[Captivate General] Dani897:
what to do?

there are several options, the quickest for you will be based on your end goals

you can either mod 3e or replace it. it can be replaced by flashing a kernel containing cwm in odin or in sgs kernel flasher.

1 if you wish to stay stock but rooted with the ability to flash from recovery the quickest way is: root and mod recovery. either one can be done first depending on which methods you use to mod recovery.

2 for the obsessive compulsive there is this option: flash back to 2.1 with 2e recovery, then you can install new rom, root, cwm, ect... via the update.zip method without issue. Many users consider flashing to stock, a cleaner rom install, but now as most full rom zips do a wipe on install (erasing the stock), this is no longer true.

3 flash cwm enabled kernel via odin, having cwm built into a kernel bypasses 3e. and is your fastest route to custom rom flashing.

4 for those who want a stock 2.2 rom but a modded kernel can root via rageagainstthecage then install sgs kernel flasher or galaxy tuner from the market and flash a kernel containing cwm. this isnt gone over because it is self explanatory

there are many other variations, but these are the ones that made most sense to me

ROOT:

there are 2 methods to root.

1st (old) root method is via update.zip in stock or cwm recovery. this can only work in 2e or after 3e is modified. this was made for 2e recovery. directions are in the thread.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=725555&highlight=root

2nd method is to root via rageagainstthecage. this can easily be done with superoneclickroot (automatic) and if that fails there are tutorials on how to do it manually.

superoneclick can be found in the thread below. Make sure 'superuser' app gets installed on phone, if root is successful but no app is present you can download the superuser app from the market.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=803682

if the superoneclick fails here are detailed instructions to manually root via rage against the cage:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=827544

FIXING 3e:

method 1 (automatic)

you can fix 3e via batch script on a windows pc. look at post 3 below from TRusselo. This method works with and without being rooted first, root can also be achieveved later by either method listed above.

url for download is below: remember to disable you antivirus/anitmalware software

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/19201431/Files/3e_fix-Unzip-ClickInstall.zip

Method 2 (manual)

First root your device via 'superonclick' [directions are above], then copy the fixed file over the old one via ADB, terminal emulator or a root file explorer. I prefer root explorer but there are free apps that can do it. most free apps will require you to mount the system as r/w in terminal emulator first.

the fix file and detailed directions to Manually fix 3e are found in the thread below

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=909213

at this point you are ready to install cwm recovery via update.zip or rom manager and flash whatever you wish.

FLASHING TO STOCK AND USING 2e:

( obsessive compulsive )

this is not how i do it by the way. but some people like to flash the phone and flash to stock to restore original files and wipe as much data as possible before flashing a rom. in my opinion it is not needed 90% of the time but some roms are weird, and may require original stock files and dont force wipe on install. i may flash to stock if i run into trouble occasionally.

use odin3 one-click downloader 1.0 to flash to 2.1 stock. if you have a 1007 or 1008 (found under the battery) check to see if the phone has working 3 button combo, if not use the 3-button fix with odin3 flashing utility version 1.3+ . If you have rogers and dont want the AT&T to be the splash screen there is a rogers version here. once the 3buttons are fixed avoid flashing with a one-click installer. flashing bootloaders is risky, not that risky but why do it if you dont have to?

Odin3 One-Click Downloader

[optional, removes all data, even wipes internal sdcard] once on the stock rom with debugging enabled you can preform a master clear with the oneclick installer. it does a factory format of the entire sdcard. oneclick is found in this thread

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=731989

sbl.bin 3-button fixes can be found in these threads:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=812434&highlight=3button+fix

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=818439

if you need one of ^these^ you will also need to use adb or a jig to get into download mode. there is likely an explanation in each thread somewhere in the replies, also the adb commands are outlined in the "safe" jf6 odin thread above. if you avoid odin oneclick you will only need 3-button fix once.

rogers roms are here:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=979133

now you can use update.zip files in stock recovery.

REPLACING 3e WITH CWM:

if you intend to flash a custom rom it will be rooted so there is no need to root. instead you can fast forward to replacing 3e recovery by odin flashing a kernel, for this i use speedmod kernel. which kernel you use is irrelevant because it is only temporary. instructions for odin are all over but in the case of flashing a kernel there is no need for any pit file or repartitioning. make sure repartition is not selected, place the kernel in the pda slot, it must be in ".tar" format. put the phone in download mode and press start. this takes no more than 3 seconds and is what i use most often.

thanks to

trusselo

designgears

icezar

clshortfuse

harcore

and anyone i forgot in the long list of threads i referred to

if any of these threads help you thank or donate to the op!

thanks again to TRusselo helping me clean this up.