Thread: nuvi 2589 acting strangely after GarminExpress Update

Originally Posted by jamesbxue

Hello, I am new to the forum and would appreciate some help on my Nuvi2589lmt, Software version 8.50, HWID 1947

1947 is C4 firmware. "Non-C4" is HWID 1758. Could it be you're trying to flash the wrong firmware?

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After connecting the device to a wall charger and restarting the device, it would have the license screen, alter screen and load map. To make things worse, the map also was corrupted during the Garmin Express update, and the device shows “Cannot unlock maps” and “Maps are corrupt and cannot be used.” Then I got a prompt: “Updates – There are additional updates that require the device to restart. This may take several minutes. Restart now?” After clicking Yes, it will show a quick screen of installing update files with full green status bar, then shuts off. I normally can’t press the power button to power it on again from that point. A few occasions I can power it on right after, it will get into a screen showing Garmin Logo and a short stretch of green status bar, with message “Installing update files. This may take several minutes”. It then stuck there for 4-5 hrs, and the status bar won’t change at all. At the end it just shuts off, and no change is made.

First try to clear non-volatile memory. On the 'Map' screen tap the speed field and then hold the center of the speedometer for several seconds to enter the Diagnostics Page, tap Developer Info and scroll down and tap Nonvol Statistics, tap the three menu bars and choose 'Clear Nonvol'. Be aware that you may loose favourites and navigation history. If that doesn't cure it then read on. It should be done anyway before going further.

Currently, I can still connect the device to PC occasionally. My PC and Garmin Express can see my device, including the .System folder as I have changed it to Mass Storage Mode. I haven’t tried the Preboot mode yet as the device doesn’t seem to boot on its own when pressing the power button. I have read the post on GarminCure3 and How to unbrick step by step.

Cure fw is only used to re-enble Mass Storage Mode on a bricked device to allow removal of corrupt files or a re-format. You don't need it as the device still has MSM.

I have called Garmin support, and they think it might be a mixed issue of power module and software.

AKA 'Stock BS answer F'. I think it's not a power problem quite frankly. It may however be a firmware problem but probably not in the way he was referring to it.

The key point seems to be the device won’t start to run the loaded software on its own, and there is not much they can do. I would like to try the unbrick steps but would appreciate some suggestions first.

It's not able to load from the later GCD file which is perhaps the corrupt file. Start by removing from .System that file, it's named 'gupdate.gcd', to see if it stops misbehaving. If you still have problems then reformat the internal memory using only RMPrepUSB, you'll find the link to it in the initial post of Kunix's Cure3 thread.

Before replacing the GCD file be absolutely certain which chip version you have matches the HWID of the intended firmware.

Report back if you still have problems, there is more can be done but let's see how you go first with GCD removal or a re-format. Don't use anything but RMPrepUSB or the format may make things worse.

Originally Posted by Butters

1947 is C4 firmware. "Non-C4" is HWID 1758. Could it be you're trying to flash the wrong firmware?

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. I got this HWID from the GarminDevice.xml file (see attached). I have only been using Garmin Express and WebUpdate to update software. So I am not sure why I got C4 firmware. BTW, what is C4 and how can I check? The back of my device shows nuvi 2589LMT only.

I tried using the 2nd method from "How to find your Garmin Device's HWID", i.e. battery symbol, but I am not able to reach the Version Information page as there is no such thing for this model. I can't try the G7towin method as I am not able to put the device to preboot. I understand confirming HWID and firmware version is critical, any other suggestion?

Originally Posted by Butters

First try to clear non-volatile memory. On the 'Map' screen tap the speed field and then hold the center of the speedometer for several seconds to enter the Diagnostics Page, tap Developer Info and scroll down and tap Nonvol Statistics, tap the three menu bars and choose 'Clear Nonvol'. Be aware that you may loose favourites and navigation history. If that doesn't cure it then read on. It should be done anyway before going further.

I have tried to "Clear Nonvol". The device restarted, went through licensing, loading map, etc, and shows “Updates – There are additional updates that require the device to restart. This may take several minutes. Restart now?” After clicking Yes, it goes again to the "installing update files ..." with a short stretch of green status bar, and stuck there. So that doesn't seem to work.

Originally Posted by Butters

It's not able to load from the later GCD file which is perhaps the corrupt file. Start by removing from .System that file, it's named 'gupdate.gcd', to see if it stops misbehaving. If you still have problems then reformat the internal memory using only RMPrepUSB, you'll find the link to it in the initial post of Kunix's Cure3 thread.

