Firmware Won't Update

Are you running as an admin? Firewalled, AV running? What OS?

When did the problem start?

Yes, running as an admin. Using WinXP. Firewall running (forgeddabout asking me to turn off the firewall...note: the install gets to 71%, so the firewall isn't blocking it. Ditto AV I presume). AV is currently Avast Free.

Problem has always existed on my desktop. Formerly running AVG Free AV software. Now running Avast Free.

I successfully updated this unit previously using a friend's laptop but have never been successful on my desktop.

The puzzling part to me is the fact that it gets to 71%. What kind of I/O error allows 71% and then fails?

Good question. All the MS updates applied? Running .NET 3.5?

I wonder what the difference is between yours, and your friends rig?

I suspect it is an error writing to the nuvi itself ... could be USB/communications error, insufficient space on the nuvi drive, corrupt FAT32, etc. Since it worked with your friends computer, the USB/communications seems the most likely. Try a different USB port and/or cable.

Juggernaut, yes, I always have all of the latest Windows updates applied.

Alandb, I suspect you are correct but why does it get to 71%? Why not fail immediately? Insufficient space isn't the problem. There is LOTS of free space on the NUVI. I tried two other USB ports and experienced the same results.

Note that when using my friend's laptop, I used the same cable, so the cable is not the culprit.

Reboot your computer. Then try to update your firmware as soon as the computer comes back up. Some times the computer needs to take a bit of a breath to clean the RAM out.

Another idea. Since your computer gets to 71% then has an error on all your attempts, try increasing your cache OR your virtual disk.

No guarantees, just a thought. Good luck -

The problem looks to be in your computer. Try deleting your USB drivers, hubs, etc. Reboot the computer, XP should install clean drivers. If it still won't complete then run XP's defrag on your GPS and see if it reports any memory errors.

The fact that you get to 71% before you get the I/O error implies that you have either a bad file or your computer is able to buffer 71% of the file before it runs out of memory but isn't able to install it on the GPS. Clear all of XP's Internet caches and try again.

I don't really expect any of my suggestions to work but good luck.

Make sure the nuvi is connected to a USB port directly on the PC...not on a hub nor a port on say, your keyboard. If you're already connected to a port directly on the PC, try another (and another) USB port.

Jack,

Note that I have zero problems with any other USB devices plugged into my USB ports. I am thinking it's not a driver problem. Note too that it is not adviseable to run Defrag on Garmin GPS units as it shortens the life of the unit. Defrag is intended for hard drives, not electronic memory. It's not likely that it would find any errors since updates are flawless using my friend's computer to update this GPS. Also, it seems unlikely that my PC is running out of memory to buffer this simple update considering that WinXP (and other) updates are considerably larger. Remember, memory caches are dumped to Virtual Memory on the hard drive as needed. In my case, I have several Gigs of Virtual Memory, so it's highly unlikely I am running out of RAM *and* Virtual Memory. Thanks though.

DorkusNimrod,
No USB hub here and yes, I tried several USB ports on my PC.

Anyone else with suggestions? Keep them coming. Appreciate it.

Well, firewalls like Zone Alarm can prevent certain file executions. However, that may be neither here nor there.

Have you looked at the DEP (Data Execution Prevention) mode for the processor? Remote, but may be the cause.

I haven't heard of DEP before now oddly enough. I will investigate this tomorrow. It does look like a possibility. Thanks!

No problem. If it's a newer processor, it should support it. Older ones may not.

Ahhh, well mine is a few years old and may not support it then. I will check it out though.

Well similar issues were raised in this forum several times; a search might have saved you some time.
Anyway, forget all that MS Windows talk – it probably has got nothing to do with your problem – try fixing it yourself by upgrading the 265 manually.

- Take a backup of the x:\Garmin directory on your Nuvi first!!! Should anything undesirable happen you’ll always be able to roll back
- Download the latest *.gcd firmware file (current version 7.10) from the Garmin.com site
- Rename the downloaded file gupdate.gcd and copy it to the x:\Garmin directory on your device
- Make sure that the software version which is recorded in the x:\Garmin\GarminDevice.xml file on your Nuvi is below 7.10
- Safely disconnect your device from the PC. Make sure it is turned off; now turn it on

The new firmware should start loading now. When the device is ready, check its current version. If update still fails, to this:

- Verify that the newly acquired *gcd file is still stored in the Nuvi’s x:\Garmin directory
- Erase the x:\Garmin\GarminDevice.xml on the Nuvi (don’t worry, it will be regenerated; and besides, you did take a backup – didn’t you?)
- Turn the Nuvi off, then on.

You can find the current *.gcd file here: http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=4697
When this page is displayed, right click anywhere on the page, then left click on view source.
A green colour text will open with instruction on how to manually download the firmware file.

You appear to have eliminated all of the possible problems using logic, congratulations. Enjoy your updated GPS as you have now solved your problem.

