yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Tromatic:
This is why the Android ecosystem(?) sucks. There is absolutely no way a noob can make sense of the files and extensions, and it's sometwhat difficult to figure out on your own.

You need to follow the instructions EXACTLY. Assuming you can "swap" something is a bad idea.

The "MD4" file is the ROM/recovery you need to flash. It's the latest version of what's on the stock phone. "MD5" is the filename extension a type of file used by Odin. The two are totally different things, all designed to confuse people, as far as I can tell.

To make it simple, use this, the .exe file: http://rwilco12.com/downloads.php?dir=Files/Devices/Samsung%20Galaxy%20S3%20%28SPH-L710%29/Stock%20ROMs/JB/MD4/Full%20Restore/Rooted. Download it, double-click and extract it. Boot phone to download mode, and start the the extracted exe file. Forget about PIT files and the rest of that crap. It's a stand-alone recovery, no Odin needed. If you can boot your phone to download mode, you should be good. Let it sit, it takes a while.

Again, getting your phone to boot at all is the most important part of this whole exercise. After that, it's mostly easy. I was told in another thread that a "hard-brick" of this phone is recoverable due to the hardware safeguards. Unless it's damaged in some way, this SHOULD work for you just like it has for others.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
One correction - MD5 refers to MD5sum, which is a value used to verify the integrity of a file. It was not designed to confuse people (not everything that happens is by design). The MD4 label on the rom is an unfortunate coincidence - it is an encoded date stamp, using a standard that has been in use for a few years. They didn't intentionally create a release-ready build on a specific day just so they could give it a label that would be confusing - if they had, then they would have waited one more day and labeled their build MD5 ;)

My understanding is that the Odin file uses the md5 extension because it consists of the tar archive AND the md5sum of the tar, allowing Odin an opportunity to verify the integrity of the tar before flashing it to your phone.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] hexanite:
Thanks for this thread, but I'm still having some issues. I did everything as shown, booted up, got to download, used odin (there was a link to a .exe earlier in this thread with a stock rom), used that, everything booted up, but my SD partition is messed up. It shows it as ~60MB. Any suggestions? Thanks
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
You need to reformat the card to restore the partition table to its original form - unlike an unaltered sd card, the recovery image (and the phone's internal memory) have more than one partition. From your description, it sound like the phone can only see one of them, which is 60 mb in size.

If you're familiar with Linux, I recommend gparted to revert the sd card to a single 16 gb partition... If you use Windows, you'll have to ask the Windows users what is best (I think I've seen mention of problems with the built in formatting tool being unable to alter the partition table, preventing it from correcting the 60 mb size)

An easier way to restore the partition table (and the original contents of the sd card from before you flash the recovery image) would be to create an image of the sd card before flashing the recovery image - when you're done with the recovery, just flash the backup image the same way you flashed the recovery image
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] IDontKnowMang:
it stays on for about a minute. someone tried to jtag it already and it only takes 2%. best guess is i ****ed the memory

---------- Post added at 07:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:57 AM ----------

that cleared it up alot, thanks. but that phone isnt getting back to download mode ever im pretty sure. it wont take a jtag and its still a paperweight. i might actually need a new board
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Azeedc:
You said that somebody tried to JTAG it already ?, if they could not do it, did they give you any info on why it did not work ?

When you say "2%", means only charging 2% and then red light goes off ?, did you try with fully charged new battery ?

Did the phone get water damaged, are you sure all buttons work to enter download mode ?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] hexanite:
Thanks for the help. I'm not very familiar with linux so I tried taking the windows route. The formatter on windows had only 60mb as a selection. What I ended up doing in order to solve this was the formatter in android. I just clicked format in the settings under storage. Thanks for the help.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] IDontKnowMang:
well the jtag people hooked me up, they said my memory was corrupt it took like a day and a half but its just back like it was it didnt even get put to stock
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] motenak:
Roughly how long is a while? I might just be giving up to soon thinking it failed. Thanks
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Tromatic:
Assuming your phone boots to download mode, the one-click restore took almost ten minutes. Since I did not see the progress bar on the phone (maybe the SIII does not do that?) I figured I was screwed. Once the restore finished, it was a long boot process, too.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] CNexus:
You don't see a progress bar on the phone while using Odin
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] derce927:
sprint s3 problems semi hard bricked