Before replacing the GCD file be absolutely certain which chip version you have matches the HWID of the intended firmware.

I am planning to try the "deleting gupdate.gcd" method, just want to clarify the steps here:
1. If I remove the gupdate.gcd file, should I replace with a new .gcd file to get the device booting and able to remain connect to PC? If so, with what .gcd file? Should I rename the nuvi25x9_880.gcd to gupdate.gcd and put it to the .System folder or should I use nuvi25x9C4_880.gcd?
2. After removing the old gupdate.gcd file, should I use Garmin Express to check and load the software or should I just reboot the device without loading the software?
3. If I have to reformat the internal memory using RMPrepUSB, what .gcd file should I use as "Original"? Since I can't get to preboot, what to do if I get into a situation that the device can't be connected to PC anymore?
4. Any other suggestion on how can I verify the chip version and HWID of the intended firmware? I attached 2 screenshot of the device version info, anything from there?

Thanks again for your help. James

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Originally Posted by jamesbxue

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. I got this HWID from the GarminDevice.xml file (see attached). I have only been using Garmin Express and WebUpdate to update software. So I am not sure why I got C4 firmware. BTW, what is C4 and how can I check? The back of my device shows nuvi 2589LMT only.

Don't get too concerned about C4 designation. It's enough that you know there are 2 devices called nuvi 25x9 which have different HWIDs. Yours is clearly HWID 1947. If you used RGN_Tool to open both theo GCD files you have (nuvi25x9C4_880.gcd and nuvi25x9_880.gcd) you'll see the HWID but there's no need to be distracted by that, yours is hWID 1947 which means it has a C4 chip.

I tried using the 2nd method from "How to find your Garmin Device's HWID", i.e. battery symbol, but I am not able to reach the Version Information page as there is no such thing for this model.

There should be. On the "SW Ver" page shown in the second image you posted press either 'Back' or 'Next' repeatedly until you reach it. Then press "Start Test" > "More". HWID is shown as "Bxxxx" where x is a numeral.

I can't try the G7towin method as I am not able to put the device to preboot. I understand confirming HWID and firmware version is critical, any other suggestion?

You've already confirmed the HWID as 1947 because it's in your GarminDEvice.xml file. It'll be the same where ever and however you check on the device itself. All Garmin automotive devices can attain preboot, it's just that the modern ones are more difficult (especially C4 devices it seems) and they also only stay in preboot for a matter of seconds unless a flash is initialed immediately which then holds preboot mode. Again, don't worry about it yet.

I have tried to "Clear Nonvol". The device restarted, went through licensing, loading map, etc, and shows “Updates – There are additional updates that require the device to restart. This may take several minutes. Restart now?” After clicking Yes, it goes again to the "installing update files ..." with a short stretch of green status bar, and stuck there. So that doesn't seem to work.

Like I said, it needed to be done before going further anyway. I didn't actually expect that to fix it in reality, it rarely does when there are such symptoms. Hard resetting or clearing nonvol does fix some issues which might be concurrently present with your bigger problem.

I am planning to try the "deleting gupdate.gcd" method, just want to clarify the steps here:
1. If I remove the gupdate.gcd file, should I replace with a new .gcd file to get the device booting and able to remain connect to PC? If so, with what .gcd file? Should I rename the nuvi25x9_880.gcd to gupdate.gcd and put it to the .System folder or should I use nuvi25x9C4_880.gcd?

No. Just delete it and don't replace it at present. Get rid of the file named "nuvi25x9_880.gcd" anyway, it's not going to be used for your C4 device.

2. After removing the old gupdate.gcd file, should I use Garmin Express to check and load the software or should I just reboot the device without loading the software?

No. Not GarminExpress just yet, we need to do other steps first. Yes, reboot after removing the GCD.

3. If I have to reformat the internal memory using RMPrepUSB, what .gcd file should I use as "Original"? Since I can't get to preboot, what to do if I get into a situation that the device can't be connected to PC anymore?

Don't get ahead of this, you won't need to even use the GCD file manually in all likelihood. Like i said your device can attain preboot, it's just very difficult. Forget about that for now because it's unlikely you'll need to load Cure firmware anyway unless in the unlikely event you do lose MSM. It's possible that a flaky device like that one can become 'bricked' at any time of course and then you'll lose MSM for sure.

