【Guide】How To flash ANY Captivate ROM from Stock (including ICS)

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This is a new updated guide on how-to flash roms found on XDA > Captivate > Development section from a stock phone out of box running 2.1 or 2.2 (or anything else). This method skips using the (out-dated for captivate) Rom Manager App CWM install and the 3e recovery "signature verification" crap and includes gingerbread bootloader update.

These instructions are the same for the i896 (rogers) and i897 (at&t) captivates. There is NO DIFFERENCE! ALL ROMS/KERNELS WORK ON BOTH PHONES!

ODIN METHOD (windows only)

If you have or EVER have had Gingerbread you can skip steps 4 - 6
If you have CWM already you might be able to skip 7 - 10 ( if rom wont flash you have wrong cwm type kernel (cwm2/3), and will need to do 7-10 with correct kernel type)
If skipping 4-6 AND 7-10 you can also skip 3 !!........and... 1

1. Take phone out of box (should be done)
2. Find a neat-o ROM from Captivate Development Section and get it onto your internal SD card (the one you cant remove) download using phone internet browser or download and copy to phone using PC.
3. Download and Run Odin Flashing Utility (not Odin one click) Odin3 v1.7.zip
4. Boot phone into DOWNLOAD mode (instructions below)
5. Click PDA button in Odin and find the .tar file --> i897 gingerbread bootloader upgrade (DO NOT USE BOOTLOADER BOX in newer odin versions!) ONLY DO THIS ONE TIME EVER! Only if phone has never had Gingerbread running on it. No need to downgrade bootloaders if going back to froyo!
6. Click "Start" in Odin
7. Reboot phone into DOWNLOAD mode (instructions below)
8. Click RESET button in Odin (beside START)
9. Click PDA button in Odin and find your kernel.tar file (speedmod kernel (this kernel isn't too important as it will be replaced by custom rom's kernel, but speedmod kernel understands both froyo (amend) scripting and gingerbread (edify) scripting so is great for this purpose to install any rom cwm zip file next.)
10. Click "Start" in Odin
11. Reboot into RECOVERY mode (instructions below) ** Use volume buttons to navigate up/dn and pwr for enter.
12. Select "flash zip from sd card"
13. Find your rom of choice on your SDcard and select Yes

WINNING! DONE YOUR FIRST FLASH!
Now you have CWM and a ROM....

Heimdall Method (Any OS) thanks to AdamOutler

Originally Posted by AdamOutler

Ensure you have the lastest version of Java here
Download Easy CWM and Bootloaders Gingerbread here

1. Take phone out of box (should be done)
2. Find a neat-o ROM from Captivate Development Section and get it onto your internal SD card (the one you cant remove) download using phone internet browser or download and copy to phone using PC.
3. Boot phone into DOWNLOAD mode
4. Start Heimdall One-Click "EasyCWM and Gingerbread bootloaders"
5. follow directions (if any) given to install Heimdall drivers and dependencies (if required on your platform). On windows, the USB port your device is plugged into will now use heimdall drivers, if you have Samsung drivers installed, they will remain on all other USB ports.
6. Click "flash". Note: if you wish to upgrade bootloaders, hold Volume+ and Volume- so as to reboot into Download Mode after the flash otherwise skip the next step.
7. Check the Flash Bootloaders checkbox and flash again to upgrade to Gingerbread bootloaders (this only needs to be done once, EVER)
8. Reboot into RECOVERY mode ** Use volume buttons to navigate up/dn and pwr for enter.
9. Select "flash zip from sd card"
10. Find your rom of choice and select Yes

Odin flashing a kernel is only needed when switching from Froyo (cwm2) to GingerBread (cwm3) or vice versa.
**If staying on "froyo" based roms (or GB based roms) to flash a new rom or .zip kernel, just boot into cwm recovery and flash! no odin needed~!
**Froyo CWM kernels/roms use CWM2 with amend scripting
**Gingerbread CWM kernel/roms use CWM 3 or newer with edify scripting
**If flashing a froyo or earlier cwm.zip rom you must have a froyo cwm2 kernel first
**If flashing a Gingerbread or later cwm.zip rom you must have cwm3 or newer kernel first
**or just use Speedmod kernel with CWM 2.5 which understands BOTH amend and edify to change rom versions.

Instructions for download mode: (more help in post 2 if needed...)

1. plug USB cable into computer
2. have phone shut off
3. hold both volume buttons
4. plug USB into phone
5. let go of buttons when you see an android digging "down"

Instructions for recovery mode:

1. have phone shut off
2. hold both volume buttons
3. press and hold power button
4. KEEP ALL 3 BUTTONS HELD for 3-5 seconds
5. after kernel bootscreen you will see clockwork recovery menu

An advanced flashing guide (slightly oudated for gingerbread and more info than noobs need) here by a REALLY SMART GUY AdamOutler Again!

If windows doesnt find and install the drivers automatically here they are: (Win 7 has found them for me EVERY TIME, ive never had to install these but others have)
Windows Drivers - select the proper driver for your setup
32 bit: http://www.mediafire.com/?0b45zo7o75rc5d5
64 bit: http://www.mediafire.com/?3dh4d6up72me9re


other great guide is my NEW USER GUIDE in my sig. make sure to read it and find out what STICKIES are and make sure to read them in each forum section!


TO GET BACK TO STOCK:
ATT : [Stock ROMs](OneClicks Master Collection)+[Kernels (Stock & w/ CWM)]+[Modems] UPDATED
ROGERS : Rogers Captivate Stock ROMS 2.1-2.3

Advanced Download Mode Help

Originally Posted by jmtheiss "Just get into download mode and..."

