ERROR MESSAGE: POI Loader unable to read from the device "G:GPS files/pg"

I imagine these POI files are not too large. Can you create a directory on your computer's hard drive, then copy the POI files from the DVD to this new directory, then run POI Loader directing it to the hard drive's POI directory? If so, does this work for you?

Whoops! I forgot to mention that I have the POI folder on the PC on the E: drive.

So this is a typical setup. POI folder on the PC. I update any new POIs to the folder and then attach the nuvi to the PC. Turn on POI Loader and update the nuvi (N:)from the POI folder (E: drive).

The fact that POI Loader is referencing this arcane error message is messing everything up.

One more thing, when clicking on POI Loader to load POI, it briefly has "not responding" on the POI Loader title bar window. Then it errors.

Please help.

What version of POI Loader are you using?

Windows Version 254

When I attach my GPS to my PC, I get both G: and N: together. I know this because when I click the "safely remove hardware" icon in the system tray, it says "Safely remove USB Mass Storage Device - Drives(G:, N:)"

With your GPS attached to your computer - and before you fire up POI Loader - open Windows Explorer and look at the folders you have.I see a "Garmin Nuvi (G:)" in my list as well as a "Removable Disk (N:)".
I can explore the G: drive but not the N: drive.

Let us know what Windows Explorer reports.

What were the steps after loading POI Loader that you went thru? We need to understand when the error message appeared.

1. Connected nuvi to PC
2. Confirmed via Windows Explorer that nuvi is Garmin Nuvi (N:) and "Removable Disk (M:)
3. Can explore N: drive but not the M: drive.
4. Opened POI Loader
5. Click Next
6. "Garmin Device" is selected to save POIs, Next
7. Nuvi is already listed in Device field, Next
8. "Install new custom POIs onto your device" is selected/Next
9. POI folder is selected/Feet and MPH/Express Mode
10. Click Next
11. Not Responding appears in title bar window
12. Information window appears, "Unable to read from the device 'G:/GPS files/pg', please verify that the device is connected and try again"
13. Click okay and program terminates

In your "process", I need one more piece of information. On the POI Loader page where "Feet and MPH" is selected, what do you have in the field immediately beneath the words "Please select the directory where the data files can be found:"? As the instruction implies, this should be a directory (usually on your hard drive) from which POI Loader will read all of the "files" within that "directory" which have known extensions like ".csv" or ".gpx".

Please select the directory where the data files can be found: E:\My Documents\My POI

(On the same POI Loader page but just above where "Feet and MPH" is selected)
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Amended:

Apparently, the problem is with my W7 PC and how it manages the POI files. The MY POI folder was recently transferred from my XP PC to my W7 PC. I successfully updated the POIs in my nuvi at that time.

This morning, I tested the process by transferring the MY POI folder from my W7 PC back to my XP PC. Same error message.

I then re-installed the original MY POI folder (from the XP PC) onto the XP PC and ran POI Loader.

What do you know? It works... Other POI Factory members have had no problems with POI Loader and W7 so I'm SOL for now...

At least I can update my POIs by using the XP PC.

e_piph_a_ny,

Let us know what happens when you try this on Win7 again. The more I thought of it, the more it seemed that POI Loader was thinking that the "directory" was G:\GPS Files\pg, but that wasn't it.

Another thought - on the Win7 machine, download "revo uninstaller" (it is recommended by PC world as a top 25 tool) from "http://www.revouninstaller.com/download/revouninstaller.zip" This is a "portable" version and runs from whatever directory it is unzipped to. Let it do its most advanced uninstall to get rid of the leftover registry entries that are typical of using "add/remove programs" from the Control Panel.

Then, reload POI Loader and see if whatever has been hanging it up gets cleared.

jgermann,

Thanks for your suggestions. I appreciate your help. I'll do the revo and see how POI Loader works out.

Unfortunately, came up bupkis 2X; first, with revo doing the uninstall, re-installing POI and second, modifying POI Loader to XP SP3 compatibility.

I also have a Garmin Nuvi 360. I have had it since 2008 and have been loading POI's the same way every time. Now all of a sudden I can't load them. I keep getting the Not Responding (locking up) error message. Grrrrr. Any suggestions? Is it a coincidence that the both of us have the 360?

Thank you for your help.

When you connect the GPS to the computer, does it appear as a drive and can you see the nuvi's file?

Do you have another USB cable you could try--or use a back USB slot rather than port on your computer's front, monitor, external hub, etc?

I assume you are using the same computer as before and haven't changed operating system or other such event and that your GPS works as expected except for this POI loading issue. What operating system does your computer use and what version of POI Loader are you using?

.... in one or more GPX or CSV's. In my case it was the Bob's Big Boy.gpx that was the problem. It likely doesn't affect XP simply because the systems are different, and Win 7 chokes when it encounters the erroneously encoded quotation marks in the Bob's Big Boy.gpx file while XP doesn't. By changing "CA - Downey, CA (retro + drive thru & car hop)" to CA - Downey, CA (retro + drive thru & car hop) in the Big Boy.gpx from POI Factory, the problem vanishes. The maintainer (tjablons) has been advised.

-------------------------------------------------
The REAL error(s) are unresolved external file references as follows:
MI - Riverview - file://G:/GPS%20files/pg"/
MI - Warren 2 - file://G:/GPS%20files/pg"/
MI - Wayland - file://G:/GPS%20files/PG"/ and finally:
OH - Cleveland - file://g:/GPS%20files/Ext%20Pics/#551%20Brook%20Park%20-%20Cleveland.JPG"/

No "badly formed field", that was simply me losing track of what I was doing when eliminating the error in the first place.

INTERDANTE on the Garmin Forums actually gets credit for this finding.