alright.. i checked out your video on s3 debrick and read every post on xda.. let me explain whats happening. phone started saturday locking up. it would be on fine and all of sudden screen stopped responding and screen turned off. idk if it was then off or still on but not responding to any buttons. it got worse. i applied a full nandroid backup restore from recent and that didnt help. then it stopped actually booting android. it would boot samsung logo and vibrate thats it. i could get it a small percentage of the time into twrp recovery mode but never to select something. also small percentage i can get into download mode. i have tried odin of like 8 different versions. it either gets stuck on joining session, sbl1.mbn or with older odin says cant open serial comm port.. and yes i have searched all that and waited 10-15 minutes per. tried different cables and downloads and made sure kies isnt installed. i am running sprint gs3 with before cm10.1 installed build from couple months ago. sorry for the long message but if anyone has had this problem please help me out! thanks!
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] paco_1:
For all you the ave brick your sprint GS3 ..THIS IS THE WAY TO GET BACK ON THE GAME ..32MB SD CARD IS THE ONE. TO USE FOR THE JOB. THE 16.MB IT WORK .. I TRY THIS ON A FULL HARD BRICK GS3 AND IT WORK 100% ..
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] sflecha35:
i have windows 7 can i still do it on this? If so is it the same steps as above??
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] paco_1:
No windows 7 will not. See the sd CARD .u can use ububtu to do it no need to install ububtu on your pc just run the demo
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
I know this is probably a dumb question but I just want to make sure I gave the process down correctly. I've read the instructions and mention the use of cygwin, Linux and Ubuntu to put the dbrick image onto the sdcard. But the Youtube video directs us to Win32 Disk Imager . Does Win32 Disk Imager do the same thing as cygwin, Linux and Ubuntu?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU5H8NJ7vTM&feature=youtube_gdata_player
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] IDontKnowMang:
I'm not 100% but I think you need cygwin because its a Linux file you're writing

---------- Post added at 06:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:41 AM ----------

It was only taking 2% of the boot loader through a JTAG. They actually had to rebuild my memory then re flash the boot loader. Took them two days

---------- Post added at 06:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:43 AM ----------

To the best of my knowledge you can attain those files through a JTAG manager
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
I went through this process last night using Win32diskimager to write the debrick file to the SD card. I was able to get to download mode but when I use Odin to flash the software to the phone it get stuck on the "Samsung galaxy" screen. Could this be a problem with the SD card with the debrick file?

Also, am I supposed to leave the SD card in the phone when I using Odin?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] paco_1:
Leave the sd card on the phone. And reflash the stock rom and wait for the phone to full reboot

---------- Post added at 10:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 AM ----------

If u get back on download. With out sd card just reflash the rom with odin ..
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
I've been able to get to download mode without the SD card. So, I'll try to reflash the ROM with Odin. Thanks!!

And just to verify that I'm flashing the right file, I can use the ""Nodata" Versions - Keep your user data" file from the http://www.sxtpdevelopers.com/showthread.php?t=233 post?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] paco_1:
Your data may not got delete bt u can try
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
I should use the ""Restore" Versions - Wipes your user data" files?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
A decent guess, but incorrect - the image file is not specific to any computer operating system. If the right software is available, this process could just as easily be done on a Mac (or any other device that can read sd cards).

Linux is recommended because the image writing software is much more freely available, and because, well, it's Linux and everyone should use it ;)

Cygwin is one way to use Linux software from within Windows - if you're comfortable booting from a CD or usb drive, I'd recommend using Linux on its own instead, just to keep extra variables out of the equation.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] yurch10:
Hi Everyone,

Good stuff here. A somewhat related question-

I'm a bit of a newb, but decided to root and flash the stable release of cyangenmod 10.1. Everything worked great for a couple days, but today I was using the phone and it just shut off (no power down).

Now it will not start up. I'm thinking I am not fully bricked, as there are a few things working. I can't get into download or recovery mode. When I take the battery out and put it in, it flashes to the Samsung screen for a second and then shuts off.

When I have the battery in and connected to my computer via USB, I can turn it on, it gets to Galaxy s3 with the cyanogenmod blue figure, then shuts off.

From the previous posts, it seems as if this isn't a full brick, and a solution is simple (not sure if this is actually true). Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance for your assistance
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] monke30butt:
Have you tried a different battery that you know is charged? :confused:
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] yurch10:
Battery should be fine

I only have one battery, but it is fully charged so have no reason to think that's the issue.

Further, I had just got the phone back after sending it into Samsung for a power button that was much too sensitive. As my one year warranty was nearly up, I figured they could fix it and I'd give it a go with a cyanogenmod.

Since my first post, it's actually booted correctly into the OS for a second, then shut off again. I'm now thinking it's not an issue with the rom/bricking at all, but rather the power button issue has returned...

That said, now that I've rooted, I'm out of the 10 days left of warranty!