Thanks for the detailed description of a manual update. In the XML file, I see "Software version 660" near the top of the file, which correlates to 6.60 as seen in the 265WT ABOUT screen. Is that the firmware version?

Have you checked your computer for available hard drive space? It may well be trying to download the entire upgrade to your computer and then send it to the GPS. If you run out of space on the hard drive then it will fail after it gets to a certain point. I've seen this happen with other software.

I've also seen software installs fail due to badly fragmented hard drives. Brand new CD install sets that failed to install until the drive was defragged. Again, it was related to available hard drive space and that space being heavily fragmented.

No go, Elig. The manual update doesn't seem to work. When rebooting the GPS, it does not seem to load the update file. Pretty strange. And the GPS remains on 6.60.

Thrak, 84 GB free on the hard drive I am using. And as Elig suggested, I manually moved the update file (after renaming it) to the GPS. Thus, the C drive is not used in this exercise.

Now I am truly lost as to why it won’t update. I assume that you double checked that the GUPDATE.GCD file on the Nuvi is the 7.10 file and not the original, and that you have also tried deleting the xml file from the device. You have two options now: either stay with 6.6 version (check on the Garmin.com firmware site which functions you’ll be missing), or do a master reset.
In the past, my own dear 760 wouldn’t function as it should have (that was not a firmware update issue) and a hard reset cleared that problem. Note that a hard reset will make your device come up as a newly born baby with no recollection of its past life. If you do decide to do a hard reset, keep the newly downloaded *.gcd file on the device. By the way I notice that on actual 2x5 Nuvi’s the file’s name is written in capitals – don’t know if this is significant but why not comply? And, here are detailed “googled” instructions on how to do a hard reset on a 265:

- Master Reset on nuvi 2xx, 2x5, 465, 5xx, 6xx, 7xx or 1xxx devices:
Note: A master reset will erase all waypoints or favorites and will restore your unit to the default factory settings.

1. Start with the unit OFF and unplugged from power
2. Touch and hold the lower right corner of the screen with an index finger or the eraser end of a pencil
3. Continue touching and holding the lower right hand corner of the screen then power the unit ON
4. Release the power button when the device powers ON
* You will see a new message: Do you really want to erase all user data?
5. Remove your finger from the touchscreen when this message displays
6. Touch Yes

The device will automatically reset. Please follow the on screen prompts on the nüvi and when completed place your device in an area with a clear view of the sky until it acquires satellites.

Seems there are two different firmware update files for the 2x5W series. The one Elig99 linked to here:

MTK chipset changelog page:
http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=4697

The other chipset used in the 2x5w series is the ST Micro Cartesio. You can download the firmware update file for that particular chipset from here using the same procedure as Elig99 listed above.

ST Micro Cartesio chipset (note however that it's not specified as such like on the MTK changelog page) changelog page:
http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=4105

Here's the direct link to the ST Micro Cartesio chipset firmware update file:
http://www.garmin.com/software/nuvi2x5W_GCDFile__710.gcd

Here's the direct link to the MTK chipset firmware update file (which you've already tried):
http://www.garmin.com/software/nuvi2x5W_GCDFile-MTK__710.gcd

Note that the update files are named and sized differently:
ST Micro: 8.48 MB (8,897,560 bytes)
MTK: 9.41 MB (9,872,888 bytes)

Remember to rename the file to GUPDATE.GCD on the nuvi after placing it into the nuvidrive:/Garmin folder.

How can one tell which chipset is being used by a specific 2x5? Will 'test mode' reveal it? Or, perhaps one can assume from the following article that sixeye's device is using the latter rather than the former?
http://www.gpspassion.com/fr/articles.asp?id=259

Test or Diagnostics mode may or may not reveal the chipset used. Seems Garmin stopped displaying this info for certain models for some reason...maybe people were using the diagnostics mode to choose one particular GPS chipset over another since some were seemingly preferred. Only Garmin knows the answer to this.

The Cartesio chipset update worked. Thanks!

Now for a final report of weirdness. Since I was curious about what was causing the I/O error, I got to thinking more about it. During some testing, I noticed that WebUpdater was communicating with a USB port not connected to the GPS. The only other device connected to the desktop via USB is my printer (powered off). I unplugged the printer USB cable and tried WebUpdater again. Success!

I will make a note of this for future reference.

Thanks everyone for all of your suggestions. Great bunch of people here.

What a fuster cluck THAT was just to update! Glad you got it sorted though.

Great! Happy to help.

You were one step short of turning your printer into a GPS

Hmm, could you then print out a picture of Aussie Karen?

I turned on my printer and it seems to have pointed to Aussie Karen on YouTube. (jk)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6A-YMakNZY

Some of you may have seen my struggle with a full NA map update in another thread here. I could not get the GPS to take all of North America. The best I could do was get part of NA. I tried again with the printer unplugged, and voila! I will post this on that thread as well in case others run into this problem.