How to Use ODIN to Flash Your Samsung Galaxy S

What Is ODIN?

Odin is a windows application that can be used to flash different firmware onto various Samsung Android Devices, such as the Galaxy S or Behold II. It is vital that EVERYBODY who roots their Samsung Device knows how to use ODIN because it is often the only way to flash certain ROMs/Firmware or completely revert back to stock firmware. Also, when all else fails, it is the only way to restore a device to working condition after a partial brick or boot loop. 

The guide below will use the methods of restoring the Samsung Vibrant back to stock firmware as an example to help the user learn about ODIN. Anyone wishing to flash a different firmware other than stock, or flash a different Galaxy S variant would simple need to substitute in the .pit and .tar files they wish to flash. For example, if you have a Samsung Captivate that you wish to revert back to stock firmware, you would download the .pit and .tar files that have been uploaded on a website or forum, such as XDA developers, and use them instead of the files provided in the "Preparing the Files to Flash" section.

Setting Up ODIN

1. First you need to download the Samsung USB drivers for Windows and ins
2. THEN connect your phone to the USB. (some folks have had luck doing it in reverse..connecting the USB then Power and vol down)
tall them. They can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=728929 
3. Once it has finished, download this file: http://www.justanotherdev.slackdev.com/Odin3.rar
4. Unpack it using winrar, and place it in its own dedicated folder.
5. You now have Odin set up and you can use it whenever you need to flash your Galaxy S, providing you have some images to flash.

Preparing the Files to Flash

1. Download this file: www.justanotherdev.slackdev.com/s1_odin_20100512.rar and extract it. This is your .pit file. 
2. place the file you downloaded into an easily recognizable folder(in case you need the same file a month from now) 
3. Download this file now: http://www.justanotherdev.slackdev.com/T959UVJFD.tar . This is your .tar file. 
4. Do not extract the file you downloaded in step 3, but move it to the same folder as the .pit file. 

Booting into Download Mode and Flashing the Files

1. Open ODIN and in the PIT section, select the .pit file you downloaded. 
2. In the PDA section, select the .tar file your downloaded. 
3. Turn your phone off, then plug it into your computer using a USB cable. 
4. Wait for the battery charging icon to appear, then press and hold the volume up, volume down, and power buttons. 
5. When the screen turns black, let go of the power button, but continue to hold both volume keys. 
6. You will eventually see an picture with black Android robot digging within a yellow triangle. 
7. If you see something else after your phone has booted, try steps 4-6 again. 
8. On your computer, if one of the COM port icons in ODIN has turned yellow, then your phone has been recognized. If not, try again from step 3.
9. If you still do not get any results, try another USB port on your computer. The ones in the back always seem to work well. 
10. Press the start button and wait. If you do not see a blue progress bar on your phone after 5 minute, take out your phones battery, unplug your phone and start from step 1 again.

Other Notes

• Currently, ODIN only works on Windows operating systems. A Mac version, codenamed Heimdall, is under development by the XDA community, but is still a far ways off. 
• If you have a hardware locked Vibrant, as in you can only access recovery and download mode through ADB or Terminal, IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU DO NOT USE ODIN. If an ODIN flash fails, your phone will remain in a state of limbo that can only be reversed through a JTAG interface. Constructing a JTAG interface and using it to flash NAND memory is an extremely complex procedure that would require a great deal of knowledge regarding electronics, or professional help.