Any ideas from that? Crickets, crickets...Bueller??!?!?!
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
I was flashing the phone using Odin and I got an error message on the phone that says:

E:failed to mount/system (invalid argument) can't mount system (invalid argument)

Installing package...

E:failed to mount/system (invalid argument)

E:int main.char**):: can't mount /systemE:failed to mount /system (invalid argument)

What does this all mean? What should I do?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Spark91:
Magnificent fix for hard bricking, yay! :thumbsup:
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
Did you activate the 'repartition' option? Those error messages could indicate, among other possibilities, that Odin is trying to mount a partition that doesn't exist - repartitioning will restore the correct partition map instead of looking for existing partitions (which, if corrupted, would explain the hard brick in the first place)
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
I gave up on trying to save my data and used the version that wiped the phone. That worked and booted up the phone but when I went to use it I get the error message saying that "Unfortunately the setup wizard has stopped." How do I fix that?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
Try fixing permissions in recovery (no harm in wiping the cache and dalvik cache while you're at it).

If that doesn't work, it could be one of those more rare bad flashes where the phone still boots - if you haven't already, verify the md5sum for your chosen rom, redownloading if necessary, then try flashing the rom again (especially if you had to redownload).

If none of that does the trick, I'd recommend going to the thread for your chosen rom for more specific help
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
Okay, I'll give that a shot.

I was trying to flash the stock rom (SPH-L710_MD4_1130792_Stock_Restore). As I'm just trying to get working. How do I verify the md5sum?

Also, the phone isn't currently activated. does it need to be?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
My mistake, I'm so used to custom roms that I didn't think about stock - that changes things a little... for one, I'm not sure if it's possible to fix permissions/wipe caches from stock recovery (I've never tried, replaced too fast lol).

As for the md5sum, it's a value generated from the file, so you'll need a program to generate that value - that's easy on Linux ('md5sum [filename]' at the command line), but I'll have to defer to our Windows users for advice on that platform.

Once you have the sum from your copy of the file, you compare it to the sum posted on the download website/in the forum/wherever the uploader posted it (you'll have to look, but it will be clearly labeled as an md5sum). If they match completely, your copy is identical to the one on the server (in other words, the file downloaded successfully without any corruption).

Regarding activation, I may be mistaken but I believe that it is not required for any step in this process, so that shouldn't be a factor (but that's a good question to ask, shows that you're keeping your mind open to unexpected/unusual possibilities)

Are you trying to stay with complete stock? Or just making sure stock works before adding custom versions into the equation?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
It's my friends phone that I'm trying to fix so I think I'm going to just put the stock this way I can avoid any future issues.

I'm going to see about activating and giving it a try. I was told that might be the issue and if it could be that simple. I rather eliminate it before I try more complicated stuff. I'll let you know the results in a few minutes.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
I suppose an error with the initial setup wizard could be caused by the lack of a network connection, no harm in trying - here's hoping you have good news to share momentarily :)
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
I tried that but it didn't work. Actually, the rep said I might need to do manual setup but since I'm stuck on the pick a language page I couldn't access the needed screens. Any suggestions?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
How are you stuck on that screen? Is it not allowing you to make a selection?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
No, once it turns on it goes to the pick a language screen and when I try to select that's when the setup wizard fails. So, I haven't been able to get past that screen.

---------- Post added at 02:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:50 PM ----------

Would I be able to use odin to flash a rom or something that doesn't require me to use the setup wizard? And then go back to the stock rom once its set up?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
Oh, okay, so you're not stuck on that screen, you just can't use the wizard - I thought thou meant that it froze on that screen and prevented you from doing anything else, lol

If you can skip it without hurting the functionality of the phone (which I think you can, it's just been too long for me to costly remember everything that the wizard sets up), then that seems like an overly complicated way to skip it if you intend to be on stock in the end - I'd recommend TPR as a worthy yet noob-friendly (stable) custom rom if you go this route, followed by not down-grading to stock ;)
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
I'm not having much luck...this phone was hard bricked...could this be caused somewhere in the beginning? Or I wouldn't be able to get to download mode if I messed that part up?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Tromatic:
Getting the phone to boot at all is the "fix" for the hard-brick. This is something else.

Try this. Download (the .exe file), run to extract the file, then run extracted file. http://rwilco12.com/downloads.php?dir=Files/Devices/Samsung%20Galaxy%20S3%20%28SPH-L710%29/Stock%20ROMs/JB/MD4/Full%20Restore/Rooted
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
The phone was never rooted can I still use that file?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
If you can get to download mode without the recovery sd card, then the phone has recovered from the hard brick successfully
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
Do I use odin and treat this file like a TAR file?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Bobguy21:
Dont dll the .exe dll the .tar.md5.gz file and use that in the pda section in odin. I used that one. Odin will extract the files from the.gz one and will install it. It works great I just used it a few days so.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
If it is an exe file (which is what I got from the post you quoted), then no - that's a Windows executable file, aka a program/application
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Tromatic:
Yes. It will install the stock MD4 software pre-rooted.

