Thread: How to update maps on a street pilot 2720

First a little background as to how these old Garmin devices which don't have a visible file system store maps. They use 'regions', dedicated spaces on the flash memory which are kinda like the partitions used by a computer's OS. The basemap is in region 3. The detail maps are in (a) region 49 for the primary [OEM] map, which is currently your US 2008; (b) region 10 for a supplementary [other area] map; and (c) [maybe, but usually not populated] region 50 for another very tiny map such as a custom POI map, e.g. for dealer locations. The main 2 obviously are in 49 and 10 and in your 2720 those 2 regions share space. What that means is that if there's a large OEM primary map in rgn49 then space is reduced accordingly for a supp. map in rgn10 and vice versa. Both MapInstall and MapSource write maps to rgn10 where your sparkly new OSM MX map now resides and 10 was probably empty before. Can you see the new problem yet? ... It's this, if you now write new US data with either MI or MS it'll overwrite the existing MX map there.

There's 2 safe options now:
(i) Use a program like SendMap20 to delete the current detail maps to give maximum space and start again downloading the entire data you need from OSM, i.e. East Coast US and MX in one single *exe to install to PC then send as one single map to rgn10 via MI or MS.
Or,
(ii) Leave the MX map in rgn10 and write a new East Coast US map to rgn49, keeping in mind that we can't do that with MI or MS because they write to rgn10 only, so it must be done by another method such as using what's originally detailed in this thread by sending a compiled *.img file to rgn49 via WebUpdater using command prompt or bat file.... i.e. to overwrite your old Garmin 2008 map in rgn49 with the latest EAST Coast OSM you'll need to download the data already compiled as an img compressed in a zip file, extract it, change the name from gmapsupp.img to gmapprom.img then follow the other information in Post #3 here. To get the ZIP containing the IMG, choose the following download option after you've selected the required tiles:
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Well, actually there's a 3rd option but it's not a particularly safe one, certainly i can't recommend it. That's to just use your currently loaded Garmin 2008 map for your trip down the east coast and hope for the best. Provided you keep a close eye on road signage and never trust the GPS over the signs you'll probably be fine I guess.

Originally Posted by Butters

(ii) Leave the MX map in rgn10 and write a new East Coast US map to rgn49, keeping in mind that we can't do that with MI or MS because they write to rgn10 only, so it must be done by another method such as using what's originally detailed in this thread by sending a compiled *.img file to rgn49 via WebUpdater using command prompt or bat file.... i.e. to overwrite your old Garmin 2008 map in rgn49 with the latest EAST Coast OSM you'll need to download the data already compiled as an img compressed in a zip file, extract it, change the name from gmapsupp.img to gmapprom.img then follow the other information in Post #3 here. To get the ZIP containing the IMG, choose the following download option after you've selected the required tiles:
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

I think I am getting good at this, because I was able to cover most of the steps above before reading your post!! This is cool!!!

Please let me know if the steps I took are correct:

1. looked for WebInstaller on my laptop via Explorer Search, non found.
2. Found, downloaded and installed the following: WebUpdater_WindowsXPSP3andnewer__257
3. If i try to run the WebUpdater, it says something about not being able to connect to Garmin servers or something of that sort. I suspect this is normal.
4. Went to OSM and picked USA titles on the East coast to a max of 1,000 MB approx - I read it before this is about the size it will fit.
5. Downloaded both gmapsupp.img and exe file. I suppose I only needed the gmapsupp.img
6. Copied the gmapsupp.img to C:Garmin/ folder and renamed it gmapsupp.img
7. Found the newly installed WebUpdater folder and copied it to C:Garmin/WebUpdater folder

And this is where I stopped. I came across different ways to run WebUpdater and not sure about the correct parameters.

So two follow up questions:

- Did i install the correct version of WebUploader, 2.57?
- Which command prompt and parameters should I use?

WebUpdater.exe /upload_file rgn=49 path=C:\Garmin\gmapprom.img -autorun usb /i

OR

C:\Garmin\WebUpdater.exe /upload_file rgn=XX path=C:\Garmin\GMAPPROM.IMG -autorun usb /unlock_check fid=XXXX pid=X /i

Missing information: Final USA east coast gmapprom.img file is about 1,300,000 KB.

The Mexican file was about 300 MB.

You wrote: "6. Copied the gmapsupp.img to C:Garmin/ folder and renamed it gmapsupp.img. I'm thinking "renamed it gmapsupp.img" is a typo and you renamed it 'gmapprom.img' as required.

(Please see Edit below also)1.60GB total detail maps is getting big, I hope there's sufficient space left to fit your new East Coast map into rgn49 with MX in rgn10 already using 300MB of the shared space. If there's not sufficient available the worse case scenario would be that your current 2008 map will be erased by WU which will then be unable to fully transfer the large gmapprom.img to the device and if a partial transfer occurs it might 'brick' the device which will stick on loading maps or constantly re-start. Enough space might depend on whether 1.60GB is decimal or binary measurement because as decimal that's equivalent to about 1.49GB in binary. I have an unclear recollection that ~1.45GB (binary) is allocated for regions 10 and 49 to share out of the 2720's total flash size of ~1.75GB binary. Windows and Garmin do report sizes as binary usually. Safest option would be to check the space available. You can both save a copy of your current content of rgn49 and see the total size available utilizing the region dump function of GPSDaemon run in 'Full' mode. If you want to do that, first read the GPSDaemon thread from [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] in particular Post #34 for details about dumping regions of SP2720. Note that region numbers are treated as hexadecimal by GPSDaemon so decimal region 49 is '31' in hex and decimal 10 is '0A'. Of course it's your call whether you go to that trouble first or take the risk the US map will fit.

Certainly V2.57 is the latest version of WebUpdater. Make sure you also have the latest Garmin Devices Drivers installed too: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ].

The first command you wrote is what you need however you haven't copied it in full from Post #3. Whether running a command line or making a BAT file for it the path for WebUpdater folder needs be included so it starts with "C:\Garmin\WebUpdater". If using Command Prompt directly you may need to change directory first. As for the second one you wrote, the additional sample check written ("/unlock_check fid=XXXX pid=X") is unnecessary in your case because it asks WU to query the device whether unlock codes for the relevant map (identified by its FID & PID) are present. OSM are not locked maps. You can see a full list of the valid commands for WU in Post #8. Anyway, provided you have the Garmin folder directly in C drive and you have both the WebUpdater folder and the gmapprom.img inside that Garmin Folder the command "C:\Garmin\WebUpdater\WebUpdater.exe /upload_file rgn=49 path=C:\Garmin\gmapprom.img -autorun usb /i" (without quotes) is the one to use whether as a command line or in a BAT file. Be sure to run either as Administrator or it may not be recognized. A bat file is usually easiest for most ppl to use rather than opening a command line.

EDIT:I've just re-read your larger post more carefully. Maybe I've misunderstood and your East Cost file is only about 1GB (1,000MB) as said in your earlier Post #106 not 1.30GB as I've inferred from Post #107. Therefore if you've got only 1.30GB in total maps with US and MX they will fit comfortably and you can ignore the advice to check available space.

Feedback for anyone still holding on to their 2720: I was able to upload multiple maps following the recommendations in this thread. The first time going over it seems overwhelming and confusing, but after you get it done one it is much simpler to understand the process.

Thanks Butters for the great help!

BB

@Islandman
I seem to recall that you also have a 26x0 streetpilot so it seems you've taken the 26x0's CF card map named "gmapsupp.img" and renamed it "gmapprom.img" to flash to your 2720, correct?

The syntax is correct as you've written it in the post above (i.e. "C:\Garmin\WebUpdater\WebUpdater.exe /upload_file rgn=49 path=C:\Garmin\gmapprom.img -autorun usb /i"), so both the BAT file and the command prompt should work provided that all files are present and correctly placed. Something must be wrong to get the massage about not finding the path. What exactly do you have in the C drive's Garmin folder? Post a screenshot if possible.

