[HOW TO] Unbrick Ainol Crystal

[fuser]

How To Unbrick Your Amlogic AML8726-MX Series Tablet - v2.0

If I've helped you unbrick your device please consider a donation, even if it is small it will help!
I will use the donations to pay the monthly file hosting fees and other development costs.

These methods, including the 'deep brick' method, will work with every Amlogic AML8726-M Series tablet. However, not all tablets have official stock firmware releases, so if your tablet does not have a firmware release it becomes really difficult to unbrick it and you will have to experiment. I can confirm that you can unbrick the Ainol Crystal, Fire, Hero, Aurora 2 and Elf 2. I've had reports of unbricking the Venus, Mars and some other non-Ainol tablets with the same AML8726-M hardware.

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All unbricking files can be found here.

Valkoz has been posting the newest version of the AML USB Burning Tool in this thread. Version 1.6.2.01.28 is also available in my unbricking MediaFire folder.

Extra special thanks to tigger-gg for help with the new rescue images, help re-writing these instructions to be clearer and testing multiple unbricking methods on several devices.

Also thanks Santjaga to for a shorter Russian Translation of the unbricking instructions found here.

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Definitions of different bricking types

• A "soft" brick - is when back light turns on but either nothing happens and it stays black or it shuts back down. It's also when you get a boot loop, it can't get past the splash screen or boot animation and you are unable to enter into the recovery.
• A "hard" brick - is when the back light does not turn on and it appears that your tablet is completely dead, but when you plug it into the computer and hold down the Power and Vol - buttons, the tablet shows up in your device manager as "M3-CHIP or M6-CHIP."
• A "deep" brick is when your tablet appears completely dead and is not recognized by the computer at all.

NEW METHOD! - Creating a SD rescue card in Linux

Christian Troy has posted a easy to follow tutorial on creating a rescue SD card in Linux and unbricking your tablet. It should work for all Amlogic based tablets and will work even if you are deep or hard bricked. See his thread here.

Method One - SD Card Method for a "soft" brick.

Using an SD card of 2GB or less is preferable. There are Batch 1 & 2 rescue images for use with the USB Image Tool that I've confirmed to be working on multiple SD cards and Crystals. If you are having trouble with those images, you can use the ELF2 image as a fallback since it works on both batches of Crystals.

Step 1

• Put a flash card in your computer. Right click the "USB Image Tool" and "Run as Administrator." If you are attempting to use a SD card larger than 2GB you can click on "Options" and check the "Ignore size checks..." and "Truncate oversize images..." boxes. If you are using an SD card of 2GB or less you do not need to check these options.
• Click on "Favorites --> Add," select your recovery image that you downloaded and then click on your SD card and click the "Restore" button. You might want to click on the name next to the image you just loaded and name it something you can remember in case you ever need to use it again.
• Check to make sure your SD card was re-sized to around 500MB instead of it's full capacity. Sometimes after using the software, the card will not show up in the computer and you need to take it out and put it back in. If you do not do this, the card will usually not work on the Crystal. The software seems to have a failure rate around 1 in 25 attempts, so start from the beginning if it doesn't work the first time.

The "aml_autoscript" is a NAND scrubbing tool to format your internal memory. The "factory_update_param.aml" file contains the following commands:



--wipe_data--wipe_cache--wipe_media--update_package=/sdcard/g06refe2-ota-eng.grady.wang.zipIf you are using a different firmware package and attempting to make your own recovery SD card, you need to open the "factory_update_param.aml" file and change the name of the .zip on the last line to match the firmware package you are flashing. In my mediafire account I've provided recovery images and zip packages with the same files in the recovery images for the Batch 1 and Batch 2 Crystals.

Step 2

• If your tablet is not off, hold down the Power button for 10-15 seconds.
  
  
• Remove the SD card from your computer and put it in your tablet.
• Hold down the Power and Vol - buttons until the screen turns on. Release the buttons as soon as the screen lights up.
  
  
• You'll see a different Android logo with a progress bar and a spinning object in its chest. If you see the normal green Android logo that says Ainol underneath it, hold down the Power button to power off the tablet and hold down the Power and Vol - buttons again.
• If that still does not work, when you see the normal green Android logo, continue to hold down the buttons. The screen will go black and then boot up again after a little while, then the normal green Android logo will be displayed again. Continue to hold the buttons and you will see alternative auto-flashing green Android logo.
• When the tablet is done auto-flashing it will turn off. Leave it off and remove the SD card quickly. If you don't remove the card in time, the tablet will boot back up and the auto-flashing will start again.
• Boot up your tablet and see if everything worked. If it didn't work try again, try the alternative methods below or move on to Step 3.
• If you are having trouble getting the firmware to auto-flash, darecky has reported that you can try holding down the Vol- button and then "pulsing" the Power button by pressing it every 0.5 seconds until the logo appears.

Alternative Method 1

• Use the elf2_0527.img to create your SD card using the same steps.
• Delete all the files on the SD card and replace them with the files in the zip package for your Crystal batch that I have provided.
• Complete the rest of the steps.

Alternative Method 2

• Use the elf2_0527.img to create your SD card using the same steps.
• Do not replace any files, use the card as it is.
• Complete the rest of the steps. This will install the ELF2 firmware on your Crystal and has worked for both Batch 1 and "deep" bricked Batch 3 Crystal's for me. It should also work on Batch 2 Crystals.
• Move on to Step 3 to replace the ELF2 firmware with official stock Crystal firmware.

Step 3
This only works if the first method completed far enough to allow you into the Stock Recovery or if the Alternative Methods worked and you now need to install the correct firmware.

• Restore your SD card back to normal capacity with the SD Formatter software. This can take a long time, be patient. Choose the following options:
  - FORMAT TYPE -> FULL (Overwrite)
  - FORMAT SIZE ADJUSTMENT -> ON
• Download the Ainol Stock Recovery and your Stock Firmware package from here.
• Extract the Ainol Stock Recovery package and place the "u-boot.bin" and "uImage_recovery.recovery" in the root of your SD card.
• Extract the Stock Firmware zip file and place all the files in the root of your SD card. If the firmware package already contains "u-boot.bin" and/or "uImage_recovery" then you can replace the ones from the Ainol Stock Recovery package. You can also use these files from any firmware package if the ones in the Ainol Stock Recovery package do not work for you.
• Hold down the Power and Vol - buttons to enter the Stock Recovery.
• Flash your firmware package and reboot the tablet.
• If it worked, either plug your tablet into the computer and use USB mode or shut down your tablet and remove the SD card, then remove the "u-boot.bin" and "uImage_recovery" files from your SD card.
• Boot back into recovery and make sure that the firmware package correctly installed the Stock Recovery on your device.
• Your tablet is now back to it's original Factory Settings.