No. The .exe file is a stand-alone Odin recovery.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
How would I run it on the phone?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
You wouldn't - it's a Windows executable, so run it in Windows :)

Oh, and you'll probably need the phone connected to the computer while the program runs ;)
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] GeTex:
Thanks for the excellent thread, saved my some of our T-999's from alot of Jatgging.(We bricked 18 phones when our flasher broke)

So far, my method slightly differs as I had to use fdisk to clear the sdcard BEFORE writing the img

I'll post a vid shortly
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] IDontKnowMang:
If you use the one that doesn't wipe and you get stuck at the boot animation just reboot recovery and factory wipe there
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] nbellamy:
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I wish I would have found this tread when I tried to root originally, maybe I wouldn't have accidentally used the Verizon root method. This method unbricked my phone perfectly.:D
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Arishem:
awwww ****!

Ok, so here's the recap.

Up late 2 nights ago, watching some bootlegged movies, drinking beer, and ranking my PvP Cleric (Rift) to 80.

Decided to flash my phone, again, 3rd or 4th time in as many days. After I *really* started to feel the buzz, I happened upon a really nice looking ROM (Slim i9300) and thought, "Heck, why not?" Queued for a PvP match and set the ROM to install at the same time. Well, 10 mins later I looked at the phone, black screen and all and thought it was asleep. Wrong. Hard bricked. Frantically, I double checked the ROM and thought, "****!" Started googling recovery from hard brick and and did the first thing I saw, bought 2 jigs from Ebay (Already shipped, they arrive on the 5th. Thumbs up to Seller). Impatient, I decided to call the local Phone Repair service, here in town. After explaining to the technician what a hard brick was and the difference between soft/hard, as well as why I felt it necessary to flash the ROM, I made an appointment to drop the phone off at a specific time, hung up the phone and prayed he'd be waiting. Having lurked the xdadevelopers forums for the better part of a year, I'm ashamed to say I happened upon this thread after yet another Google search. With every ounce of hope, I created an Ubuntu dual boot, rushed over to BestBuy, on my way to work and bought a 16GB microSD card, USB reader, and a 48 pack (only $10!!?!?) of AAA batteries for my Beats. :) I salivated over the steps while at work and rushed home, logged into Linux, copied over the necessary T999 img, followed the steps (minus fdisk) and dragged the file over to the SD card. Once it was successfully copied over, I immediately tried to boot into Download Mode and instantly knew (vibrated) the process had worked. So I started typing this as Odin flashes over my Stock image and as of right now, my phone is back. Everything restored. Songs, movies, etc. intact. Too damn easy. Whole process took ~12 minutes, including Odin flash. Huh? What JTAG? You all are the bomb!

Special thanks to gTan64 for using his [expletive] head! Good Job!

Thanks to deBricker for writing a simple step process from the original thread.

And another special shout out to all you noobs (me included) for bricking your phones and getting this process out there.

Arishem
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
I am trying to use this to fix an odin flash write failure?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
Surely, that's not your question - you're the only one who can tell us what your trying to do ;)

I'm just teasing you a bit, but on a serious note, can you provide more information to help us determine how to help?

If you're asking whether this method will help you recover from a bad Odin flash, then the answer is "most likely" - this is one of two methods (that I can remember, anyway) that can recover from such a brick, and it is the most accessible (the other method that I'm aware of is the jtag method, which requires specialized hardware or a willingness to pay someone who has such hardware). The only reason I hesitate to guarantee a fix is that the write failure could be caused by hardware failure, which is the one scenario that can't be fixed with any software (until the faulty hardware is replaced). But it is worth trying.

You might also want to verify that your cable works (test it with another device if you can) - some people have had problems with the stock cable, and many people swear by black berry cables as the best replacement. A poorly functioning cable can interrupt the Odin flash, which would make recovering from the brick as likely to fail as the process that created the brick in the first place ;)

Hopefully something in there helps to get you on the right track, but definitely ask for clarification if you're still having trouble - if I don't word it correctly, one of our very helpful members will :)
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] semax10:
I was using Odin to flash the stock ROM and during the process Odin failed and I was waiting (impatiently). After a few minutes I unplugged it since it said fail. Now it says write 159488. Fash Write Failure Odin mode. I just want to be able to get it to download mode.

I've been trying to use this method but it doesn't seem to be loading from the sd card and just going to the error message.