Develop Bugs

[Q] Use Samsung EXE as replacement for Odin

When EB13 was released, Samsung provided a full wipe/install tool called Epic4G_FroyoUpgrade_EB13.exe
If you install that tool, and dig into the directories, you will find a normal .tar file inside, same as what we use in Odin. [e.g. ..\Samsung Electronics\SWUpgrade for SPH-D700\Models\Binary\SPH-D700-EB13-8Gb-REL.tar.md5]
I would like to know if anyone has tried swapping the tar.md5 file with another one, like perhaps official di18, or the unofficial pre-rooted eb13 tars.
Since Odin seems so flaky for folks, if we could simply swap out the tar in that folder this tool could be a easier/more friendly flasher going forward.

rocket321 said:
When EB13 was released, Samsung provided a full wipe/install tool called Epic4G_FroyoUpgrade_EB13.exe
If you install that tool, and dig into the directories, you will find a normal .tar file inside, same as what we use in Odin. [e.g. ..\Samsung Electronics\SWUpgrade for SPH-D700\Models\Binary\SPH-D700-EB13-8Gb-REL.tar.md5]
I would like to know if anyone has tried swapping the tar.md5 file with another one, like perhaps official di18, or the unofficial pre-rooted eb13 tars.
Since Odin seems so flaky for folks, if we could simply swap out the tar in that folder this tool could be a easier/more friendly flasher going forward.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That samsung tool is odin just covered up with a easier to user interface, although odin is a piece of cake to use...

rocket321 said:
When EB13 was released, Samsung provided a full wipe/install tool called Epic4G_FroyoUpgrade_EB13.exe
If you install that tool, and dig into the directories, you will find a normal .tar file inside, same as what we use in Odin. [e.g. ..\Samsung Electronics\SWUpgrade for SPH-D700\Models\Binary\SPH-D700-EB13-8Gb-REL.tar.md5]
I would like to know if anyone has tried swapping the tar.md5 file with another one, like perhaps official di18, or the unofficial pre-rooted eb13 tars.
Since Odin seems so flaky for folks, if we could simply swap out the tar in that folder this tool could be a easier/more friendly flasher going forward.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it is setup like the update tool for the samsung moment it will only work with the update tar that comes with it.If the hack for the moment updater would work on it (which I haven't tried)it might work with other tar files.

rocket321 said:
When EB13 was released, Samsung provided a full wipe/install tool called Epic4G_FroyoUpgrade_EB13.exe
If you install that tool, and dig into the directories, you will find a normal .tar file inside, same as what we use in Odin. [e.g. ..\Samsung Electronics\SWUpgrade for SPH-D700\Models\Binary\SPH-D700-EB13-8Gb-REL.tar.md5]
I would like to know if anyone has tried swapping the tar.md5 file with another one, like perhaps official di18, or the unofficial pre-rooted eb13 tars.
Since Odin seems so flaky for folks, if we could simply swap out the tar in that folder this tool could be a easier/more friendly flasher going forward.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do they have it for Macs also?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App

Estewa_619 said:
Do they have it for Macs also?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung originally intended to release a Mac version, but after the update being pulled for EB13 they did not publish a Mac version of this particular installer.
With EC05, Sprint is rolling it out OTA to all users. It is unknown if Samsung will release an updated installer once Sprint's OTA is completed. If they do, then I would assume Windows then Mac would be released if they didn't release both at the same time.

nikon120 said:
Samsung originally intended to release a Mac version, but after the update being pulled for EB13 they did not publish a Mac version of this particular installer.
With EC05, Sprint is rolling it out OTA to all users. It is unknown if Samsung will release an updated installer once Sprint's OTA is completed. If they do, then I would assume Windows then Mac would be released if they didn't release both at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool thanks for the info buddy
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App

Rooting with Heimdall

I've been searching for a guide that shows how to root the e4gt using Heimdall in linux. I can't find anything specific and I'm definitely not familiar with the way these things are rooted/flashed. I flashed my Evo like every 2-3 weeks. I also rooted through adb, but this is greek to me. Can someone point me in the right direction please? I have tried odin through virtualbox in Ubuntu but I am not having any luck. Thanks in advance.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

