Develop Bugs

AT&T galaxy s3 softbricked

I was trying to install one of drewgarens touchwiz roms. touchwiz milestone 5 firefly i believe. not the most recent one because i was too lazy . boy was that a mistake. everything was going smoothly until it booted and it got stuck on boot. I thought no big deal just go into recovery and use a backup. until i did so and recovery was gone and there was only download mode. I have spent the whole afternoon trying to fix it and none of it has worked. I tried flashing the stock rom and it as well got stuck on boot. I looked at all the AT&t relevant ones and also the international versions. so all in all is there anyway to fix this and has anyone had the same issue? i was flashing from cyanogenmod 10 m1 to the drewgaren rom btw. I can also go to download mode. I tried to flash stock but it still gets stuck on boot. log. I flashed the ATT boot logo and it did not work. all of which were flashed through odin.
any thanks in advance is greatly appreciated.

I think you can flash back to stock with just download mode + odin

Randomacts said:
I think you can flash back to stock with just download mode + odin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already tried that. It still get stuck on the Boot logo

stuart26 said:
I already tried that. It still get stuck on the Boot logo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't help you but I wish you luck.

stuart26 said:
I already tried that. It still get stuck on the Boot logo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unplug your device. Hold the power button to turn it off. Hold volume up, home, and power. It should go to recovery. If you do the same thing with volume down instead of up, you can get into download mode.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

Sounds like you need a recovery...try this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1746665
[SAMSUNG GALAXY S3 QCOM TOOLKIT V2.3] Drivers Backup Root CWM BusyBox + MORE [ATT]
Follow the instructions and you should be able to flash the recovery and continue on with what you were doing. Remember to wipe really good when going from aosp back to any stock based ROM. They are completely different and will cause boot loops if you don't wipe.

jethro650 said:
Sounds like you need a recovery...try this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1746665
[SAMSUNG GALAXY S3 QCOM TOOLKIT V2.3] Drivers Backup Root CWM BusyBox + MORE [ATT]
Follow the instructions and you should be able to flash the recovery and continue on with what you were doing. Remember to wipe really good when going from aosp back to any stock based ROM. They are completely different and will cause boot loops if you don't wipe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cannot enable usb debugging

Crap...there are Odin flashable versions of cwm floating around you'll need to find one of those. If you haven't found one I'll post one up when I get home.

jethro650 said:
Crap...there are Odin flashable versions of cwm floating around you'll need to find one of those. If you haven't found one I'll post one up when I get home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
K I made it home lol. I'll attach a Odin flashable cwm, it's an older one but it'll get you a recovery, I hope. I just tried it on my phone with Odin, 3.07 both with usb debugging enabled and disabled on my phone and it worked both times. Crap keep getting errors uploading right to xda servers, I'll drop box it in a minute.
Ok here we go Odin cwm--> https://dl.dropbox.com/u/28590257/Odin recovery/CWM-Recovery-LTE-SGS3-v4.tar.md5
Newest twrp --> https://dl.dropbox.com/u/28590257/Odin recovery/twrp2.3.1install.zip
I'll add the newest twrp for you lol. Flash the cwm with odin, should work and then the twrp is a zip you can flash in cwm.
Hope this helps get you a recovery.
Remember in Odin use only PDA and only have auto reboot checked.

jethro650 said:
K I made it home lol. I'll attach a Odin flashable cwm, it's an older one but it'll get you a recovery, I hope. I just tried it on my phone with Odin, 3.07 both with usb debugging enabled and disabled on my phone and it worked both times. Crap keep getting errors uploading right to xda servers, I'll drop box it in a minute.
I'll add the newest twrp for you lol. Flash the cwm with odin, should work and then the twrp is a zip you can flash in cwm.
Hope this helps get you a recovery.
Remember in Odin use only PDA and only have auto reboot checked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This may sound like a stupid question but what boxes do i tick in odin?

