Nuvi 750 no longer a mystery on freeze ups
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 16 years
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A little long, but necessary for explanation.
I returned home to Newton, AL from a trip to Denton, TX day before yesterday. Going out to Texas, my 750 froze up two times. It had frozen up several times before, but this time, it got me right where it hurt both times. The first time was in the middle of the city of Selma, AL right when I needed it most since I was pulling my 38’ fifth wheel camper. It wanted me to turn left in .02 of a mile, but when I realized that it was frozen, I had already passed the turn. I continued on following US Highway 80 which eventually placed me where I should have been (would have been if I followed the GPS had it not frozen up). I pulled into a truck stop and holding the ON button until it powered back up, I was finally able to get it working again.
The second time it happened was when it instructed me to take exit 10 from I-20 in Shreveport, LA. I was going to Tall Pines RV at 6510 West 70th St, Shreveport, LA. I had made this stop once before, but wasn’t sure about the directions. As I left I-20, the GPS told me to go .03 of a mile and turn left onto Pines Road. At the .02 mark, the GPS froze. I continued on, made the left turn and realized there was a WalMart on the right side after crossing the overpass. Negotiating the entrance to the WalMart was quite tricky with the camper, but I made it only to be confronted with a low hanging metal tube across the entryway to the parking lot - #(**%$^**($##**(*$%#*). I obviously couldn’t go that way, and I couldn’t turn around, so I proceeded to the driveway in front of the store and was finally able to get out into the open area of the WalMart parking lot where I was able to turn the camper around. After getting the GPS operating again, I exited the WalMart the same way I came in and proceeded to Tall Pines RV Park on West 70th St.
That night, I tried to figure out what happened. I did many searches on GPS freezing but nothing turned up concrete. I queried Garmin, and was basically told that I was full of it, that I should make sure that I had the latest operating software, etc., etc., yada, yada, etc. I did an update on the software only to be told that I already had the latest version (Ver 4.90). It ask me if I wanted to overwrite and re-install. I did, but nothing changed. I am also running Map 2010.40.
I let it slide. Coming back from Denton, TX, I put up at the same RV Park, but came in from another direction. As I was leaving the next morning, the GPS froze almost as soon as I left the RV Park. I had driven around the area without the GPS and I realized that the freeze came at about the same distance on this side as it did initially off of I-20. I got it going again and proceeded to “Yogi on the lake” campground in Pelahatchie, MS. That night, I created a route from 4025 Jewella Ave, Shreveport, LA to 6510 W 70th St, Shreveport, LA. This was a distance of 6 miles. Everytime I ran the route in simulation mode, the GPS would freeze. Nothing would work. It would simply freeze at the .02 mile mark. Most of the time, the unit froze with the screen in place, the rest of the time, the screen would go black.
My POI’s on the Nuvi were set up as individual .gpi files. I decided to combine them all into one .gpi file. I had copied the files from the SD card to my computer, but decided to make one file from another set of POI’s I had on my computer. I did and it worked great. I did not have a problem in Selma, AL coming back.
I thought about all of this while driving home, and decided to check out the POI’s I was using. It seemed to me that the freezes were based on one or more proximity points since they happened at exactly the same place. So after I got home, I spent two nights and two days eliminating every POI file until I finally hit the file that was causing me all my problems. Keep in mind that this was trial and error and very time consuming. The file that was giving me trouble was the EXXON – MOBILE gas station file. I removed every file but this one and BINGO, every time it would freeze up. I tried it internally and on the SD card, froze every time. I looked at the file in Excel but did not see anything out of the ordinary. Back to drawing board, I removed the .MP3 file thinking that it might have something to do with it. It still froze up. I removed the .BMP file and BINGO, it ran perfectly. I put the .MP3 file back in and it ran perfectly. I put the .BMP file back in and it froze.
