Database Develop

Disconnected from PC in the middle of Odin restore-phone wont' boot.

The USB cord was removed from my phone in the middle of an Odin restore (it was stuck at factoryfs.rfs). Now the phone won't boot and it isn't recognized by my computer when plugged in. Did I find a way to brick this thing? Any help would be appreciated. This is my fourth Captivate and I'm sure AT&T is going to start to give me a hard time. Thanks.

build a jig or buy one on ebay. you need to get into download mode and reflash to sotck.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...47234&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT#ht_511wt_1139

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=731989
Try all 3 methods to get into download mode first

yes, you can try the key combo first. but as i know, build 1010 or later wont work for the key combo.

Got it back to d/l mode. Now it's stuck at factoryfs.rfs-same as last time. I'm finished with this phone. AT&T can send me another. This is what happened to the past two phones. Stuck on a Odin restore and can't get it up again.
Edit: Just booted up. That's a relief. Thanks.

Thare187 said:
Got it back to d/l mode. Now it's stuck at factoryfs.rfs-same as last time. I'm finished with this phone. AT&T can send me another. This is what happened to the past two phones. Stuck on a Odin restore and can't get it up again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it had happened on more than one phone, you may consider looking at odin...maybe remove and reinstall our check your drivers or computer...just double check all of little stuff that might be so obvious that they are not obvious
********
Sent from my Samsung Captivate using the XDA app
ROM: Paragon RC5 1200 mhz/100hz kernel

so if your potentially bricking the phones, what do you tell AT&T that happened? and do they not ever check or whats the deal?

As far as I know at the wareenty centers they check for physical and water if they do attempt to boot as long as nothing looks custom they wont bother with checking the recovery or key combos samsung takes care of the rest they just want functional hardware..oh dont mention anything about modding. If anything syncing crashed is the best explaination. Tested.
Sent from my replaced cappy XD
Just dont become a familair face or it might get flaged on your account. Study up before doing somthing new. Just crashed my test cappy writing this had to stop and reflash heh live and learn.

A tech here on the forums said they can tell if it has been modified in just "3 clicks".
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-IDK?

noobfail said:
A tech here on the forums said they can tell if it has been modified in just "3 clicks".
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-IDK?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol....uh huh....i also have a direct line to the white house
********
Sent from my Samsung Captivate using the XDA app
ROM: Paragon RC5 1200 mhz/100hz kernel

Omg really?!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-IDK?

Just messin' around....what kind of tech? Att, samsung or other?
********
Sent from my Samsung Captivate using the XDA app
ROM: Paragon RC5 1200 mhz/100hz kernel

He said he was a manager of an actual at&t walk in tech support store.
I rooted a phone and flashed to stock and returned it with no problems.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-IDK?

Sorry I'm late getting back. My phone is up and running again. Got in to D/L mode and flashed back to stock. Got stuck on the AT&T logo, but used Odin one more time and it booted right up. The first time I brought in the phone, the tech took it to the display for 2 minutes and called the warranty dept for me. I think that it helped that the Chiefs playoff game was on. They didn't seem to want to be bothered! The phone rep asked about water and physical damage. No questions about modding. The second time I did it at home over the phone. Again, no questions about modding. I told the rep both times that I was trying to transfer music to the phone via Kies and it crapped out on me. It always help to play dumb and act like you don't know too much.

Thare187 said:
Sorry I'm late getting back. My phone is up and running again. Got in to D/L mode and flashed back to stock. Got stuck on the AT&T logo, but used Odin one more time and it booted right up. The first time I brought in the phone, the tech took it to the display for 2 minutes and called the warranty dept for me. I think that it helped that the Chiefs playoff game was on. They didn't seem to want to be bothered! The phone rep asked about water and physical damage. No questions about modding. The second time I did it at home over the phone. Again, no questions about modding. I told the rep both times that I was trying to transfer music to the phone via Kies and it crapped out on me. It always help to play dumb and act like you don't know too much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same exact problem when i was just starting to mess around with roms and my biggest issue was the sequence that it took to flash properly. i kept opening odin then putting my phone in download mode and THEN plugging it into use as opposed to how it should have been which is holding vol up and vol down pressed then plugging in usb.

bugity said:
I had the same exact problem when i was just starting to mess around with roms and my biggest issue was the sequence that it took to flash properly. i kept opening odin then putting my phone in download mode and THEN plugging it into use as opposed to how it should have been which is holding vol up and vol down pressed then plugging in usb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the weird thing. I'm somewhat new, but have been flashing my Captivate since Sept. When the original Cognition came out I was flashing daily. I think my problem was, it took longer than usual to flash to stock, I got impatient and didn't realize I could get to D/L mode by taking the battery out, holding power and inserting battery. I always used the button combo. Live and learn.

same problem
Ok i have the same problem as the original post stated, running odin and disconnected right at the beginning of the rom flash! this phone wont power up, and my jig (which i have used before) will not work! Is it done for!?

