Database Develop

[Q] Noob Questions

Hey guys. Recently I tried upgrading my phone (Captivate i897) from the Paragon 6 (JS32.2.1) to the new Continuum v5.4.1. I was having trouble reseting to stock from Paragon for some reason. Every time I tried reseting, it would stop at a random spot and the entire screen would turn a random color. I eventually got it to reset to stock after many attempts and crossing my fingers that it would finish without erroring out. Following the guide provided on the Continuum thread, I read all about the bootloaders and how badly they can brick your phone. I ventured carefully, trying to read and reread every bit of info I could on how to not fail at loading the bootloaders. I did what the guide said and installed the JBV bootloaders. My phone reset and I got it back in download mode. Then I saw somewhere on the thread that I had to use the original Odin (the one with the Master Clear option) for some reason and so I tried it. While Odin was doing it's thing it froze (like normal) and turned the entire screen a random color. I didn't panic because that had happened many many times before and I tried to get it to boot. And found no luck. So I decided to break out my soldering iron and I made a jig! The jig didn't work at all . I then did further research and decided I must have messed with the bootloaders and there was no possible way to recover my device. I went to the store today and had my phone replaced because of some social engineering on my part and it was still under warranty. I brought my phone home and tried the jig and it worked like a champ. I think my problem is that I was confused on what the exact, step by step, 1 2 3 process is for upgrading from 2.1 to 2.3. Would anyone be willing to help me out and explain in detail what exactly I have to do to upgrade my phone to Continuum? Thanks in advance.

you have a ****ty usb connection. i would not even attempt odin if it freezes eveytime, your gonna end up with another brick.
is the usb cable for sure good? is it plugged into the back of the pc have you been using the same port, cause you should try a different one.
try a package without any bootloaders first, there is a link to a stock package without any in the continuum op, once you have a solid connection then try bootloaders. dont try anything with bootloaders until you have established a reliable base connection.

I am plugging it into the front of my box, and I have alternated the front two ports to see if there is any sort of change and found none. I'm just about to try the back ports to see if there is any change. In the Continuum thread, he talks about computers randomly messing with the usb connection. What is the cause of that and do you think that might be my problem?
Edit: That seemed to be the problem. I manged to reset it with Odin and it worked perfectly, followed by rooting it with the AIO Captivate Toolbox! However, I still am uneasy and needing guidance on the step by step process of upgrading.

Odin sometimes just decides to extend it's arm and give you the finger. But if it happens everytime it's an issue with either, your pc, your usb cable, usb port on the phone.
Follow the guides in the op, or...check out mosaic (not biased) thee instructions there are easy to follow, and there is a link to a download package that has pictures included to help along the way.

I'm reading the guides here and I may just be retarded, but I'm having trouble figuring out which Odin people are using. When they say "THIS IS THE ODIN YOU WILL WANT TO USE TO RETURN TO STOCK!!!! USE THIS ONE AND NOT THE 3 BUTTON ODIN. IF YOU NEED THE THREE BUTTON FIX JUST USE THE 1CLICK ODIN FIRST THEN USE THE 3 BUTTON FIX ODIN", what do they mean? (btw, the quote is a link to http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=731989)

Odin one click, the one with just a start button and master clear button, contain BOTH bootloaders for 2.1/2.2 the .tar that has the three button fix only has the second bootloader, if you use that from gingerbread you will brick your phone.
So ... If you want to go back to stock USE ODIN ONE CLICK, don't even worry about what the other one is, as long as you use odin one click you are fine.

studacris said:
Odin one click, the one with just a start button and master clear button, contain BOTH bootloaders for 2.1/2.2 the .tar that has the three button fix only has the second bootloader, if you use that from gingerbread you will brick your phone.
So ... If you want to go back to stock USE ODIN ONE CLICK, don't even worry about what the other one is, as long as you use odin one click you are fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ohhhhhhh ok. So I did the Odin 1 Click and it worked perfectly. Now what do I do about the 3 button issue?

Do you not have the combo?
All 3 buttons held till screen comes off, release power for recovery
Both volume buttons, plug in usb for download.

Alright, I'm confused once again. So I flashed the Odin 1 Click, but yet I still have the combo... Is the combo separate from the bootloader?

