Database Develop

[Q] Best ROM for my GF :)

Hi All,
Need some advice about the Galaxy S. I am a Nexus S user and would love to get my Girlfriends Galaxy S running better if not as well as my Nexus S. I have tried to get the galaxy S running well but now I think I have done all I can to optimise the stock ROM it has onboard!
I know that for the SGS you must use Odin to flash new ROMs – any warnings to me being a NS user with our easy CWM flashing? I will of course be doing a Nandroid backup of her current ROM in case things go wrong Currently the SGS is rooted and running a branded O2 2.2 Froyo Rom. I have Lag Fixed it using OCLF (Not great I know, but its not my phone I can't always fiddle with it to update it!) and tried to remove bloat using Titanium Backup.
The advice I would love is – which ROM do I put on her phone, when she isn’t the most tech savvy person. I figure there are 3 main options (but feel free to correct me!) for a stable and quick ROM that I won’t have to keep touching and updating or fixing:
Stock 2.3.4 (JVP?)
Nice because it’s stock and from what I’ve read it seems to run fast and is the latest version of phone android like on my Nexus
Darkys ROM
Seems to be a nice option – fast stable and tweaked (a fixed version of stock really no?), but perhaps it has too many options for my non tech savvy GF to be using?
Cyanogen Mod
Only reason I resist this is because it is probably too much of a shift away from the Samsung experience my partner is used to - I would prefer it (I have a nexus so naturally!) but I doubt my girlfriend would appreciate the change. Also it seem CM isn't quite ready for the SGS yet...
Any thoughts or guidance much appreciated! I have searched a lot about the SGS, but not having the phone myself, I figure it might be best to ask users of their opinions and steal your advice!

As this one is for your girlfriend and you are planing already with a "stock" ROM you should for sure go for the latest 2.3.4 Android Version in JVP.
I personally would never go for a "stock" but this is just my personal opinion since I am daily with the phone and can repair things by my own.
Related to ODIN there is not much to say if you read all the guides completely.
I flashed my phone many, many times even using seperat kernels and removing thing before, adding and changing scripts without brick the phone.
Try to safe the EFS dircetory is the only thing I would recommend if it is not mentioned in the guides before doing a flash.
Hope it helps for your decision.

i suggest u use darkky's rom in that case cause the battery alone lasts longer than stock that means more time spent talking to u..

I suggest you leave her phone alone
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using XDA Premium App

I would use one of ramads stock deodexed roms, and then flash a custom kernel, that way she gets no lag, stock, you are safe and your love life will thrive! Now that is slick womanizing!
Insanity cm 016/glitchv10c

after couple testing different ROM .... i am very pleased with Juwe's ROM ..... stable , all works fine , fantastic look ....

Darky's ROM is not a 'fixed' version of stock.
Just go with the latest stock firmware for the best performance, ie flash XXJVQ with Odin after backing up all data
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App

acejacksooted said:
I suggest you leave her phone alone
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree with this idea

Whack on JVQ deodexed and voodoo mod. Convert to Ext4 and then life = complete. Cyanogenmod is still best though
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App

Thanks for your suggestions!
Thanks to you all for your help! I think I am going to go for a stock 2.3 based rom either JVP or JVQ - probably JVQ as google talk video works with it, and now skype video works too - both of which she wants.
@solar666
Thanks I'll definitely be following the guides to the letter - and yeah an EFS backup is also on my to-do list!
@doomsdaycs
Battery Life is very much important, but having seen some youtube videos of Darky's rom, I think the interface & option changes & colours might be too much of a shift - I'd prefer it though!
@acejacksooted & @carvax
Id love to leave it alone, but she complains that it isn't responsive like my nexus and lags sometimes - so I don't have much choice but to deal with it!
@slaphead20
Is there much of an advantage to a deodexed samsung rom? Also, I hope you don't use your phone to chat up all women that way
@bisko69
Is Juwe's rom that different from samsung's roms?
@Mothatt
Yeah I think that's the way I will go - safe!
@jaju123
Again, seems like the best option at the moment. Thanks!
Any other thoughts are more than welcome! Thanks again .

All custom-ROMs except CM7 and MIUI are based on Samsung-stock-ROMs.
ROM-cookers of Samsung-based ROMs add some features and change the colors of the UI. So you should take the custom-ROM which has the nicest colors.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App

i recommend MIuI GALNET its awesome

Darkys rom!
I've used many roms, but I always flash Darky v10.1 back.
Ist just so goood, battery life is amazing and still the phone is so simple.