From my understanding, you can flash just like Odin, but being more specific. You can flash a kernel to the kernel, modem to modem, etc.
Here is Heimdall with some basic instructions. v 1.3.0 has a graphical interface.
Download the pit file from the E4GT forum, and the rooted kernel you want, in a .tar format.
As I posted in another thread: To flash the kernel, click on the "flash" tab. Click "browse" for the proper PIT file and select the E4GT PIT file. Click "Add". Under "Partition Name" select "Kernel" then browse. Select the .tar file of the kernel you want to flash. Put your phone into download mode, attach, then click "start" when everything's ready.
I haven't done it to the E4GT yet, so I have no idea if it will work and claim no responsibility if you brick your phone. Personally, I'm too timid to try right now.

ODIN flashable files are all tarballs even if their extension isn't .tar. Extract them using 'tar -xvf filename'. The files inside are named for what they are with the exception of the kernel, which is called zImage.
Installing Heimdall varies by Linux distro, so install it according to your distro's instructions. I use Arch and it's in the AUR so I just used yaourt to install version 1.3.
Screw the UI, go commando line and type 'heimdall'. It will print out its usage. You can pretty much figure out what options to use based on the filenames that extracted from your tarball.
Put your phone into download mode (power all the way off, wait a sec, then hold Volume Down, the Home button on the front, and Power, then Volume Up when you get the warning screen). I haven't taken the time to figure out why, but sometimes I don't have to hold the Home button and sometimes I do. May have something to do with what ROM I was running at the time?
Attach the phone to the USB cable attached to your bad-ass Linux machine. Type 'heimdall detect'. If it tells you 'Detected' and doesn't error out, you're good to flash. If you're paranoid, do it a second time. If it errors, get thee to googlin'.
Next type 'heimdall flash --kernel zImage' and it will flash that kernel to your phone and it will reboot. If there are more files than just zImage, use the appropriate options. I read somewhere that it is recommended to use every file in the tarball--don't skip any unless you're very sure what you're doing.
Note: You need super-user privileges to run these commands so either su to root or use sudo.
It really is all that easy! And I can confirm that Heimdall v1.3 works with my ET4G. I've used it to flash the Zedo, Shabby and Stock kernels from two different Arch Linux machines.
And you hardly ever need the PIT file to flash. The only time you ever need it is if you're repartitioning.
Oh, and I am just sharing my procedures here--not telling you to do them--so I am not responsible in any way|shape|form for whatever you do to your phone.

Heimdall flash via b1g.p0ppa's instructions a success. Flash via the GUI a no go. Thanks dude!

b1g.p0ppa said:
ODIN flashable files are all tarballs even if their extension isn't .tar. Extract them using 'tar -xvf filename'. The files inside are named for what they are with the exception of the kernel, which is called zImage.
Installing Heimdall varies by Linux distro, so install it according to your distro's instructions. I use Arch and it's in the AUR so I just used yaourt to install version 1.3.
Screw the UI, go commando line and type 'heimdall'. It will print out its usage. You can pretty much figure out what options to use based on the filenames that extracted from your tarball.
Put your phone into download mode (power all the way off, wait a sec, then hold Volume Down, the Home button on the front, and Power, then Volume Up when you get the warning screen). I haven't taken the time to figure out why, but sometimes I don't have to hold the Home button and sometimes I do. May have something to do with what ROM I was running at the time?
Attach the phone to the USB cable attached to your bad-ass Linux machine. Type 'heimdall detect'. If it tells you 'Detected' and doesn't error out, you're good to flash. If you're paranoid, do it a second time. If it errors, get thee to googlin'.
Next type 'heimdall flash --kernel zImage' and it will flash that kernel to your phone and it will reboot. If there are more files than just zImage, use the appropriate options. I read somewhere that it is recommended to use every file in the tarball--don't skip any unless you're very sure what you're doing.
Note: You need super-user privileges to run these commands so either su to root or use sudo.
It really is all that easy! And I can confirm that Heimdall v1.3 works with my ET4G. I've used it to flash the Zedo, Shabby and Stock kernels from two different Arch Linux machines.
And you hardly ever need the PIT file to flash. The only time you ever need it is if you're repartitioning.
Oh, and I am just sharing my procedures here--not telling you to do them--so I am not responsible in any way|shape|form for whatever you do to your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is exactly what I was looking for. Just to make sure that I understand you correctly, by flashing the kernel as you instructed above that will root my phone? If that's the case that is very simple. Thank you very much. I'm running Ubuntu 11.04 btw which I was able to get a .deb for Heimdall.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Yep. A long as you make sure to download a pre-rooted kernel it will.
If you haven't flashed anything at all yet, have you experienced the loss of signal problem that people are reporting? They're asking people to share their experiences in one of the other threads.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