Bottom line, I don’t know what could be in the .BMP file that would make it act like that, I don’t know if the .BMP file is OK but used in conjunction with the .CSV file it causes strange things to happen. I just don’t know. These files have been around for sometime. I do believe that another file caused my problems in Selma, AL, but I haven’t had the time to ferret it out.
It would be very interesting if someone else would try it on their unit to see if they come up with the same results.
The file in question is – ExxonMobil_Interstate.csv with accompanying .BMP and .MP3.
A good test route for simulation mode – 4020 Jewella Ave, Shreveport, LA 71109 to 6510 W 70th St, Shreveport, LA 71129.
Curt Hinson
Too Much Data? or ?
Curt, I am running my nuvi 760 (the same unit) fully updated with map and firmware, without problems. Too much data might be on the nuvi. I minimize the number of POIs to those I really need, and clear the trip log from time to time. The nuvi 750 is years old, and the operating system might not be up to processing everything that can be loaded from POI Factory all at the same time. The SD card puts another variable into question.
In another recent thread about battery charging, it seems that the battery can't be fully charged by leaving the nuvi connected to the cigarette lighter outlet. It must be brought inside and charged from time to time with the USB cable to a turned-on PC for six hours, or an AC adapter for four hours. I must do this once a month in spite of driving a great deal with the cigarette lighter outlet on.
Could it be that the freeze-ups happened because the battery was low? Lithium-ion batteries are expected to last 2-3 years.
dobs108
Individual .gpi files
"My POI’s on the Nuvi were set up as individual .gpi files."
I don't understand this. Others at POI Factory have a much better understanding of this than I do.
dobs108
Freeze occurs when only using the one file
Dobs108, this freeze occurs when only the one file "ExxonMobil" is loaded. Doesn't matter if it is on the Nuvi or on an SD card. The unit can't be overloaded.
To have individual files on the GPS, simply use the POI loader to load each file (with supporting files as in .MP3 and/or .BMP). Rename that file to whatever you want such as WalMart Super Stores .gpi. Then load the next file, rename it and so on until you have all the files you want loaded onto your GPS. Actually, it is better to create them on your computer in a special folder, then copy them to the GPS. Why do it this way. If you do them all at once into one .gpi file, you have to go through all of the files setting proximities, etc everytime. If you set them up individually, you only have to follow the above procedure to change the one file when you need to make corrections or do an update.
HTH
Curt Hinson
The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.
Did not fail
As I have a 750 with the same software and map versions, I gave this a try for you. First I setup simulation and used the addresses you suggested. The simulation ran without a problem. I then grabbed the exxonmobil_interstate file you listed along with the mp3 and bmp files, renamed them all to ExxonMobil.xxx so they would all link, ran poi loader to stuff them in the 750 with all the other 200,000 poi (I don't use an SD card). I then re-ran the simulator and it too, ran without a lockup.
Beware, there are 2 different versions of the 750! I think they have a different chipset. One has a black case the other is silver-grey; I have the latter.
Your technique seems to have ruled out the SD card or the internal memory as the culprit and does sound like the .bmp file is suspect, but you'll need to see if you can recreate the failure at the other location with the same files. Sorry I couldn't confirm this for you...
"There's no substitute for local knowledge" nüvi 750, nüvi 3597
Not a problem
TXRVer, I have the black one. I really haven't a clue as to why this does not work with the .bmp file, but I have repeated this error at least 50 times over the last two days.
Just sharing what I found to be a problem. Is it the .bmp file, a combination of all three files for ExxonMobil, the GPS or a combination of all three. I don't know. I think I am ready to do an upgrade, so have been looking at different units. It is so frustrating when the GPS dies on you or puts you off onto some side road because it may be shorter or faster without regards to what you are driving or hauling.
Curt
The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.
Hard reset?
I didn't see anywhere that you tried a hard reset (sorry if I missed it in your long writeup). I would suggest trying it if you have not done so already.
Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon
Different Loading
It seems there is a difference in the method of running POI Loader between CurtHinson and TXRVer.
One has multiple .gpi files and the other has one.
Also, one has an SD card and the other does not.
dobs108
Hard Reset
I didn't see anywhere that you tried a hard reset (sorry if I missed it in your long writeup). I would suggest trying it if you have not done so already.
Alandb, I am sorry that I did not state that I had performed a hard reset. The post was long enough, but I simply didn't think of putting it in writing. I did do a hard reset while out in Texas, in fact, I did it several times. It still comes down to that one file. I will work on the other mishap tomorrow, since it appears that it is something different. There is no ExxonMobil station near where it froze.
Curt
The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.
BMP size?
One thing I notice is that this BMP file is 26 x 23 pixels (23 X 26 = 598). The FAQ says that Garmin BMP files can not exceed 24 x 24 pixels (24 X 24 = 576). It seems possible that you may be getting a memory fault from the over-sized icon. I would try editing the BMP file with Microsoft Paint and shave a couple of rows or columns of pixels from the image.
Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon
BMP Size
alandb, very sharp observation!
dobs108
Darn good observation
One thing I notice is that this BMP file is 26 x 23 pixels (23 X 26 = 598). The FAQ says that Garmin BMP files can not exceed 24 x 24 pixels (24 X 24 = 576). It seems possible that you may be getting a memory fault from the over-sized icon. I would try editing the BMP file with Microsoft Paint and shave a couple of rows or columns of pixels from the image.
I looked long and hard at the icon, but really didn't see anything different. However, I seldom let a sleeping dog lie, so I used Irfanview to change the icon to a .jpg. I got the same results. I will try to change the size and see if that helps. It certainly works without the icon. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
I've often wondered why all icons that I have seen are .bmp when .jpg gives the same results with a smaller file size.
Curt
The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.
Changed Icon size
I used Irfanview and changed the size of the icon to 24 x 21 pixels. Reloaded only that file and the screen went black at the .02 mile marker. I removed the .bmp file, reloaded only that file and it ran perfectly. I just don't know. I'm tired of fighting with it.
Curt
The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.
.
Try this one: http://members.shaw.ca/anon_y_mous/images/ExxonMobil.bmp
It's 24x24, indexed, and 8 bit. It may work for you. The other was RGB, and of course, the dimensions were off.
nüvi 3790T | Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable ~ JFK
That was a good icon
Juggernaut, I thank you from the bottom of my heart (er, uh, thumping gizzard). That icon flew right past the previous freeze ups. Just gives me something else to be on my toes about. I didn't do a search on bad icons, but if nothing exists regarding that feature, maybe the powers to be will post something about it. I have a feeling that things like this is where most of the freeze ups come from. It does take a while to ferret them out, but I am glad that I did.
Thanks to everyone that replied. Very helpful and it at least let me know that I might be crazy as a loon, but not as stupid as it appeared.
Thanks again
Curt
The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.
freeze up
I didn't see anywhere that you tried a hard reset (sorry if I missed it in your long writeup). I would suggest trying it if you have not done so already.
Alandb, I am sorry that I did not state that I had performed a hard reset. The post was long enough, but I simply didn't think of putting it in writing. I did do a hard reset while out in Texas, in fact, I did it several times. It still comes down to that one file. I will work on the other mishap tomorrow, since it appears that it is something different. There is no ExxonMobil station near where it froze.
Curt
my 750 continually froze with the f/w 4.90.even with hard resets,and reinstalling the firmware. so what fixed my freeze ups was to revert back to f/w 4.80.end of problem, hope this helps.
garmin nuvi,750 ***3ʇǝʞɔɐɾpǝɹ*** garmin nuvi,855 garmin nuvi,1490t
Curt
Glad to be of help.
The other may be 16 bit as well, which may have caused a problem.
nüvi 3790T | Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable ~ JFK
A new .bmp
I made a new one for you, and all the other folks here, and have submitted it to Mary-Ann.