Seeing that your GF rom is still in Froyo, isnt it better to upgrade it to at least stock Gingerbread?
Perhaps you can flash a stock deodexed rom, flash a kernel for root and CWM (i recommend SpeedMod), then flash a theme from the theme forums that you think she will like.
maybe you can even make a theme for her based on what she likes
conclusion: Stock rom with custom theme, if she like to stay on stock samsung experience and a nicer UI

theimpaler said:
@bisko69
Is Juwe's rom that different from samsung's roms?
Any other thoughts are more than welcome! Thanks again .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=964672 very beautiful and stable ROM

haha well funnily enough I got my GF on CM7, and my mother, and they both love it
i personally am on it aswell. So up to you

theimpaler said:
[Q] Best ROM for my GF
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For a moment I thought your phone was your girlfriend.

bitmaster2000 said:
For a moment I thought your phone was your girlfriend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha I'm sure many people on this site would be more than happy to upgrade their girlfriends ROM to CM7 - more customisation and more options haha!

I recommend darky rom 10.1 and launcher 7 -> fast, stable and... More than easy to handle
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

theimpaler said:
Haha I'm sure many people on this site would be more than happy to upgrade their girlfriends ROM to CM7 - more customisation and more options haha!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, and not to forget to disable all the nag screens!

best custom rom

so recently i flahed darkys 10.2 EE by the way it was my first time flashing custom roms however the rom started up very fast and it was very stable but after two days it started laging and randomly frezzing and reboting when using TW launcher some time when playing games, any ways i want a suggestion for another rom to flash which is stable fast and can use tw 4

Try cm7 or miu
From my Galaxy S

What do u think about s.u.r.f.a.c.e it seems good
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Wolfteam20 said:
Try cm7 or miu
From my Galaxy S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
The fastest ROMs I have ever seen...

reco1 said:
What do u think about s.u.r.f.a.c.e it seems good
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll second surface. Seems to be one of the more stable JVR roms out there. Just make sure you follow the flashing instructions to the letter or you'll have problems.

I think the question is - why a custom rom? What do you want in a custom rom? Look through the specs and make your choice. For me, stock JVR, rooted with twlauncher 4.5 from frogger. does everything I want.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Another S.U.R.F.A.C.E fan here. V3.1 In combo with Talon or semaphore It´s perfect, stable 100%.

I just got hit by a tornado! Slim, fast and clean! Best I've tried so far. Only been a couple days but I am really impressed. These guys really know what they're doing.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App

hansonator said:
I just got hit by a tornado! Slim, fast and clean! Best I've tried so far. Only been a couple days but I am really impressed. These guys really know what they're doing.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
about which rom you are talking

Try galaxy sense 0.6.
Experience htc sense on your galaxy. For those of you who think they are stuck with samsungs touchwiz, try this htc sense 2.1 it's infinitely better (in my opinion ).
This rom is work in progress but i have just tried it and is getting very close to my experience on my old htc desire. There are a few bugs as of now but the developer appears to be getting very close to a complete version.
Try it, there will be no going back!!

keuda said:
Another S.U.R.F.A.C.E fan here. V3.1 In combo with Talon or semaphore It´s perfect, stable 100%.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dose TW 4 work good with it or dose it lag like on darkys 10.2EE

reco1 said:
about which rom you are talking
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tornado ROM JVR (look in my signature to get it)
The first and fastest ODEX based JVR Custom ROM
Contains a addon app so you get to decide what app stays and what goes. (remove and add feature)
Combined with the Tornado kernel it is pretty damm quick and responsive.
Supports ext2 / ext4 / rfs
CWM now converts to ext2 and has the goodies like OC / OV

Hello,
I started a thread like this a couple of days ago and then decided to whack on Galnet MIUI. I gotta tell u, i love this ROM, I don't think I'll ever change from it. The reason why I didn't get it before was that you needed Froyo bootloaders but with the new 'twooey' named ROM, you can just install it like any other gingerbread ROM.
It's really quick, amazingly customisable. The themes are great and all the new features leaves your phone feeling like a brand new thing, you have to explore all the options and settings again.
Before this ROM, I'd tried most gingerbread ROMs and I prefer this by far.
Anyway, hope you find the ROM your looking for

zeroundead said:
Hello,
I started a thread like this a couple of days ago and then decided to whack on Galnet MIUI. I gotta tell u, i love this ROM, I don't think I'll ever change from it. The reason why I didn't get it before was that you needed Froyo bootloaders but with the new 'twooey' named ROM, you can just install it like any other gingerbread ROM.
It's really quick, amazingly customisable. The themes are great and all the new features leaves your phone feeling like a brand new thing, you have to explore all the options and settings again.
Before this ROM, I'd tried most gingerbread ROMs and I prefer this by far.
Anyway, hope you find the ROM your looking for
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for your help but i saw once a video on it and i found it a bit lagy when scrolling and i also heard that the battery performance is bad am i right ?