No, it's in the secondary bootloader. Sometimes, and only sometimes, odin one click's bootloader will not have the combo in certain build phones. It's just weird idk ... So the 3 button fix package was released with only a secondary bootloader that never loses the combo. But it doesn't have the primary cause when it was made it wasn't needed because the primary never got overwritten. But now that gingerbread is out both bootloaders have to be changed so using the 3 button fix package will mix a 2.2 and a 2.3 bootloader and brick the phone.
Btw the new gingerbread bootloaders have a new combo once you flash them it'll be
Vol up+ power = recovery
Vol down + power = download

Ok, so I used Odin 1 Click to go to stock, but I still have the combo. Does that mean I still have the secondary bootloader? And If so, what do I do? Also, thanks for the help so far.

Lolol you will always have a bootloader, or the phone wouldn't boot.
Since the combo still works for you, you are on step 1 of the instructions!! Have fun!
Read read read read read, before touching your phone.

I'm well aware of what bootloaders are and the importance of them. My question is that if I have the combo, in accordance with what you said, I have the 2.2 boot loader. Anyways, thanks for the info and clearing up the confusion!

[Q] What kind of brick would this be considered and steps to fix it

My Captivate is currently in a state where it can boot up and it reaches the Cognition boot screen and does nothing further. When trying to use the 2 button+usb cord method to enter download mode the phone loads the charging battery but the animation is frozen.
Would this be considered a soft or hard brick? I'm not familiar with the factors that constitute the differences between the two. Is is a soft brick because the phone can still turn on or is it a hard brick because download mode is unreachable?
I was a user of Cognition 5 v1.00 but as support of the rom by the developer seemed to waiver I felt myself looking for a new GB Rom for my phone. I first flashed Cognition 4.5.3 onto my phone in order to have a stable Rom on my phone until I could decide upon the GB Rom I wanted to try. I decided to flash CM7 and began following the steps outlined in the thread. I formatted my system, data, and cache partitions but upon reboot I reached the point where I am currently.
I have not yet tried the jig as I do not have it on hand at my school apartment. Button combos, the usb cord, and the one click unbrick have not solved the problem and I would like to know if their are any other methods I could use to enter download mode until I am able to procure my jig and try that method.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Soft Bricked
You are whats considered soft bricked. Id recommend pulling out battery, SIM and SD. Open odin with with admin rights. Plug your phone to the computer, press volume up and down and insert battery. If that doesn't work then I would suggest making/buying a jig and flash back to stock (eclair, froyo or GB). As to how to get CM7 to work I can't offer any help since i haven't used it in a while and flashing method changed. I can recommend Atomic Fusion, KF1 based and very nice (after u theme it)

Clay
+1 I agree with prbassplayer. You have to get into dl mode and if none of the key combos work, then a jig is probably the only way. I use one and it works great in exactly the situation you seem to be in.
edit: Sorry for the double post, forget this and read next. :-/

Clay?
+1 I agree with prbassplayer. You have to get into dl mode and if none of the button combos work for you then the jig may be you're only option. I use it and it works great in exactly the same situation you seem to be in.
You might have crossed up some files and such from going back and forth between GB and Eclair. So need to flash back to stock and start over with fresh install.
If you're still interested in CM7, after rooting, you can install Rom Manager and follow the install process in the CM7 OP or check out their website, it'll walk you thru the whole thing.
Hope this helps

prbassplayer said:
You are whats considered soft bricked. Id recommend pulling out battery, SIM and SD. Open odin with with admin rights. Plug your phone to the computer, press volume up and down and insert battery. If that doesn't work then I would suggest making/buying a jig and flash back to stock (eclair, froyo or GB). As to how to get CM7 to work I can't offer any help since i haven't used it in a while and flashing method changed. I can recommend Atomic Fusion, KF1 based and very nice (after u theme it)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the input. At this point it seems that the jig is the only option as I've already tried the usb cord volume up and down process to no avail. I already own a jig, I just need to find a way to my parents house to go grab it.

They aren't hard to make to be honest and if u have a micro usb cable u don't care for it only cost w/e resistors cost for you there.