Method Two - AML Flash and SD card for a "hard" brick.

Do not try and use the "hard" brick method unless you are absolutely sure you have "hard" bricked your tablet.


I have not tested the method myself yet but CXZ recommended mentioning that it might be easier to use the Deep Brick to SD Card Alternative before trying the AML Software. Scroll down to that section and attempt that method using a SD Rescue Card before trying to use the AML Flash package.

AML released a low-level flash tool for flashing firmware to Ainol devices through a USB connection. However, the only AML flash package that Ainol has released is for the Ainol Fire, so we have to use some tricks to unbrick an Ainol Crystal using this method. Before we begin there are some system requirements and adjustments that need to be made.

• You must be using a real English version of Windows. If you have an English version with a different language setting it is sometimes possible to edit the "configure.ini" file in the AML USB Burn tool folder but it's better to use an English version. Always edit files like this with Notepad++ or an equivalent advanced text editing tool. Open up the file and change your language code. I do not know your language code so you will have to look it up if you don't know it. Valkoz has also posted a new version that claims to work on non-English version of windows, so you can try that here.

[General]lanuage=de[Erase]enable=trueerasecmd="nand rom_protect off;nand scrub 0;poweroff"

• You may have trouble with your USB ports. Go to "Start Menu --> Right Click on Computer --> Manage" and then click on "Device Manager" and expand "Universal Serial Bus Controller." Check all your USB hubs by "Right Clicking" them and going to "Properties -> Power Management" and then un-checking the box that says "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power." If you know which hub you are using you can choose to only un-check the box for that hub.
• The AML software does not like some USB hubs, so if the software doesn't work at first, try different USB ports. I get better success on ports 3 and 4 on my computer.
• You should shut down as many background applications and close as many folders as you can before trying this method. Some programs will interfere with the software if you leave them open.
• You must have Administrator Privileges on your computer and run the software as an Administrator. The software will not work if you try and run it as a regular user or a guest user.
• Make sure you don't have an external SD card in your tablet.
• If you hang on any loading section, try going back, checking the "erase nand" button, running it to 100% and then starting over.

Step 1

• Plug your tablet into your computer using a USB cable and go to your Device Manager. You should see your device listed as "M3 Chip" or "M6 Chip."
• If you do not see your device listed it may be off. Hold down the Power and Home buttons to turn it on in a special mode for the AML Software.
  
  
• If that does not work and the device does not appear in the Device Manager then try to hold down the Power and Vol - buttons instead.
• If your tablet is still not recognized by the computer it is a "deep" brick and you will need to follow those instructions first before continuing on to the next step.
• Right click on your device, go to "Properties --> Driver --> Update Driver" then "Browse computer for driver software" and locate the folder with the "Windows 7 - World Cup Drivers" in it. This will install the drivers necessary to use the AML software. Although I've provided the Win7 64bit drivers in a zip file called "Crystal Drivers.zip," it looks like they are now included in the most recent version of the AML software in a folder called "AmlogicusbBurningdriver" along with drivers for WinXP.
• Your device should now show the World Cup Drivers instead of showing up as an M3/M6 chip.
• If in the device manager there is a yellow triangle and you get a "device can not start (Code 10)" error, just ignore it for now.

Step 2

• Right click on "ImageBurnTool.exe" in the AML Image Burn Tool folder and "Run as Administrator." Click on "Configure --> Import upgrade file" in the menu.
• You have a couple of choices for how to proceed next:

• You can use the "1212_AML_burn_recovery.zip" with any batch Crystal. I developed it to unbrick Batch 3 Crystal's but it will also unbrick Batch 1 and 2 Crystals. It will completely install an older version of my Crystal Clear ROM but you will not be able to boot into recovery. You can use the SD card method to auto-flash stock firmware though and also have the option of using ADB if you'd like.
• You can use the "AMLFLASH.zip" file. This is a slightly modified Ainol Fire zip and was the first way that I managed to unbrick a Batch 1 Crystal. This file was meant to fail before flashing the update.zip firmware packge. So this file will not complete to 100% but will configure your Crystal enough to use the SD Method to complete the unbricking process.
• You can use the "fire_official_0921_AMLF.zip" on any batch Crystal. When it is completed to 100% you will see the screen flash and some white lines will show up and then the screen will go dark. This is okay, you just need to proceed the SD card method to install the stock Crystal firmware over the Ainol Fire firmware.

If you want to know more about the files in these zips, see the second post in my thread here.
Step 3

• Select the "Erase NAND" check box and click "Start." This will scrub all the internal memory and seems to be necessary, since I've tried running the tool without scrubbing the NAND and it failed too early.
• After the tool reaches 100% make sure to uncheck the "Erase NAND" button. Then hold down the Power and Home buttons to turn the device on again.
• The AML Image Burn Tool will run the config file and you'll see a read out of every command that is happening in the command prompt looking window.
• If you have an early failure between 0% and 8% then "Config -> Reset Port Match Info" and try again. Most of the time you do not have to stop and unplug the tablet in my experience but in case that doesn't work, unplug the tablet, press stop, reset the port, connect the tablet again and then hit the start button. If that doesn't work it is likely you do not have an English version of Windows and tigger-gg's trick of editing the location congig file didn't work for you. The newest version of the AML software is supposed to work on non-English version of Windows so make sure you have version 1.6.2.0128 or newer.
• If you get past 8% then ignore all error messages and let the process continue even if it appears to be stalled. It will often give an error message at around 8 0 % for example which can be ignored.
• The device will be recognized as a mass storage device with the name "Novo7Fire" and if you have Windows Auto-Play on, a window will pop up, close that Window.
• If you have never installed ADB drivers then the device may appear as a generic "Android Interface" in the Device Manager. If it does then install the ADB driver from the Crystal Drivers zip package. There are now two new ADB driver options in the unbricking folder. The Universal Naked Driver has been very successful.
• If you used choice 1 or 3 above, the tablet should flash to 100%. If you used choice 2 it should flash to 86%. If you get any warning, ignore them and just wait through the process.
• Even if you fail at as early as 8% you should be able to proceed with the SD card method on a lot of occasions, just unplug the tablet and follow the steps for the SD card method. Sometimes though you need to at least get to the point where it is recognized as mass storage. If the table is recognize as "Novo7Fire" then make sure to eject it and not just unplug the USB cable.