Brotuck said:
Tornado ROM JVR (look in my signature to get it)
The first and fastest ODEX based JVR Custom ROM
Contains a addon app so you get to decide what app stays and what goes. (remove and add feature)
Combined with the Tornado kernel it is pretty damm quick and responsive.
Supports ext2 / ext4 / rfs
CWM now converts to ext2 and has the goodies like OC / OV
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1, been using it and it is really great. Extremelly fast, very stable.
Tornado JVR + Tornado Kernel + EXT2 (winner configuration).

reco1 said:
thanks for your help but i saw once a video on it and i found it a bit lagy when scrolling and i also heard that the battery performance is bad am i right ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it's definetely not laggy.
As for the battery, I've seen a lot worse. I mean, It's not great, but you can still get 1 1/2 days out of it with moderate usage. But bare in mind my battery isnt fully calibrated yet, I'm hoping it will go up to 2-3 days after a few charging session.
I would say, make sure you give it a go before making your mind up about it.
Another plus for it is it's based on CyanogenMod which means it's constantly in development whereas Samsung based ROMs more or less have to wait for Samsung to release new beta roms to continue development in the same way.

Does fm radio work with galnet miui?

gomek111222 said:
Does fm radio work with galnet miui?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It hasn't come standard as part of the ROM so I'm not sure. Although there may be a way to install the .apk

must to take up the cudgels for my sig... fast, stable, perfect look.

zeroundead said:
No it's definetely not laggy.
As for the battery, I've seen a lot worse. I mean, It's not great, but you can still get 1 1/2 days out of it with moderate usage. But bare in mind my battery isnt fully calibrated yet, I'm hoping it will go up to 2-3 days after a few charging session.
I would say, make sure you give it a go before making your mind up about it.
Another plus for it is it's based on CyanogenMod which means it's constantly in development whereas Samsung based ROMs more or less have to wait for Samsung to release new beta roms to continue development in the same way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for yor help but i think am gona wait until they fix the camera problem then am gona flash it and i hope that it will be great

Best ROM as of right now?

Whats the best rom available right now for the N1? I haven't tested my N1 with anything in a while been running MIUI but I'm finding it to be sort of laggy now with apps installed.

Fastest? Hmm, pretty much any CM7 self-kang.
This one by samuaz is really fast: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1416894

Is that the most stable rom available for nexus one right now?

with multiple full wipes to include system both are stable for me
with ICS by samuaz you need to follow op page exactly

Temaseks latest CM7 Kang with scroll zip is BLAZING

I use now ICS by samuaz, it's fast and really stable. But it's an alpha version!
When you think it's important to have a stable rom, then
use CM7. CM7 roms are as stable as stock, but better ;-)

worth upgrading to ICS or JB?
hello. I realize this thread hasn't been active in a while, but I am thinking to bring back my Nexus One from the grave so I can have a backup phone for my daughter to play with in the car/plane. I wanted to ask if it is worth installing ICS or JB ROMs that are out there. I just have the stock ROM in there now and I always struggled with low memory and lag with some newer apps, that's why I've upgraded phones (I've have a Galaxy Nexus now).
I don't have intentions to put a SIM card in there, so I don't really care about phone call features.. only purely from a processing and lightweight standpoint.
Has anybody played enough with GB vs ICS and/or JB and weighed if it's worth upgrading? I'm assuming that it's worth it because so many developers still have Nexus One ROMs... that's why I would just go ahead and install it, but then I'm thinking again if it's just going to bog down the phone if I'm going to only use it for simple games.
Thanks in advance!!
Ken

Hello! I have installed the CM10.1 VJ Jelly Bean 4.2.2 v6.0 that is based on CyanogenMod and Evervolv, and works fine for me. I also have installed all the /data partition in the SD card with the A2SD script that is incorporated in the ROM... it generates some few lags, but I didn't have had any problem of lack of space again.
In my opinion, this is the ROM of JB that best preserves the native Android interface, and in my case is stable (until 7 days without to require a reboot!).
Other JB ROMs that users frequently use are PARANOIDANDROID and PixelDroid.

