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Root [Q] To root!

Futang44

Newbie
Jul 25, 2010
29
1
I have decided I need to do something about my phone. I am sick of crap-ware, lack of froyo, and unresponsiveness of the devise. I am pretty sure I want to flash a new ROM, but would like some clarity before proceeding...


What does CWM recovery do? Is it required to flash?
Is odin the only way to revert back to stock?
Does odin remove CWM?

Who has a stable froyo build?(I want EVERYTHING working)
Is there an OTA/easy way of updating a ROM?
 
I don't have specific answers to your questions, but some things to note:

- The Odin "1-click" stock flash isn't a perfect return to stock. Some things, like OTA updates, probably will never work again if you use it. Hacking is a one-way street.

- None of the Froyo ROMs for the Captivate are perfect. All are either based upon a buggy leaked unfinished "beta" development build, or 2.2 from entirely different hardware that people have tried to hack up to mostly work on the Captivate. All have issues/quirks, with new ones being discovered daily and with each new release.

- You don't need to install a new ROM to get rid of the stock bloatware. You don't even need to remove them. You can "freeze" them in Titanium Backup, which deactivates them.
 
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I have decided I need to do something about my phone. I am sick of crap-ware, lack of froyo, and unresponsiveness of the devise. I am pretty sure I want to flash a new ROM, but would like some clarity before proceeding...
What does CWM recovery do? Is it required to flash?
Is odin the only way to revert back to stock?
Does odin remove CWM?

Who has a stable froyo build?(I want EVERYTHING working)
Is there an OTA/easy way of updating a ROM?

Clockwork Rom manager is a boot manager which allows you to apply update.zip files which contain a new ROM. It also allows you to create a nandroid backup which is used to restore your ROM if anything happens. Just flash back to that ROM version, install clockwork, and restore the nandroid backup. There are other features of Clockwork, read more about them online.

Required to flash, no but it does make things easier and smoother. Buy the app, support the people who take an interest in working on this mobile OS.

Odin is the best/fastest way, if you want to be sure. You probably could use nandroid to restore a backup from within clockwork but it's far better to use Odin to put everything back to "stock" then use nandroid to put back your apps and settings.

Yes, using the Odin back to 2.1 will remove all customizations done to the phone, it will appear exactly how it did when you first got the phone.

I am using Cognition 2.3 beta 8 (on xda) and I have no problems with anything, read the threads concerning the ROM before choosing to flash it to your phone. Search the threads and if in doubt, please ASK before doing something.

Over the air updates are an option but in my opinion I like having the option to choose whatever I want for my phone and when to try it. It
 
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I don't use OTA and I had to return one phone after I had hacked and Used 1 click to clean up before I returned. Since they excepted the return I figure all was good.

Thanks for input


Exactly, dont know if this will work for OTA, but it does takes u to out of box state....I agree with u...

Not quite. It's not 100% perfect. See my previous post (the one right above yours, so I'm not sure how you missed it).

Some people say things without trying them and try to force them on others,.....
u didnt help the OP at all, just said things which doesnt matter to him...he said he is frustrated becoz he wants froyo...can u tell him when he can get official froyo?

I dont care if the OTA work for me or not...Becoz till the time you will get Official froyo (if u do), I am 100% sure my phone will be running gingerbread, leaked, buggy or whatever u wanna call it but still better then buggy "official" eclair u r running in ur phone....
 
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u didnt help the OP at all, just said things which doesnt matter to him...he said he is frustrated becoz he wants froyo...can u tell him when he can get official froyo?

What does that have to do with anything? The question asked was whether the Odin 1-click returned the Captivate exactly back to stock. I mentioned that it doesn't.

What part of that do you not agree with?

As for my other points, the OP hasn't said those things don't matter to him. We all know they don't matter to you.

Ultimately the final decision is up to the OP and he is free to do what he wants, but his decision should be an informed one and there's a need for some important counter facts to balance all the stuff coming from the "just flash!" enthusiasts who tout the hacked ROMs as if they were perfect, walk on water, cure cancer, and were without risk.
 
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Thanks to all for the great responses! I feel much better about this process


Go to the link below. Read the first post and watch all 3 videos in the first post.
This will help you understand the process. It is 30 minutes well spent.

Samsung Captivate ROM Flashing *VIDEO* How-To - xda-developers


My major complaint about android was the level of difficulty until I saw those videos. I would highly recommend watching those videos to all weary about rooting/flashing. It really helps familiarize the process.
 
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If you are changing ROMs (from Cog to Phoenix, for example) using Odin to flash back to "stock" is nearly manditory. It will keep a lot of problems out of your hair, and doesn't take very long. Well worth the effort. If you are just flashing to a new version of the same ROM, you might be able to just flash over top. Most devs will recommend flashing back to "stock" first, and since it is so painless to do, it is a good precaution. After having said that, I flashed Phoenix directly over Axura yesterday, with no (so far) issues. This weekend, I will probably Odin back to "stock" and flash Phoenix again, since it is being updated with a different kernal right now.
 
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What does that have to do with anything? The question asked was whether the Odin 1-click returned the Captivate exactly back to stock. I mentioned that it doesn't.

What part of that do you not agree with?

As for my other points, the OP hasn't said those things don't matter to him. We all know they don't matter to you.

