Im a total noob when it comes to compiling stuff from the command line with the 'make' command, so I had a little trouble compiling ODE - and this is with following the INSTALL instructions that come with ODE
Anyway, in case any fellow noobs out there need some tips to fortify the INSTALL instructions (compiling in windows), here they are:
1) It is suggested that you download a GNU make app 'make.exe' - put this into your root ode directory ( e.g. \ode-0.039 ).
2) Create a lib directory in this root directory ( e.g. \ode-0.039\lib ).
3) In a command prompt, after running your vcvars32.bat file, change directory to the root ode directory. From here you can run all the make commands ( e.g. make ode-lib )
Hope that helps someone. I was getting a 'cannot open file "lib/ode.lib"' link error... because I didnt create a lib directory. DOH!!