DO NOT TRY TO BOOT UP THE TABLET YET!

• Hold down the power button for 10 seconds to turn it off.
• Proceed with the steps from the SD card method.
• Do not turn the tablet back on until you've reached Step 2 of the SD card method and place the external SD card with the auto-flash files into your tablet.
• If you used choices 1 or 3 above and they worked to 100%, you can turn the tablet on and off, experimenting with SD cards if you have a problem, as many times as you'd like. If you used choice 2 or you could not get the software to 100% with the other methods then you will most likely have one chance with the SD card to work. So if it doesn't work, you need to try another SD card image like the fallback ELF2 image and start the entire "hard" brick process over again from the beginning.

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Method Three - Hardware hack for the "deep" brick.


I have not tested the method myself yet but CXZ recommended mentioning that it might be easier to use the Deep Brick to SD Card Alternative before trying the AML Software. Scroll down to that section and attempt that method using a SD Rescue Card before trying to use the AML Flash package.

A "deep" brick can occur on the newer Batch 3 Crystal's with the 3.0.8-gcda87f3-dirty chengnan.tan@droid07-sz kernel when you try to flash the wrong compatibility patch. I have sucessfully unbricked a "deep" bricked Batch 3 Crystal using this method, followed by the "1212_AML_Burn_Test.zip" "hard" brick method and then the SD card method. After completion the Batch 3 Crystal will be converted to a Batch 2 Crystal and all Batch 2 Compatibility zips will work.

Extra special thanks to NiKoLa_N, Schlosss, solsan, neDtheDeeJay, shurikk1977, cem4ik, Zguj, FerZ_174 who wrote up this guide for the Ainol Hero.

Step 1

• You can use credit card, guitar pick or other similar material object. Run it alongside the edge of the tablet where the screen meets the body, starting on the long side without buttons and ending at the short side with the inputs.
• Below you will find a video of me using a credit card to open the "deep" bricked Batch 3.

[media]

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• You should have the inside of your Crystal orientated like this and look for the Flash Memory chip.
  
  
• Here is a closer look at the area to the right of the battery where the Flash Memory chip is located.
  
  

Step 2

• At this point you should have the device plugged in and the AML software open. Have the Windows Device Manager open in another visible window and you should also be able to see if there is a Device change in the AML command prompt looking screen.
• On the right side of the chip there are a series of pins.
  
  
• Counting down from the top right hand corner you want to located the number 5 and 6 pins.
  
  
• Using a thumbtack or other similar metal object, bridge those two pins by creating a connection between them.
  
  
• While holding the thumbtack in place, press and hold the Power and Vol- buttons.
• The device may show up in the Device Manager as an M3/M6 chip at this point and as connected to a port in the AML software. You can remove the thumbtack and you should follow the "hard" brick instructions. If you've already installed the World Cup drivers then the computer should automatically recognize the device and use those drivers and the device will appear in the AML software.
• If you have an Ainol Fire or other tablet with two chips, you still bridge the 5/6 pins but first try it on the chip that is closer to the battery. If that does not work then try the chip that is closer to the edge of the tablet. When locating the pins, always make sure the text on the chip is facing the right direction and count down from the upper right hand side of the chip. It will not harm the device to try the 5/6 pins on both chips.

If for any reason something goes wrong, you will have to bridge the number 5 and 6 pins again and start over from the beginning. If you get the device to at the very least be recognized as a mass storage device then you won't have to bridge the pins anymore and everything will work fine.

Step 3

• If you've successfully gotten the computer to recognize the device then you should proceed with the "hard" brick instructions.
• After completing the "hard" brick instructions you will need to follow the "soft" brick instructions for the SD card method.

Deep Brick to SD Card Alternative


Thanks to powman for this info, I will reformat it to be clearer when I get a chance:

QuoteShare my steps to make my ELF2 come back
At beginning, I use feiyu 4.22 rom runs good, but I want to try another rom, so I flash to Light ELF2.6.0 and ELF2 bricks, symptom as below
1. Never see backlight,
2. Never get into recover mode when hold down "-volume" button and press "power".
3. PC cannot see M6-chip when hold down “home” button and press “power”.
I follow fuser’s [HOW TO] Unbrick your Ainol Crystal, short NAND flash pin 44-43 and push “power” button, I can see M6-chip, but always stops at stape2 when flash by AML USB tool, it looks like I need a USB flash rom for ELF2 but Ainol never release this kind of rom for ELF2.
I almost give up and start to find another used ELF2 from ###########… there is a used ELF2 bid to 42 (crazy….) and I stop at 30, I don’t want to spend 4x USD to buy a used ELF2.. So I keep trying to unbrick my ELF2.
I realize every time I short pin 44-43 and power up. SD socket pin1 =3.0V, when I push power button only, SD socket pin1 = 1.2V. It looks like AML8726 will try to read SD if NAND flash has problem. And I google some cpu will erase NAND flash if pin7-8 or pin8-9 short.
And every time I short pin44-43+”power” button, measure SD socket pin1=3.0V then plug in USB cable. PC cannot see device…. That’s mean AML8726 already jump to another mode, not USB mode.
Ok let’s try this.
1. Remove USB cable.
2. Prepare rescue SD and plug in
3. Short NAND pin7-8 + “power” button

Waooo…. I can see green android!!
But after 30 sec, screen becomes black again. Turn off and on, still no screen.
It looks like AML8726 is trying to recover from SD but still fail, maybe something wrong on SD card. I try to copy feiyu 4.22 rom into SD and do it again.
1. Remove USB cable.
2. Prepare feiyu 4.22 rom SD and plug in
3. Short NAND pin7-8 + “power” button
I can see green android, but also become black after writing something into system.
But I realize every time power up, DDR power goes up to 1.5V for 1 sec then shut down and backlight turn on/off. It’s different than before and improves a lot.
Then I try to get into recover mode by hold down "-volume" button and press "power"…. It works!!!!!!!!!! I can flash now! 2 wipes and update from SD, my ELF2 come back!​

Here is a pic of how powman is counting the pins:

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Common Problems.

I can't get the ADB drivers to install correctly

I can't teach you how to use your computer, so if you don't know how to uninstall or install windows drivers you'll have to spend some quality time with Google and then come back here. If you do know what you are doing and are still having problems with the ADB drivers, then try these "Universal Naked Drivers" on XDA might work.
You may have to manually edit the android_winusb.inf file in the universal naked package and add some entries for you device. Copy the address from the device properties page under Details -> Hardware Ids (in the big drop down list) and make the entries for them by copying the generic Nexus format.