4. Any other suggestion on how can I verify the chip version and HWID of the intended firmware? I attached 2 screenshot of the device version info, anything from there?

It's a C4 device with HWID 1947 so it's verified already.

Baby steps please. Proceed to remove GUPDATE.GCD from the device's .System folder while you still have MSM available and also make a copy of it's entire visible file system to keep as a backup then reboot it. If it's still misbehaving after the removal, reformat with RMPrepUSB and we'll go from there. Don't do anything if you're not understanding and it's okay to ask more questions first if unsure, just take this process a step at a time and we'll sort this device out.

Originally Posted by jamesbxue

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So I removed the gupdate.gcd from .System folder. It seems helping a bit. I am able to reboot without connecting to the charger. After restart, the device now prompt "Update Your Device with Garmin Express", then I got end user license agreement, "Cannot unlock maps", "Maps are corrupt...", "Updates the following content was installed to your device: software version 8.50 There are additional updates that require the device to restart. This may take several minutes. Restart now?" After clicking Yes, the device restarts and get into "Installing update files..." but this time with a longer status bar then before (see attached pic).

It seems you have other pending updates loaded via GarminExpress which are also corrupt. These may be for new Voice files or others. Do you remember if you accepted other updates along with firmware and maps? Clearly you must have or it would not be displaying that message and it then getting stuck on the green update bar.

However, it seems stuck there again for the past 15 min, and nothing happened. I plugged it to the wall charger so it doesn't loose power again. I will leave it there over night and see what happen. If nothing changes, what would you suggest I try next?

I doubt it will update successfully no matter how long you wait. If you haven't backed up the internal files do that now. While connected to PC in MSM look for the sub-folder named 'RemoteSW' in .System folder and delete it's entire content of files, then see if it boots normally other than the complaint about maps on start up. If it's ok, connect to GE and update it again making sure there is no interruption to the update process or USB disconnection unless GE tells you to safely disconnect and re-connect as part of the process. Accept the offer to re-load current maps as it seems you also have some corruption there too.

I found this post in the forum - [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], do you think I can follow similar approach to rename the nuvi25x9C4_880.gcd to gupdate.gcd and saves it as \Garmin\GUPDATE.GCD on the device? Is that something worth trying before formating the internal memory with RMPrepUSB?

Don't worry about that now, it's only about basically using WebUpdater (an earlier software than GE) in an 'offline' way to transfer the nuvi25x9C4_880.gcd file to the device where it's placed as "gupdate.gcd". You can do exactly the same by renaming the file you have and copying it into .System yourself. However, GarminExpress will do that anyway when it detects V8.50 and updates by downloading a new copy of V8.80 to install as gupdate.gcd.

As well as other *.gcd files, do a search for any *.zip files and delete them all. If that doesn't work then cut to the chase and just reformat it with RMPrepUSB, you'll be able to replace most required files/maps with GE and anything it doesn't give you like the basemap (gmapbmap.img) can be taken from your backup. If you do have to format and it doesn't boot, create a folder named Garmin in the root and try again. Some devices won't boot empty.

Thanks. Now I reformatted the device with RMPrepUSB. But I can't get the device into preboot mode to allow Update.exe to recognize the unit in the USB field. The PC recognize the device and the Garmin Express also seems recognize it. Can I just go straight with the Garmin Express? Any suggestion how to put my device to preboot. I tried different area, top left, above the "G" in Garmin, I think for a split of a second I saw a flickering "System" but can't reproduce it. Any suggestion for next? Thanks.

Modern devices such as your nuvi 2589 are notoriously difficult to get into preboot, anecdotally C4 devices seem to be the most difficult. I don't have one available to confirm however it is likely pressure on top LH corner while powering on. When they do enter preboot they stay in it for a very short time and you need to be a sniper to hit 'OK' on Updater's GUI quick enough. It helps to power on by plugging into the PC rather than using the power button and then connecting the USB cable. If you do use the latter method it's likely too late to catch preboot. Read this [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] Regardless, you shouldn't need to access preboot, is there a reason you wanted to do so?

You can get many files back safely using GarminExpress. It may not give you everything, the basemap for instance as i mentioned earlier. It's unlikely it's a corrupt file so you can take a copy of the one in your backup or get one here: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. Be very careful what you use from your backup in case you restore a corrupt file. Replace the detail map (LM entitlement) with GE.