Root Thinking about Flashing to Custom Rom from 2.2

[JackAsssAnon]

New poster, longtime reader looking for advice.

I have a Captivate running 2.2 rooted and running LauncherPro Plus. My phone works fine and really i don't have any trouble with it except battery drains slightly faster than i want it to. (But who doesn't have that problem.) I get a good day and a half from a full charge with normal usage.

However, I'm power hungry and want the best mobile device evar! I am considering flashing to custom rom (for the first time ever) because i want a faster performance out of my phone and i want more options in my customization. (This is why i dropped the iphone4)

I need to read some more and i was hoping some of you more experienced guys and gals could make some recommendations (point me to the right forums/pages to read and reread). I've heard alot of good about Cognition and about Serendipity. I don't even know what the other options are or where to start.

Finally, I learn best with checklists so i wanted to start one and hope someone could add to it.

Root
Titanium Backup (Donating next week)
Rom Manager Premium v3.0.1.2
?????
Profit

 

[lfaulkner29]

ok, first of all let me say i am not a pro at this, as a matter of fact i just lost my "custom rom" virginity on Monday night. so i will just let you know what i did, what issues i had and what my overall experience was like.

the first thing is to back up and make sure you back up ohhh and back up!!! i apparently did not back up properly and lost some contacts, messages and pictures.

i downloaded the AIO Captivate Toolbox by Bay_wolf, which worked really well and made the process very easy. Not without issue though. I had a little difficulty with the "flashing back to stock" step but that was because i didn't know how to get into "download mode" (which is hold down the vol +/- buttons and plug in the usb cable).

another thing to check is that the phone is checked for "usb debugging" during different phases of the whole process that gets unchecked.

i flashed paragon rc6 and the first time i tried it got stuck at the "file analysis" stage but after looking into it i just had to unplug the phone and start the process over and it worked like a charm.

i am very very pleased with paragon at this point. i was having more lag & fc problems with the "official froyo" than i wanted and now im not having any of those issues. and my gps is working 90% better. still not flawless but it is usable which is alot better than i could have said a week ago.

link to bay_wolf page...
[PROGRAM] AIO Captivate Toolbox 3.0 NOW LIVE *Smaller, Faster, + More Automation* - xda-developers

good luck!!!

 

[Dante04SRT]

Good Luck - I've tried say 60% of what's out there and I really like Andromeda 1.2 and Continuum 3.1.1.

Both gave me stable performance and offered nice features/look.

 

[sethjamto]

I've had great performance out of Serendipity. I tried Cog for a while, but didn't care too much for it (not that I had issues with it, but as it is designed to be, it was too much like the stock ROM). Also, rumor has it that a new Serendipity is in the kitchen being made as I type this! (Can't wait!!).

This is the link I used to learn how to flash: [GUIDE] How to Install a custom ROM *NOW WITH VIDEOS* - xda-developers

It worked great for me and was REAL simple to follow step by step.

I've also heard great things about the AIO Toolbox....have actually downloaded and installed it, but haven't used it yet as I have stuck with Serendipity. If/when Serendipity comes out with a new ROM vice an upgrade, I may try the AIO Toolbox this time around....then again, using ODIN as per the link above worked for me very easily the first time, so I may just go with what works for me.

Good luck, HAVE FUN, and make sure you read, read, read BEFORE starting the process. If you aren't comfortable with anything, make sure you get clarification BEFORE you start. Lastly, when you restore your apps through Titanium Backup, DON'T restore the system settings!

 

[allambition]

I flashed to Cognition and the one problem I encountered was the video tutorial I watched didn't mention that they flashed via Odin to the original 2.1 stock Eclair version of Android before flashing Cognition. Otherwise it was pretty painless and I might try Serendipity soon. Good luck! It took me a night to figure everything out and get it working but once you do it (especially the first time) it is freakin sweet