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Note that I am running Mac OS X.

I tried installing an unofficial version of Cyanogenmod I found on XDA Developers that supports kltemini (SM-G800F). However, I messed up somewhere in the installation, and got a message on TWRP recovery saying:

Can't install this package on top of incompatible data. Please try another package or run a factory reset

And when I try pressing Reboot into System, I get:

No OS Installed! Are you sure you wish to reboot?

In the comments, @beeshyams said that I can install from a trusted source SamMobile, where I did get the SM-G800F Czech version, and downloaded it. However, the flashing fails with:

Error flashing zip /external_sd/Android_Stock.zip

Extracting it on a computer makes a .tar.md5 file, and extracting that gives me a bunch of .img files. I read that I should compress these, and flash, but the same error showed.

Another solution could be to download a custom ROM so I can actually boot into ANYTHING, but most ROMs don't support SM-G800F.

What I can also do is go to Download mode, and download stock recovery, so I can re-install the OS over OTA, however there is a risk that I will not be able to use Recovery anymore.

How can I solve this?

UPDATE:

Trying to flash stock recovery with heimdall prints:

ERROR: Failed to send data!
Releasing device interface...

I am on OS X and I am using the CLI Heimdall to flash

I also made a chatroom for active discussion here: http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/33331/discussion-on-question

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7
  • Did you try searching for stock on sammobile..trusted source for Samsung devices sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29452
    – beeshyams
    Commented Dec 20, 2015 at 11:54
  • @beeshyams Thanks for the trusted source. Definitely will help. Another issue though is gaining access to the external_sd on the phone, as it is not detectable, and the external_sd does not mount. Will try to on my Ubuntu as it worked there before
    – John K
    Commented Dec 20, 2015 at 11:55
  • There isn't really a risk as long as you can boot into Download mode. Flash the stock recovery and do what you want to do with it. When you need a custom recovery, flash it using the same download mode.
    – Firelord ♦
    Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 16:26
  • 1
    The stock ROM zip that you downloaded may be having it, something like recovery.img.
    – Firelord ♦
    Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 16:27
  • 1
    The .tar.md5 file is for flashing via the program, ODIN, not through TWRP recovery. You have to run ODIN and connect your phone to your computer in Download mode. How to use ODIN samsungupdate.com/how-to/…
    – DukeSilversJazz
    Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 16:28

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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+50

Looking at the installation instructions of the ROM you flashed, I am guessing in the TWRP/ CWM options, under Advanced Wipe , one of the options " Wipe Dalvik Cache, Cache, System and Data " (likely data) was missed out leading to the current situation.

[[ Edit

Thanks to OP for confirming that wiping data was missed out by him while installing CM. A couple of other observations made by OP are listed. These are NOT normally observed behaviour of CWM but may be occurring due to incompatibilities of ROM being " unofficial"

  1. CM didn't start normally when data partition alone was backed up
  2. He had to resort to wiping data to get back to normal functioning. This is also mentioned in the installation instructions of the ROM

Flash CyanogenMod:....Note that the recovery might fail to restore the backup when you want to go back to the stock ROM (emphasis by ROM developer)

]]

That aside, as you brought out, there are two options

Option 1 Re-flash CM ROM and subsequently revert to stock if needed

Option 2 Attempt to flash stock directly

Option 1 would be preferred option since your unable to flash stock ROM and get an error message

Suggested steps for Option 1

  1. Boot to recovery mode of TWRP/CWM
  2. Wipe Dalvik Cache, Cache, and Data (inside Wipe -> Advanced Wipe for TWRP)
  3. Install CM ROM
  4. Install the GApps zip-package
  5. Test that ROM is correctly installed by testing minimum functionality of Google play store connecting, camera and call/ SMS working

Now,assuming it is successful,use the ROM for a couple of days before deciding if you want to continue with it or revert to stock

Reverting to Stock from CM 12

  1. Since you are using OS X and Debian, install Heimdall (am not conversant with it so will skip the details)
  2. Flash recovery. This guide seems to explain the process well but you can suggest a better alternative with your experience http://davideddu.org/blog/posts/how-to-flash-a-recovery-image-using-heimdall/

Additional Information that may come in handy for related issues and also to cover points raised in the comments section of question

Windows users:

  • Flashing Stock using Odin

Odin has different versions and some of the versions have options changed. Hence, the description in guides may differ with options available on the tool. This guide has a good pictorial description corresponding to newer version of Odin

http://androidmtk.com/flash-samsung-stock-rom-using-odin

Instructions for flashing stock ROM ate covered here How to convert .img to .tar to flash using Samsung odin tool?

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4
  • I have done that, and I made a chatroom (link in question)
    – John K
    Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 17:25
  • Yes, I will award the bounty in 19 hours, once StackExchange lets me. Thanks :)
    – John K
    Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 20:20
  • Seems that you almost everything. The only problem with my flash was that Data was not wiped. You might want to add that if you back the Data partition up, and attempt to restore it, Cyanogenmod will not start as it is possibly not compatible
    – John K
    Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 20:35
  • That was not from a source. It was my personal experience, that CM did not start up when I tried restoring, and worked when I re-wiped Data
    – John K
    Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 20:39

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