File: android_winusb.inf
Lines starting with Google were there already and the other lines are added.

Quote[Google.NTx86] ; Ainol Hero (Dual Core) %GoogleNexusADBInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_18D1&PID_D001&MI_01 %GoogleNexusADBInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_18D1&PID_D001&REV_0231&MI_01​

Quote[Google.NTamd64] ; Ainol Hero (Dual Core) %GoogleNexusADBInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_18D1&PID_D001&MI_01 %GoogleNexusADBInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_18D1&PID_D001&REV_0231&MI_01​

I'm running Windows 8 or 8.1 and can't install drivers

See this blog for instructions on how to temporarily disable your computers security and allow you to install the ADB drivers.

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This took me an insanely long time to put together, including taking the pictures and making the videos. I really hope that it helps you unbrick your device. Please take a minute to click the poll on the top of the thread. If you are in the U.S. and have tried everything but can't unbrick your device then send me a PM. For a limited time I will be excepting a limited number of bricked devices for repair as long as you pay for shipping. If you no longer want your Crystal or other Ainol device and would like to donate your device for development purposes, please let me know.

If I've helped you unbrick your device please consider a donation, even if it is small it will help!
I will use the donations to pay the monthly file hosting fees and other development costs.

 

[fuser]

Continued from first post.

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Method Four - FLDC's Batch 3 Method.

FLDC's Batch 3 unbricking method will only work for chengnen.tan kernel Batch 3 Crystal tablets. It's also the only method as of now that will keep the chengnen.tan kernel when the device becomes unbricked. With my Batch 3 unbricking method, the chengnen.tan kernel is replaced with the grady.wang kernel from the Batch 2 Crystals.

Here is a link to the original thread.
Here is a link to the files you need hosted by FLDC.
Here they are all in one .zip package hosted by me.

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Linux Users

Step 1

• Load the usb_recovery.zip into the AML Software.
• The custom bootloader will load a recovery image and give you ADB access.
• Run the software and if you get a failure at 100% then ignore it.

Step 2

• Open the CM101 folder which contains a script for a complete recovery of the system and "cm10.1 + gapps + batch 3 compatibility."
• Run recovery.sh and it will run through a long process of flashing your device.
• When the script has finished running, power down the your tablet.

Step 3

• Input an SD card with TWRP for Batch 3 into your tablet.
• Remove the USB connection to your computer while booting or you'll go back to M3/M6 mode.
• Hold down the Power and Vol - buttons to boot into TWRP.
• Don't flash anything with TWRP yet.
• Using ADB, run the recovery.sh script again. It can't recover completely the first time, so it needs to be run twice.

Step 4

• Use the command "adb push aml_autoscript /sdcard" or manually copy the aml_autoscript to your SD card.
• Remove the USB connection to your computer while booting or you'll go back to M3/M6 mode.
• Boot the device with the aml_autoscript on your SD card using only the Power button.
• The screen will flash when the aml_autoscript has been run.
• Pull out the SD card and boot up as you normally would. If your device boots then it worked!

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Windows Users

You need to have ADB installed. Follow the instructions for the AML software and when you get to the step where you would run the recovery.sh script, instead open your command prompt. Navigate to your ADB folder where you'd placed the files from FLDC's package and run though the following commands:

adb push fdisk.cmd /tmp
adb push fdisk.sh /tmp
adb shell chmod 775 /tmp/fdisk.sh
adb shell /tmp/fdisk.sh
adb shell parted -s /dev/block/avnftli mkfs 1 fat32
adb push update.zip /tmp
adb push update-binary /tmp
adb shell chmod 775 /tmp/update-binary
adb shell /tmp/update-binary 3 stdout /tmp/update.zip

• Next copy the Batch 3 TWRP to your SD card.
• Remove the USB cable from your tablet
• Boot the device using the Power and Vol- buttons.
• Insert the USB cable.

From the TWRP recovery run through the following commands:

adb push update.zip /tmp
adb push update-binary /tmp
adb shell chmod 775 /tmp/update-binary
adb shell /tmp/update-binary 3 stdout /tmp/update.zip
adb push aml_autoscript /sdcard

• Remove the USB connection to your computer while booting or you'll go back to M3/M6 mode.
• Boot the device with the aml_autoscript on your SD card using only the Power button.
• The screen will flash when the aml_autoscript has been run.
• Pull out the SD card and boot up as you normally would. If your device boots then it worked!

Alternatively, if you are familiar with Cygwin, you can edit the recovery.sh file so that each line has ./ in front of it. For example:

#!/bin/sh

echo "Uploading files..."
./adb push fdisk.cmd /tmp
./adb push fdisk.sh /tmp
./adb push update.zip /tmp
./adb push update-binary /tmp
./adb shell chmod 775 /tmp/fdisk.sh /tmp/update-binary
echo "Creating and formatting userdata partition, ignore any errors if you're running this the second boot..."
./adb shell /tmp/fdisk.sh
./adb shell parted -s /dev/block/avnftli mkfs 1 fat32
echo "Restoring partitions and installing CM 10.1..."
./adb shell /tmp/update-binary 3 stdout /tmp/update.zip
echo "Done, if this was your first run, copy uImage_recovery to SD and reboot."
echo "If this was your second run, copy aml_autoscript to SD and reboot."
echo "Don't forget to remove your usb cable..."

Then you can run the script in Cygwin instead of having to type out all the commands.

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Trouble-shooting

For those unfamiliar with ADB, if your device isn't listed, you may have to do:

adb kill-server
adb start-server

Then of course use the "adb devices" command to see if the device is listed.

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Manual Partition Fixing

I can confirm this works for the Fire, Hero and Crystal if you really messed up your internal partition. Only do this if you are absolutely sure that all other methods have failed and absolutely sure that you performed all the other methods correctly. If you are not 100% sure then go back and try them again. This is serious stuff though, so do some research, understand what you are doing and don't make mistakes. I take absolutely no responsibility if you try this and mess up your tablet even more and I can't really "make a video," give "step by step" instructions or explain it further, at least for now...

