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Root For the love of god, is there one simple way to root my captivate? This forum has a zillion posts!!

SGS2

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Mar 26, 2011
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:mad:

HELP PLEASE!!!! I AM SUPER CONFUSED!!!!!!!!!!!

i am super paranoid to root my samsung captivate. seriously. plus, i have searched this forum, and everyone has a DIFFERENT spin and A DIFFERENT opinion.

concerns:

1. i actually like the daily briefing - i just use it for weather and calendar.

2. the power on and off sounds are fine with me.
i do not need or want to sideload anything right now, but may in the future.

3. i like my google navigation, the app with the blue star trek icon.

4. i do hate all the other at&t crap, and will be happy to remove it, BUT PREFER TO REMOVE WHAT I HATE MYSELF.

5. if i root this way, do i get to pick and choose what is removed, or is it 100% automatic and NOT in my control? i prefer to select what i want removed.

6. i have an sd card. i have read similar posts elsewhere you need to remove and then re-install the sd card. what is correct??

7. again, i am super paranoid. i just would like super simple steps, as i am afraid of ruining my phone. i am not an idiot; i just want a simple way to do it.... AND ON TOP OF THAT, THERE ARE A ZILLION SUPER LONG POSTS IN THIS FORUM, THEN TO CONFUSE ME, THE ORIGINAL POSTER SAYS, OH, DO THIS INSTEAD, THIS IS EASIER. VERY CONFUSING!!!

8. i suppose it will void my at&t handset insurance, is this correct?

9. is it easy to unroot?

10. i am not a developer; i have a usb cable. i DO NOT WANT TO BECOME A COMPUTER PROGRAMMER OR A DEVELOPER. i am super scared. maybe i should be scared, looking at a zillions methods here. there is no clarity or concise method, and if there is, the original post says, "oh, sorry, do it this way now".

11. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

12. some say use a usb cable, some say email the file to yourself.

13. MY GOAL is merely to remove the at&t crap, except a few at&t apps i like. i do not feel like adding a bunch of new things to replace some of the few at&t apps i do like; therefore, i would like control of what i delete, even though i want to delete probably 90% of the at&t bloatware.

many, many thanks!!!!!!!
 
Get this.

If you can follow simple prompts, then you'll be golden.

#5. You choose AT YOUR OWN RISK what to remove. If you "accidentally" remove a system file, you'll be back asking how to flash recovery.

#8. No it won't void your insurance. The insurance is for the hardware, so if it's broke enough to replace root won't matter. Most likely you'll be replacing it for things like dropping it in the pool or sitting on the screen. Insurance doesn't cover the OS or software.

#9. Yes, although I don't know why you'd want to.

#10. When the OS gets updated, it will usually remove root access and a new root method will emerge. Them's the ways of root.

#11. Awwww, poor guy. Have a cookie. ;)
 
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SADLY, WHEN USING THE RECOMMENDED STEPS ABOVE, NORTON DETECTED A TROJAN VIRUS, PER NORTON, WHICH I COPIED/PASTED BELOW. I AM NOT SAYING THIS HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU; I AM JUST MERELY COPYING/PASTING WHAT OCCURED, PER NORTON. I THINK I WILL NEED A DIFFERENT METHOD.

Category: Resolved Security Risks
Date & Time,Risk,Activity,Status,Recommended Action,Path - Filename

5/25/2011 10:28 AM,High,saiec4.exe (Trojan.ADH.2) detected by Auto-Protect,Blocked,Resolved - No Action Required,

5/25/2011 10:27 AM,High,saif652.exe (Trojan.ADH.2) detected by Auto-Protect,Blocked,Resolved - No Action Required,
 
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thanks sexy.

First thing you need to do is schedule an appointment with your optometrist.

i am fairly intelligent, and understand the benefits, but am i wrong that this forum has posts, and when you read them, the original poster says, "oh, sorry, do it this way now", or, "oops, this is the new method".

More than one way to skin a cat, get from point A to point B and root Android. Not only that, but it is different for each device and version and carrier, so it can seem like there are a bazzilion different answers to the same question, but it really does need to be that specific.

maybe i am an idiot.....

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS: BEFORE EACH STEP: You must not mount the phone but have it plugged in with USB Debugging enabled.

should i unmount my sd card? or does mount mean not to hump my phone?????

in my browser settings, i have default storage to my sd card. do i turn this off?