Using the SDK to use adb commands to get into download mode isn't an option as mentioned in this thread here?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=819105http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1198270&highlight=soft+brick#

TheDeveron said:
Thank you for the input. At this point it seems that the jig is the only option as I've already tried the usb cord volume up and down process to no avail. I already own a jig, I just need to find a way to my parents house to go grab it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you've already installed the GB bootloaders, the button combination has changed. I believe it is just volume down-power for gingerbread. Try that or volume up-power then release once the logo starts to see if that gets you into download or recovery.

trekie86 said:
If you've already installed the GB bootloaders, the button combination has changed. I believe it is just volume down-power for gingerbread. Try that or volume up-power then release once the logo starts to see if that gets you into download or recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's if he installed I9000's bootloaders. Im assuming he is on I897 bootloaders if he came from Cog 5.

TheDeveron said:
My Captivate is currently in a state where it can boot up and it reaches the Cognition boot screen and does nothing further. When trying to use the 2 button+usb cord method to enter download mode the phone loads the charging battery but the animation is frozen.
Would this be considered a soft or hard brick? I'm not familiar with the factors that constitute the differences between the two. Is is a soft brick because the phone can still turn on or is it a hard brick because download mode is unreachable?
I was a user of Cognition 5 v1.00 but as support of the rom by the developer seemed to waiver I felt myself looking for a new GB Rom for my phone. I first flashed Cognition 4.5.3 onto my phone in order to have a stable Rom on my phone until I could decide upon the GB Rom I wanted to try. I decided to flash CM7 and began following the steps outlined in the thread. I formatted my system, data, and cache partitions but upon reboot I reached the point where I am currently.
I have not yet tried the jig as I do not have it on hand at my school apartment. Button combos, the usb cord, and the one click unbrick have not solved the problem and I would like to know if their are any other methods I could use to enter download mode until I am able to procure my jig and try that method.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
download mode thru adb is a good idea...
or gb key combo for download mode as someone else also menioned...coz u r already on gb bootloaders..
prbassplayer said:
That's if he installed I9000's bootloaders. Im assuming he is on I897 bootloaders if he came from Cog 5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but i think gb bootloaders...be it i9000 or i897....hav the same key combo to get to download mode..i m sorry if i m wrong..as i m on i9000 bootloaders...

^^^ you are wrong, the captivate boots have the same combos they've always had eclair/froyo/gingerbread
Only the I9000 boots have different combos.

studacris said:
^^^ you are wrong, the captivate boots have the same combos they've always had eclair/froyo/gingerbread
Only the I9000 boots have different combos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as i already said...may be i m wrong..
thanx for the info...though i m on cappy ..but first gb botlaoders i had was i9000 while flashin apex..and m still on it....so didnt pay attention
i m using xda classin.so dont hav thanks button..so thanx here only..

killer_raj said:
download mode thru adb is a good idea...
or gb key combo for download mode as someone else also menioned...coz u r already on gb bootloaders..
but i think gb bootloaders...be it i9000 or i897....hav the same key combo to get to download mode..i m sorry if i m wrong..as i m on i9000 bootloaders...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No on Cog it is not. You can use the 3 button method just fine.
FYI GB bootloaders are not designed for CM7. CM7 used Froyo based bootloaders for its roms.

[Q] Captivate Bricked after Odin One Click

Hello. I have searched the forums and have not really found out an answer to my question. Earlier in the week I tried installing Andromeda with an ursa minor kernal I believe? (I was following a tut on youtube) I succesfully got ursa minor on my phone but the tutorial failed to mention I had to put Andromeda on the internal sd card to flash it. (first time trying to flash a rom so big noob). I decided to go back to stock and retry using Odin One Click. Odin bricked my phone because it is build number 1108 :/ I have an infinite ATT world phone boot loop because of this. I will be trying to make a jig/buying one soon to get back into download mode to fix this. I am not sure exactly what I am supposed to do once I am in download mode. I want to get back to stock. Obviously Odin One Click doesn't work because of my build number. What steps should I follow to go back to froyo 2.2 and to retry? Please help I am just not sure.