So, since this is rather complicated, you probably shouldn't do it if you don't know how and I can't really write up a "how to" or guide at the moment. I just wanted to let people who know what they are doing or have time to write up a guide for others, that you can fix the downgrade partition problem from EXT4 back to UBIFS with adb parted. Or if you have seriously messed up your partitions and all other methods do not work for you:

Boot into TWRP, connect your tablet to the computer. To make sure adb is working and you are connected, type:

adb kill-server
adb start-server
adb devices

To show you a list of the paritions type the following commands. mtdblock8 and avnftli are the ones that are usually messed up. They should have rather large sizes, mtdblock8 is your internal media storage and avnftli is your internal system storage. I have no idea what avnftli1 is but it also has something to do with the internal storage, like a mirror of avnftli maybe.

adb shell cat /proc/partitions
adb shell parted /dev/block/mtdblock8 print
adb shell parted /dev/block/avnftli print
adb shell parted /dev/block/avnftli1 print

For more detailed info on each partitions type the following commands. You want to see if the partition is formatted in FAT32 and labeled as MSDOS. It might show you details or it might even say that there is not a valid partition table. Make sure you have the right partition names.

adb shell fdisk -l /dev/block/mtdblock8
adb shell fdisk -l /dev/block/avnftli
adb shell fdisk -l /dev/block/avnftli1

The above commands should output something that looks like this but if it's messed up it probably won't have any info on the last line:

Disk /dev/block/avnftli: 13.7 GB, 13723762688 bytes255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1668 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/block/avnftli1 3 1668 13382145 b Win95 FAT32

You might not have to format the 'mtdblock8' you should 'print' all your blocks before you do anything and see where you are at. Do this to format avnftli if you need to:

adb shell parted -s /dev/block/avnftli mkfs 1 fat32

Re-check your partitions, you might now have avnftli1 when you didn't have it the first time around. Sometimes you will need to label avnftli1 and/or avnftli, do that with this:

adb shell parted -s /dev/block/avnftli1 mklabel msdos

You might also have to format mtdblock8 with the same command as you did with avnftli and might have to label that as well like you did with avnftli1.

adb shell parted -s /dev/block/mtdblock8 mkfs 1 fat32

and then:

adb shell parted -s /dev/block/mtdblock8 mklabel msdos

-----

Just to be clear though, you should know that you need to format or relabel a partition and not just run through these commands without checking and understanding what is going on with the partitions first.

----------------------------------------------------------

Diagram on AML Software Package / SD Rescue Card Convsersion

----------------------------------------------------------

Here's the back story and the steps that led me to writing the first version of this guide:

I have a Batch 1 Crystal that only works on the CM10 1.0.3 Comp Zip, so it's one of the "Legacy" Batch 1 tablets. I decided to flash the official 11-09 Ainol Crystal stock firmware and check it out. I was coming from C10 and after booting back into the Stock Recovery I tried to flash the stock firmware. It said "installation aborted" and would not install the ROM. I tried downloading it again in case the file was bad. Didn't work the second time either. So I tried going back to CM10 and that didn't work. Then I tried flashing the 11-19 stock firmware instead and that is where things got interesting.

The screen went black but was still backlit, so I could tell the screen was on. I saw a bright white dot in one of the corners of the screen. I waited a little while and nothing happened, so I tried to reboot it by holding down the power button and then turning it back on. The Crystal powered down but then it would not turn back on! I attempted to send it back to "Mc Bub .com" where I bought this one and they gave me the run around. They did respond to every email I sent but they just kept saying that I should "factory reset" it and that they had none of the necessary files. So on a side note, although I got my tablet from them quickly and at a good price, their customer service sucks and if you get a bad tablet you will never get anything but emails. So if you are in the U.S. stick with F&L Superstore, who at this point I have heard many good things about.

As I attempted to solve this problem I update this thread.

UPDATE 1: I have an interesting development here. If I plug the tablet into my computer it shows up in the device manager as "M6-CHIP" with no drivers installed. Any ideas?

UPDATE 2: Following the directions in this thread I downloaded the regular USB drivers, changed the ID in the .inf file and installed them. The device now shows up as an "Android Original ADB Interface" device but it has the yellow triangle with the question mark and the device can't be started.

UPDATE 3: Neither the Unbrick Tool or the Amlogic Low Level Flashing Tool has worked for me, however, I can get my internal SD card to mount now.

UPDATE 4: I was finally able to get the Unbrick Tool to work by using EASUS partition master to reformat my external SD card to 2GB and I used the USB Image Tool to burn the Ainol Fire's recovery image to the now 2GB SD card. I then replaced the Ainol Fire's ROM and boot image files with the official Crystal firmware and boot image files. I don't know if the boot image files are different, so I decided to be safe. The Unbrick Tool did not install the ROM however and I could not install it from within the Recovery because the external SD card was not being recognized. So I sideloaded it with ADB and the command prompt. I got the tablet to boot up into the stock firmware, which is a huge step from having a tablet whose screen wouldn't even turn on.

UPDATE 4: I reformatted the SD card back to normal size in Windows 7 but I could not get the external SD card to show up in recovery, so I tried sideloading Jasper and SoulGem with ADB. Jasper wouldn't install but SoulGem did install. I still couldn't get the SD card recognized until I went to "Settings --> Storage --> Erase SD card." Then when I went into recovery I could see the Jasper ROM but it still won't load, it says "installation aborted." Turns out the Jasper ROM was packed inside a .zip file that had to be extracted first.

UPDATE 5: At the moment I can't get Clockwork Recovery to work by putting the boot files on the external SD card, so no CM10 ROM.

UPDATE 6: In an attempt to fix the CWM recovery problem, I "bricked" my device again but that gave me a chance to confirm that you can use the ELF II Rescue image to bring the Crystal back to life. I then flashed the official Crystal firmware on an SD card and installed it from the recovery. From there I was able to just copy the CWM recovery files onto the external SD card, boot into CWM and flash CM10. So hopefully everything is back to normal.

---END OF BACK STORY---

 

[bashico]

Unbricked from Deep Brick! Thanks a lot!!

 

[fuser]

Unbricked from Deep Brick! Thanks a lot!!

You're welcome! Enjoy your tablet

 

[xapibejad]

at first im sorry if my english is bad
i have aurora II, and its brick now
after i read your thread, now i know its hard brick
i want to ask, how to unbrick aurora II??
i mean its the same way and the same files used for crystal??
im sorry i really confused now
help me please
and thank you

 

[fuser]

I updated the two first original posts with new info. I know there are some formatting issues but at the moment I don't have time to fix that and all the important info is still there.