After your hooked up and Odin is open under the options on the left side check only Auto Reboot. On the right under files check PDA and use that button to browse your computer and find the cwm you downloaded from my dropbox. Then just hit start on the bottom of the Odin window and let it finish, your phone should reboot when its done. It will get stuck again like you described in your first post but pull the battery, put it back in and boot into recovery using vol up,home and power buttons. That should (if everything flashed OK) put you into cwm 5.5.0.4. Once there wipe data/factory reset then restore the back up you mentioned in your original post, that should get you running again.
---------- Post added at 06:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:55 PM ----------
If something has happened to your backup then you could try the stock rooted stuff here , just pick the one for your carrier and follow the instructions. :highfive:

jethro650 said:
After your hooked up and Odin is open under the options on the left side check only Auto Reboot. On the right under files check PDA and use that button to browse your computer and find the cwm you downloaded from my dropbox. Then just hit start on the bottom of the Odin window and let it finish, your phone should reboot when its done. It will get stuck again like you described in your first post but pull the battery, put it back in and boot into recovery using vol up,home and power buttons. That should (if everything flashed OK) put you into cwm 5.5.0.4. Once there wipe data/factory reset then restore the back up you mentioned in your original post, that should get you running again.
---------- Post added at 06:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:55 PM ----------
If something has happened to your backup then you could try the stock rooted stuff here , just pick the one for your carrier and follow the instructions. :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to get it into recovery but i realized i did not have my sd card in so i turned it off and put my sd card in. unfortunately i was not able to get it back into recovery i tried flashing it again with the sd card in and no luck

That's odd. Couple of stupid questions on my part just to make sure, you had the right button combo, and, you released the buttons soon as the splash screen came on? Can you still get into download mode? Oh and did you do the wipes while in recovery?

jethro650 said:
That's odd. Couple of stupid questions on my part just to make sure, you had the right button combo, and, you released the buttons soon as the splash screen came on? Can you still get into download mode? Oh and did you do the wipes while in recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh my gosh THANK YOU SOOOMUCH. I was worried i would have to take it to at&t ill be sure to press the thanks button.

I take it you got your phone working lol. Glad I could help a little. Little advice, anytime you switch to a different type of ROM (aosp to stock based or the other way around) make sure you wipe data/factory reset before flashing anything. It will save you problems in the long run.
Oh and could you go back and edit your original post and just add solved in brackets to the title for people in trouble looking for info.

stuart26 said:
I already tried that. It still get stuck on the Boot logo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depending on which stock ROM you flashed with odin you should now have a recovery, if not then something isn't right. The full bone stock ROM should have the factory 3e recovery, and the root injected stock ROM should have some version of CWM recovery. A factory reset will most likely fix your boot loop, if there is no recovery flash the rooted stock ROM that matches your device from this guide.
Edit - Didn't see there was a second page 0_o

[Q] BRICKED S3 d2att

I'm not sure if it is bricked or not, but I've been running CM10 for the last 2 days (I've only had the s3 for 2 days) and decided to go stock again.
I read around and downloaded the first rom from here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1739426
I flashed it ODIN (I made a backup via TWRP beforehand).
Turns out I didn't do a factory reset before hand.
Now when I turn it back on, it just sticks on the SAMSUNG logo. I can still boot into Download. I tried to flash a recovery but for some reason I can't boot into a recovery.
Please help I've only had the phone for 2 days
Is there a way for me to restore via the back up i made since I made it on my external SD?