That image is quite hard to see clearly, however it seems that you have the INSTALLATION EXEs for both Garmin USB Drivers and WebUpdater in the Garmin folder. Those applications need to be run to install their respective softwares, after which (if WU is installed to it's default location) there will be a folder "Webupdater" inside the C drive's Garmin root folder, i.e. you need WebUpdater folder with it's contents as a *sub-folder* inside Garmin folder. Also because you seem to have "Hide extensions for known file types" checked in Control Panel\File Explorer Options\View, it appears you may have named the BAT file as "2720update.bat.bat" or even "2720update.bat.txt" and the second won't work at all, although it should still run with that first naming but it won't be able to preform the task required anyway being as the Webupdater folder is missing.

Firstly, i'd suggest you uncheck that box in folder view so that you can clearly see the extensions are correct (*.img; *.exe; *bat). Type "Control Panel" in the Windows search box and uncheck as shown in the image behind the spoiler below, then click 'Apply':

Spoiler:

You can 'dump' (copy) the contents of SP 2720's map regions using the method described in [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] of the [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]:

Spoiler:

Originally Posted by Neil

Yes, thanks Kanopus. I'd finally figured it out myself [eventually] that there are actually 2 advanced modes, 'Expert' and 'Full' [gpsdaemon -full]. The 'Expert Mode' gives this screen which doesn't have the 'Region Dump' option in Garmin Interface tab:



As shown above, I'd previously been trying to dump regions according to the following guide by juergenss. Thanks to Caty for the link. Caty also suggested i write a tut for dumping if i could get it working, but Kanopus has done that above in his trademark efficient way so i've made what's more a series of observations and comments. Much of which may-well be known to the old hands i'm sure.

[Corrected Bing English transaction from Deutsche, this is based on eTrex HCX]:

This tool can read the contents of the HCX namely:
To do this in the expert mode gpsdaemon.exe /e, then select 'Garmin Interface' tab
1. Uncheck option 'Close port',
2. Click on 'Unit ID' to start the USB connection
3. In 'Packet ID' enter '60', which stands for read (not published by Garmin)
4 Check 'Send Data' and enter '2'
5. Enter the data at the end, the first byte is the region of ID (eg 03 - Basemap), for the memory region that you want to read. Then enter (e.g. 03 on position 1)
5. Click Send.
If there is something to read, the bytes in the window will appear and you can see what is stored in the region. The Basemap is quite long, so stop the transfer with "packet receiver > deactivate" you know already the card ID on the first bytes.

Task: Find the area ID of the eTrex Vista that includes the Marine POI.
In the 60's this is 31.
The device sends 16 bytes after the string "GARMIN Americas Marine POI", if this is implemented in Vista, probably in another region ID.

The region are IDs in hexadecimal to enter 09, 0A..10..1F, 20,...FF.
The region of IDs are the same practically for all devices:

A few well-known are:

03 base map
05 boot block
0A card memory
0C loader (not readable, is used as a cache for flashing the firmware.)
0D serial number of the unit and other
0E firmware so device software
20 unknown
2E - 29 FF - s unknown
31 IMG Americas.Marine.POI at the 60/76 CSx
F5 chip firmware etrex MTK
F6 chip firmware SiRF 60/76C(S)x

To write to a region, you need a 60-byte header (very nice how-to in the D005900A of the marine POI) (e.g. with a hex editor) before the data in the position 0x32 which is the region ID, and the length of data to write twice as a 4-byte words once in 2C-30 (length + 0A) and a second time at 38 to 3B length without offset, Low bytes first. Then rename such as irgendwas.rgn and start irgendwas.rgn with updater.exe.

It's pretty much fool-proof, but you should not write anything in the boot block region 5. It's like the BIOS on a PC.