There is no official hard brick package for the Aurora2 and no one has confirmed the package I made, which is in the AML USB method subfolder, work for the Aurora2. I don't have an Aurora2 to test with so I have no idea if it works or not and a lot of people have trouble getting that software to work even with tablets that I know it works with because I've done it. There is a new method though where you create a SD rescue card and then bridge two different pins on the nand chip like you would for a deep brick. It fools the tablet into thinking there is no nand to boot from so that it automatically looks for the sd card and flashes the unbricking files from the sd card. The sd card files for the Aurora2 are in the SD method folder and then the Aurora2 subfolder. So follow the directions to create your card properly, follow the video for opening your tablet carefully (so you don't crack the screen), look at the picture from Powman under "Deep Brick to SD Card Alternative" and see if you can get the sd card method to work. If your tablet is showing any signs of life, just create the sd card, pop it in the tablet and hold the normal buttons down that you would to boot into recovery and see if it auto-flashes before actually opening the tablet and trying that method. If it doesn't show any signs of life then you probably need to bridge the pins.

 

[xapibejad]

now my a2 is alive with rescue card. but after that i cannot flash any rom. it says
E:Bad bootloader arguments
"(null)"
E:unknown volume for path [/udisk/factory_update_param.aml]
E:Can't mount /udisk/factory_update_param.aml
what should i do?

 

[fuser]

now my a2 is alive with rescue card. but after that i cannot flash any rom. it says
E:Bad bootloader arguments
"(null)"
E:unknown volume for path [/udisk/factory_update_param.aml]
E:Can't mount /udisk/factory_update_param.aml
what should i do?

Someone else on another forum is having this same issue with an Aurora2 and it's the first time any of is have heard of this with the Amlogic tablets. So no answer at the moment but if something works, I'll let you know. Right now the other user is testing other aml_autoscript files, which you can find in a folder in my main unbricking folder.

 

[Craigo123]

Hi Fuser,

A couple months ago your guide saved my life when I rescued my Crystal batch 1 from a deep brick. I now have another Crystal which is also bricked and am having a few issues maybe you can help.

Crystal is ?batch2 (121108G13426)
It appears deep bricked as it does not turn on. However, when plugged into my PC it identifies M3-Chip, M6-Chip and an "Unknown Device" for all of which it installs the World Cup Drivers. So far so good. Note though that it is not recognised by the PC unless it is also plugged into an AC power source, though I am putting this down to flat battery and an inability to charge.

It is recognised in AMLogic Burning Tool.
When I erase NAND, it usually proceeds completely to 100%, though sometimes not.
I have tried flashing 1212_AML_burn_recovery.zip --> Fails at 73% with "failed because no connected device, current step is 17" (See command window log output below)
I have tried flashing fire_official_0921_AMLF.zip --> Fails at 75% with "failed because no connected device, current step is 18".
I have tried flashing AML FLASH.zip--> Fails at 78% with "failed because no connected device ,current step is 18"

Command Window Log:




Application Output Log:

current pc version is: win7
current tool version is: v1.6.2.0128
-----importUpgradeFile-----filenameC:\Users\Giga\Desktop\USB-Burning-Tool-v1.6.2.1228\1212_AML_burn_recovery.zip
[T 2][21:38:26]: load spl ...
[T 3][21:38:26]: load spl ...
[T 3][21:38:26]: Transfer Complete! total size is 18456 Bytes
[T 3][21:38:35]: load uboot ...
[T 3][21:38:44]: Transfer Complete! total size is 500608 Bytes
[T 2][21:38:50]: load spl ...
[T 3][21:38:53]: erase nand, you are in erase mode: nand rom_protect off;nand scrub 0;poweroff
[T 3][21:38:53]: sendCommandWithReply: nand rom_protect off;nand scrub 0;poweroff maxCount:0
[T 2][21:38:56]: load spl ...
[T 2][21:39:01]: load spl ...
[T 2][21:39:07]: load spl ...
[T 2][21:39:13]: load spl ...
[T 2][21:39:18]: load spl ...
[T 2][21:39:18]: load spl failed 20 times,maybe because rom code cannot run
[T 2][21:39:20]: failed because no connected device ,current step is 0
-----importUpgradeFile-----filenameC:\Users\Giga\Desktop\USB-Burning-Tool-v1.6.2.1228\1212_AML_burn_recovery.zip
[T 3][21:47:13]: load spl ...
[T 3][21:47:14]: Transfer Complete! total size is 18456 Bytes
[T 3][21:47:23]: load uboot ...
[T 3][21:47:23]: Transfer Complete! total size is 500608 Bytes
[T 3][21:47:32]: erase nand, you are in erase mode: nand rom_protect off;nand scrub 0;poweroff
[T 3][21:47:32]: sendCommandWithReply: nand rom_protect off;nand scrub 0;poweroff maxCount:0
[T 3][21:48:01]: load spl ...
[T 3][21:48:01]: Transfer Complete! total size is 18456 Bytes
[T 3][21:48:10]: load uboot ...
[T 3][21:48:11]: Transfer Complete! total size is 500608 Bytes
[T 3][21:48:20]: erase nand, you are in erase mode: nand rom_protect off;nand scrub 0;poweroff
[T 3][21:48:20]: sendCommandWithReply: nand rom_protect off;nand scrub 0;poweroff maxCount:0
[T 3][21:48:52]: load spl ...
[T 3][21:48:52]: Transfer Complete! total size is 18456 Bytes
[T 3][21:49:01]: load uboot ...
[T 3][21:49:01]: Transfer Complete! total size is 500608 Bytes
[T 3][21:49:12]: test command exec: crc 0x8f800000 500608 8b4ba96e
[T 3][21:49:12]: command exec: crc 0x8f800000 500608 8b4ba96e
[T 3][21:49:12]: sendCommandWithReply: crc 0x8f800000 500608 8b4ba96e maxCount:30
[T 3][21:49:12]: command exec once more: load uboot
[T 3][21:49:13]: load uboot ...
[T 3][21:49:14]: test command exec: crc 0x8f800000 500608 8b4ba96e
[T 3][21:49:17]: command exec:set_chgcur 0
[T 3][21:49:18]: command exec:video dev bl_off
[T 3][21:49:20]: command exec:video dev disable
[T 3][21:49:21]: command exec:sf probe 2
[T 3][21:49:22]: command exec:sf erase 0 100000
[T 3][21:49:23]: command exec:nand erase 4000000
[T 3][21:49:40]: command exec:defenv
[T 3][21:49:41]: command exec:setenv bootargs ${bootargs} a9_clk_max=600000000
[T 3][21:49:42]: load command: setenv recovery_command --usb_burning
[T 3][21:49:43]: command exec:cmd_in_mem 0x82000000
[T 3][21:49:44]: command exec:save
[T 3][21:49:45]: load uimage ...
[T 3][21:49:46]: Transfer Complete! total size is 4002649 Bytes
[T 3][21:49:52]: command exec:bootm 0x82000000
[T 3][21:49:54]: boot uImage ...
[T 3][21:50:30]: cannot find disk! 30times
[T 3][21:50:31]: failed because no connected device ,current step is 17
C:/Users/Giga/Desktop/03.22.21.50_1212_AML_burn_recovery_manual.log
success:0 failed:2 failed postion: s0:1 s17:1



Everytime it fails, the device disconnects itself and doesn't reconnect. The flash usually times out with "cannot find disk!". I have tried manually turning the device back on before it times out but it does not register in the software and the flash does not continue.

