A few days ago my Nokia N9 went dead flat and then when i went to charge it it would only boot up to the nokia logo on screen and then eventually would come up with "Device not working properly" "try updating the device software with Nokia Software Updater. If the problem persists, contact the nearest Nokia Care point." "Software problem (boot-watchdog): too many reboots.

If i try the connect it to the computer for Nokia Software Updater or Phoenix test and service software the phone turns on with the nokia logo on screen and then a USB connection logo in the corner that goes away, and on my computer it comes up with "USB device not recognized" "The last USB device you connected to this computer malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it." "Recommendation Try reconnecting the device. If windows still does not recognize it, your device may not be working properly."

Suggestions...?

It looks your device has the MALF flag set. This is a sorts of a protection method, albeit it usually causes more trouble than helps

When the phone detects that it has too many restarts in a short period, the system protects itself by creaing a file /var/malf on the filesystem. This is a signal for the device to stop and instruct user to get maintanance for the device.

You can clear the malf file by booting into device rescue mode, using flasher and a dedicated kernel+initramfs image.

Search the forum for "/var/malf" and you will find the procedure.

I don't understand how this will work when my computer doesn't recognize my N9 and says it malfunctioned?

You cannot use "Nokia Software Updater" or "Phoenix" to fix this problem

You need to get a repair mode kernel and flash that to your device. Furthermore, if you are using Windoze you need a NDIS driver for it if you are going to fix via telnet connection, or EXT4FS driver if you want to mount the device to your PC.

Thanks, and can this be done via USB..?

I'm guessing these are the instructions i need to follow? http://www.allboutn9.info/2013/01/lo...lution_23.html

Yes, it is done via USB. Procedure goes like this:

• 1.) The device is booted so that a special "rescue mode" kernel is pushed to the device via USB. (this will work even for quite dead device)
• 2.) When the device boots, it will export the internal filesystems as USB drives to the computer. It looks like 3 USB drives are connected to the computer. Also, the device will configure IP-over-USB (NDIS) type of network interface, allowing you to telnet to the device
• 3.) You fix the MALF state, either via filesystem export or telnet
• 4.) Profit...

Are these the correct instructions? http://www.allboutn9.info/2013/01/lo...lution_23.html

Thanks are these the correct instructions?

A. Preparations

Download these files (if download doesn't work: Use right-click / Save file as, or similar):

MeeGo kernel
N950 MeeGo rescue initrd
Flasher (Flasher for Linux / WinFlasher 3.12 for Windows / MacFlasher 3.12 for OSX)
Windows Driver (for Windows users)


B: Flashing and mount

Provided here are Linux commands. If you are a Windows/OSX user, you need an ext4 Filesystem driver (Windows solution / OSX solution).

1. Unplug the USB cable from your phone2. Turn your phone off
3. Load the N950 MeeGo kernel and N950 MeeGo rescue initrd using flasher:

$ sudo flasher --load -k vmlinuz-2.6.32.20112201-11.2-adaptation-n950-bootloader -n initrd.img-rescue-2.6.32.20112201-11.2-n950 --boot

4. Insert the usb cable.5. Wait about a minute until a new USB mass storage device appears on the host.

You should now have three partitions: /dev/sdX1 which is MyDocs, /dev/sdX2 which is MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan rootfs, and /dev/sdX3 which is the MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan home directory.

6. If your PC is running a recent version of Ubuntu (or similar) the partitions should be mounted automatically or offered to be mounted. If not:

Find exact partition's names found on your Nokia N9/N950 and mount these partitions:

$ fdisk -l$ sudo mkdir /mnt/n9; sudo mount /dev/sdb2 /mnt/n9


C: Copy files

Now that the three partitions are mounted, you are able to copy all files away. The rootfs is not needed, but the MyDocs and home partitions store all your important files and settings:

$ rsync -avH --progress /media/Nokia\ N9/ MyDocs/$ rsync -avH --progress /media/101359bd-1016-4d06-8e80-4da91dc2c96f/user/ home/$ rsync -avH --progress /media/rootfs/ rootfs/


Step 2: Flash original OS

Follow the directions here, they are really well explained: http://talk.maemo.org. If you're OSX user you can also follow our tutorial: Flash N9 on OSX.
You should use "Zeroize device (destroys user data)" to remove the lost Password. Any other type of reflash will NOT remove the password!


Step 3: Restore your data

As soon as the reflash is done, you're able to use your phone again. You can now connect the phone via USB and copy all needed data back to the N9. To restore SMS, contacts calendar and so on, I hope you have done a manual backup with the built-in backup application or have them synced with Mail for Exchange (or similar). Otherwise it wouldn't be that easy, as the data is stored in the tracker database. Maybe someone finds out how to do it, I didn't.

Learning points: Don't forget or loose the password and always make backups of your important data. Backups up your personal data can be done manually and everything else with NokiaLink or Nokia Suite (links can be found here).

Yes, those instructions tell you how to backup data of your device before flashing when you have non-bootable device.

However, it is possible that you do not need to flash it, just to remove the MALF indicator file (/var/malf) to fix your device.
(If you have no other problems, than device MALFfing due to too many boot attempts)

If you want to flash your device also, you'll need the firmware images (emmc and main firmware) that are correct for your PR level and device country variant.