[INFO]There are several ways to flash your android device. You can use Odin, ADB / fast boot and custom recovery to flash different types of files to your android.
Odin - Odin is used for flashing .tar files on the Samsung devices. tar files are usually complete roms, kernels or recovery's. Odin is installed on a desktop or laptop computer and flashes the tars from the computer to the device through the usb cable.
ADB / Fastboot - Fastbooot is what you will use to flash .img files. Like the .tar files, they are normally complete rom images, recovery's and kernels but there are a lot of other things that are flashed with fastboot. Fastboot is installed on a desktop or laptop computer and flashes the .img files from the computer to the device through the usb cable.
Custom Recovery's - Custom recovery's are used to flash zip files on your device. zip files can be used to flash full roms, kernels, recovery's just like the tar and image files but can additionally flash mods, fixes, custom tweaks and themes. The advantages are that everything is done from the device and not from a separate computer.[/INFO]
There are many different custom recovery's but I will concentrate mostly on Clock Work Mod Recovery version 6.0.1.2 as it is the newest and currently seems to be the most common. However the basic things are pretty much the same.
[WARN]Always make a Nandroid Backup of your configuration prior to flashing an unknown mod, kernel or rom.[/WARN]
[NOTE]Recovery mode is achieved either by pressing and holding "volume UP, power button and the (physical) home button simultaneously while your phone is off. Watching the screen closely, release all 3 buttons as soon as you see the word Samsung. If timed correctly it will boot into recovery in about 10-20 seconds (after releasing). Remember if you are too early or late the phone will boot normally and skip recovery. If you have a rom with a custom boot menu, you can go directly into recovery by choosing it from the restart menu.
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Odin - Odin is used for flashing .tar files on the Samsung devices. tar files are usually complete roms, kernels or recovery's. Odin is installed on a desktop or laptop computer and flashes the tars from the computer to the device through the usb cable.
ADB / Fastboot - Fastbooot is what you will use to flash .img files. Like the .tar files, they are normally complete rom images, recovery's and kernels but there are a lot of other things that are flashed with fastboot. Fastboot is installed on a desktop or laptop computer and flashes the .img files from the computer to the device through the usb cable.
Custom Recovery's - Custom recovery's are used to flash zip files on your device. zip files can be used to flash full roms, kernels, recovery's just like the tar and image files but can additionally flash mods, fixes, custom tweaks and themes. The advantages are that everything is done from the device and not from a separate computer.[/INFO]
There are many different custom recovery's but I will concentrate mostly on Clock Work Mod Recovery version 6.0.1.2 as it is the newest and currently seems to be the most common. However the basic things are pretty much the same.
[WARN]Always make a Nandroid Backup of your configuration prior to flashing an unknown mod, kernel or rom.[/WARN]
[NOTE]Recovery mode is achieved either by pressing and holding "volume UP, power button and the (physical) home button simultaneously while your phone is off. Watching the screen closely, release all 3 buttons as soon as you see the word Samsung. If timed correctly it will boot into recovery in about 10-20 seconds (after releasing). Remember if you are too early or late the phone will boot normally and skip recovery. If you have a rom with a custom boot menu, you can go directly into recovery by choosing it from the restart menu.
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How to perform an Nandriod Backup
The first screen you see when starting cwm I will call the home menu and is the starting point for everything in this guide.
1. Select "backup and restore" from the home menu.
2. Select "backup to external sdcard".
3. Wait for the backup to complete and then use you phones back button or the "go back" onscreen button to return to the home menu.
How to flash mods, fixes, recovery's, themes and kernels in custom recovery
1. From the home menu, select "wipe cache partition" and confirm by selecting yes.
2. Select advanced menu.
3. Select wipe dalvik cache and then confirm by selecting yes.
4. Return to the home menu
5. Select "install zip from sdcard"
6. Select "choose zip from sd card" or "choose zip from external sdcard".
7. Select the file you want to flash and select yes to confirm. (if you don't see it, swipe the screen to scroll up and down)
8. After it completes, go back to the home menu and select "reboot system now".
How to flash ROM's in custom recovery
[NOTE]If you are going from a rom to the same rom that has been updated you often don't need to wipe data / factory reset and can skip that step. Additionally you can go even further by formatting system, data, and cache from the mounts and storage menu.
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1. From the home menu, select "wipe cache partition" and confirm by selecting yes.
2. Select advanced menu.
3. Select "wipe dalvik cache" and then confirm by selecting yes.
4. Return to the home menu
5. Select wipe data / factory reset and select yes to confirm (This will delete all of your apps, passwords, settings and accounts.
6. Select "install zip from sdcard"
7. Select "choose zip from sd card" or "choose zip from external sdcard".
8. Select the file you want to flash and select yes to confirm. (if you don't see it, swipe the screen or use your volume up and down to scroll up and down )
9. After it completes, go back to the home menu and select reboot system now.
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