Well the good news first, you aren't bricked. When you brick a phone it won't do anything like power on, recovery, Odin, etc. First let's make sure your doing the button presses correctly press these: HOME + volume UP + POWER until the phone reboots and it says SAMSUNG with blue text at the top left corner then let go. If it worked you can try to restore your Nandroid by clicking back up and restore and the click restore.
If you cannot access your Custom Recovery then put your phone into download mode, Home + volume DOWN + POWER, and then open Odin 3.07. If you have a Stock ROM that is in a MD5 format, Odin flashes this format, then you only need to select auto reboot and f. Reset and be sure everything else is unchecked. Click PDA and find your ROM file and then select it. Be sure its on the PDA slot or you could actually brick your phone beyond repair. Plug in your phone and in one of the boxes it should pop up a colored box that says, ID:COM, with a number which means that Odin recognizes your phone. The. Click start and let it sit until Odin says "PASS" in green then you can remove it.
If you don't have the stock ROM here are some links:
non-rooted UCALG1 ---> http://www.hotfile.com/dl/163588704/8c85bb4/I747UCALG1_I747ATTALG1_ATT.zip.html
Non-rooted UCALEM ---> http://www.hotfile.com/dl/161492212/f6be295/I747UCALEM_I747ATTALEM_ATT.zip.html
Rooted-UCALG1 ---> http://beta.androidfilehost.com/?fid=9390113915771289992
If you aren't on AT&T Galaxy S3
SGH-I747 DO NOT flash these ROMs.
If you are with a different carrier go to this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=28019751
This thread has links to the files you will need. Don't forget to give a "Thanks" to mrRobinson for providing the links and his hard work.
If you encounter any errors hit me up, mrRobinson, or the Q&A section.
Have a great day!
\(._.\) To the window, to the wall.
(/._.)/
---------- Post added at 07:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:35 AM ----------
Also I forgot to mention that if you want to restore a Nadroid from your external-SD card go to Backup and Restore and select external SD card and navigate to your backup. BAM!
\(._.\) To the window, to the wall.
(/._.)/

If your just getting the Samsung logo, pull battery,put it back in and boot into stock recovery. wipe data and cache..reboot

Okay so I was able to flash twrp. If I flash the stock rom, for some reason the latest update is 4.0.4. No jellybean?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

Nope, No JB yet

AOKP to STOCK BIG PROBLEMS

i need some help here guys. i was running AOKP for the longest time and loving it. then today i tried to update to the latest version. i downloaded the rom and went to flash the .zip in CWM. i've done this dozens of times. this time things were completely different. i kept getting FCs over and over. so i booted into recovery again to reflash. for whatever reason, it seemed like my file system was corrupted. folders i had never seen were all over the place. it was a big mess. i decided to flash back to stock. i booted into DL mode and did this with odin successfully. then upon reboot, the phone was stuck at the Samsung logo. looking into this i saw that i needed to boot into recovery, wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache, and wipe dalvik cache. i tried doing this but no matter what, my phone will not boot into recovery. i have even used odin to flash CF-SGS3-CWM-v5.5-v1.0.tar. when i press volume up+home+power i get the first samsung logo with the tiny blue text up at the top saying "recovery booting" but then nothing happens and the phone just goes to a normal boot attempt, which stalls at the samsung logo. please help guys. just for a quick overview. was on [ROM] AOKP(Jellybean 4.2.1 )Task & Ktoonsez (12/23) (AT&T/Rogers), potential file system corruption during a routine upgrade, flashed back to stock with odin (meaning i can still boot into DL mode), but CANNOT boot into RECOVERY mode. i'm freaking out

jamesquags said:
i need some help here guys. i was running AOKP for the longest time and loving it. then today i tried to update to the latest version. i downloaded the rom and went to flash the .zip in CWM. i've done this dozens of times. this time things were completely different. i kept getting FCs over and over. so i booted into recovery again to reflash. for whatever reason, it seemed like my file system was corrupted. folders i had never seen were all over the place. it was a big mess.
i decided to flash back to stock. i booted into DL mode and did this with odin successfully. then upon reboot, the phone was stuck at the Samsung logo. looking into this i saw that i needed to boot into recovery, wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache, and wipe dalvik cache. i tried doing this but no matter what, my phone will not boot into recovery.
i have even used odin to flash CF-SGS3-CWM-v5.5-v1.0.tar. when i press volume up+home+power i get the first samsung logo with the tiny blue text up at the top saying "recovery booting" but then nothing happens and the phone just goes to a normal boot attempt, which stalls at the samsung logo. please help guys.
just for a quick overview. was on [ROM] AOKP(Jellybean 4.2.1 )Task & Ktoonsez (12/23) (AT&T/Rogers), potential file system corruption during a routine upgrade, flashed back to stock with odin (meaning i can still boot into DL mode), but CANNOT boot into RECOVERY mode. i'm freaking out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, good job on searching before posting! :good:
Second, if you want help, try using capital letters at the start of a sentence and using paragraphs. It makes it sooo much easier to read that way.
Third, just keep trying. But from what you're saying about a file-system issue, that could be bad? It's not familiar to me anyways. Hope it didn't damage the internal SD.
If nothing else works, then try the USB-JIG to access Recovery mode. They're like $5 on eBay.
Okay, try these things.
1) Odin a non-rooted, stock ROM that comes with a 3E recovery and try to access that recovery.
If that doesn't work, move onto this step:
2) Odin a different recovery. I attached one to this post. Just unzip it and then odin it. :CWM-Recovery-LTE-SGS3-v5.tar:
Try to get recovery again after a battery pull.

