RECOVERY MODE loop loop

I tried every method under the sun, downloaded every program but still none the less its still stuck in this recovery loop..when I do restore thru redsn0w with shsh blobs and the ipsw 4.1(I think this is the original firmware for the 3gs)it gets so far in the recovery then an error message saying "itunes error 40"..i have tried other ways but comes up with iTunes errors 20,40,1600..please can any1 shed sum light on this infinite loop. I do not know what ios it was running cos was bought through a auction place for $100 with the problem hence it was cheap..