yakobo said:
Hello. I have searched the forums and have not really found out an answer to my question. Earlier in the week I tried installing Andromeda with an ursa minor kernal I believe? (I was following a tut on youtube) I succesfully got ursa minor on my phone but the tutorial failed to mention I had to put Andromeda on the internal sd card to flash it. (first time trying to flash a rom so big noob). I decided to go back to stock and retry using Odin One Click. Odin bricked my phone because it is build number 1108 :/ I have an infinite ATT world phone boot loop because of this. I will be trying to make a jig/buying one soon to get back into download mode to fix this. I am not sure exactly what I am supposed to do once I am in download mode. I want to get back to stock. Obviously Odin One Click doesn't work because of my build number. What steps should I follow to go back to froyo 2.2 and to retry? Please help I am just not sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll have to use the full Odin program and grab a stock ROM from the development section. Once your in download flash stock ROM with through Odin or heimdall. I'm not next to my computer so I don't feel like fishing for links ..but should be fairly easy!
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium

yakobo said:
Hello. I have searched the forums and have not really found out an answer to my question. Earlier in the week I tried installing Andromeda with an ursa minor kernal I believe? (I was following a tut on youtube) I succesfully got ursa minor on my phone but the tutorial failed to mention I had to put Andromeda on the internal sd card to flash it. (first time trying to flash a rom so big noob). I decided to go back to stock and retry using Odin One Click. Odin bricked my phone because it is build number 1108 :/ I have an infinite ATT world phone boot loop because of this. I will be trying to make a jig/buying one soon to get back into download mode to fix this. I am not sure exactly what I am supposed to do once I am in download mode. I want to get back to stock. Obviously Odin One Click doesn't work because of my build number. What steps should I follow to go back to froyo 2.2 and to retry? Please help I am just not sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a Odin 1 click for KB1 2.2 stock. After that follow any roms instructions except if it says stock 2.1 ignore it and assume its stock 2.2

I was wondering if I should follow this thread??
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10056254&postcount=36

Might I ask do you need to get to 2.1?

prbassplayer said:
Might I ask do you need to get to 2.1?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I got my phone (about a two weeks ago) it came with 2.2 already on the phone. I don't need to get to 2.1 but I was thinking I'd go to 2.1 and then upgrade to 2.2 using att? If I can?

But why? If you got it as is and its stock its att's 2.2. At any rate If your so inclined on flashing 2.1 the one you mentioned thats using full Odin with pit should work. I suggest doing it if and only if you have that jig handy. Also keep in mind that .tar probably has bootloaders in it (wich is a risk you really dont need to take) just my 2 cents

prbassplayer said:
This is a Odin 1 click for KB1 2.2 stock. After that follow any roms instructions except if it says stock 2.1 ignore it and assume its stock 2.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Links in that thread seem to be broken:/ So I suppose I can't use that.

Ive never used this one but it is also a KB1 2.2 KB1

My ultimate goal is to get Andromeda3 on my cappy. It seems to be a good rom. Could I just flash that using oden? (put it in the pda slot) or will that not work until I go back to stock?
With this new thread you linked me to, Just put in odin and I should be good to go? Thank you for your help by the way.

Ive never used that rom. Follow their instructions and assume stock is 2.2 for you. Also The original link i sent you should have worked. Aperrantly mediafire.com is having issues tonight.

installing Andromeda3 doesnt require going back to stock, 2.2 or 2.1.
ODIN flash a custom CWM kernel
boot to recovery
flash rom
thats it

Pirateghost said:
installing Andromeda3 doesnt require going back to stock, 2.2 or 2.1.
ODIN flash a custom CWM kernel
boot to recovery
flash rom
thats it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't because I bricked my cappy. i can't go into recovery right now. I need a jig to get back into download mode to fix it.

prbassplayer said:
Ive never used that rom. Follow their instructions and assume stock is 2.2 for you. Also The original link i sent you should have worked. Aperrantly mediafire.com is having issues tonight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once I get my jig hopefully mediafire is up and I can download from the first link you sent me. That seems to be my best bet right now. Thank you for your help. I sure hope I can get my phone backXD

yakobo said:
I can't because I bricked my cappy. i can't go into recovery right now. I need a jig to get back into download mode to fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are stuck in a boot loop right?
if you power your phone off, hold down both vol buttons and hold down the power button until the ATT screen comes up, let go, does it not go into recovery mode?
or
download mode:
power off, while holding both vol buttons, plug in usb. does that not work?

yakobo said:
My ultimate goal is to get Andromeda3 on my cappy. It seems to be a good rom. Could I just flash that using oden? (put it in the pda slot) or will that not work until I go back to stock?
With this new thread you linked me to, Just put in odin and I should be good to go? Thank you for your help by the way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get ursa minor back on your phone, then mount usb in mounts and storage, then copy the Andromeda3 zip to the drive. You were almost there.
Fish around in the usb port with 301kOhms of resistance from radio shack. You will hit pins 4 abd 5 and you will be in download mode.