If that doesn't do it, then try this next:
1) Odin a rooted ROM onto the phone.
2) Download the attached "openrecovery-twrp-2.3.1.0-d2att" and unzip it.
3) Download this ADB & Fastboot tool and extract it to your C:/ drive with subfolders using this path: "C:/Android/platform-tools/".
Here is the file to download:
http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=9390135922294523275
4) Rename the openrecovery-twrp-2.3.1.0-d2att to "recovery" and place it into the Platform-tools folder.
5) Open the JPEG and follow the EXACT same commands in the pic. This will install TWRP recovery for you.
Then try once again to get into recovery.
If it still doesn't work, then buy a USB Jig.

REPLY
Thanks so much for the advice.
Regarding the TWRP installation, is the phone connected to the computer in DL mode for this?
I am currently downloading a rooted stock ROM. This might help shed light on what is going on here.... I unzipped the .tar you attached to your first post and stuck it in the PDA slot with the phone connected and in DL mode. ODIN did nothing and the returned a FAIL message saying that it "Failed to Open Serial [COM] Port". Hmmmm. Anyways I am going to try to install the TWRP recovery. If not I will buy the USB jig. Thanks again for you help. -jim

jamesquags said:
"Failed to Open Serial [COM] Port".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you installed the phone drivers? They're linked from the Odin thread.

smelenchuk said:
Have you installed the phone drivers? They're linked from the Odin thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes i have installed the drivers. I have flashed multiple .tar files today.

jamesquags said:
Thanks so much for the advice.
Regarding the TWRP installation, is the phone connected to the computer in DL mode for this?
I am currently downloading a rooted stock ROM. This might help shed light on what is going on here.... I unzipped the .tar you attached to your first post and stuck it in the PDA slot with the phone connected and in DL mode. ODIN did nothing and the returned a FAIL message saying that it "Failed to Open Serial [COM] Port". Hmmmm. Anyways I am going to try to install the TWRP recovery. If not I will buy the USB jig. Thanks again for you help. -jim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The TWRP doesn't use Odin. You have to use ADB/FastBoot like I show in the picture attached with it.
I have yet to find an Odin flashable TWRP.

CZ Eddie said:
The TWRP doesn't use Odin. You have to use ADB/FastBoot like I show in the picture attached with it.
I have yet to find an Odin flashable TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After flashing the ROOTED STOCK ROM, I tried about 7 times to boot into recovery. It finally did!!! I then was able to do a wipe data and cache and I'm all set.
Thanks so much for helping me out. -jim

To get into recovery hold the power+volume up+ home key when you see the blue text at the top of the screen let go if the power button but still press the home + volume up
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

jerrycoffman45 said:
To get into recovery hold the power+volume up+ home key when you see the blue text at the top of the screen let go of the power button but still press the home + volume up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you continue to hold the home + volume up? I release all three as soon as I see the blue text and it goes into Recovery just fine for me.