I am running the flash tool as administrator, I have tried both version 1.6.2.0128 and 1.6.2.2 and my windows install is English version (still the same install since my last crystal unbrick success).

Once, when I flashed the fire_official_0921_AMLF.zip I did get a white screen but then would not work when proceeding with the SD card recovery method.
I have also had the screen light up a little but go dim and do nothing a couple of times.

Sometimes when I am attempting to flash the device I notice a "crc check value: "failed"" notification in the command window. This did not occur when I tried the AML FLASH.zip, where it was "crc check value: "success"".

The device does not turn on or give any screen output at the moment. It also seems to not be recognised in windows unless the SD card is removed first.

I feel the device is recoverable and feel I am close but am concerned there may be a hardware issue. When I first got the device a week or so ago, there was green android when the device turned on. I don't think I have caused hardware problem

Am I missing something..?

Any help you could provide would be appreciated,

Thanks,
Craig

 

[fuser]

Hi Fuser,

Everytime it fails, the device disconnects itself and doesn't reconnect. The flash usually times out with "cannot find disk!". I have tried manually turning the device back on before it times out but it does not register in the software and the flash does not continue.

I am running the flash tool as administrator, I have tried both version 1.6.2.0128 and 1.6.2.2 and my windows install is English version (still the same install since my last crystal unbrick success).

Once, when I flashed the fire_official_0921_AMLF.zip I did get a white screen but then would not work when proceeding with the SD card recovery method.
I have also had the screen light up a little but go dim and do nothing a couple of times.

Sometimes when I am attempting to flash the device I notice a "crc check value: "failed"" notification in the command window. This did not occur when I tried the AML FLASH.zip, where it was "crc check value: "success"".

The device does not turn on or give any screen output at the moment. It also seems to not be recognised in windows unless the SD card is removed first.

I feel the device is recoverable and feel I am close but am concerned there may be a hardware issue. When I first got the device a week or so ago, there was green android when the device turned on. I don't think I have caused hardware problem

Am I missing something..?

Any help you could provide would be appreciated,

Thanks,
Craig

A couple of thing you can try is to select the "reset hub" option, which I think is somewhere in the file menu as soon as it fails. You can also try unplugging and plugging the usb cable going into your laptop as soon as it fails.

I would suggest trying the sd card method again from scratch. Use the SD Formatter software to format the card with FULL (Overwrite) then try the SD rescue files. If that doesn't work then use one of the rescue images and the USB image tool. If that doesn't work, use SD Formatter again and then use the ELF2 rescue image and the USB image tool, then delete those files and replace them with the crystal files.

If none of this works, you can try using the SD alternative method, where you create the SD card, open the tablet, bridge the pins and force boot off the SD card.

 

[Craigo123]

A couple of thing you can try is to select the "reset hub" option, which I think is somewhere in the file menu as soon as it fails. You can also try unplugging and plugging the usb cable going into your laptop as soon as it fails.

I would suggest trying the sd card method again from scratch. Use the SD Formatter software to format the card with FULL (Overwrite) then try the SD rescue files. If that doesn't work then use one of the rescue images and the USB image tool. If that doesn't work, use SD Formatter again and then use the ELF2 rescue image and the USB image tool, then delete those files and replace them with the crystal files.

If none of this works, you can try using the SD alternative method, where you create the SD card, open the tablet, bridge the pins and force boot off the SD card.

Hi,

Thanks for your quick reply. I tried the methods outlined above and I came to the conclusion that the only thing that got me anywhere was to:
-Use SDFormatter to format 2GB Samsung MicroSD card (Full(Overwrite) + Format Size Adjustment ON)
-Use USBImageTool 1.59 to burn crystal_batch1_0928_rescue2.img to the card (even though the tab is a batch 2). Other images did not work.
-Delete all files off the card and replace with the files from Elf2_0527_SD_Rescue.zip. I tried also using the files from CRYSTAL_1119_rescue_files.zip but this did not work.
-Insert the card, bridge pins 7+8 on the appropriate chip as per your instructions, and press the power button. I would say that it would boot to recovery may 10% of the time. This could be down to how I was bridging the pins, but it was more successful if I prepared the card from fresh every time before another attempt. This took forever!
-Unfortunately, once in recovery I seemed unable to flash anything successfully (custom/stock recoveries, stock F/W, etc) except crystal clear ROM which seemed to complete successfully but then the tab still wouldn't boot.



Occasionally after a successful jump into recovery the tab would turn on and give the green android robot with Ainol underneath, the screen would darken off a little, then it would stay like that for ages. I would even get the battery charging symbol.



I noticed when it was on charge the tab got very (untouchably) hot, namely this chip here:




Now the tab is back to turning on to a lit screen (non image), then darkening off and doing nothing.

I have come to the conclusion that the tab is f***ed. What do you reckon?

 

[fuser]

Well the tab is definitely f***ed at the moment but it should be recoverable. These things just take a lot of patience and perseverance. I don't think you need to worry about the tablet getting hot, especially when you get inside, you will notice things heating up. It's actually a good sign that there is life still in there.

The rescue SD cards should be auto-flashing and not entering recovery. You would see some images like you would see in recovery, like the android guy but with a spinning object in his chest, but you wouldn't be able to select any options or flash manually. So if that isn't happening it means there is still an issue with the SD card. Format again with SD formatter, I might not have been clear but you want to create the SD card with elf2_0527.img and then replace all the files with the Crystal v2 files from CRYSTAL_1119_rescue_files.zip. If it doesn't work, it might be the actual brand or size of SD card. Cards under 4GB seem to work better.