Ur last hope lays in adams Am I bricked thread, where u'll find an app that checks what state ur phone is in (linux or ubuntu needed)

nevermind, I tried harder and the jig worked, its one of the homemade jigs, where you cut up your charger, and use resistors to create the circut . . . . jankety but i got it to work thanks anyway though

Glad you got it, but I would buy a jig and keep it in a drawer. Just in case.

[Q] Seems to be bricked..

Hey everyone, First time poster here and it seems my captivate is bricked. I'm fairly new to android but I caught on with ROM/kernel/etc.. flashing and all seemed to be going well. I saw the new 3.5 update for precision and wanted to update from 3.0. I did my usual thing and restored to stock with ODIN instead of flashing over. Rooted all over again, downloaded ROM manager and flashed clockwork recovery. I selected the ROM when I was in CWrecovery and rebooted.. but for some reason the phone never gets past the boot screen. The ATT logo shows up, then the suckerpunch logo (as suckerpunch is included in the precision ROM) and then the precision logo.. but it just keeps starting over from there. I thought I did a clean flash but something went wrong obviously.
Ive tried the three button combo and anything that has been stated before on here about the three button combo timing and whatever. So it seems that I cant get in recovery or download by using the traditional methods.
I'm guessing my phone is soft-bricked, which should be relatively easy to fix, but I can't get into any mode at all. Ive seen plenty of threads with people having boot loop issues but they seem to have been solved my some combination of buttons used or the ODIN usb download mode technique. Ive seen mention of using adb commands to get into download mode, but I think I have to have usb debugging enabled which I can't enable, clearly.
Any help would be appreciated, especially since in the meantime I'll have to use my old 903sh.

CCDillon said:
Hey everyone, First time poster here and it seems my captivate is bricked. I'm fairly new to android but I caught on with ROM/kernel/etc.. flashing and all seemed to be going well. I saw the new 3.5 update for precision and wanted to update from 3.0. I did my usual thing and restored to stock with ODIN instead of flashing over. Rooted all over again, downloaded ROM manager and flashed clockwork recovery. I selected the ROM when I was in CWrecovery and rebooted.. but for some reason the phone never gets past the boot screen. The ATT logo shows up, then the suckerpunch logo (as suckerpunch is included in the precision ROM) and then the precision logo.. but it just keeps starting over from there. I thought I did a clean flash but something went wrong obviously.
Ive tried the three button combo and anything that has been stated before on here about the three button combo timing and whatever. So it seems that I cant get in recovery or download by using the traditional methods.
I'm guessing my phone is soft-bricked, which should be relatively easy to fix, but I can't get into any mode at all. Ive seen plenty of threads with people having boot loop issues but they seem to have been solved my some combination of buttons used or the ODIN usb download mode technique. Ive seen mention of using adb commands to get into download mode, but I think I have to have usb debugging enabled which I can't enable, clearly.
Any help would be appreciated, especially since in the meantime I'll have to use my old 903sh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you describe exactly which three button methods have you performed? The one that always seems to work to get to download mode is hold both volume up and down and plug in USB cable to the computer and you should be able to get into download mode (of course after taking out the battery, shutting off your phone first). You should have ODIN open before this, then after that just press start on ODIN.
I believe people with captivates who have problems with 3 button combos have batch 1008. Please tell if you can't use the method above then we can check your batch.