Find it here: http://members.shaw.ca/anon_y_mous/images/ExxonMobil.bmp
nüvi 3790T | Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable ~ JFK
Thanks a million, Juggernaut
Having tracked this bug down, I feel that there are others out there especially on those files that haven't been updated for some time. Anyone having freeze up problems at the same place should eliminate all icons to see if their system runs OK. If it does, they should try to isolate the problem one(s) and report them to Mary Ann.
Thanks again.
Curt
The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.
You bring up a good point
You bring up a good point about what may be causing a lot of the freeze up problems.
Charlie. Nuvi 265 WT and Nuvi 2597 LMT. MapFactor Navigator - Offline Maps & GPS.
good read, Lots of
good read, Lots of information
Virgo
Virgo53 Nuvi 780/265W
I'm glad
I'm glad you found your problem and I hope that is the only problem you have with it. I have had my 750 for a couple of years now and I really like it. However, after upgrading the firmware to 4.9, it started freezing up. Mostly in map mode while playing mp3s. Tried the hard reset and that fixed it until I updated the map to 2010.4. The freezes started again so I downgraded to 4.8 on the firmware. No freezes, works fine.
I don't know why Garmin seems to be unable to test firmware updates. They come out with an update that fixes some problem but generates another. You would think that if they are going to take the trouble to modify the OS to fix a problem, they would check the update before releasing it. I'm sure they have lost customers over this.
Jackj180
I am sorry to hear that your freezes are based on another feature. You possibly might have the same problem I have also but not know it.
Until I have checked out all POI's that I am interested in, I will simply remove all icons. 
My alternative to playing MP3's on the GPS is playing them in my truck radio. It holds 6 CD's and plays MP3's. I probably can drive from here to Texas with out hearing the same song twice. 
It bugs me when something goes wrong, so I will spend whatever time it takes to try to isolate the problem. This particular problem concerns the operating software on the GPS and the icons. No icons, the software works fine. Certain icons, the software goes bonkers. What got my attention was the fact that the freezes seemed to occur at the same place and when I discovered that I could replicate the problem in simulation mode, I felt I could isolate the bug.
Curt
The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.
No problem now
Hi Curt,
We made a trip to our daughter's place Easter Weekend (about an hour's drive). The 750 was navigating on the trip down and my wife and I were listening to an audio book in mp3 format. We had no problem. On the return trip, the 750 was just playing the audio book and displaying the map. It froze up 4 times in a little over an hour. I reverted back to 4.8 after we arrived back home. We made a trip to Indianapolis, IN last weekend, about 3 hours each way. We listened to another audio book with the map displayed and running 4.8 firmware. No problems either down or back, a total of about 6 hours of driving. My problem seems to be firmware version 4.9, not .bmp's.
Anyway my problem is now fixed, I'll stay with 4.8. I doubt that Garmin will issue another firmware release due to the age of the 7xx series.
Great Post....
Curt....thanks for initiating this great exchange of information and ideas. I am fairly new to all this GPS stuff...still learning....usually from info on this forum!
SilverRhino
I am pleased to no end if anything I am able to contribute to this site helps others. Welcome and dive right in.
Curt
The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.
Thanks ...
... will delete that one from my device ... have been having similar issues.
--
it's the dog's fault
Garmin DriveSmart 5 My other toys: IMac quad-core i3, Mac Mini M1. MacOS: Ventura 13.3.1 The dog's name is Ginger.
Don't blame a poor clueless dog
it's the dog's fault
I mean, the dog didn't do it, I'm sure of that !
On the other hand (I have five fingers - OK, that one's done), it's great to see the friedship and assistance one can find on this here website. And I think we should all be extremely grateful to Miss POI and Jon for hosting it / bearing up with us.
I've said this before - Miss POI for GPS Presindent !
