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Garmin 2720 - US to Euro map update - Garmin Gurus sought...

 
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bumpkin
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:57 pm    Post subject: Garmin 2720 - US to Euro map update - Garmin Gurus sought... Reply with quote

Advice required from Garmin Gurus with deep knowledge of internal file structure on pre-installed mapping.

I recently purchased a Garmin StreetPilot 2720 that was imported from the States by the previous owner. It came with the full retail version of City Nav. Europe v9 NT along with it's unlock code and I have just received the update DVD from Garmin with the European 2008 mapping and purchased the unlock code for that as well.

The way that the mapping is installed in the 2GB of fixed flash memory of the 2720 is presenting a bit of a dilemma. Officially the primary pre-installed mapping (file: gmapprom.img) can only be upgraded by the use of the update DVD, this primary mapping occupies the lions share of the memory. Any memory remaining can be used for additional mapping (file: gmapsupp.img) uploaded using the 'send to Device' command in Mapsource. Up until now this space has been used for the European mapping with the original redundant pre-installed City Nav. North America v7 NT taking up almost 1.5GB. This means that I've only got enough room for about 500MB of Europe; UK, France, Spain and Italy just fit.

I was under the impression that the Europe 2008 NT update disk would do the business and overwrite the US mapping, this is what should happen, I was wrong. It just installs the mapping onto my PC, the unlock wizard requests the unlock code, Web Updater checks the firmware on the 2720 and then it exits. I've tried multiple times, deleted all Garmin stuff off the machine, tried installing on another PC. All attempts end the same way.

I called Garmin Europe tech support but was somewhat disappointed when they started suggesting things like "write the mapping you need to an SD card", the 2720 has no card slot! The second and last call ended with the agent, having gone off to consult a supervisor, insisting that what I wanted to do was not possible but in the same breath mentioning the US base-map... I know that the US basemap will remain, I don't have a problem with that.

I got the distinct impression that the tech support has now been outsourced to a generic call centre; The lack of product knowledge, apparent eagerness to fob the customer off and get onto the next call and the language barrier certainly backed that up. If that's the case then it's a major blow against Garmin in my book. I've always, publicly, touted them as the superior GPS manufacturer based, in part, on their excellent customer service, alas, I don't think I'll be able to do so any longer. I've fired off an email about the 2720 update to Garmin USA but I'm not holding my breath for an answer.

Admittedly the problem is mine, I shouldn't have bought an import but then Garmin Europe willingly provided the update DVD knowing that it was a US version and charged me for the unlock code. The unit and mapping are all registered in my myGarmin account.

The GPS is very usable, I'll just have to load mapping as I need it and truthfully I doubt if I'll ever go on a tour that will require more than 500MB of mapping, I should be as lucky! However, I would very much like to have the whole of Europe on there rather than needing to chop and change.

I've been doing a lot of reading on the matter and I am under the impression that using IMAG2GPS I could try a few possibilities.

1/ Create a small gmapsupp.img file using Mapsource, the 'NOORDZEE 1, NEDERLAND' tile is only 9KB. I would then rename that to gmapprom.img and upload to the 2720 using IMG2GPS. Hopefully this would overwrite the huge pre-installed gmapprom.img containing the US mapping. Now if I crated this file from City Nav v9 NT maybe my update to 2008 might run as expected.

2/ Alternatively I could do as in 1/ above and just leave the small tile on there and so long as it had overwritten the US mapping I should have freed up virtually all of the 2GB to load the complete European mapping using the 'send to Device' command in Mapsource. However, I'm not certain that overwriting the file would completely remove the old one as we're used on our PCs...

3/ The final option would require me to purchase a 2GB card to which I could write the whole of Europe 2008 from Mapsource, rename it as gmapprom.img and upload using IMG2GPS. This file would be in the magnitude of 1.4GB, can IMG2GPS cope with files that large?

Has anyone had any experience in doing this sort of thing. The 2720 lacks the mass storage mode of the 2730 and 2820, if it had that this would be so much easier. Despite searching long and hard I haven't found any sort of utility that will allow me to view the files on the integral flash memory within the GPS, let alone transfer onto, or for that matter off, the unit. The absence of any such utility means that if I successfully overwrite the US mapping but the there's some checksum file or some such that detects that the mapping isn't what's expected I'm going to end up with an expensive paper weight.

The wife returns on Friday and I might pinch her i3 and test on that as a/ it's less precious and b/ it has a removable card that I've backed-up anyway.

Advice gratefully recieved...
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__spc__
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 8:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

How did you get on with this? I want to do exactly the same but with my Nuvi 350, and share exactly your frustrations at the upgrade process. I don't want to buy an SD card for my unit either!
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philpugh
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 6:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I believe the upgrade will only upgrade the installed base mapping - in this case the US maps. I would see if GARMIN will swap your Upgrade DVD for a full release DVD - your unlock code should still be valid (but pls check this).

I don't know how much base memory you have on the 2720 but you will need around 1.6Gb for a full NT2008 install.

What ever you do - please make a full backup of the existing unit - just in case.

For the 350 (_spc_) then the same applies - if the only mapping on it is US then you can't do an 'upgrade' - it's a full install from a full (not upgrade) kit.

There's always a slight downside to getting imports from another country. At least the 350 can take an SD card - allowing you to keep the original US mapping if you want.
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 6:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

@Philpugh,

Thanks for the info. My unit is has full European mapping and the upgrade is full Europe to.

I had a reply to my original post/thread, which says I *can* delete the gmapprom.img, and replace with a new map (generated from the updated maps and renamed from gmapsupp.img):

http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=416254#416254
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philpugh
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

_spc_

Yes you could do it that way - but it's far easier to let the automatic upgrade take place. You don't have to delete anything - it just replaces the mapping in-situ. All you have to do is a backup first - just in case. If your PC is connected to the web it will even get the unlock key automatically.
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Automatic upgrade???

I must have missed that option.... I did think it strange that the process I 'had' to follow was so tricky!
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bumpkin
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 12:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It took a while but my dilemma has now been resolved.

It appears, from my experience, that there is something specific within the Garmin update process for NT mapping that prevents you from overwriting the primary mapping with an update from another region.

Up until last night I was stuck with outdated complete mapping of the US and only partial coverage of Europe on my 2720. However, thanks to two kind souls (both of whom signed up to post an answer) I can report that it is now possible to perform an update of the primary mapping and effectively convert a US import 2720 to a full European version (well, as good as anyway).

See the thread on SmellyBikers forum here

Please note that I have done this with mapping that I have paid for an unlock code for. Garmin, no doubt, knew that this conversion technique exists yet refused to help me saying it was impossible to convert the primary mapping from US to European. Smacks of protectionism IMHO.

Please note that this method is only really useful for Garmin NT units that lack a mass storage mode, namely; Quest II, StreetPilot 2720 and BMW Nav III. For the likes of the 2820, Zumos and Nuvis, these have a mass storage mode that permits access to the files on the unit via USB making the process much easier.
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