koreancanuck said:
Can you describe exactly which three button methods have you performed? The one that always seems to work to get to download mode is hold both volume up and down and plug in USB cable to the computer and you should be able to get into download mode (of course after taking out the battery, shutting off your phone first). You should have ODIN open before this, then after that just press start on ODIN.
I believe people with captivates who have problems with 3 button combos have batch 1008. Please tell if you can't use the method above then we can check your batch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate the fast response.
Ive tried the above method and it didn't work. Ive also tried plenty of others like holding the power button with the two volume buttons (to try recovery) Ive also held the buttons down for certain amounts of time to see if my timing is just off, and pretty much a few other generic three button combos that are performed when this sort of thing happens. Instead of getting into download mode, it of course just shows the battery charging.
If the phone is plugged in while it is doing its rebooting cycle then ODIN actually detects it, but I still wouldn't be able to do anything I'm sure.
Ive read through many posts about this but I just cant find anything to work at all, maybe buying a jig would be the final solution. :/
EDIT: If it helps, before flashing my captivate for the very first time a month back, i was told to check to see if I could enter into download mode and recovery safely, which I could and this was on stock rom. Ive been able to get into download/recovery with other ROMs as well, idk what's up now though

CCDillon said:
I appreciate the fast response.
Ive tried the above method and it didn't work. Ive also tried plenty of others like holding the power button with the two volume buttons (to try recovery) Ive also held the buttons down for certain amounts of time to see if my timing is just off, and pretty much a few other generic three button combos that are performed when this sort of thing happens. Instead of getting into download mode, it of course just shows the battery charging.
If the phone is plugged in while it is doing its rebooting cycle then ODIN actually detects it, but I still wouldn't be able to do anything I'm sure.
Ive read through many posts about this but I just cant find anything to work at all, maybe buying a jig would be the final solution. :/
EDIT: If it helps, before flashing my captivate for the very first time a month back, i was told to check to see if I could enter into download mode and recovery safely, which I could and this was on stock rom. Ive been able to get into download/recovery with other ROMs as well, idk what's up now though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you could get into download before, I don't know why you wouldn't be able to do it now. The fact that you can see the battery charging icon indicates that you should easily be able to get into download mode. Can you double check your methods and if neither work, you could always go for JIG.

you may need to buy this to get into download mode:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...69977&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT#ht_623wt_1139

just to clearify and add one more thing to try...
you are experiencing a boot-loop not brick..
ive heard of boot loop problems sometimes getting into download mode by:
remove battery
plug in usb
hold volume buttons
put in battery
(slight change on usual method)
EDIT: you may also want to try the AIO captivate toolbox in the Dev section, it can try to put your phone into download mode

I had this happen before. I did what Tresselo said and it worked.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

plug in your usb cable. let the phone reboot and see if the comp recognizes the phone at any point during your boot loop. if it does - your in luck, sort of... I had this problem as well with the same ROM. idk if its the ROM or just me screwing up (probably me screwing up) anyhow, type this command into a command prompt (must have the android sdk and adb installed) get into the tools folder where ever that may be at for me its C:\android\tools
from this dir type this: adb reboot download - do this as soon as the comp recognizes your phone - should work.... IF the comp is seeing the phone. If its not you WILL need a JIG which can be made fairly easy.

Try adb if you haven't already. Instructions are in the stickies in the Dev section.
Sent from my Captivate using XDA App

Thanks for all the replies guys, got a good community here. Sadly no suggestions have worked at all.
jgc121 said:
plug in your usb cable. let the phone reboot and see if the comp recognizes the phone at any point during your boot loop. if it does - your in luck, sort of... I had this problem as well with the same ROM. idk if its the ROM or just me screwing up (probably me screwing up) anyhow, type this command into a command prompt (must have the android sdk and adb installed) get into the tools folder where ever that may be at for me its C:\android\tools
from this dir type this: adb reboot download - do this as soon as the comp recognizes your phone - should work.... IF the comp is seeing the phone. If its not you WILL need a JIG which can be made fairly easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downloaded the android SDK and installed all the necessary components, as soon as I hit the right directory (for me C:\Program Files\Android\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools>adb reboot download) and I get "error: device not found". So adb seems to be running right and I may just have to get my timing right, but as of trying a good ten times I'm not having any luck.
When booting up my cap while plugged into the computer, the noise that signals a usb connection sounds and when going into device manager and looking at usb connections, its says samsung android device. Seems like I could get into download, but I guess I'll just keep trying to time it exactly right even though Ive hit the command near the connection noise every time.
I'm not losing hope, but I went ahead and ordered the jig off of ebay that mengbo posted, I'm really hoping that the jig could solve my problem for good. From your perspective guys, would the jig DEFINITELY work? Or is it just a kinda one shot, hope for the best thing?

The JIG is a pretty sure thing seeing as how you are just in a boot loop.