Thanks for the quick response! That is the ROM I was thinking of as well. However, just as a comparison, I'm thinking to flash a clean version of GB back onto the phone as well. Any recommendations on any GB ROMs as well? Thanks!
rafcano said:
Hello! I have installed the CM10.1 VJ Jelly Bean 4.2.2 v6.0 that is based on CyanogenMod and Evervolv, and works fine for me. I also have installed all the /data partition in the SD card with the A2SD script that is incorporated in the ROM... it generates some few lags, but I didn't have had any problem of lack of space again.
In my opinion, this is the ROM of JB that best preserves the native Android interface, and in my case is stable (until 7 days without to require a reboot!).
Other JB ROMs that users frequently use are PARANOIDANDROID and PixelDroid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

vanquish15 said:
Thanks for the quick response! That is the ROM I was thinking of as well. However, just as a comparison, I'm thinking to flash a clean version of GB back onto the phone as well. Any recommendations on any GB ROMs as well? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, but I can't help on it. I didn't install any GB ROM further than the stock ROM. In my opinion, I think that a stable, complete and functional ROM might be CyanogenMod 7.2. Maybe other XDA members can help you better on it...

rafcano said:
Sorry, but I can't help on it. I didn't install any GB ROM further than the stock ROM. In my opinion, I think that a stable, complete and functional ROM might be CyanogenMod 7.2. Maybe other XDA members can help you better on it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. I'll probably end up trying both out. Thanks again for the response. By the way, what do you use your N1 for now or is that you main phone? I was playing around with it yesterday and I still like it a lot - I always liked the trackball.

plz tell me the best jb rom ri8 now?

vanquish15 said:
No problem. I'll probably end up trying both out. Thanks again for the response. By the way, what do you use your N1 for now or is that you main phone? I was playing around with it yesterday and I still like it a lot - I always liked the trackball.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is my main phone. In several times I though changing to other new Nexus device, but the screen size of new devices is too big for me! I like a screen size from 3.7 to 4.0, that is good to read mails, a brief navigation in the Internet, and other minor issues. For other intensive uses, I have my tablet Nexus 10 or my laptop.

Good first time ROM for wife's captivate?

My wife's captivate has been freezing up a lot recently. She finally has asked about rooting. What is a good first ROM for her captivate?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA

the kind that searches and posts in the right section :banghead:
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium

Not the right forum for this question.
In my opinion, however, rooting will not really improve the speed of the phone. A fresh install of android (rooted or otherwise) will afford performance boosts simply because its less cluttered with apps and whatnot.
That being said, there are tons of great roms out right now. If the phone is on gingerbread bootloaders, you may want to try some older GB roms that have been highly tuned for the captivate. Ice cream sandwich roms are pretty good as well right now, though as many OPs have said, simply installing the latest OS does not magically give your phone a second core and double its RAM.
tl;dnr: Look a few pages back for a gingerbread rom and follow the instructions for the most stable and fast option. If you want to try to ICS, I think its pretty good at the moment. Never had any speed issues on my captivate and I use AOKP Build 26 currently.

Here, I'll just cut straight to the point for you
1. Cyanogenmod 9 - If you want a (somewhat) clean ICS look along with decent stability and speed.
2. Doc's ICS Rom v5 - If you want the samsung touchwiz interface.
Take your pick. Those are the best roms out there imo. Or you could always try MIUI.us

Get Serendipity 7! Best battery life I've ever had, fast and amazingly stable. Not the best GUI when compared to roms like MIUI, but it's a good solid ROM.
You could also get MIUI, but it's not quite as stable and it's a bit slower. I just like it cause the themes are awesome and I'm a customization freak.

abmicyau said:
Get Serendipity 7! Best battery life I've ever had, fast and amazingly stable. Not the best GUI when compared to roms like MIUI, but it's a good solid ROM.
You could also get MIUI, but it's not quite as stable and it's a bit slower. I just like it cause the themes are awesome and I'm a customization freak.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No Stock or custom stock ROM will ever beat a custom AOSP ROM in performance.... period
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium

Want my unbiased opinion, try a few ROMs or so out and pick which one you like. I think all the different ROMs, samsung and aosp have something to offer.

