How to use factory scatter file + SP Flash tool to backup Mediatek rom

3

06-01-2019, 12:34 AM

#1

In your article regarding using Wrt_MTK and SP Flash to back up a Mediatek phone, you speak about an article that you also wrote which tells how to backup the rom in a phone by using a scatter file that has been provided with a factory ROM for that same phone. I cannot find that particular article. Can you point it out?

What I am looking for is a way to extract a ROM from a phone which has been dropped and the "power off" USB interface is still working but the phone will not power up. I have the original factory scatter file but of course the user data portion in the actual broken phone has a lot of data that was NOT in the original factory ROM and that is the data that I need to extract. With the ROM image I hope to extract, I would also appreciate anyone who has details regardingf how to extract the contacts list from a version of Android 5 for a BLU phone which has been dropped and will no longer power up but by some miracle, the SP Flash tool will still read the phone memory.

While I have read your procedure for using Wrt_MTK to create a scatter file from scratch, since I already have a scatter file that comes with the factory ROM, I would like to use the factory ROM scatter file if possible and learn how to copy the proper parameters from that scatter file into the SP Flash tool and therefore skip the many steps to create a scatter file from scratch if possible.

Additionally the MTKDroid tools do NOT work on this phone.

Thanks in advance.

EMMANUS
Senior Member

1,677

06-01-2019, 11:59 AM

#2

First of all, not many steps are involved in the scatter file creation.
Secondly, you may have different variants of the same phone, so, if thats your confusion, you can read the phone info using a tool, maybe nck , miracle, Aladdin etc.

Thirdly, pin-point what you actually want to achieve. Is it contacts , the whole firmware or the whole userdata partition?

Note, its highly unlikely that you can flash whatever you got from the 'dropped' phone onto another, and get it intact.

hovatek
Administrator

49,755

07-01-2019, 10:41 AM

#3

(06-01-2019, 12:34 AM)DonJuane In your article regarding using Wrt_MTK and SP Flash to back up a Mediatek phone, you speak about an article that you also wrote which tells how to backup the rom in a phone by using a scatter file that has been provided with a factory ROM for that same phone. I cannot find that particular article. Can you point it out?
...
Thanks in advance.

just as @emmanus already pointed, even if you are able to backup full rom (incl userdata), you won't be able to flash userdata onto the second working phone without bricking it

i take it you are trying to retrieve contacts from the faulty phone. here is what you can try though
***********************************
open the folder containing SP flash tool >
edit the file named 'option.ini' > modify the value as shown below then save the file >>

Code:

ShowByScatter=false

to 

ShowByScatter=true

launch SP flash tool >
select and load the scatter file >
click the readback tab (all partitions should be displayed here) >
untick all checkboxes and tick only the checkbox beside userdata > perform the readback
once readback is complete

download and launch hxd hex editor @ https://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd/ >>
open userdata dump using hxd >
search for (control + f) >

Code:

search for: any name that is on the contact list of the phone (you must remember at lease one name or you will scroll down the entire file manually)

datatype: text-string

search direction: all

when a name is found, keep scrolling down and you'll find other names and just beneath the list of names you should find the list of numbers (the list of numbers is usually not arranged according to the list of names so you might have to use an app like truecaller to verify certain phone numbers)

hovatek
Administrator

49,755

07-01-2019, 04:09 PM

#4

(06-01-2019, 12:34 AM)DonJuane In your article regarding using Wrt_MTK and SP Flash to back up a Mediatek phone, you speak about an article that you also wrote which tells how to backup the rom in a phone by using a scatter file that has been provided with a factory ROM for that same phone. I cannot find that particular article. Can you point it out?

The post you're looking for is https://www.hovatek.com/forum/thread-526.html
Jump straight to "Backing up / Dumping just one file / partition"
Its best you use a scatter file from a rom for that model

This post was last modified: 07-01-2019, 04:12 PM by hovatek.

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DonJuane
Newbie

3

10-01-2019, 04:39 AM

#5

The disconnect with that article and attempting this task *without* MTKDroid is not knowing exactly how the starting and length parameters found in the old MTKDroid tool correspond to the data in the actual scatter file and which fields are copied from the scatter file to emulate the MTKDroid procedure. There are at least two values in the scatter file that are not shown on the old MTK Droid tools. Which one is to be used? Otherwise is the data copied exactly as seen in the scatter file or is any value changed in any way? A novice will not know the background of all this and these minor details tend to escape those who document things for people less experienced than they are.

For example:

partition_index: SYS17
partition_name: USRDATA
file_name: userdata.img
is_download: true
type: YAFFS_IMG
linear_start_addr: 0x55c00000
physical_start_addr: 0x55600000
partition_size: 0x83400000
region: EMMC_USER
storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
boundary_check: true
is_reserved: false
operation_type: UPDATE
reserve: 0x00

This post was last modified: 10-01-2019, 04:41 AM by DonJuane.

EMMANUS
Senior Member

1,677

10-01-2019, 06:57 AM

#6

What is your target?

It is expected that anyone carrying out a DIY has basic knowledge, if not, Hovatek also offers training courses in different areas of phone software maintenance to benefit those who do not 'understand' as you said.

hovatek
Administrator

49,755

10-01-2019, 11:12 AM

#7

(10-01-2019, 04:39 AM)DonJuane ...

since both scatter file and mtk droid tool don't correspond, you should consider backing up using wwr guide instead
i doubt you've actually used this factory scatter file on your device before. if you have then you can use the scatter file if not use wwr guide

hovatek
Administrator

49,755

10-01-2019, 03:40 PM

#8

(10-01-2019, 04:39 AM)DonJuane The disconnect with that article and attempting this task *without* MTKDroid is not knowing exactly how the starting and length parameters found in the old MTKDroid tool correspond to the data in the actual scatter file and which fields are copied from the scatter file to emulate the MTKDroid procedure. There are at least two values in the scatter file that are not shown on the old MTK Droid tools. Which one is to be used? Otherwise is the data copied exactly as seen in the scatter file or is any value changed in any way? A novice will not know the background of all this and these minor details tend to escape those who document things for people less experienced than they are.

For example:

partition_index: SYS17
partition_name: USRDATA
file_name: userdata.img
is_download: true
type: YAFFS_IMG
linear_start_addr: 0x55c00000
physical_start_addr: 0x55600000
partition_size: 0x83400000
region: EMMC_USER
storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
boundary_check: true
is_reserved: false
operation_type: UPDATE
reserve: 0x00

The info that gets displayed in MTK Droid tools can be obtained from the scatter file. Let's use your above example (if you wish to backup userdata alone).
Start address = physical_start_addr = 0x55600000
Length = partition_size = 0x83400000
Region: EMMC_USER

Again, ensure the scatter file is for your model

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