CCDillon, Im in the same boat as you. Same thing happened to me. I have tried a jig and it did not work for me. Hopefully it works for you. I have tried ADB also and it could not find the device. I really hope there is something out there that can help us.

aw man, that's not good at all.. hope you can find a way. Did you make a jig and were you using the same ROM?

Hopefully its just mine and the jig works for you. I didnt mean to scare you. I made a jig at first, and it kept booting the phone. Thought I didnt make it correctly so I got one off of ebay, thinking it had to work. That one did the same thing. Thought maybe it was a faulty jig and the guy I got it from ('mengbo' on this forum) sent me another one to see if that was it. The new jig he sent (that worked on his phone) did the same thing. So, something else is going on.
I was going from Phoenix 4.5 to Supernova ROM and it gave me the same error you got. Now it Boots the ATT screen then loops the Phoenix ROM logo over and over. 1 vibrate followed by 2 more

I'm hoping the JIG works for mine, otherwise I'm not sure what to do. I admit it does scare me a bit to see that you've tried all these different things with no result. I was scanning the precision thread and it seems one of the avid users/posters got caught in a boot loop and it looks like they have gotten out of it, I sent a PM so maybe I can see what that user did, though part of me is thinking that the three button method worked for him but for some reason not for me. This is very frustrating and I'll keep an update on everything, the JIG should be here in about 3 days or so.
Also, you think it may have something to do with how many times our phones have been flashed? Ive looked up to see if flashing is bad for the phones "health" but it seems flashing won't really hurt anything, nor have I really flashed too much. Btw, my phone acts the same you described as well, with the random vibrating and everything.
My mind just seems to be jumping to any random possibility, it just sucks not having a working phone.
Hope SOMETHING works for you

Seriously - you guys are all worked up over a boot loop. the JIG will put you into dl mode just fine... only time it has high chance of NOT working is if you only see black screen - no power up at all.... you can make a JIG by getting 3 - 100k ohm resistors and a 1k ohm resistor from radio shack for about $1.25... its simple.

I removed my 3 button combo accidentally by flashing att 1 click, theres an att 1 click with 3 button fix, flash that when you can get into download mode.
If you can connect with adb use it to go to download, if not, you need a jig... it works, I have been down your path!

jgc121 said:
Seriously - you guys are all worked up over a boot loop. the JIG will put you into dl mode just fine... only time it has high chance of NOT working is if you only see black screen - no power up at all.... you can make a JIG by getting 3 - 100k ohm resistors and a 1k ohm resistor from radio shack for about $1.25... its simple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1. Learn how to make the JIG you need HERE...
Or buy one from me HERE... < Shameless plug.

I was in the same situation as you guys after i had a bad flash and the loop on the bootanimation. I bought a jig online and it worked. The trick is to take out your microsd, and simcard and leave out the battery for 15 seconds. Then put back ONLY the battery in, and plug in the jig. It should turn back on and be put into download mode then flash with one click odin.

odin one click WITH 3 button fix....... saftey first.

Automatic download mode?

I was working on a captivate today that boots straight to download mode when i hold the power button to turn it on.
I tried odin one click back to stock. Everything flashed fine but as soon as i shut off the phone and try to power it back on, it goes straight to download mode again. It seems as if the 3 button combo is automaticly applied as soon as i go to power on the phone.
Has anyone encountered this type of problem? If so i politely ask for your help if you have found a fix
Thanks.
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium

A friend faced a similar problem some time back and i think its not still rectified, it is some kind of shorting inside the phone.
he was running CM7 on and no GB boot loaders were flashed ever.......i think time to give him a call to ask was it solved.....will let know.

cool thanks for lookin into it i had a couple phones come in all with the same problem. they are all running on android os and they are all samsungs. i find it weird. samsung ACE, samsung Captivate, and an I9000. i did a thorough inspection on the ace and i found no liquid damage. did the same on the i9000 and there was some heavy corrosion found on the board. just before closing shop last night i went ahead and opened up the captivate and i found a very small area of corrosion where the charge port rests on the housing, i didnt have any time left to stay and clean it so i left it for monday im hoping that that has something to do with the autokick into download mode.
as far as software wise, i tried to flash the phone to stock and it took me a couple tries before i was successful, and it still kicked into DL mode as soon as i shut it down and powered it back on. so i flashed to 2.3 GB went to have a smoke during the flash, got back and found the phone running nice and healthy till i shut it down and restarted it, the end result was the same.
NOTE: with this autokick into download mode problem i am not able to enter recovery mode via the button combo.

check for dirt/ debris in the usb port.