b1g.p0ppa said:
Yep. A long as you make sure to download a pre-rooted kernel it will.
If you haven't flashed anything at all yet, have you experienced the loss of signal problem that people are reporting? They're asking people to share their experiences in one of the other threads.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow that is so much easier than my Evo ever was. To answer your question, no I haven't had any of the LOS problems yet. Hopefully I never do lol. That's one of the things that has me concerned about rooting right now. Now that I know how to do it I might just wait for a few more roms to come out. I'm really curious to see how CM does on this phone. Thanks again for your help.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

How to flash roms with Mobile Odin Pro

I have read that some people prefer to use Mobile Odin Pro to flash roms, kernels and such in place of CWM. I know how to use it when the files are in the tar format but I am wondering if there is a way to flash roms that are in the zip format and made for CWM? Am I missing something or did I misunderstand what I read?
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

unfortunately if its in zip I believe its only through cwm. just like regular odin.

OK, so the roms have to be in the tar format. Is there a way to repack the zip into a tar that can be flashed via Mobile Odin Pro?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Not really sure about this but if you use root explorer and press and hold on a file it will give you an option to convert to tar file or something like that. Idk if that would work or not but just happened to notice it last night.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

although rootexplorer does format it into tar it won't flash via odin or mobile odin. the only way I know of is to have a linux partition on your computer. other than having linux it won't work. it may be in tar format but it needs to know where to put those file in which place. and just converting it to tar doesn't work. I have even tried putting a pit file in with the files in a tar and it didn't work.

OK, that's what I thought but I figured I'd ask. Thanks for your answers.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

no worries man. anytime. I don't know everything but what I do know I'll gladly share

patrao_n said:
unfortunately if its in zip I believe its only through cwm. just like regular odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol thats not true.. yes .zips are made for cwm, but if you notice in mobile odin pro it can actually open certain types of files and extract the different parts of it to flash such as kernel, modem, etc. etc. this is how i flashed a zip through mobile odin pro, however for whatever reason gave me issues with the modem.. on ICS, I had to flash rogue fb17 kernel to get cwm back, then flashed the fb21 modem through cwm. either way, there is a way to extract the files from the .zip to be flashed in mobile odin.. there is a setting in the app that says open and extract the files.. have a look see! besides all that, I love mobile odin and prefer to use it when possible over using cwm anyday..

well I do not doubt that you used it. however I have many roms in. zip format. when I try to use the extract feature the only ones I can extract from are the. tar and tar.md5 files. maybe I'm messing up or something.

I have tried to open zip files using the method you suggested and it's like it doesn't see the zip file in the directory I put it in.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

when I do it I look in the directory and it only sees the tar files I have of the stock tars I have in the same directory. I have looked into it on chainfires thread and it makes no mention from what I have seen of flashing rom zips.

