New GPS problem

[Raymond]

I turn on my Garmin GPSMAP 64st, the logo comes on the screen, but as soon as the tiny, blurry letters at the bottom of the screen appear, the unit turns itself off. Over and over again, until something that I try finally gets it going, then it’s fine.

‘‘Something that I try,’’ like swapping the batteries — the batteries are fine — or pressing the on/off button repeatedly, or depressing one of the other buttons. There is no rhyme or reason to whatever it is that works, but eventually it gets past the first appearance of the tiny type and proceeds to the other tiny-type messages and credits, and it starts successfully.

This has been happening for several days now and seems to be getting worse. The first couple of times, I didn’t know with absolute certainty that the unit had turned itself off; I thought that maybe I had been mistaken about turning it on in the first place, so I just depressed the on/off button again and it started up as usual. Now, it’s like pulling teeth, taking forever, as I watch it try to start and not be able to get beyond the first fraction-second of the little letters appearing before the screen goes dark.

I chatted with Jeff of Garmin, and he had me download an update, which I applied, but the unit is still misbehaving.

Any ideas? Solutions?

As I said, once it starts, it works as it should: staying on and recording my route.

 

[DougPaul]

Sounds like an intermittent or a timing race (during startup). Try removing the memory card*, and if that helps, try reseating the card. Beyond that, it could be a hardware problem. If so, send it in to Garmin.

* The card might be defective or might have too many maps on it. (I have never used a 64, but I have found that other models will fail to boot if there are too many maps on the card.)

Another relevant question is whether the unit had been dropped or banged on anything. If so, there might be internal damage.

Doug

 

[Raymond]

Thanks for responding so quickly, Doug.

I removed the memory card before reformatting the unit; even with it out, I still had difficulty getting the unit started. (I saw online that the 62’s sometimes had a problem with memory cards and starting, so I wondered about that possibility with my 64.)

I bought the unit in May 2015, used, from the L.L. Bean Outlet in Nashua, and it came with maps already on it. I haven’t added any.

When I had the unit attached to the computer with a USB cable, it was still hard to start.

I think I probably have dropped it, but I cannot recall when, or how hard of a fall it was. I know it doesn’t take much, but my old 60CSx fell onto the road numerous times before a short drop onto a wood floor did it in.

I was wondering if a track could have somehow been corrupted, and is hanging it up. If I can transfer the tracks into the computer, I can delete them all and see if that makes any difference. Otherwise, I think it’s off to Amazon I go.

 

[TomK]

I had something somewhat similar happen with my 62s, and I resolved it by using Basecamp to remove from the unit's internal memory all of the tracks, routes, waypoints, etc, that I had accumulated. Before you do this, make sure you save onto Basecamp anything you want to keep, so you can copy it back to the GPS later. My maps are on the memory card, not the internal memory, and I didn't touch them.

While on the subject, for a while now, when I connect the unit to my PC with the USB cable, instead of connecting to the PC, the unit often simply boots and runs. If I turn it off and then on while the USB cable is still connected to the PC, it eventually starts talking to the PC, but it can take several cycles. Any suggestions are welcome.

TomK

 

[DayTrip]

I had an issue awhile back with my GPSMap62 that related to my operating system assigning the GPS unit the same drive letter as another device on my computer. It would power up and connect to computer but VERY SLOWLY, often taking minutes to do things that took seconds. BaseCamp often never loaded the GPS (I presume it could not differentiate between the GPS and whatever other device the letter was assigned to). It did not turn off though. It always had power. I removed my memory card and the problem stopped. Doesn't sound like quite the same problem here but I figured I'd throw it out there in case it was a factor.

 

[DougPaul]

I had something somewhat similar happen with my 62s, and I resolved it by using Basecamp to remove from the unit's internal memory all of the tracks, routes, waypoints, etc, that I had accumulated. Before you do this, make sure you save onto Basecamp anything you want to keep, so you can copy it back to the GPS later. My maps are on the memory card, not the internal memory, and I didn't touch them.

Corrupted data on the internal memory which interferes with booting can be much harder to remove than a memory card...

While on the subject, for a while now, when I connect the unit to my PC with the USB cable, instead of connecting to the PC, the unit often simply boots and runs. If I turn it off and then on while the USB cable is still connected to the PC, it eventually starts talking to the PC, but it can take several cycles. Any suggestions are welcome

Possible bad cable or a driver problem are my first thoughts. I sometimes require a second try (preceded by power cycling or disconnecting the cable) to establish the connection with my computer. I think the driver gets into a strange state and needs to be reset. (The second try almost always works so it isn't a problem for me.)

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

I had an issue awhile back with my GPSMap62 that related to my operating system assigning the GPS unit the same drive letter as another device on my computer. It would power up and connect to computer but VERY SLOWLY, often taking minutes to do things that took seconds. BaseCamp often never loaded the GPS (I presume it could not differentiate between the GPS and whatever other device the letter was assigned to). It did not turn off though. It always had power. I removed my memory card and the problem stopped. Doesn't sound like quite the same problem here but I figured I'd throw it out there in case it was a factor.

Could have been bad data, a corrupted card, or a defective card. Erasing the data or reformatting the card might have solved the problem, but replacing it is a safe fix for all three potential causes.

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

Thanks for responding so quickly, Doug.

I removed the memory card before reformatting the unit; even with it out, I still had difficulty getting the unit started. (I saw online that the 62’s sometimes had a problem with memory cards and starting, so I wondered about that possibility with my 64.)

I bought the unit in May 2015, used, from the L.L. Bean Outlet in Nashua, and it came with maps already on it. I haven’t added any.

When I had the unit attached to the computer with a USB cable, it was still hard to start.

I think I probably have dropped it, but I cannot recall when, or how hard of a fall it was. I know it doesn’t take much, but my old 60CSx fell onto the road numerous times before a short drop onto a wood floor did it in.

I was wondering if a track could have somehow been corrupted, and is hanging it up. If I can transfer the tracks into the computer, I can delete them all and see if that makes any difference. Otherwise, I think it’s off to Amazon I go.

OK. If you can get it to connect to the computer, check for data on the internal memory--it might be corrupted. Copy it off (if you want it) and erase it. If this doesn't fix the unit, I'd suspect hardware and would send it off to Garmin for repair or replace it.

Doug

 

[iAmKrzys]

Once you copy your tracks off the device or no longer care about them you may want to try a hard reset on your GPS: https://support.garmin.com/faqSearch/en-GB/faq/content/Z41VbtQ1EH7F4wmdm0hfE6 If that works I suggest updating firmware if you haven't done it already.

 

[Raymond]

Finally getting around to an update: I did the factory reset (or whatever) per instructions from Garmin, and transferred some tracks into Basecamp to make Adventures and then deleted them, and the GPS has started first time, every time, since, knock on wood.

 

[Raymond]

Until Saturday night, when it began happening again. I can’t get it started at all this time, however. As soon as the tiny type appears, it’s off. I already sent an email to Garmin, just waiting for someone to get back to me.

 

[TomK]

Can you connect it to a computer, and then use Basecamp to remove any tracks, waypoints, etc from the internal memory? That's the first thing that comes to my mind...

Good luck,

TomK

 

[Raymond]

It shuts off as soon as the tiny type appears when it is connected to the computer, too.

I can hold the ENTER and PAGE buttons down when I start it, which is supposed to give me a screen through which I can restore factory settings, but the screen appears for only a few nanoseconds before the unit shuts off. Maybe it’s just ruined somehow; I can’t imagine what could have happened.