ONE XL - No Maps Found! Help please

[Mick_1959]

Ok Seeking help for a problem with a TomTom One XL UK and Ireland.

The device is owned by a elderly friend who is somewhat fed up with his device.

Until last week he was happy with his device, he would just turn it on and used it, he never backed it up or updated it (yes, I know, but I did advise him years ago and showed him how to with my devices)

Then, as you can guess, last weeek his One XL developed a problem and the 'No Maps found' message displayed in the screen.


I have connected it to my PC and following is what I found.

If I remove SD card, and turned PND on, device goes to screen showing SD card has to be inserted.

If I Connect to my laptop (Win 7 Pro 64Bit):
Device shows up in My computer as 'Removable Disk (G: )' that if double clicked, I am asked to insert a disk
If I right click and check 'Properties', General tab shows 'Used space' and 'Free Space' as 0 bytes, 'Tools tab': Error Checking returns message ' Windows cannot access the disk'
Checking Device Manager: TomTom One XL shows up as a Disk Drive , and Portable Device: G: \


SD card has files on, but no maps.
I used a card reader in my laptop, backed up files, and then transferred them to a 2Gb SD card.
I created an account with TomTom Home, which gave several updates, but no Maps.



Next: Inserted updated SD card into device and booted up PND to get 'No Maps Found' Message'.

Then I connected Device with USB lead to my Laptop, chose 'Yes' to connect to computer
Now in My computer, the SD Card it show as 'Removable Disk (G: )' that if double clicked, I can see the files it has
And as before, Device Manager: TomTom One XL shows up as a Disk Drive, and Portable Device: G:\

I Created an account with TomTom, but it asks for a product code, but states 'no valid product code give', yet I am using the one that TOMTOM Home shows as correct!


OK I know its an older device, but Can anyone help?

Or has it become an 'ex One XL'


EDIT: I have tried clear flash
_________________
Mick
Go 1005 in need of resuscitation
GO 950 Dead,
GO 920 Dead

[Andy_P]

Sorry you've had no other replies so far...

Thanks for all your detailed descriptions of what you've done and what you're seeing. It helps a lot.

Unfortunately, in this case it seems to be saying everything is working exactly as you'd expect, except for the lack of maps!

So, can you just confirm for us that:

1. There is definitely no folder called "Great Britain" or "UK and Ireland" or anything like that (even "Western Europe"!) on the device at all?

2. Nor is it anywhere on the backup you made after the problems began or anywhere else on your or his PC?

3. And he's never bought and downloaded a new map for it at any time?

If not, then I'm afraid its a clear cut case of "no backup, no map".

That doesn't mean the unit is defunct, just that your friend needs to buy a new map for it (and then back it up!)
_________________
"Settling in nicely" ;-)

[Mick_1959]

Andy

Thanks for your help.

There are no map folders at all.

However, there is a curiosly named file which when clicked opens my DVD burner. I do not think it is an MSI or ISO file.

Am at work now, but will post the name and format when I get home.

--------------------------------

Checked the file it is .mds file and it is in root directory and named: United_Kingdom_and_Republic_of_Ireland-5E2662F6.mds



The folders/files on device are:

Folders:
art
contacts
ephem
gl
gns
helpme
itn
logging
partial_updates
program
sounds
statdata
voices
zip


Files:
antitheft
bootloaderversion
data.chk
gprscom.conf
gprssettings.dat
install.bif
mctx.dat
mctx
reflush
settings.dat
system
tomtom
ttgo.bif
tthome.bif
TTPnPD
Ttsystem
United_Kingdom_and_Republic_of_Ireland-5E2662F6
_________________
Mick
Go 1005 in need of resuscitation
GO 950 Dead,
GO 920 Dead

[Andy_P]

Thanks for the list of folders/files.... boring to do, but it makes the situation a lot clearer!

Don't worry unduly about the file that opens your DVD burner. Don't forget that the TT uses Linux and doesn't need to follow the same conventions for file extensions (the three letters after the dot) as Windows programs use.

(Even on Windows there are plenty of clashes where the same three letters get used by different programs - after all, there are only so many available combinations of three letters!)

All it means is that your DVD-burning software has "registered" those three letters on your PC so any files using them in the filename get opened by that prog. (Just like MS Word will grab the "doc" extension for itself and Excel will grab "xls")

SO... back to the problem....

We can discuss until the cows come home about how or why the map folder has disappeared, but that's not going to help getting it back at all.

Seems to me the only two options are

1. Find the old map somewhere
2. Buy a new one

It looks like you have exhausted the search for it on the TT and SD card, but you haven't mentioned a search on his PC.

The only hope there is that at some point in the past, he either backed it up OR he bought a new map on-line or used the Latest Map Guarantee, in which case there would be an archived copy on the PC (in the C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\TomTom\HOME\Downloads\complete\map folder).

Or maybe, just maybe, he managed to move the map folder onto his PC himself by accident, stranger things have happened.
I think you'll have to do the searching yourself, if you can get to his PC.

Otherwise, all you can do is take some vicarious pleasure in saying "I told you so!" when you tell him why backups are so important and how much a new map will cost him.
_________________
"Settling in nicely" ;-)

[Andy_P]

A couple of things I forgot to mention...

--------------------

AFAIK, the .mds file is part of the activation/locking system for OLD maps (they changed the system for greater security later). It's in the right place, but it should be linked to other files in the main map folder (which is missing).

--------------------

You said:

[Mick_1959]

Andy

Thanks for the help.

Following applies:

1. The device has never been connected to a PC until I did it
2. The device has never connected to TomTom Home until I did it
3. Found the 'Credit Card' with product number - registered with TomTom
4. TomTom registered product only to politely advise me they no longer support the device.
5. Tomtom will let me buy a map, but will not offer anysupport!
6. I have no access to a map

Looks like its buy a new map or a cheap XL IQ
_________________
Mick
Go 1005 in need of resuscitation
GO 950 Dead,
GO 920 Dead

[Andy_P]

I think you've got it in one.

To be fair on them, even if they were still offering support for that model, they wouldn't help with a deleted map.
Backup, backup, backup!

I'd advise you avoid any TT model with a small "2" after the model name. These have reduced features and the "simplified" 2-item main menu.
_________________
"Settling in nicely" ;-)

[Mick_1959]

Andy_P

Thanks for your help
_________________
Mick
Go 1005 in need of resuscitation
GO 950 Dead,
GO 920 Dead

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