And for the dogs - a screen cleaner awaits you here: http://locaspera.free.fr/tools/screen_cleaner.htm
Ain't nuthin' never just right to do the things you wanna do when you wanna do them, so you best just go ahead and do them anyway ! (Rancid Crabtree, from Pat F McManus fame)
Woudn't it be better . . .
Wouldn't it be better if Garmin's code didn't suck as badly as it does and handled out of range data more elegantly?
How hard would it be to validate the icons in the loader program and warn the consumer?
How hard would it be to test the icon in the navigator when loading it and either skip it (putting in the generic one), deleting it or warning the user?
This is not a new problem. This is not unique to this model. Garmin simply writes garbage code.
Oh. And 4.9 sucks.
Currently have: SP3, GPSMAP 276c, Nuvi 760T, Nuvi 3790LMT, Zumo 660T
Firmware 4.80
Hello guys. This is my first visit, and you all are way more advanced than I am. I found this place by Gooling "Garmin Nuvi 750 freezes up" because mine started freezing up after I updated the software a couple of months ago. I never had that problem before--it had worked fine for several years.
I love my 750 nuvi because it takes a chip, which I do not see on newer models. I enjoy studying languages, so I have a lot of the Foreign Service Tapes (French, German, Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish) in MP3 form, and I like to listen as I drive. So I would like to keep my 750 for as long as possible.
Here is my question for you. How does one go back to Firmware 4.80?
Thanks to anyone who can help!
Pat
Try 4.90
Hello guys. This is my first visit, and you all are way more advanced than I am. I found this place by Gooling "Garmin Nuvi 750 freezes up" because mine started freezing up after I updated the software a couple of months ago. I never had that problem before--it had worked fine for several years.
I love my 750 nuvi because it takes a chip, which I do not see on newer models. I enjoy studying languages, so I have a lot of the Foreign Service Tapes (French, German, Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish) in MP3 form, and I like to listen as I drive. So I would like to keep my 750 for as long as possible.
Here is my question for you. How does one go back to Firmware 4.80?
Thanks to anyone who can help!
Pat
The current firmware is 4.90 (after 5.10 and 5.30 were pulled). To revert to 4.90 from one of the 5.xx versions, check out this thread:
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/32665
particularly the messages near the end starting 5/25/2012 near the bottom of page 2 of the thread.
If you really want 4.80, the above link offers some advice on getting even older firmware versions from the
http://gawisp.com/perry/nuvi/
site. 4.80 can be found and downloaded from there. As I said in the first link of my reply, I haven't used the perry download and install method so I'm not sure if simply running the exe file with the nuvi connected will install the earlier version or if it just creates files on the PC that need to be manually moved to the nuvi or something else.
Once you've changed your firmware, you may want to also do a Hard Reset:
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/26136
Good luck and let us know how it works out for you. And welcome to The Factory!
Reverting to 4.9
I am currently running 5.3. Thanks for that other thread. I'll see if it can help me.
Pat
Support
I am actually surprised Garmin is still supporting the 7x0 and 7x5 series with updates. Considering how many devices they now both current and no longer manufactured, I find it strange they have enough people on staff to maintain legacy devices. I am glad they released updates for my 765T this year but the latest updates really have not done anything spectacular.
I support the right to keep and arm bears.
That's the point
I am actually surprised Garmin is still supporting the 7x0 and 7x5 series with updates. Considering how many devices they now both current and no longer manufactured, I find it strange they have enough people on staff to maintain legacy devices. I am glad they released updates for my 765T this year but the latest updates really have not done anything spectacular.
Garmin has been trying to fix the 7x0 series nuvis since they've been on the market. I don't have any prove of this but I think the whole problem is that the 7x0 series uses two different chip sets and software for one won't run error free on the other. Version 5.30 is working perfectly for me, everything works as it should. Now I just need to remember to spoof my version number when I update my maps so they don't roll me back to a version that is buggy in my 750.