More than likely the problem is actually a bad PARAMS.lfs file. Reflash the entire thing. You can find Heimdall One-Clicks here: http://files.teamkomin.com/index.php?dir=Captivate/ Enable bootloader flashing to reflash the params.

Were u able to correct this ?

[Q] another bricked captivate

i just went thru a problem with a broken power button. long story short i claimed my warranty and got a refurb. the refurb had 2.2 on it. like a jerk i thought it would be fine to use this guide ( https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1ItSONRa9nzI7MKeKqwIdHCTRA3RRiOM_6LcJGnK4p6Y ) just like i did with my previous phone to get miui back on my phone. i had to downgrade to 2.1 on my old phone but for some reason i thought it would be fine to use the 'safe froyo base' with my already froyo phone...
anyways i got as far as odin saying it was setting partition and it would go any further. no option but to unplug and try again. before trying i tried to boot and take a look at kies. the phone wouldnt boot. just a black screen. so.. i went ahead and tried odin again since i could still get into download mode. it still hung at the same spot. pulled the plug again and put it into download mode and got the great idea of using 1-click to go back to 2.1 stock. then it hung after, i think the 3rd message that it spits out in the log. cant remember what it said but it was a normal msg. so i pulled the plug and tried to put it into download mode again. NO LUCK. and still doesnt boot.
SO, i have a non-booting, non-download mode, non-recovery mode, no signs of life captivate...
is it a refurbished turd or is there hope with a jig or something else?
i know, long story short

those instructions were for i9000 not captivate...
odin sometimes gets stuck on set partition and i wipes the params.lfs partition where the download mode image is stored.
ill bet you 100 bucks if you restart odin. take out your battery, put back in, hold both volume buttons and plug in usb, THE SCREEN WILL NOT come on, BUT odin WILL turn YELLOW in the first box and windows will beep that it found the device.
Odin will flash with a black screen. when the flash starts, you will see a blue bar on the black screen.
use the one click stock roms in the XDA CAPTIVATE development section.
use XDA. period.

so you're saying use the same method again? or use an odin 1-click stock. 2.1, 2.2, or does it even matter? cuz im pretty sure in my rage of panic i tried both one click and full another time and nothing happened. ive got nothing to lose by trying again tho. thanks for the reply.
edit: just tried what you said with the one click i have and no go. ran odin as administrator. dont have time til after work for the full method or a different one click. but i will definatley try.

FYI, regarding your question about a jig, I just had a similar problem (thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=19581785#post19581785 I tried every option on this board and many others to get into download mode without success. The jig worked (thankfully!). might be worth trying it before giving up. as for me, no more flashing until I get Outler's Unbrickable Mod.

befreewv said:
FYI, regarding your question about a jig, I just had a similar problem (thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=19581785#post19581785 I tried every option on this board and many others to get into download mode without success. The jig worked (thankfully!). might be worth trying it before giving up. as for me, no more flashing until I get Outler's Unbrickable Mod.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the reply. im gonna give it a few more tries before attempting the jig. my power has been out for the last 11 hours so i havent been able to use my pc... or anything really. lost all my food in refrigerator and freezer too .
im gonna mess with this thing a bit more to see if i can make a pearl out of swine poop.

maybe someone can answer me this:
considering what i did to get the phone into this state, if i try to exchange it and tell at&t that i just powered off and it simpy wouldnt power back on is there any way for them tell if it was because of what i did?

anyone? still searching and trying to get dl mode or at least my pc/odin to recognize the device. nothing has worked yet. im downloading sdk now to try adb. i have a feeling that if adb doesnt work then AdamOutler will be $30 richer . and i have an even bigger feeling that adb will not work.

nawlage, PM sent.

4-2ndtwin said:
nawlage, PM sent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks, just read it. the thing is, the phone has no signs of life. pbl or sbl seems to be borked but not possitive. ive heard that what i did shouldnt brick it like it has been bricked.
just tried using adb. couldnt even get to it after downloading sdk. there was a read me where adb normally is and said it was moved in the version i have. i tried to install it and it just said nothing was done. could create the directory. i gotta go to work now so i cant try anything else til i get home.

looks like im gonna try for another warranty claim on the grounds that i was putting my saved data from my old phone onto my replacement with kies when the power went out and my phone froze. pulled battery and wouldnt turn back on. if im denied then ill prolly pay for the unbrickable mod. might get the mod even if i get the warranty refurb. seems like a good investment. ill post the results. thanks to those who gave ideas.
EDIT 11/25: i ended up telling them that it worked fine when i went to bed and woke up 4 hours later and it was off and wouldnt turn on. the rep tried all the things i already tried while i snickered to myself and he said 'yeah its dead'. i got another refurb stock uckb2.

