all your help so far.

EDIT: After letting it sit for a while I'm now getting a screen after the CM screen that says "Android is upgrading...Optimizing app xx of 70" but it crashes and reboots while doing that optimizing.
Click to expand...

That is unusual for it to crash during dalvik populating. And the touch screen not responding while in twrp is also concerning as well. Try going back into recovery and wiping dalvik and cache again to see if that clears up the dalvik issue. If that doesn't, boot into fastboot and try using the following commands:

fastboot format cache
fastboot format userdata
Click to expand...
Then try booting back into the device and see what happens.

If that doesn't work try these commands in fastboot:

fastboot erase cache
fastboot erase userdata
Click to expand...
And then reboot.
 
I let it sit for a while before doing any of the things you mentioned in your last post and the number of apps to be optimized kept decreasing after numerous loops; eventually it got all the way done and said something about booting but then just went right back in to the normal bootloop.

I then wiped dalvik and cache and after 5 or so regular bootloops it is now back to the dalvik populating with the number of apps to be optimized again decreasing each loop. I'll let it sit through them all again I suppose and then try formatting like you said assuming it doesn't work.

EDIT: Same result after doing the formatting of cache and userdata and now it's doing the same thing after erasing cache and userdata.
 
I'm in the process of looking for a pit file for this device, but I'm not having much luck. In the meantime, I've asked for some help with other staff members that might offer suggestions as well.

In the meantime, it might be useful to try and run a logcat of the boot to see what's going on.
 
Excellent debugging up there to both of you guys! :thumbup: :)

I do wonder if there's a hardware issue with the memory...:confused:

A logcat would be most helpful at this point and a kernel dump a good bonus, too.

For the logcat, start up your first Windows Command Prompt window and do this:

c:\> adb shell logcat > mylogcat.txt

Then, first up a second Windows Command Prompt window and do this:

c:\> adb shell su -c "cat /proc/kmsg"

the kernel messages will appear on the screen so you'll want to copy/paste them for later analysis or go-ahead and redirect it also to a file:

c:\> adb shell su -c "cat /proc/kmsg" > mykmsg.txt

Cheers and let us know!

:)
 
Unfortunately the logcat output "/sbin/sh: logcat: not found" and the kernel messages output "/sbin/sh: su: not found", I assume I did something wrong?

EDIT: I did these while in recovery but when I saw jmar's post I tried to get it in the bootloop to try to get them then and now I'm not even getting the CyanogenMod splash screen. It just sits on the Google splash for a few seconds and then loops back.
 
jmar said:
This should be executed while the phone is booting, correct?
Click to expand...

Yep! :)

shinyeyes said:
Unfortunately the logcat output "/sbin/sh: logcat: not found" and the kernel messages output "/sbin/sh: su: not found", I assume I did something wrong?

EDIT: I did these while in recovery but when I saw jmar's post I tried to get it in the bootloop to try to get them then and now I'm not even getting the CyanogenMod splash screen. It just sits on the Google splash for a few seconds and then loops back.
Click to expand...

Hmm, that's odd...

You are rooted, yes?

Unfortunately, I've got to be AFK for a little bit...will be back in 30-ish...:(
 
Yep I rooted it earlier by following this guide and the su file provided there. Although would wiping data per the CM10.1 install guide here delete the su file and therefore make it lose root?

Unfortunately I too have to go AFK, gotta go to a 4th of July party so I'll be a few hours. Thanks for all of your help everyone!
 
shinyeyes said:
Yep I rooted it earlier by following this guide and the su file provided there. Although would wiping data per the CM10.1 install guide here delete the su file and therefore make it lose root?

Unfortunately I too have to go AFK, gotta go to a 4th of July party so I'll be a few hours. Thanks for all of your help everyone!
Click to expand...

Nah, wiping should not have removed the root binaries.

I'm just wondering if you're just executing those commands a little too early in the boot cycle? Maybe try many successive tries while its looping (that's the part we want to see anyway).

Also, you are getting a serial number when you do an "adb devices" command, right (i.e., to make sure that you've got adb connectivity)?

It also could be that it's never getting far enough in the boot for /system to be fully mounted? :dontknow:

I've got to go to a cook-out myself and will be back on-line later.

Cheers and a happy 4th to you, too! :)
 
Just found my way here and you have some heavy hitters helping you out there shinyeyes, great stuff here!

I'm a little concerned about the su: not found error. There were some su binaries some time ago that were reported broken for JB. I cannot download/verify any of the files you used to root because I'm at work and they have me locked out of downloading anything from the net. Would it be prudent to check for root by attempting to enter a shell from recovery? And also, do you know what android version this phone was running prior to all the problems?

Even if that were the case however, it doesn't explain why you couldn't restore the stock images. This is the 2nd Gnex this week that I've seen exhibit this type of behavior. Have you tried flashing the stock images via fastboot and the sdk instead of using a toolkit?

I have a few other (not so earth shattering) ideas but I'd like to hold off for now until you can try SA's ideas to the end. That way you don't get too many things being hurled your way at once. :D
 
Scary Alien: At no point have I gotten a serial number from "adb devices" except for when I was in recovery. I originally didn't get a serial number even then so when I finally did I thought I had fixed the drivers but maybe not?

The fact that the boot loop no longer includes the CM10.1 splash screen is new and I imagine without seeing that I won't be able to properly execute the logcat and get the kernel messages. Maybe I should reflash to stock?

IowaBowTech: I'm not sure what version was being run prior, whatever stock version Verizon had pushed within the past couple months because my dad wouldn't have made any changes from stock.

I flashed stock 4.1.1 and 4.2.2 via Wug's kit and manually via fastboot without any luck. Most recently I flashed CM10.1 and it seemed to make a bit of progress when I got to the dalvik populating but now I'm not even getting to the CM splash screen.

Thanks everyone!
 
Yeah, you'll only see a connection with adb except when in a custom recovery or when you'll almost fully booted in and have enabled USB debugging.

So, if you're not seeing anything from an "adb devices" when you're in the bootloop, then it's clear that the boot sequence hasn't completed enough to have the adbd daemon started (:().

If you can get it while in custom recovery, then your drivers are setup properly.

A few of us have had a side discussion about your issues and they seem somewhat similar to what we saw with another member (Gapi) a while back when JB was first released.

Would you be willing to flash back to ICS? If successful, then that might tell us that this is, again, related to some weird JB issue...
 
I think that would work fine as a test pilot. Here's a 4.0.4 rom I ran for awhile. It's totally based on stock so that might be a good one to try:

Dev-Host - VZW_toro-4.0.4_IMM76K_su.zip - The Ultimate Free File Hosting / File Sharing Service

Assuming you already know how to adb push to your phone since you got the CM10 there? So wipe data/cache/dalvik and try the install. Don't worry about Gapps right now, just looking for boot at this point.

edit: careful what you click on that link I gave. You want the smaller, black "download" button sandwiched in between the green buttons.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom