HikeArizona.COM

Hello, Sorry if this is a old topic, I did search for it but to no avail.
I have a Garmin eTrex Venture HC and just hooked it up to the computer to do the 3.30 update with wed updater and now my device is a $170 paper weight. Any one experience this before, or knnow a fix. I press the power button on the device and get a quick white flash and that is all.
Thanks
Ty

First, try changing the batteries. Maybe something you did used them up quickly.

azbackpackr wrote:First, try changing the batteries. Maybe something you did used them up quickly.

Thanks, but that was the first thing I tried. I think it got wiped clean, Their was an error during the update that shut it down.

Garmin Customer Service is usually pretty good. I'd give them a try. If not there are Yahoo message boards that you can pose the question to.

This happened to me too. I did a lot of web-research and it's not an unusual experience. Do a google search on it. I got mine from "bricked" back to normal. It can be done. I don't remember exactly what the process was. It involves pushing two buttons at the same time for a few seconds. I'll find what I did tomorrow and post for you if you don't find it yourself before then. But whatever you do, don't send it in and pay $ to "restore" it. That is not necessary.

Thanks all for the responses, I will try to find info online. If it is a common thing, it's sad that a company charges money to fix their own known "bug".
Thanks

The web updater crashed while updating, and after that all I got was a quick flash of light on when starting the etrex and that was it. Sounds like the exact thing you got.

Here's the catch ... I downloaded the relevant files to update and fixed it using a PC, not my Mac. If you don't have access to a PC, I'm not sure if there's a Mac solution.

Also, it is convenient to have a helper with you because you have to hold down the buttons for several minutes (which gets uncomfortable) and its difficult to move the mouse around, select files, and click stuff on your computer screen while you are holding down buttons on the etrex.

But check this site out for the directions (don't worry that its for the 60csx. It works on other models too):
http://brilliantcorners.org/2007/04/fix ... smap-60csx

It took me a couple of times before I got it to work. Be patient with it. I'm not positive, but on the etrex you may have to push the joystick in (rather than in the down direction).

Your data has been lost. There is no recovering anything you had on it except what you can transfer from your computer back to the unit. Basically this will give you a factory-fresh gps.

Good luck!

chumley wrote:The web updater crashed while updating, and after that all I got was a quick flash of light on when starting the etrex and that was it. Sounds like the exact thing you got.

Here's the catch ... I downloaded the relevant files to update and fixed it using a PC, not my Mac. If you don't have access to a PC, I'm not sure if there's a Mac solution.

Also, it is convenient to have a helper with you because you have to hold down the buttons for several minutes (which gets uncomfortable) and its difficult to move the mouse around, select files, and click stuff on your computer screen while you are holding down buttons on the etrex.

But check this site out for the directions (don't worry that its for the 60csx. It works on other models too):
http://brilliantcorners.org/2007/04/fix ... smap-60csx

It took me a couple of times before I got it to work. Be patient with it. I'm not positive, but on the etrex you may have to push the joystick in (rather than in the down direction).

Your data has been lost. There is no recovering anything you had on it except what you can transfer from your computer back to the unit. Basically this will give you a factory-fresh gps.

Good luck!

Thank YOU!

chumley wrote:The web updater crashed while updating, and after that all I got was a quick flash of light on when starting the etrex and that was it. Sounds like the exact thing you got.

Here's the catch ... I downloaded the relevant files to update and fixed it using a PC, not my Mac. If you don't have access to a PC, I'm not sure if there's a Mac solution.

Also, it is convenient to have a helper with you because you have to hold down the buttons for several minutes (which gets uncomfortable) and its difficult to move the mouse around, select files, and click stuff on your computer screen while you are holding down buttons on the etrex.

But check this site out for the directions (don't worry that its for the 60csx. It works on other models too):
http://brilliantcorners.org/2007/04/fix ... smap-60csx

It took me a couple of times before I got it to work. Be patient with it. I'm not positive, but on the etrex you may have to push the joystick in (rather than in the down direction).

Your data has been lost. There is no recovering anything you had on it except what you can transfer from your computer back to the unit. Basically this will give you a factory-fresh gps.

Good luck!

IT's Alive.. Thanks for the help, I tried the above method a few dozen times with no luck. The link gave me an idea though to look for firm ware 3.10 to over ride the corrupted 3.30 in my gps. That worked, then I retried 3.30 and success. Only have a few callouses on my fingers.
Thanks Again for the direction to take.

I'm glad you got it to work. It took me a few days of tinkering before I was successful with mine, and it was almost a year ago, so I forgot exactly how it happened. But along the way there were several times that I got some kind of life beyond the "flash" so I knew it was possible.

To be fair, I've previously had quite good customer service experiences with Garmin, but the fact that they want $$ to fix a problem caused by their faulty web updater ... not to mention that telephone support (or their website) won't tell you how to do the manual reboot yourself ... is a major fail in my opinion.

But that's the beauty of the interwebs. People can share the information they have and make the world a better place!

I saw in today's Arizona Republic in the career builder section an ad for software engineers for Garmin International.
The first line says "Develop embedded software in C/C++, for Garmins Auto OEM products."
I thought it fit right in with this thread.