CZ Eddie said:
Why do you continue to hold the home + volume up? I release all three as soon as I see the blue text and it goes into Recovery just fine for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont know i have always done it that way well learned something new just tried it your way thanks

[Q] Fixboot.tar Install/backscreen on reboot

I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 SGH-I747 (AT&T) that I updated OTA to 4.1.1 a while back. I just decided to root the phone using Odin3 V3.04 and clockworkmod.tar. I tried using clockworkmod at first but couldn't get the phone to go into CWM recovery mode. It just went into stock recovery instead. Reading further, I was told that I need to flash fixboot.tar first, then clockworkmod.tar, then flash CWM_SuperUser_3.0.7.zip file in recovery mode. When I used odin to flash fixboot.tar and rebooted, it boots the Galaxy S3 logo, at&t chime, then goes black with Amber light. It will not boot fully. I then used Odin to flash clockworkmod.tar, rebooted and it also went to blackscreen.I was then able to go into recovery mode and flash the Superuser zip file and reboot but I'm still getting the black screen. What did the fixboot.tar file do to my phone?? Can I reverse this without flashing a whole new rom? I have search the forum for severalhours now with no luck. Any help would be great.

where did you get your initial information and tar? as well as the fixboot info and tar?
check out this rooting thread here on xda. the purpose is to flash cwm recovery onto your device. you then boot into the custom recovery you just installed and root from there. instructions are on the thread.
recovery mode is: vol up + home + power. release just the power button when your device vibrates

xBeerdroiDx said:
where did you get your initial information and tar? as well as the fixboot info and tar?
check out this rooting thread here on xda. the purpose is to flash cwm recovery onto your device. you then boot into the custom recovery you just installed and root from there. instructions are on the thread.
recovery mode is: vol up + home + power. release just the power button when your device vibrates
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got it from this link - http://rootgalaxys3iii.com/root-at-t-galaxy-s3/
I am aware of the process you mentioned, but it would not work. It just kept going into standard recovery mode instead of custom recovery so I could never root from there. Thats when I came across this link and thought I needed to flash fixboot.tar first as it states. It did work! I was able to flash clockworkmod.tar and then root the phone, but what good does that do now that my phone is hosed at the blackscreen...There were two sites that said to use this fixboot method. I should have known better...
I just read your thred. Looks like my problem was letting the phone reboot. Is there any way to reverse the fixboot.tar I used? Maybe there is a 4.1.1 boot.tar that can put things back as they were?

via the link i provided, in odin, were you unticking the "auto reboot" box?
i've used that thread method on several S3's with no problems. if you were getting a PASS message then it actually worked.
can you get into recovery now? if so, wipe data/factory reset and wipe cache. reboot.

xBeerdroiDx said:
via the link i provided, in odin, were you unticking the "auto reboot" box?
i've used that thread method on several S3's with no problems. if you were getting a PASS message then it actually worked.
can you get into recovery now? if so, wipe data/factory reset and wipe cache. reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used that method from another site and I was getting a pass. It looks like my issue was letting it reboot. When it didn't go into CWM recovery,I used the fixboot.tar and thats when my phone would not boot past the boot screen. I still have some unsaved material and don't want to wipe the phone. I can get into CWM recovery now. Will doing a data/factory reset wipe everything? If so, is that my only option at this point? I don't want to go to factory and lose everything unless I have to.

OpusxXx said:
I used that method from another site and I was getting a pass. It looks like my issue was letting it reboot. When it didn't go into CWM recovery,I used the fixboot.tar and thats when my phone would not boot past the boot screen. I still have some unsaved material and don't want to wipe the phone. I can get into CWM recovery now. Will doing a data/factory reset wipe everything? If so, is that my only option at this point? I don't want to go to factory and lose everything unless I have to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, since I got no response, I did what you said and deleted everything. I still have the same problem. Phone boots to Samsung logo, does jingle and geos to blackscreen with blue light.
Back to my original question. I used the fixboot.tar and it jacked my phone where it only boots to blackscreen with blue light. Is there a fix for this???

[Q] Gs3 will not boot after 4.2.2 rom install

I just installed liquidsmooth 4.2.2 official and googleapps i cleared cache etc before i installed too. Everything installed fine but when I went to reboot the device it wont boot up. I can get back into recovery mode but I unfortunately forgot to make a back up. What can I do? Also my father has the exact same phone as me. If need be can I use his SD card to make a backup and then put it in my phone?

Factory reset.

Aerowinder said:
Factory reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do I go about doing that? Sorry I'm very new to this.