Ever find yourself with a phone that's misbehaving, and you can't seem to figure out how to get it to download mode?

Here's a list of things to try (many thanks AdamOutler and Pirateghost), sorted in a "where are you now" setup:


FROM A POWERED-DOWN STATE - BATTERY REMOVED
- Insert battery, then press and hold Vol+ and Vol-, then insert your USB cable.
- Press and hold Vol+/Vol-, Insert Battery, Insert USB cable
- Press and hold Vol+/Vol-, Insert USB cable, Insert Battery
- Use a 301Kohm jig between USB pins 4-5 (can be manufactured jig or homemade chain of resistors)

FROM A BATTERY CHARGING STATE
- With USB cable inserted into Android device, press and hold Vol+/Vol-, then press Power
- (Advanced Method) Use UART, and during battery charging, type "reboot download"

FROM CLOCKWORKMOD RECOVERY MENU
- Position the cursor (highlighted selection) on "Restart device", Plug in USB cable, press and hold Vol-, then hold Vol+, then press power
- (Where available) Use the "Reboot Download" option in the "Advanced" menu

FROM A FULLY BOOTED PHONE STATE, WITH USB DEBUGGING ENABLED
Note: you may need to have ADB installed on your computer, and/or an Android Terminal Emulator installed on your Android device.
- Connect your Android device to your computer, navigate to your ADB directory, and type "adb reboot download"
- (Where available) Use the rom's power menu option to reboot into download
- From a terminal, type "su", then "reboot download"
- Download the app "quickboot", follow the app directions to reach download mode.

ADVANCED METHODS - REQUIRE HARDWARE MODIFICATIONS OR MORE IN-DEPTH TECHNIQUES
I'm presenting these largely unedited, as I don't want to incorrectly type an important detail of something that I don't understand myself.
- Apply UnBrickable mod to your device, then remove the battery, insert the battery, and click the "Download Mode" button on the computer
- Use UART (619Kohm resistor between USB pins 4-5, D+=RX, D-=TX, 192500bps 8n1 comms), press and hold ENTER while booting, then type USB



One additional thing - your download mode screen should, normally, look like the yellow triangle with the Android guy digging. However, if a flash goes foul somehow, you may be left with the infamous "phone--/!\--PC" screen. If you see this, don't panic. Although it's not technically the download mode screen, many users (including myself) have been able to successfully flash from that screen. Give it a try.

Oh, and thanks mrhaley30705 for suggesting this thread.

END ALL DRIVER ISSUES WITH WINDOWS 7


Step 1 - Right Click " Computer " > Properties (aka system information)

Freakin awesome guide! Been confused about this lately. Now, I'm ready to flash! Thanks!

Can't wait to try this. My wife just got a captivate that replaced her HTC aria through ins. her aria was running current cm7 nighties. Can't wait do root her phone and run some custom roms and kernels on her bare stock froyo. wish me luck!

Im kind of confused on step 5. When i open up the i897 gingerbread bootloaders program and run it and click PDA where do I find the bootloader? Do I select the PDA.tar.md5 file that came with it? and if Im on Froyo and afterwards im going to flash current cm7 nightly, do i use the gingerbread kernel or the one Im CURRENTLY on? So sorry. Id greatly appreciate any assistance. my wife cant wait to have a snappy captivate.

Edit: The phone is completely 2.1 out of the box.

@ TRusselo.......

Great job !

One tip: PLEASE, PLEASE post the difference between CM7 and MIUI, and ROMs generally found here. Many first-timers don't realize that they are different beasts !

And you already have a question about CM7.......!!!!!!!

well.... I went for it and I can now have CWM 5.0.2.6 and I put the latest nightly and gapps on sd card and for some reason I cant see it on sd card anywhere? Ive done complete wipe and now ready for a rom but cant read anything on external_sd/? What do you think the problem is? PLease help....I ll hit the thanks button for like the next ten 10 days or something :P

I do eventually want my phone SIM un-locked, should I do that while I'm still on 2.2 or is it the same type of deal on 2.3 if I do it later?

NM, already did it.

Originally Posted by tommyguns818

Can't wait to try this. My wife just got a captivate that replaced her HTC aria through ins. her aria was running current cm7 nighties. Can't wait do root her phone and run some custom roms and kernels on her bare stock froyo. wish me luck!

Originally Posted by tommyguns818

Im kind of confused on step 5. When i open up the i897 gingerbread bootloaders program and run it and click PDA where do I find the bootloader? Do I select the PDA.tar.md5 file that came with it? and if Im on Froyo and afterwards im going to flash current cm7 nightly, do i use the gingerbread kernel or the one Im CURRENTLY on? So sorry. Id greatly appreciate any assistance. my wife cant wait to have a snappy captivate.

Edit: The phone is completely 2.1 out of the box.

bootloader program??? its a tar file you use with ODIN program. click PDA button. find the tar file that downloaded when you clicked the "i897 gingerbread bootloader" link above. Dont un-tar it.

Originally Posted by tommyguns818

well.... I went for it and I can now have CWM 5.0.2.6 and I put the latest nightly and gapps on sd card and for some reason I cant see it on sd card anywhere? Ive done complete wipe and now ready for a rom but cant read anything on external_sd/? What do you think the problem is? PLease help....I ll hit the thanks button for like the next ten 10 days or something :P

INTERNAL SD. NOT EXTERNAL. it says THE ONE YOU CANT REMOVE.....

holy heck slow down and get one question answered before moving on, and slow down and read. this is how you get into trouble.

edited moved