Pirateghost said:
you are stuck in a boot loop right?
if you power your phone off, hold down both vol buttons and hold down the power button until the ATT screen comes up, let go, does it not go into recovery mode?
or
download mode:
power off, while holding both vol buttons, plug in usb. does that not work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No:/ no button combos work to get me in recovery or download mode. Getting a jig (hopefully today) so I can fix all this. Yes it is in a boot loop

AdamOutler said:
Get ursa minor back on your phone, then mount usb in mounts and storage, then copy the Andromeda3 zip to the drive. You were almost there.
Fish around in the usb port with 301kOhms of resistance from radio shack. You will hit pins 4 abd 5 and you will be in download mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I tried putting the Andromeda on the phone by copying it over to the phone through the mounted sd card but it was all of a sudden "write protected" and showed up as a cd instead of an sd card. :/ I know I was real close but I made some mistakes along the way
also, when you say fish around the usb port. you mean inside the phone? Is there any danger of hitting the wrong pins and possibly hurting my phone? (say i hit pins 3 and 5 by mistake or something) or is it all pretty safe? I was going to try and attempt the jig method that only used the resistors but n oticed the pins were horrible small in the phone:/

yakobo said:
Thanks. I tried putting the Andromeda on the phone by copying it over to the phone through the mounted sd card but it was all of a sudden "write protected" and showed up as a cd instead of an sd card. :/ I know I was real close but I made some mistakes along the way
also, when you say fish around the usb port. you mean inside the phone? Is there any danger of hitting the wrong pins and possibly hurting my phone? (say i hit pins 3 and 5 by mistake or something) or is it all pretty safe? I was going to try and attempt the jig method that only used the resistors but n oticed the pins were horrible small in the phone:/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not inside the phone... it's the USB port on the phone. One pin is on top and the other is on the bottom. If you don't have a JIG, that's the easy way to do it. There's no power on the USB port. This is a quick way to do it. You'll be fine. It's safe.

AdamOutler said:
It's not inside the phone... it's the USB port on the phone. One pin is on top and the other is on the bottom. If you don't have a JIG, that's the easy way to do it. There's no power on the USB port. This is a quick way to do it. You'll be fine. It's safe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, that is what I meant. I meant to place where the charger is plugged in to. Just seems like the pins are really really tiny. Thank you for your help gonna get my resistors hopefully today and get my phone working again.

[Q] Captivate and soft boot loops???

I rooted my cappy(cappy 1) and installed serendipity 6.4 on a clockwork kernel back in May for the first time based upon info I gathered here from all the experiences and advice. It went flawless. I odined back to stock and attempted to update the kernel to the one from the link on the serendipity 7 page and while it was doing the kernel flash it went into a boot loop that I apparently am not smart enough to recover from. Odin does see the phone for just a split second and starts but the phone restarts before it gets done. My wifes(cappy 2) came in the mail yesterday and she wanted freedom too so I rooted and tried to use a kernel I d/l from a site I recognized from everyones post and it said to use sgs kernel flash and I have had pretty much the same result in this phone too!! ??? whatsup?? I did it without fail the first time and now I am questioning myeslf. Neither will boot to recovery, neither will connect to pc via usb long enough to use odin. I am dumb about ADB. Clicked on the adb file and it flashes through really quick on my pc then closes. Tried to make the usb manual jumper with the resistors and I can't seem to have any luck with the technique. I ordered the jig for the usb connection for like 9.00 but I won't get it til next week. Any help would be appreciated...... I am at a total loss!!!