Go to wipe in TWRP recovery. Factory reset should be in your options. Then flash again
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

rani9990 said:
Go to wipe in TWRP recovery. Factory reset should be in your options. Then flash again
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I;m using clockworkmod recovery v6 .0 .3 .1 and I do not see that option

jakeryan760 said:
I;m using clockworkmod recovery v6 .0 .3 .1 and I do not see that option
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wipe data/factory reset.....its the 4th option
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

707BeastMode707 said:
Wipe data/factory reset.....its the 4th option
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried that and it didn't work. Nothing will boot. I tried wipe data factory reset and rebooted nothing, tried it with flash after as well and nothing.
I have the SGH T999

jakeryan760 said:
I tried that and it didn't work. Nothing will boot. I tried wipe data factory reset and rebooted nothing, tried it with flash after as well and nothing.
I have the SGH T999
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you factory reset, wipe cache, and reflash the rom? If that fails I guess at least you can Odin.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Wipe cache
Wipe dalvik cache
Wipe data/factory reset
Flash ROM
Flash gapps
Wipe cache
Wipe dalvik cache
Reboot device
↑if that fails, get to a computer and download another ROM, place it on the SD card, pull the battery out of your phone and insert the SD card. Put the battery back into the phone and boot into recovery and try the steps above, but instead try flashing the new ROM and only flash the gapps if needed (usually stated in the op of the ROMs thread).
↑if it still fails then Odin back to stock and I guess try rooting again.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

re: flashing roms
jakeryan760 said:
I just installed liquidsmooth 4.2.2 official and googleapps i cleared cache etc before i installed too. Everything installed fine but when I went to reboot the device it wont boot up. I can get back into recovery mode but I unfortunately forgot to make a back up. What can I do? Also my father has the exact same phone as me. If need be can I use his SD card to make a backup and then put it in my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are not sure what happened and why it happened and just want to fix the phone so it boots normally into
the stock-rooted Samsung Jellybean v4.1.1 rom so you can start over again or if you decided that Liquidsmooth
is not for you then here is the step by step guide to get your phone working again.
After getting the phone working properly, I suggest that you flash the Wicked v10 custom rom. (it's excellent)
P.S. there is no OFFICIAL Samsung v4.2.2 roms for out phones yet, the liquidsmooth is the official CM10/AOKP Android rom.
Easy and sure way to to get your phone back up and running properly with this step by step guide:
After you have followed these instructions your phone will be in the same condition
as it was the day you have purchased it except with the benefit of being rooted.
Download the stock-rooted T999 firmware: http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=9390169635556426451
After downloading it make a folder on your computer's desktop and unzip the
file using Winzip or 7zip so the .TAR file is in the new folder you just made.
Here is a link for ODIN which is required for flashing the stock rooted firmware (a windows app) http://d-h.st/Q14
Download and extract Odin into the same folder you made containing the TAR file.
Download the Odin Flash firmware for T999 Tmobile then copy it to the same folder as Odin
Run Odin by double clicking the Odin.exe within the same folder as the TAR file you extracted
Turn off your phone and boot into DOWNLOAD MODE (Volume Down + Home + Power Hold until phone powers up, then release and press Volume Up to enter Download Mode)
Once in Download Mode, connect the USB/Charger cable to the phone and plug into the USB port on your computer.
You should now see a COM** port listed toward the top-left of Odin (under ID:COM)
Click on the PDA button in the middle-right area of Odin.
Browse to and select the Firmware you downloaded (TAR file)
Make sure Auto-Reboot and F. Reset Time are the only options checked and that PDA is the only other thing checked.
TRIPLE CHECK your settings and that you have selected the correct firmware for your model phone and are using the correct options.
If you are using a laptop, make absolutely sure you are plugged in, or if on battery, that it is charged enough and will not go into sleep mode during flash.
Click Start to begin the flash. This will take a while, so be patient!
Once complete, in the top-left box in Odin, it will say PASS and the phone should have automatically rebooted.
You may unplug the phone and close Odin if you wish.
Wait at least 5-10 minutes for the system to boot the first time and then build its cache!
(It may seem to hang during boot, this is normal and you must be patient!!!)
Good Luck!