Check out the video on this page
http://www.madteam.co/2012/02/11/mobile-odin-now-supports-galaxy5/
I think he's flashing a full rom.

mgd76 said:
Check out the video on this page
http://www.madteam.co/2012/02/11/mobile-odin-now-supports-galaxy5/
I think he's flashing a full rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ya it is a full rom. but its in tar format. I was under the impression from the other poster in here zip were flashable too. I realize that what cwm is for. I have used mobile odin many times. and I'm almost positive it does not flash zips. just figured if he did it he might want to share.

hmmm
My plan was to only use m.o. to flash, (after root via 2c) so I'll have to figure this out...

patrao_n said:
although rootexplorer does format it into tar it won't flash via odin or mobile odin. the only way I know of is to have a linux partition on your computer. other than having linux it won't work. it may be in tar format but it needs to know where to put those file in which place. and just converting it to tar doesn't work. I have even tried putting a pit file in with the files in a tar and it didn't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
could you explain how to do this in linux?
Thanks!

i dont know how to do it in linux. i just know when i googled gow to do it all tge tutorials said linux was needed. sorry man

firemedic624 said:
I have read that some people prefer to use Mobile Odin Pro to flash roms, kernels and such in place of CWM. I know how to use it when the files are in the tar format but I am wondering if there is a way to flash roms that are in the zip format and made for CWM? Am I missing something or did I misunderstand what I read?
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could flash my kernel using 'zImage' file using Mobile ODIN.

TLR Version. Don't. If it was meant for CWM use it in CWM.
I don't think you guys are going to have any luck with that. When (Mobile) odin flashes a tar file it is flashing a factoryfs.img. When CWM flashes a zip it copies the files over.
You could, in theory*, convert the flash-able zip into a flash-able tar by moving the files in the zip into a proper factoryfs.img or a system.img... but its not really an easy task and you're VERY likely to end up with a (almost**) permanent brick and or paperweight.
So just don't. You can flash Kernels and full system restores tars with it, but other than that, I wouldn't play with it.
* I say in theory because I'm not gonna test it. I don't see why I wouldn't, but there is no reason to risk anything.
**You could probably unbrick it with a JTAG, but that is a whole different mess.

Clearing cache before flashing
I'm a beginner. My last cell phone was very old and could only make calls, and I jumped into the s3 because I heard it's a good phone.
I've figured out how to root it and unlock it, and I have installed mobile odin pro. I copy the zipped rom directly to my phone and start mobile odin pro, which asks me if I want to unzip the rom and install it. Well, yes, I do. So it goes about doing its thing, reboots, and fails. I have tried installing three different roms with the same result each time.
My question is this: will mobile odin pro automatically clear the cache, the darvik cache and so on? Or should I do this manually from within the mobile odin pro app before flashing the rom?
Any help will be much appreciated

If you have an s2 this is not the forum for you. Just a heads up. Anything flashable from this s2 forum will wreck your phone
sent from my BAD A$$ Epic touch

[Q] Gnex and odin? plus other stuff =]

Hi guys,
Im sure that most of these questions will have been answered in the past but i would like to get a collective answer to some questions instead of looking at fragmented pieces here and there.
I have come to a Gnex from a galaxy s i9000.
Im not shy about flashing my phones at all. I flashed every single rom under the sun onto my galaxy s using pretty much every method and knew everything about everything with that phone.
Using a Gnex and thinking about flashing my phone i just want to clear some things up...
1) If i use the Gnex toolkit am i right in thinking that after i have unlocked my bootloader and rooted and flashed CWM that i have to rename the recovery to get into CWM? Otherwise i will have Andy with the red triangle and !?
2) If i want to flash back to pure 100% stock for future OTA updates can this be done straight from the Gnex toolkit? I used to just get a stock rom from samfirmware.com and slap it into odin and flash it onto my phone with repartition.
3) Can Odin be used with the Gnex and if so where do you get the .tar files and pit file etc from?
4) Im pretty sure that ive seen something about an odin mode? Soooo if Odin CAN be used do you use odin mode or download mode or are these the same thing and people are just calling it odin mode when its infact download mode?
Thats the 4 main ones i have right now.
Thanks for help given in advance.

Don't use toolkits.
Be a big boy and root it yourself. Link is stickied above...or in my sig.
You'll want the SDK set up in the event that you brick your phone.
And not knowing if you're device SHOULD be connecting but isn't is a huge troubleshooting barrier that you'll easily overcome by knowing ADB/Fastboot ARE working. Which you'll know after doing it manually.
The ODIN files can be found in the GNex general section. Stickied.
And download mode/odin mode are the same, yes.