Try MIUI.
Sent from my I897 using xda premium

Ok so which one is a very good stable one that is included in an Odin one click that would make her cappy less slow??? You guys are so helpful.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA

99% of roms do not come in an odin one click
read the Q&A sticky " How to install custom captivate roms from stock " (also in my sig)
I wrote it. its super easy to follow to install ANY rom.
Normally "best rom" threads are shutdown, there is no best, only opinion, BUT.. "best for your wife", I get the point! LOL
2.2 based rom - firefly 3.0 rom with onix kernel flashed after - hands down best way to go for useability and battery.
Gingerbread 2.3 based roms - there are quite a few to choose from, from stock feeling to many added features. pick one built on KK4
ICE CREAM SANDWICH roms
CM roms are packed with features but has a long list of bugs. probably not the best choice for your wife. *CM7 is gingerbread base CM9 is ICS based
AOSP is google stock. - pretty nice and stable
AOKP is stock plus new features. - really nice and stable *with glitch kernel added after and nstools installed. - what i run! PM me if you want a link to this rom prebuilt with glitch kernel and a few added extras for easier install.

Dude, please read. It isn't that hard. If 11 and 10 year olds are doing this every day, then you should be able to do this no sweat. If you read the only OneClicks you will see are SauROM and stock ROM's. Others have to be flashing using Odin or CWM recovery. If you don't know what that is then you need to search and read some more... Sorry but this is how everyone learns, at least it used to be until people just came in here expecting things to be handed to them. And that is why XDA dev's are leaving and keeping their work to themselves...

stock? really?
I'd disagree with stock ROM being the best. After fixing so many GB KK4 bugs...
And if you run any of my ROMs you WILL have better performance, because all PNGs are reduced to 256 colors. And JPGs, mp3s and oggs are processed too. Then repacked with KZip. Jars repacked with Kzip too. Overall smaller and faster system.
I share it only from my good heart, and since it is really based on other people work. Enjoy peeps!
And I can process Apex GB if there is interest...

Thank you so much for your answer. I will do some reading.
Thanks again friend.
AJ

My ROM, mosaic, has an Odin flashable version, not a one click but its only like 1 more step to load the .tar into the pda slot into Odin.
I agree you should read up and know what you're doing. Just throwing that out there...

If you choose an ICS based ROM you should be aware of this issue forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1447303. It seems to be randomly effecting captivate phones. I'm not saying this will happen but if it does you will have two options:
1) Face a steep learning curve (that installing a custom ROM seem trivial) and still only have partial phone functionality due to no internal SD card.
2) Just upgrade to a new phone if able & willing.

I think the latest ICS ROMS are not very prone to that issue. I'd go with Doc's Master ICS v6, tons of functionality out of the box and customizable if you're so inclined.
jeff.leonard said:
If you choose an ICS based ROM you should be aware of this issue forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1447303. It seems to be randomly effecting captivate phones. I'm not saying this will happen but if it does you will have two options:
1) Face a steep learning curve (that installing a custom ROM seem trivial) and still only have partial phone functionality due to no internal SD card.
2) Just upgrade to a new phone if able & willing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Bdev3 said:
I think the latest ICS ROMS are not very prone to that issue. I'd go with Doc's Master ICS v6, tons of functionality out of the box and customizable if you're so inclined.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doc's V6 is based on AOKP 4.0.3; I was using Dark Night 3 which is based on AOKP 4.0.4 when I had this problem. Therefore, I was actually using a more recent ROM than the one you are recommending. There are plenty of people out there using ICS without any problems and it may work great for the OP; I just think it should be an informed decision.

For my wife's phone I keep kk4 roms on it, they are all good.

TRusselo said:
Normally "best rom" threads are shutdown, there is no best, only opinion, BUT.. "best for your wife", I get the point! LOL
QUOTE]
I would have to agree with the statement that there is no best. Everyone has a different expectation for what a rom should do and be. With that being said I will offer my opinion on a starting point for your wife. SimplyStockV2.0 is what I'm currently running. I've used several others and so far this is my favorite. As you can see from the name it is very similar to stock minus all the junk that never needed to be there and a custom settings option within the regular settings. Battery life is good and it has run faster than a couple other roms I've used that claimed to be "fast". Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I have used many different roms. My first rom was S7. Then ICS came out!! Used 5 different ones. SGSICS is very strong!! Had some auto shut down problems. App was doing??
I'm currently running Doc's V8. Loving it.
Read Read Read.
Trial and Error
Good Luck
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA

