Can't flash ClockworkModRecovery; stuck on SPRecovery

[-iD]

Is there an sbf to flash clockworkmod recovery similar to the SPRecovery file used in the "how to root any droid regardless..." method? I've tried flash_image from terminal but get a not found error even though i know the clockwork.img file is right there at /sdcard. RomManager reports that it's flashed clockworkmod but when i reboot into recovery there's SirPsycho's green droid. Some alternate method to change my recovery back to clockworkmod would be greatly appreciated.

Background: Last night I restored my original rooted 2.1 nandroid backup to retrieve some notes and got distracted by a phone call and left it on too long. Maybe I missed my chance to avert disaster, so be it, but when i picked up my phone it was at the "ready to install update" screen and i *think* i just turned it off and tried to reboot into recovery. ( i was still distracted ). I became undistracted when i found that instead of good ol' CWR i had the white triangle / phone icon and no user recovery. So I sbf'd SPR onto it, then the busybox/su/root file, then rebooted, opened RomManager, flashed CWR, set up a restore to my current CM6.1RC3 and let it reboot. No joy; SPR came up instead and just sat there.

Since then i've gone back into RM and "reflashed" CWR a few hundred times, tried several times to unsinstall and reinstall RM (same result). I've also downloaded the correct CWR.img file and tried to flash it from terminal emulator, no joy. I've tried using ROM Manager to flash an older version of CWR and can't, getting "An error occured while flashing your recovery."

lol i've also (inadvertantly/frustratedly) ended up removing the recovery altogether (probably from accidentally initiating an SPR backup and then battery pulling when it was an hour later and still not finished); after that booting while holding the "X" was stuck at "M"; but reflashing the SPR file from RSDLite got me the SPRecovery again.

When I have freshly flashed the SPR.sbf file, or flashed alternate recovery in RomManager, it reports SPR as the current recovery, and when i "flash" CWR from RomManaGER, it changes and reports that CWR 2.5.01 is the currently installed recovery, but no matter what i've tried, when i boot into recovery the text is blue not green. grr.

i've searched quite a bit before posting and am quite frustrated at this point. i've got a bazillion nandroid backups, but they are all clockwork and not SPRecovery format. The only way I now seem to be able to flash a different recovery is via RSDLite.

SO, either an sbf file to flash ClockworkModRecovery, an alternate way to change my recovery, or if there were some way to use SPR to restore from a nandroid backup created with CWR, but i'm not sure if the recovery itself is in the nandroid backup?

not pulling my hair out yet, but quite a bit past simple frustration.

TIA!

[teddyearp]

Don't take this wrong, it sounds like you know what you're doing just fine, but just checking that the command you're using for flash_image is:

flash_image recovery /sdcard/[whateveryounamedit].img

Also, this might sound silly, but I wonder if somehow the SPRecovery is now figured into MC1's "FRS"? Maybe try these BEFORE using flash_image:

su
mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system
mv /system/recovery-from-boot.p /system/recovery-from-boot.p.old
mount -o remount,ro /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system

Or maybe just first try the simple method and clear the download cache within ROM Manager and try over. One of these should work for you.

good luck

[-iD]

Cool. I just finished reading the sbf thread where you and MC1 discuss sbfs in detail, nice work. Did he ever share that sbf for loading clockwork? That would be ideal if so; I'm on FRG22D now, but if i read it correctly he's now got the kernal separated from the recovery, so the file is no longer version specific.

Don't take this wrong, it sounds like you know what you're doing just fine, but just checking that the command you're using for flash_image is:

flash_image recovery /sdcard/[whateveryounamedit].img

No offense taken. Yes I typed the full command correctly, several times. I'm a Linux N00b but I used to know my way around the DOS prompt pretty well. Is there a path variable, or do i need to change directory to wherever the flash_image executable is first? the command points to the location of the target file, but seems to assume that flash_image is already in the command path. oh, and is there a linux equivalent of doskey? that would have been appreciated this morning...

Also, this might sound silly, but I wonder if somehow the SPRecovery is now figured into MC1's "FRS"? Maybe try these BEFORE using flash_image:

su
mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system
mv /system/recovery-from-boot.p /system/recovery-from-boot.p.old
mount -o remount,ro /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system

i'll try that, but i doubt it; forcing SPR would not be in the right spirit here. even if it is, once i'm back in Rom Manager or using the flash_image command shouldn't that overwrite it? I only used his FRS because I thought I would need to re-disable the native recovery from over-writing our custom recovery, but once that's done once it should stick; at least it did the last times i've rooted mine or other's A855's.

Or maybe just first try the simple method and clear the download cache within ROM Manager and try over. One of these should work for you.

good luck

I tried that too, well, I didn't want to clear all the cache items out so I manually deleted the clockwork recovery from Koush's folders so that it would force a re-download. I've also restored older versions of RomManager from Titanium and tried that, and once I got away from my WiFi, was able to download older versions of Clockwork through RomManager and tried that, but still stuck on SPR.

I read that a corrupted sdcard could cause unexpected problems with RomManager and Clockwork, so while at work today i've copied all my files from the SD card and reformatted it in the phone, reloading right now. lol i found ONE corrupt file (the greg kihn band breakup song) out of 28,567 files in 1074 folders, nested pretty deeply, so i'm kinda doubting that was it, but *maybe* that will fix it, we'll see soon.

thanks for your response!

[-iD]

maybe i'm really showing my n00bness now, but before I tried the permissions and renaming commands you suggested above i looked with root explorer. there is no mtdblock file in /dev/block; the only thing there is an empty folder named vold.

in /system, the recovery-from-boot.p file has already been renamed recovery-from-boot.p.not

BUT EVERYWHERE MEN ARE LAUGHING and everywhere children shout
tonight there WILL be joy in mudville
SirPsycho has struck out!

Not sure which it was, but I tried a hunch based on your suggestion and remounted the system rw and then tried RomManager again since it just updated to a newer version, and one or the other or the combination did it. i've got clockworkmod back and back to cyanogen and a nice cool low voltage kernal. Only spent about 12 hours actually using the stock 2.2 and kernal, but it was a crappy combination of slow and hot that reminded me why we root in the first place.

thanks for your help!