Jubakuba said:
[snip]
You'll want the SDK set up in the event that you brick your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you recommend that he install the SDK? Unless he's a developer, there is no reason to install it. It's just a huge waste of space on your hard drive. Once he installs the Samsung driver, there are only 4 files that are needed if you are running Windows (only 2 if you are running linux or MacOS):
AdbWinUsbApi.dll
AdbWinApi.dll
adb.exe
fastboot.exe
And they are available in the first post of almost every toolkit or manual step-by-step thread there is.
Makes much more sense to have ~4MB worth of files on your PC rather than gigs, no?

efrant said:
Why would you recommend that he install the SDK? Unless he's a developer, there is no reason to install it. It's just a huge waste of space on your hard drive. Once he installs the Samsung driver, there are only 4 files that are needed if you are running Windows (only 2 if you are running linux or MacOS):
AdbWinUsbApi.dll
AdbWinApi.dll
adb.exe
fastboot.exe
And they are available in the first post of almost every toolkit or manual step-by-step thread there is.
Makes much more sense to have ~4MB worth of files on your PC rather than gigs, no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SDK is 75MB on my system:what:
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

bwcorvus said:
SDK is 75MB on my system:what:
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you didn't install the full SDK. I guess 75MB is no problem then (but 4MB is better ).

Odin isn't really used with nexus. Use fastboot.

RogerPodacter said:
Odin isn't really used with nexus. Use fastboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you talk me through fastboot? Thats a new thing to me.
Cheers

Use my sig man.
It'll get you familiar with fastboot.
And ODIN can be used with our phones as well.
But fastboot is what's used to flash custom recovery.img's and such.
You can also return to stock with fastboot...using googles .img files.

Jubakuba said:
Use my sig man.
It'll get you familiar with fastboot.
And ODIN can be used with our phones as well.
But fastboot is what's used to flash custom recovery.img's and such.
You can also return to stock with fastboot...using googles .img files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh ok i get ya. I just looked at the link in your sig.
So fastboot.exe is pretty much like adb.exe or an extension of.
I know my way around ADB pretty well so that looks to be pretty simple.
Nice tutorial BTW.
Thanks dude.

[Q] Flash ROM using Odin vs. Recovery (convert zip to rar?)

I'm flashing my first ROM today, and have settled on Wicked.
I found that flashing TWRP using Odin was super painless and smooth, and I've seen other ROMs that can be installed using Odin (and I don't have much storage space left)
The download for Wicked is a zip file, though (am I correct that Odin requires tar files only?)
Can I unzip the Wicked download, then put it into a tar file using Windows (WinRAR) (or I can also use Linux) for installation via Odin?
If it's possible to do this, is there any special way that these archives are built? Anything to pay attention to?

Just download the zip, flash in recovery. Can't get any easier than that. Plus Wicked has an aroma installer so you need to go recovery route. If you're worry about space, delete zip after you're done.
☞ Sent from here ☜

I agree use recovery. If you don't have space in your phone's sdcard just transfer your files to your PC then flash the ROM in recovery and then transfer your files back to your phone.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app

Thanks for the replies. That seems sensible, use the format that's given, especially for my first time.
That said, I *am* interested about the possibilities of converting from zip to tar and installing with Odin for future reference. I am comfortable with developer tools, just new to the Android environment. Should I ask this question in the developer sub-forum instead?

j111 said:
Thanks for the replies. That seems sensible, use the format that's given, especially for my first time.
That said, I *am* interested about the possibilities of converting from zip to tar and installing with Odin for future reference. I am comfortable with developer tools, just new to the Android environment. Should I ask this question in the developer sub-forum instead?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually it wouldn't be just converting from zip to tar. Tar files include the bootloader, modem and radio. Zip Roms do not include any of these items, just the kernel. It's by far much easier to flash via recovery. TWRP is a great recovery I've tried them all and it's compatible with most roms out there.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 12:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:22 AM ----------
Here you go http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=633246 this will probably be the way for you to learn all about tar files.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app