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25 March, 2014

Dead Internal SD / Boot Loop "FIX" on GalaxyS I9000

Samsung GalaxyS, one of the best devices from Samsung and its flagship device, it is nothing when compared to the new devices on the market, but it still has the quality which won't let you leave the phone yet. However, unfortunately, many of the GalaxyS devices internal SD gets damaged/dead after some time. Most of you might have already given up searching for a fix Online for this problem.

DON'T GIVE UP. You have finally reached the right blog.



Issues I had:

1. 1 day the phone was working perfect..the next day it won't.
2. It would only boot into the boot menu and then keeps on restarting (Boot Loop)
3. Tried flashing different Samsung firmware but no fix.

Before beginning, I cannot promise you this method will work for you, but it is worth a shot is it not?

The only way to fix this is installing the whole OS in you External SD card.

Disclaimer: We are not responsible if anything happens to your phone.Don’t miss any of the steps, firstly read and understand the whole tutorial then go for the actual process.



Prerequisite:

1. External SD - Minimum 8GB (I suggest using class 10 memory card)
2. MiniTool Partition Wizard (just google it)
3. Memory Card Reader
4. Odin. (google it)
5. For drivers ( Download USB drivers or download Samsung Kies (drivers included))
6. XXJ4 Firmware (Link: Download from samsung-updates.com)
7. Root file for XXJW4 (Link: download the root file )




Step by Step Guide:


1. Use MiniTool ( MiniTool did not work if the micro-sd was inserted before it was started. Don't ask me, I do not know!) (AND, MiniTool did not work all the time. It worked like, 2/10 times that I tried it?)

2. Delete/Clear all data in your partitions, wipe partitions (with 0s or 1s)
3. Partition your SD card: it is best to do the FAT32 partition first, make sure that you leave at least 2 GB for the next Ext4 partition and create an Ext4 Partition. (both Primary)
4. After step 4, Insert SD Card into phone and go to Download mode (vol down + home + power)


5. Here, Use JW4 (haven't tried with JW5/JW6 yet) and flash via Odin in PDA (Touch nothing else in Odin)
Link: http://samsung-updates.com/details/17571/Galaxy_S/GT-I9000/XEU/I9000XXJW4.html

Details: http://samsung-updates.com/device/?id=GT-I9000

6. Your phone still may not work (bootloop), If so take out the SD Card, run it through PC again for partition, and re-inserted in your phone.

7. Flashed via Odin (JW4), AGAIN. And now, it booted, successfully!

8. Root using Odin and appropriate cf-root kernel (JW4)

9. Reboot, and voila, your phone should work as advertised.!



Next Step:

1. Install script manager app and mount r/w app from Google Play (market)
2. Use mount r/w to Mount the system partition in r/w mode.
3. Browse using script manager app as root (change setting in config).
4. Go to /system/etc folder and change file permission for vold.fstab to rwxrwxrwx (This means tick all the 9 boxes on the left not the 3 on the right.....such a technical explanation)
5. Then edit the vold.fstab file as text and change the following

Change:

dev_mount sdcard /mnt/sdcard auto /devices/platform/s3c-sdhci.0/mmc_host/mmc0

to

dev_mount sdcard /mnt/sdcard auto /devices/platform/s3c-sdhci.2/mmc_host/mmc2

Change:

s3c-sdhci.0

to

s3c-sdhci.2

Change:

mmc0

to

mmc2

Save the file and reboot the phone!














PS: Please follow the steps correctly before doing the procedure. For Doubts ask in the comments section.
Thanks to Xda-developers for their guide:(More Info)