It looks to me like the errors that you are getting in recovery in the photo you posted are saying that there is firmware installed on the device, it checked the build.prop to verify the firmware and build.prop in the .zip file you are trying to flash is telling the device not to flash because of the information is got from the build.prop on the device. That's why you need a working SD rescue card, the aml_autoscript will wipe the device first and allow the recovery to auto-flash the firmware without the check.

 

[Craigo123]

Well the tab is definitely f***ed at the moment but it should be recoverable. These things just take a lot of patience and perseverance. I don't think you need to worry about the tablet getting hot, especially when you get inside, you will notice things heating up. It's actually a good sign that there is life still in there.

The rescue SD cards should be auto-flashing and not entering recovery. You would see some images like you would see in recovery, like the android guy but with a spinning object in his chest, but you wouldn't be able to select any options or flash manually. So if that isn't happening it means there is still an issue with the SD card. Format again with SD formatter, I might not have been clear but you want to create the SD card with elf2_0527.img and then replace all the files with the Crystal v2 files from CRYSTAL_1119_rescue_files.zip. If it doesn't work, it might be the actual brand or size of SD card. Cards under 4GB seem to work better.

It looks to me like the errors that you are getting in recovery in the photo you posted are saying that there is firmware installed on the device, it checked the build.prop to verify the firmware and build.prop in the .zip file you are trying to flash is telling the device not to flash because of the information is got from the build.prop on the device. That's why you need a working SD rescue card, the aml_autoscript will wipe the device first and allow the recovery to auto-flash the firmware without the check.

Hi,
OK, so I did exactly what you said above. I used an 8GB SanDisk MicroSD Class 4 card. I inserted the card and turned on (without bridging any pins). The device turned straight to android+spinning object and it seemed to successfully flash for approximately 1minute with progress bar. At the end of it it turned off and I quickly removed the SC card expecting it to reboot but it did not. So I manually turned it on and I got the green robot+'Ainol'. The screen dimmed off a little with the same image on screen but sat like that for 5minutes and never progressed any further. With it on charge, pressing the power button briefly shows the charging animation on screen.

The tab is looking better, but it still will not progress.

Also, if I try to enter recovery by pressing (power)+(vol-) then I get green android+ainol, that image flickers and goes off centre to the bottom right of the screen, then the battery charging icon appears briefly before the tab turns off again.

Any ideas now?

I appreciate your help with this btw.

Cheers.

 

[fuser]

Hmmm, the flickering thing is weird. How did you brick this device, did you flash the wrong firmware? You should leave the sd card in until it either reboots and starts flashing a second time or until it boots into the firmware. With a handful of tablets, like the Ainol Hero, sometimes it takes up to three cycles of trying to auto-flash before it actually works. At least it is a good sign that it is trying to auto-flash though.

If that doesn't work you can try using the NAND erase box in the AML software to clear things out. Then try the rescue SD card. If the NAND erase causes a problem where the tablet won't boot directly to the sd card with the two buttons, then proceed to bridge the two pins on the NAND chip to force boot it to the SD card. If all of that fails then you have two options, you can either try to force a hard brick and then start from scratch or you can look at the manual partition fixing section and start looking into whether or not your partitions or partition table is messed up. All that is "at your own risk" though. I've done all those things to unbrick tablets but that doesn't mean that you will be able to figure out how to get it to work for you.

 

[Craigo123]

Hmmm, the flickering thing is weird. How did you brick this device, did you flash the wrong firmware? You should leave the sd card in until it either reboots and starts flashing a second time or until it boots into the firmware. With a handful of tablets, like the Ainol Hero, sometimes it takes up to three cycles of trying to auto-flash before it actually works. At least it is a good sign that it is trying to auto-flash though.

If that doesn't work you can try using the NAND erase box in the AML software to clear things out. Then try the rescue SD card. If the NAND erase causes a problem where the tablet won't boot directly to the sd card with the two buttons, then proceed to bridge the two pins on the NAND chip to force boot it to the SD card. If all of that fails then you have two options, you can either try to force a hard brick and then start from scratch or you can look at the manual partition fixing section and start looking into whether or not your partitions or partition table is messed up. All that is "at your own risk" though. I've done all those things to unbrick tablets but that doesn't mean that you will be able to figure out how to get it to work for you.

Hi,

I'm not sure what caused the initial screw up on this device, as it is second hand. Could well be an incorrect F/W flash if that makes a difference.

I have tried to get it to boot from the SD card all evening. It is VERY hit and miss at to whether it wants to or not and it's very frustrating. I managed it once in around 30 attempts! Even then it just appears to flash and then turn off and there is no change to my situation.

I figure I'm getting nowhere and the rationale behind a NAND erase and start again seems like a good one. So, I use the AMLogic Burning Tool and NAND erase. After this I still cannot get it to boot from SD so I try a couple of the flashable zip files. After AMLFlash.zip I get a weird white screen (pic1) and when I then try boot the device without SD card present I get screen as seen in pic2 with a white halo around the outsides of the screen.

PIC1:




PIC2:




Still it will not boot from SD either by power on, power on +vol-, or by bridge pins 7+8 then press power on.

I try a different flashable zip, this time 1212_AML_burn_recovery.zip and I get nothing from the tab now. Though it is still recognised in windows through USB and still able to flash it.

Neither of the flashable zips complete successfully to 100%, it always fails at around 70 to 80% at the point of WM_DEVICECHANGE with the message "failed because no connected device, current step is 17" or 18. The tab disconnects and never comes back until power cycled but the flash software does not recognise it is powered back on. This is where I was a few days ago. I think I'm going around in circles, it is only my reluctance to give up on a device with a bit of life that has meant I have persevered, but even I am starting to lose patience with this tab.

I suspect a hardware fault still. Perhaps with either a chip which I do not know the function of, the SD Card slot (maybe lose/broken/dirty internal connector pins, causing poor/unreliable connection) or faulty USB port resulting in poor PC connection, though this is less likely as the flashing always fails at the same point.

The extremely hot chip I identified in my previous post also concerns me. This bugger gets hot, I mean REALLY HOT. I wonder if this tab has suffered some sort of mechanical short or there is something which is causing a high electrical resistance somewhere and hence the heat build up. It only happens when on charge. I tried leaving it on charge for an hour or so but the measured voltage off the battery never really improved by much and the tab didn't want to turn on unless plugged in. But then other times it will turn on without the AC cord.

Maybe I am fighting a losing battle. The best this tab has done is to get green android robot (occasionally I've been into recovery, but been unable to flash anything successfully), and show the battery charging animation. That's it.

I am prepared to try anything. Either that or sell it for parts/repairs. Then there is always the Frisbee option...