Yes, I do know what it means. It means just what it says. You see, the Captivate is set to automount by default, so when you plug in the USB cable it most likely will try to mount as storage or mount through kies ... AND while it is plugged in you can't change it. Do this ... with the phone NOT plugged in via USB, from your home screen, go to settings>applications>development. there you will see a selection (I think it's the third one from the top on the Captivate -- don't have mine in front of me) that says enable USB debugging. That's the one that you need to make sure has a green check mark next to it.

NOW plug in your phone. If the drivers are properly installed you should either see a device ready notification or nothing at all on the computer. If you get a notification on the phone to turn on USB storage, do NOT turn it on. You can press the home or back button to get rid of the screen, or do nothing at all.

If you click the ROOT button on the toolbox, you will have the option to check to make sure the phone is connected properly. If it is proceed, if not get back to me. Most likely the correct drivers are not installed.
 
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thanks again.

i honestly appreciate your help, patience and time.

unfortunately, the link that you recommended had extra add ons for my pc, and somehow it included a trojan virus. this is no reflection of you; from what i know about trojans, a 3rd party could have infected the site you recommended, and the developer may not even know.

unfortunately, however, i can't use your recommended site.

if you have any other site you recommend, feel free to let me know.

thanks..
 
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Those may well be false positives - remember, rooting your phone is basically exploiting a security weakness to gain access to root. I wouldn't be surprised if some anti-virus view that as a virus as a result.

Another option you can try is "SuperOneClick" - [APP]SuperOneClick v1.9.1 (Root, Unroot, Enable Non-Market App) - xda-developers ... it's been a long time since I've rooted my Captivate and I used an update.zip to do so, but I've used SuperOneClick for another device with no problems at all.

Hope that helps.
 
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If you feel so unsure about the whole process and are confused then why do you still wanna do this?

What exactly are you looking to acomplish that you need root access? You mentioned wanting to get rid of some AT&T apps. Do you want them gone, gone; if so why? Do you simply want them out of sight so you don't have to deal with them?

There any other reason you feel you need root access?


- - - - now for some useful info - - - - - -

Most if not all of the PC based methods for rooting will/could trigger a response from an anti-virus. Because gaining root access to a phone (or PC that is running a Linux based OS) is not something end users are supposed to be able to do, we need to exploit a "back door" into the area that we don't normally have access to. This is done just like on any computer and thus is technically a virus but does not contain anything harmful. Anti-virus programs can't tell the difference, so they flag it and try to kill it.

Any methods of gaining root access that don't involve connecting to a computer are very short-lived cuz they are patched up with OS updates. These are usually much bigger security holes that can easily be exploited by any app on the phone. Where as the PC based methods can only harm the phone if:
A. they are written poorly or even to attack the phone (these will quickly get blacklisted by the community)
B. you have a virus already on your computer waiting to attack your phone (rare, since it would be more effective to just attack the computer since it's already in)
C. you try to change something in the program/process for some odd reason.


It seems to me that you might not really need to root the phone. I'll admit things are rather complicated when reading about the Captivate. It has a huge community for things like ROMs and rooting, so topics about these subjects are all over the place and impossible to avoid. Many people have ended up rooting or loading a ROM that they really would and should not have; but because they read about it they just jumped in. This only adds to the chaos and confuses folks like you even more because so many don't properly read into whats provided (be it from lack of understanding or lack of interest) and end up with problems. Then come back posting loud and angry or sad and crying saying "such and such broke my phone".

Now, if your still intent/sure about rooting your phone I was gonna suggest what chicknlil posted, but she beat me to it. The method used by SuperOneClick Root is very universal to android and thus less likely to cause issues. Thus it works for a lot of phones.
 
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Those may well be false positives - remember, rooting your phone is basically exploiting a security weakness to gain access to root. I wouldn't be surprised if some anti-virus view that as a virus as a result.
They are false positives. I've seen this over and over. Security software doesn't like many of these root programs.

Another option you can try is "SuperOneClick" - [APP]SuperOneClick v1.9.1 (Root, Unroot, Enable Non-Market App) - xda-developers ... it's been a long time since I've rooted my Captivate and I used an update.zip to do so, but I've used SuperOneClick for another device with no problems at all.

Hope that helps.
Should work if you're on 2.1, I know there are some issues if you're on 2.2, some people have trouble with the zip being 'unsigned' We can cross that bridge if you come to it.