[Q] Semi Bricked?

I've got an 896 Rogers Captivate that has been draining my sanity for hours now.
I managed to get it to download mode exactly ONCE out of ... literally eight hours of hold buttons, remove battery, replace battery, hold buttons, remove battery, etc etc.
I reached download mode by using the three button technique Volume Up + Volume Down + Power.
Once there I idiotically said "I can get here again.." and removed the battery.
I got this phone from a family member and managed to get it to download mode, but every other time I hold buttons (any buttons) it does exactly this:
If plugged into the computer it shows the loading daisy (which doesn't animate). I can hold any combination of the volume buttons and power button and it will flash black and return to the daisy.
If not plugged in, it shows the model number and 'Samsung'. Behavior is the same. Holding volume up, or down and the power button will flash black after eight seconds and then show the model and 'Samsung'.
I haven't tried Odin (although I've downloaded it and a rom thusly), a Jig, or any of the other brute force approaches to reaching download mode simply because I know that if I reached there once, I should be able to reach there again. Computers aren't sentient (although I swear this phone enjoys tormenting me).
Does any body have any insight to why I would be going through this?
Why won't it reach download mode again?
Just fyi: I have literally tried every button combination I can suss from the countless threads I've scoured and scanned.
Thanks in advance for any insight anyone can provide.

Just to make sure, as I didn't see it in the post, you did do v+/v- and insert the usb cord from a powered off state, right?
Also, check the captivate connection issues thread in my signature if you haven't already.

Different reaction
Hey thank you! Your list is handy!
I'm shocked I hadn't stumbled upon it already, or your signature for that matter..
Seriously can't understand how this is the first time I've seen it.
I've tried the [FROM A POWERED-DOWN STATE - BATTERY REMOVED] procedures but none of them got me into download mode.
Thanks all the same.
I'll try the battery charging list next.
Quick (and possibly stupid) question : Does it matter if it's an official Samsung USB cable?
As I noted in my initial post, I managed to get into download mode earlier today (little Android digging my grave with the same cable I've been struggling with for the past six hours.

Luck!
omigodomigodomigodomigodomigodomigod
okay, so I managed to get into d/l mode by plugging to power (outlet usb) and then applying three buttons.
So:
Battery Out
Plugged into USB
Battery In
Hold VolUp+VolDown+Power
Android man digging my grave showed up.
It should be noted that this same process was conducted several times against my PC upon which the technique worked several hours (and several hundred attempts, and half a season of StarTrek TNG) ago.
...now what (lol!)
I guess I'll fire up Kies and conduct a few more hours of scouring!

well you COULD go about flashing roms and kernels and modems to your hearts delight. But I would advise against that. I'd recommend first backing up EVERYTHING. Especially your /efs (you'll need to be rooted) folder if your considering flashing a rom. Once you do that you're free to flash. Just be sure to read the OP of the rom to make sure you meet the requirements for the rom or kernel, such as if you have the right boot loaders. As long as you read, you really can't go wrong with the captivate.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App

I'm not entirely sure how the phone reached this state but according to all the stuff I've read, if the phone is in this state it's recoverable using Kies.
However Kies doesn't seem to care that I've got this phone plugged in.
Frankly, there's nothing to back up, and if flashing out with Odin is the only way to establish a working Captivate then I suppose i've got some files to download.
Does anybody have any insight regarding Kies and getting it to play nice nice?

Do you have Samsung drivers installed?
Personally, I have only got Kies to work when the phone was actually on.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App

If your in download mode, I suggest just flashing back to stock using heimdal.
(I don't use odin 1-click stocks because my first attempt at using it corrupted my bootloaders. My phone would power on, go through the AT&T screen for hours. I also could not enter recovery or download using 6 different methods including a jig. I lost hope and accidentally left my phone on when I went to bed. I wake up next morning and it booted up. I used terminal emulator from the market and used the command Reboot Download. I worked, then I flashed back to stock using hiemdal. I am not completely sure why I shared this story but w.e )