Are you using Odin from download mode? As long as you have a cappy with working button combos, start Odin (right click and run it as an administrator) without the phone plugged in. Pull the battery out, remove the SIM and external SD card if you have one, replace the battery and leave the phone off. With the phone off, hold both volume buttons and plug the usb cord in. The phone should turn itself on in download mode, at which point you can hit start in Odin.
If this is what you're already doing I'm not trying to talk down to you, I just couldn't tell from your post. If this is indeed what you are already doing, are you getting an error in Odin?

the three button was working on both before but now seems to no longer.... I can't for the life of me get to recovery or download mode.... I think I could revive both if I could just get that far. and had a good kernel file which I obviously am not getting or I am doing somthing way wrong. Neither are totally bricked... the try to come on but keep restarting themselves. BTW thanks for the help and I don't feel talked down to at all.... felling pretty silly/crappy about my abilities right now. Thought I had the whole root/kernel/rom thing figured out til now.....

as far as odin errors. my first phone would hook to odin and then lose the connection because the phone turned itself off. the second one will not eastablish a connection at all.... does that make sense??

I would shoot for download mode at this point. When you tried the resistors to build your own jig, was the phone off when you were trying to get it to work?
1whttcdreamer said:
as far as odin errors. my first phone would hook to odin and then lose the connection because the phone turned itself off. the second one will not eastablish a connection at all.... does that make sense??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're in download mode, your phone shouldn't turn itself off. What odin package are you using?

yes, phone was off and I had 4 resistors with a total value of just between 300K and 301K. I was in my opinion unsuccessful in touching the two pins correctly without the resistors touching. I may try to disect a usb cord tonight and solder my resistors to the black and green wires(think thats correct) and see if I have any better luck. To impatient to await the jig for 5 or so days. But at least i'll have it for later use. Then I guess go back stock and start over. but I gotta get D/L mode to work first. I think odin was version 3.1.7 I'm at work and don't recall exactly. I know I D/L'ed a odin console and a set of files to put in particular places as to direct odin what to use. It came as a complete D/L. I also have tried the one click odin files before(this is what I used the first time back in may) any and all help is greatly appreciated.

1whttcdreamer said:
yes, phone was off and I had 4 resistors with a total value of just between 300K and 301K. I was in my opinion unsuccessful in touching the two pins correctly without the resistors touching. I may try to disect a usb cord tonight and solder my resistors to the black and green wires(think thats correct) and see if I have any better luck. To impatient to await the jig for 5 or so days. But at least i'll have it for later use. Then I guess go back stock and start over. but I gotta get D/L mode to work first. I think odin was version 3.1.7 I'm at work and don't recall exactly. I know I D/L'ed a odin console and a set of files to put in particular places as to direct odin what to use. It came as a complete D/L. I also have tried the one click odin files before(this is what I used the first time back in may) any and all help is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never been successful in touching the pins without cutting apart a USB cord. With the cord, though, it's a piece of cake. You don't even have to solder them, just stick the plug in there and you can hold the resistors (as long as they're covered with something) to touch the right pins. I don't know that the color coding is consistent, but you can figure it out either with a multimeter or trial and error. I also think it's 3 resistors not 4, but your values are correct so that's probably what you were doing.
Once you get into DL mode, you have a couple of options:
1. Try Serendipity 7 again. I've done several installs from their instructions and they work perfectly, but there are a lot of steps and you need to be careful to hit them all in order (I've definitely ended up in your situation before because I thought I remembered what needed to do but missed something).
2. Flash a one click. You can find them all here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1300843
If you were going to go this route, what I would do is flash the one-click for KF1. This will give you Samsung gingerbread bootloaders which are both compatible with everything and will give you your button combos back for download and recovery modes. Once you flash this, you should only use bootloader-free packages and you will always have your button combos with no risk of a hard brick.
Once you have KF1, you can root it from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1127249
then get CWM recovery, skip to step 13 in the S7 download instructions, and flash it in recovery.
Good luck!

Thanks Ever So Much!!
:cool Well long story short my jig worked. You were right, it was very easy to make. Soldered resistors to pins so now I have a working jig. My original phone is so totally fixed. Running rooted 2.3.3 Serendipity 7 with CWM. Thank you very much for the confidence building and advice on where to start and finish.

[Q] WEIRD PROBLEM, Captivate won't turn on.