I have to say, though, take our your sim card and your sd card when you're flashing, it'll prevent the phone from ringing in the middle of the flash, and keep both cards safe from the process.
 
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SADLY, WHEN USING THE RECOMMENDED STEPS ABOVE, NORTON DETECTED A TROJAN VIRUS, PER NORTON, WHICH I COPIED/PASTED BELOW.

One of the reasons I've discontinued using Symantec products ... too many false positives and too many missed true positives. Without going off on an AV tangent, I downloads the linked file to a sandboxed linux machine and ran two AV scans on the contents and came up empty.

Also, I rooted a stock 2.2 Captivate using AIO Captivate Toolbox without a hitch. Again, if you follow the instructions step by step, it's very difficult to mess up.
 
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i don't think i am man enough to root, sadly....

Real men don't have to root to prove their masculinity. Personally I think all these big screen devices are just overcompensating ;)

If the only reason you are looking to root is to remove the AT&T apps, you're probably best just ignoring them. All they are doing is taking up space like a three year old box of macaroni in the back of the pantry that you just haven't got around to tossing.
 
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thanks reinbeau. yes, i did read the first post, but that is when norton detected a .exe command and blocked it, saying it was a trojan, and that is when i got scared.

i don't think i am man enough to root, sadly....
Hmmmm - I guess that means I'm man enough, which is kind of odd, since I'm a woman ;)

Seriously, if you follow the directions it really isn't bad. As was mentioned, the AIO Captivate Toolbox makes it pretty easy.
 
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thanks DaNaRki; i think i may be too big of a ***** to root...... sadly.. you bring up good points. my single goal is just to delete at&t bloatware, so maybe i just shoud put up and shut up.....

Ok, then heres my next question. Are you attached to the stock launcher? If not, theres a good number of launchers in the market that allow you to hide apps in from the app drawer so that you don't see them and thus don't really have to deal with them.

I know of 3 that allow for this. LauncherPro (i believe was the first to add this function), ADW, and GoLauncher. There might be more but I know for sure these 3 do allow.

Try them out you'll be amazed and how much of a difference it makes, and changing launchers is 100% safe and accepted.

The only other thing I can suggest is to find someone you know (and trust) who is knowledgeable with these topics and ask that person to root>remove>unroot the phone for ya.
 
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I rooted my captivate with SuperOneClick. Im running 2.2, got rid of some ATT stuff and now it is working OK. Sometimes I feel it lagging. I was looking into just applying a Kernel that would give me voodoo lagfix. If I use the SGS Kernel program from the market will it work? Will I run into the 3e problem or that was fixed when I applied the SuperOneClick.

Thanks for your help!
 
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Hmmmm - I guess that means I'm man enough, which is kind of odd, since I'm a woman ;)

Seriously, if you follow the directions it really isn't bad. As was mentioned, the AIO Captivate Toolbox makes it pretty easy.
hi. well, since i am gay, maybe i should have said i may not be gay enough to root..... gays are a man/woman hybrid, as well all know, and as the new england journal of science has proved.
 
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Ok, then heres my next question. Are you attached to the stock launcher? If not, theres a good number of launchers in the market that allow you to hide apps in from the app drawer so that you don't see them and thus don't really have to deal with them.

I know of 3 that allow for this. LauncherPro (i believe was the first to add this function), ADW, and GoLauncher. There might be more but I know for sure these 3 do allow.

Try them out you'll be amazed and how much of a difference it makes, and changing launchers is 100% safe and accepted.

The only other thing I can suggest is to find someone you know (and trust) who is knowledgeable with these topics and ask that person to root>remove>unroot the phone for ya.
hi sexy.

yes, i have the stock launcher, and am stock/non rooted. your solution seems the best, as my goals are just to murder, or at least hide the stock at&t crapware/shitware.

i wonder if the resolutions you mention create a lag......

i will give it a go. good advice, as usual.
 
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hi sexy.

yes, i have the stock launcher, and am stock/non rooted. your solution seems the best, as my goals are just to murder, or at least hide the stock at&t crapware/shitware.

i wonder if the resolutions you mention create a lag......

i will give it a go. good advice, as usual.


If you don't feel comfortable with rooting, def try the launchers that you can use to hide the ATT crap ( I myself use GO Launcher and like it). However I dont know if the apps still run in the background. Im no developer or saavy with these phones, but if you find superoneclick (I used version 1.6.5) I think it should be easy to root and kill them.
 
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