Ultimately the final decision is up to the OP and he is free to do what he wants, but his decision should be an informed one and there's a need for some important counter facts to balance all the stuff coming from the "just flash!" enthusiasts who tout the hacked ROMs as if they were perfect, walk on water, cure cancer, and were without risk.

I never said they are perfect and ur stock is not perfect yet...my point was....he is wants to flash custom rom and he is asking ur help....if u cant guide him to flashing dont discourage him by ur baseless reasons....

1 click odin does take u to stock...see the person above who even exchanged it....

anyways u have always bashed people who flashed custom rom...if u r so against hacking why did u root ur phone? thats teh first step to hacking....u contradict urself

if u think we people are doing something wrong by going custom roms way, then simply ignore such threads and move on......let the knowledgeable person help the new people....

I know u r just frustrated becoz u will never get froyo or any cool stuff custom roms have....:p
 
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It did [almost] feel like the first time!

Can I switch rooms via clockwork or do I need to run Odin first?

It is less risk to use ODIN to go back to 2.1 and then also to do a master clear before you flash a new ROM.

If you use Titanium Backup to restore apps on the new ROM, it is best to use "Restore MISSING Apps and data" ... NOT to use Restore ALL Apps and Data OR Restore ALL Apps and SYSTEM Data.

That is a safer way to restore apps. Other ways MAY work, but restoring system apps or system data can cause problems when changing ROMs.
 
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dont discourage him by ur baseless reasons
Hardly baseless, when they are fact and confirmed by any number of other users on here who have flashed custom ROMs.

1 click odin does take u to stock...see the person above who even exchanged it....
This is also not true and has been confirmed multiple times. Just because AT&T took it back doesn't mean the flash is a perfect bit-for-bit return to "stock", especially when things like OTA updates are known to not work.

if u r so against hacking why did u root ur phone? thats teh first step to hacking....u contradict urself
There is a huge difference between rooting and flashing a custom ROM. I rooted so that I could do a full and proper backup. That's pretty much it.
 
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There is a huge difference between rooting and flashing a custom ROM. I rooted so that I could do a full and proper backup. That's pretty much it.


Hey sremick, I am new to this. Just a quick question: Will everybody who used a custom ROM be unable to get an OTA update? I did the same as you, only rooted (to get rid of some of the ATT things). Besides that I guess Im with whatever ATT gave me (would like froyo update but Id rather wait given im not too tech savvy). Will I still be able to receive the OTA if im only rooted?
Thanks for your help
 
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Will everybody who used a custom ROM be unable to get an OTA update?
Anyone with a custom ROM definitely does not want to get an OTA update. Very Bad Things could (and likely would) result as the update would make incorrect assumptions about the state of the ROM and filesystem.

Will I still be able to receive the OTA if im only rooted?
Possibly, but it depends on the update and what sort of checks it performs. I was able to install JH7, but I did it via Kies Mini since I was tired of waiting for what we all hoped was the silver-bullet GPS fix. It installed fine but I did lose root and had to re-root.
 
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Hardly baseless, when they are fact and confirmed by any number of other users on here who have flashed custom ROMs.

This is also not true and has been confirmed multiple times. Just because AT&T took it back doesn't mean the flash is a perfect bit-for-bit return to "stock", especially when things like OTA updates are known to not work.

There is a huge difference between rooting and flashing a custom ROM. I rooted so that I could do a full and proper backup. That's pretty much it.

u rooted to have full control on ur phone...I went a step forward and now running it as I wanted....themes, mods etc etc,,,,
 
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I went a step forward and now running it as I wanted....

And running as I want it to includes basic things working like haptic feedback on the home button, the button lights coming on when you touch the screen, slide-to-call off the call log, and not having weird things mess up your phone like a "Self shot" button on the camera that screws up your camera settings so bad it requires a reflash to reset them (a nice new "feature" of the latest Phoenix ROM). And all the other stuff people give up just to say "HA! I'm running Froyo and you aren't! neener neener". :p

I'm sorry... just not willing to trade stuff like that just to get "themes and mods". ;)
 
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And running as I want it to includes basic things working like haptic feedback on the home button, the button lights coming on when you touch the screen, slide-to-call off the call log, and not having weird things mess up your phone like a "Self shot" button on the camera that screws up your camera settings so bad it requires a reflash to reset them (a nice new "feature" of the latest Phoenix ROM). And all the other stuff people give up just to say "HA! I'm running Froyo and you aren't! neener neener". :p


ok i agree with u, few basic things deesnt work on custom rom....but i still have flash to watch videos, stable OS (far better then eclair, u will agree), default task manager to monitor bettery draining apps, option to go into recovery, download mode etc etc...faster, smoother UI...independence to theme and mod stuff according to my choice....

those are the things I wanted in my phone when I bought it....I never used haptic feedback, so I dont care, my camera never messed up and its works liek charm ever...I did had wierd problem but thanks to great minds on xda..i solved it....buddy

I'm sorry... just not willing to trade stuff like that just to get "themes and mods". ;)

I dont really know the use of haptic feedback or button light coming on.....(never had camera problem so forget it). Why should i use laggy stock rom just becoz i cannot use haptic feedback which i never used?

LOL neener neener...but u didnt make any sense there by making that comparision...themes and mods, faster kernel...better modem....sleek themes...I am getting a lot by giving up stupid basic features....
 
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