Weird problem here! Will explain it briefly and then extended.
Samsung Galaxy Captivate i897. Had Eclair ROM (does that even exist?). Was charging via USB, disconnected it and charging indicator continued, so I turned off and tried turning it back on: It didn't.
Couldn't get it to recovery mode via 3 key combo, only to download mode, So i took it to a friend to upgrade ROM. He installed Gingerbread. Worked fine.
Only minutes after, I turned it off to change SIM cards, put the battery back in, and it wouldn't start again!
CURRENT STATUS:
I can only get it to Download Mode (vol up + vol down + power). I can't get it into recovery mode (vol down + short power press DOENS'T work).
When it tries to boot up I get this screen: Battery image (like when it's off and charging) + Loading icon.
STRANGEST THING: The same issue has happened with two different ROMs!! WTF?
PLEASE, any ideas? I'm from Paraguay, so we don't have Samsung Care Center or whatever to take it to.
Thanks in advance!

It seems to be a problem with the bootloaders, but I do not see what caused it if you did not just flash them. Anyways, try reflashing the bootloader (Dangerous) if you are willing to risk hard bricking your phone, or just reflash to stock using heimdal one click.
Also check your battery on another device if possible, not saying that you have a low battery, I am saying that your battery is completely ****ed. :3.

Well...firstly you're confused as to what the button combos are.
Recovery = all 3 buttons held until the splash comes up then let go.
Download = both volumes ONLY (no power at all)and inserting a usb cable.
Now...that being said it sounds like a hardware issue, the usb port itself to be exact, it thinks there is a cable connected that's why it booted into download mode, when you just hold the volume buttons does it do that?
it could be a kernel issue...but you've said it happens on multiple roms so you've changed that variable already and still had it happen.

studacris said:
Well...firstly you're confused as to what the button combos are.
Recovery = all 3 buttons held until the splash comes up then let go.
Download = both volumes ONLY (no power at all)and inserting a usb cable.
Now...that being said it sounds like a hardware issue, the usb port itself to be exact, it thinks there is a cable connected that's why it booted into download mode, when you just hold the volume buttons does it do that?
it could be a kernel issue...but you've said it happens on multiple roms so you've changed that variable already and still had it happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could be hardware, it could be the bootloaders. Also, some bootloaders have different ways of getting into recovery. Try VOL+ and Power just that.
There is a good chance it is with the battery, if it wont turn on, and as mijaelrodriguez said, I could also be a problem with the charging port. I suggest flashing back to stock froyo 2.2 using heimdal as heimdal will flash everything, including bootloaders, so there is less space for something to go wrong. after flashed to 2.2, use mini kies to go to official 2.3.5 gingerbread. Then just flash the designgears auto root kernel (this will give you root, will not allow your phone to boot as the kernel is incompatible with 2.3.5) then just flash back to stock kk4 kernel. it will give you root on 2.3.5 to start flashing new ROMs again.
-McSpammer5

A bad battery wouldn't make the phone think it's charging.
Those other combos you suggested are for I9000 gingerbread bootloaders, he said he was on eclair, don't think he would have those...and if he did, it would say I9000 on the first boot splash.
Bootloaders just don't get messed up out of the blue...that would brick the phone. That doesn't happen by just charging.
Odin flashes bootloaders too, and why use heimdall to go to froyo with froyo bootloaders and then use kies to go to gingerbread that also flashes bootloaders, when you can just go directly to gingerbread with Odin/heimdall? And NOT have to flash bootloaders TWICE,

First of all, I had this same problem, and it was caused by a bad battery. second, you can not use kies unless your phone is booted up, therfore use heimdal. I tend to use the official firmware released through kies over firmware a single guy obtained in his basement. Now, no need to turn this into a thread war, just throwing suggestions at a guy with a problem with his phone.

McSpammer seems apropos.

Im going with Studa on this one. Anytime you don't have to flash bootloaders its better.

If your friend flashed you from Eclair to Gingerbread without including the Gingerbread Bootloader, that would cause problems.
The GB bootloader seems to be backward compatible, but Eclair & Froyo bootloaders are not compatible with GB.
A long shot, since it did boot once.
Another long shot. Check your USB port for dirt, dust, lint, or corrosion.
It only takes one well aimed raindrop if the slider is open.
This can cause some really strange symptoms.
Blow it out. Use something like flat toothpick to GENTLY clean the contacts. the contacts are all on the front side of the connector that sticks up in the middle.