gps problem!

pompy

I have an etrex hcx with a topo map sd card in it. I have recently loaded some of my euro navigator cd rom onto it instead of putting the other sd card in it that had the rest of the euro navigator data on it. It now appears that adding this data had wiped the topo information (all the paths, woods etc) is this possible? Has it just been overwritten and put me £60 out of pocket!? Ahh!!

andymiller

I don't own any maps on SD card - I'd have assumed that Garmin would make these cards write-only to prevent people inadvertently overwriting their maps.

But... It depends on what you did - if you overwrote the gsupmap.img file (or whatever it's called) by simply putting the card into a reader/writer and then saving directly to it, then you might have. If you used MapInstall or MapSource/Basecamp then I think the two maps are both in in the gsupmap file and you can toggle between them (I can't remember the details - Settings - Maps or something like that?).

andrew_s

pompy wrote:

Has it just been overwritten and put me £60 out of pocket!? Ahh!!

If you can see the city navigator mapping, yes.
All maps live in a single file \garmin\gmapsupp.img. You could try some sort of file recovery software, though I would expect that the gmapsupp file is large enough that the old version won't be recoverable.

Moral:
take a backup copy of the card data onto your PC when you buy it.
(the backup would only work when restored to the same card)

The map info is at <map page> --> Menu --> Setup Map --> information.
It's worth scrolling up and down the maps list just in case.
My version of Mapsource just creates a new gmapsupp.img file, without reference to what may be on the card already.

Now is probably the time to investigate OpenStreetMap data (free)

andymiller

Unfortunately it looks like, for some reason you can't install maps to a Garmin SD card without erasing the original data. If you scroll down this tutorial on installing maps, the final section (about MapInstall on Mac) shows the warning screen that you get if you try to install a map to a pre-programmed SD card which says 'you are about to erase data pre-programmed by Garmin'. Did you get a warning? I would have thought that the Windows software would give you some sort of warning.

That screen also says suggests may be a way to recover the lost data by going to garmin.com. I'd get in touch with Garmin Customer Service.

The Garmin MapSource Manual (p11) says you can install both City Navigator and Topo maps to the card/unit, but if they overlap you have to switch between them. This presumably only applies to maps that you can install on the PC rather than maps pre-programmed to an SD card.

Here's a tutorial with instructions on how to switch between maps:

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/tutorials/h ... armin-gps/

(It might just be worth checking just in case the Topo mapping is still there but lurking behind the City Navigator).

SFAIK there is only one gmapsupp file so both sets of mapping must be in the same gmapsupp file.

I think Garmin had made it impossible to make a backup copy of their SD cards - or at least make a useful backup. Another reason to avoid them to my mind.