Not the average ROM question

My buddy has a cappy and the poor soul is still running 2.1. Now that he no longer has a warranty on it, he wants to root and upgrade it.
My question isn't what's the best ROM because I understand that is highly subjective, but rather, what is the most stable ROM?
ICS on the HTC Inspire only recently hit mile stone release status and, while fairly stable prior to this, still had it's bugs. This was fine for me, but I don't want to bring my friend into this awesome world with a ****ty experience right off the bat plagued with random reboots, bootloops, or non working functions.
So what ROMs are rock solid stable and are good for daily drivers?
And like I said, I'm not looking for "I like this ROM" and I'm not trying to ask what is the best ROM. Only asking about stability.
Thanks guys

Still subjective...but my 2 cents --
Stability wise I would suggest that he upgrade to the Gingerbread 2.3.5 i897ucKK4 release, get Root and then Debloat it completely. Let him run that for a while. He will be pleasantly surprised i think, especially compared to eclair 2.1 that he has been running. Afterwards if he wants to move on to a Developer's Rom, then there are plenty of KK4 based Roms to choose from. He will just have to do some diggin in the Dev forum.
The other Roms ICS, JB, AOSP, CM, MIUI and those similar are very good...but still subjective to each individual user as to what is stable and fit for a daily driver, etc.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium

Sounds good. I appreciate the reply.
I do have one last question though. As far as doing this, it looks like I just need to get him updated via the Samsung website updates and then use SuperOneClick for root. Is this correct?
I ask because holy crap are there a lot of traps to accidentally fall in to...

He could do the mini kies route to froyo then gb Or he/u could use the kk4 one click odin or heimdall with bootloaders and then get Root through the [Utility] KK4 Easy Root by Red_81 --- both of these u can find in my signature link below.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium

The Heimdall followed by Easy Root seems the best way to go then (less steps). Thanks so much. I appreciate it.
Now to find that page with the drivers again.... lol (no need to post the link, I'll find it haha)

Here ya go, it was close by... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33577757
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium

That's not the page I was looking at before. lol
I was looking here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=858765 That and, of course, installing the SDK on his computer.
But after reading the Heimdall page and that post you pointed me to, it seems I was looking in the wrong direction. I know the SDK won't hurt anything though, so that is still getting put on there, if for no other reason than ADB. (I'm a fan of ADB. It's gotten me out of more than a few binds before.)

4-2ndtwin said:
Still subjective...but my 2 cents --
Stability wise I would suggest that he upgrade to the Gingerbread 2.3.5 i897ucKK4 release, get Root and then Debloat it completely. Let him run that for a while. He will be pleasantly surprised i think, especially compared to eclair 2.1 that he has been running. Afterwards if he wants to move on to a Developer's Rom, then there are plenty of KK4 based Roms to choose from. He will just have to do some diggin in the Dev forum.
The other Roms ICS, JB, AOSP, CM, MIUI and those similar are very good...but still subjective to each individual user as to what is stable and fit for a daily driver, etc.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completely agree with this. Your buddy will need to experience and learn a lot of stuff through this transition, therefor, making the jump to JB from Eclair could make a mess.
Although, once he reaches that point, I have to say that I've been very pleased with AOKP (now on milestone). I was quite hesitant to use it as my daily ROM cause I was so used to stability over tweaks with ROMs made by The Family and The Collective. I've been on it since JB was ported to our cappy and I'm seriously loving it! Can't imagine flashing anything else as my daily ROM unless it's as stable and that coming from a flash addict!
Anyway, hope the transition goes well!

Me too. We were gonna do it yesterday, but after the mayhem of my truck (took 4 hours to rotate TWO tires....), we decided that luck was not with us and decided against it lol. Hopefully I can get him to man up about it today.
Thanks for the help guys! Now to produce another convert... muahahahaha!

I would simply use the stable version of CM10.

eksasol said:
I would simply use the stable version of CM10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe CM10 is on nightly builds atm, therefor, bugs are meant to happen. Might not be the best idea for a first step into JB

BWolf56 said:
I believe CM10 is on nightly builds atm, therefor, bugs are meant to happen. Might not be the best idea for a first step into JB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://get.cm/?device=captivatemtd&type=stable

eksasol said:
http://get.cm/?device=captivatemtd&type=stable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well then, I stand corrected.