I'm guessing the text i've put in red above achieves the same result as:
(i) changing the .img extension to bin; and then
(ii) either using makergn.exe to compile the rgn properly with intended target Region ID in hex, or saving the bin as an rgn file in RGN_Tool and then changing the incorrectly saved '33' at offset 0x32 to '03' [region 3 for gmapbmap storage], '0A' [region 10 for gmapsupp] or '31' [region 49 for gmapprom] or '32' [region 50 for gmapoem] before flashing the saved RGN file.

I think it's possible that not all all older units have region 50 available for an OEM map and some units with media cards maybe can't save any map on board other than the basemap.

Flashing to region 10 [hex 0A] in a unit which doesn't have a media card slot [e.g. SP 2720] will save the supplementary map to the unit's internal memory region 10 whereas the same flash for a unit with a card will save gmapsupp.img to the card's Garmin folder as mentioned above for the eTrex. Tested on SP 2720 and c320 [SD card inserted].

A custom splash screen can be done by flashing a GIR_Editor modified logo after opening the bin file in RGN_Tool, saving as an rgn file and then checking that 0x32 is saved as 10 [dec 16] before flashing to the unit. I accidentally overwrote the logo in my SPc320 and was able to flash a modified nuvi 3xx logo to it, seems to work ok so far.

The dumper in Full Mode will save map regions happily to the same folder as gpsdaemon.exe into a folder it creates named 'DUMP--StreetPilot 2720 Version7.20' in the case of my SP2720. It will write a tmp file 'RegionDump.tmp and the final file name is RegionDump--xx.hex where 'xx' is the hex region #. When the dump for the map region is renamed to *.img it opens in GMAP_Tool without error. The entire allocated space of the region is dumped however. 2720 has 16MB available for the basemap so the resultant image size is 16,777,216 bytes exactly 16MB whereas its actual basemap size was only 10,493,952 bytes or ~10MB. The problem is compounded with regions which share memory space [dec 10, 49, 50 i guess*(nup, wrong! see edit)] as it seems that dumping one of them also dumps any free available space as empty bytes. e.g. If the map in region 10 is only tiny, as is the case in my 2720 where gmapsupp.img is 84KB Raratonga, the dumper will take forever writing the entire available free space on top of that which happens in this case to be well over 1GB. So the more available free space, it seems the longer the dump will take. The option is there to kill the Packet Receiver of course, provided you're sure all the valid data has been written to the tmp file. Right clicking the tmp file while it's still being written will update its size to get an idea. Empty FFs can then be removed from the end of the file.

Now here's my current problem: I can't get some regions to dump with the 2720, in particular the logo region 16 [10]. I follow the same procedure as with dumping regions for the maps, but get no dump file, nothing other than the packet info on the screen:

Code:

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For regions that don't exist, a pop-up message is given to that effect. Region 16 [10] doesn't do that, the unit initializes then reboots almost immediately.

I can dump fw_all from 0E [region 14] and it matches up with fw_all.bin when extraneous trailing FFs are deleted. Region 5 dumps but is incomplete, but i don't think that's unusual.

Similarly using the 'data to the screen' as per the method detailed by juergenss for the basemap for example, using 03 will write onto the screen [takes hours for that, i stopped it after about 2 hrs] The data can be copy/pasted into a text editor using Ctrl C/V and i suppose can be used in a hex editor somehow, i have no idea how to do that. But ... 10 [region 16 logo] won't write to screen either so i think maybe it's protected. Or, another distinct possibility: I've simply stuffed up [again].

Any suggestions for dumping a protected region, and/or corrections to the above?

*EDIT: I guessed wrong. In my 2720 region 50 has a limited memory space, only 1MB consistent with it being intended for small maps such as dealer POIs. Small non-NT maps seem to work in it ok provided they're under 1MB of course. It seems certain that regions 10 and 49 do share memory however [makes sense as erasing the supp map from region 10 with command 'erase' from Sendmap20 frees up space for the primary map in the region 49 of units such as SP27x0].