Thread: No pre-boot mode possible on DriveSmart 50 LMT-D 5 ?

I have read on this forum week after week of users screwing up their Garmin GPS Units.

I have over 15 Garmin Units dating back to 2007.
All work have the orginal USB cable.
Even have the same SD card in them from the day I bought them.
Never had any type of problems with any of them.
Have never formatted the memory of these GPS Units.
You read this all the time I did not watch what I was doing and formatted it.


I just do not understand how so many users can screw up a Garmin GPS device on a weekly bases.

Of course it's optional for others to assist them, best just ignore their posts if you don't wish to help them out of their (assumed) "screw-ups". Personally, i like to help ppl regardless that they might have caused the problem themselves. I do have to say however that it's a fact many soft-brickings are actually caused by Garmin's own software programs, GE & WU. Certainly chastising the user solves nothing and only makes them feel unwelcome in the Garmin section here which only primarily exists nowadays to give such assistance.
To each his own, i never mind or begrudge helping any of these ppl. Sometimes i also gain new knowledge in the process too.

No one is pointing a finger at you Butters.

The fact of the matter you have post help for just about every Garmin Unit out there.
Users do not take the time to search their Garmin Unit before they get themselves into trouble.

In some cases you have to repeat what to do over and over again.
That is great but some users need to get the cob webs out of there head and understand what you are telling them to do.
And still do not get it.

Uses need to think first about not to delete important files on the memory side.
Why they always go to the deep end of the pool thinking it will solve their problems of space.
They sure as hell do not need to format the memory of the Unit when it is the SD card they need to format for what ever reason.
It never comes in there head just maybe I need to remove the SD card before I screw things up the Garmin.

It is too easy for them to just ask someone else to fix their problems.

You do a great job but sometimes you need to tell the user please read what I have already posted about the Garmin you have instead of going over the same thing again and again.

Users can be very lazy and not take the time to read.
It is not only with Garmin it is with every GPS app posted here on this forum.

asprin624, Understand that i very clearly understood you weren't pointing a finger at me. Everything you wrote is true about users not reading... however it's not always laziness, it's often simple confusion and/or desperation because they have no idea of what to do, never-mind how to do it. Without some basic knowledge they are completely without a starting point, even when they finally know where to start they still need guiding along in the process. I don't mind repeating myself and i'm happy to post links to topics giving inexperienced ppl an insight even though the threads are quite easily found if you know what you're actually looking for. To use an old and common English-speaker's saying, some just "can't see the woods for the trees", as they're so overwhelmed by the problem they face. As an inexperienced user myself i was very grateful for the patient and comprehensible help given by old hands like Catymag, Ballabar and innumerable others many years back. I'm glad i can play those favors forward to some extent.

This is now so OT it's likely several posts here will end up trashed i guess.

@kopca
To which "OUT.rgn" file are you referring, the one i made for user LAMedia in Post #25 here? If so, that was for a device with HWID 2826 (dezl fw on board) to attempt a return to full DS50 HWID 2267.

You'll need to refresh my memory of what you've done to this DS50 HWID 2267 device previously regarding flashing/cross-flashing. I can certainly help you with an SD kit but must first know the complete history of the device as well as exactly what you need to achieve.

@Butters
Yes, that OUT.rgn for user LAMedia, because I had also successfully converted to a Dezl 580, and after 1 month of normal use, Dezl start to restart and blinking...

What I did to convert my DriveSmart 50 (2267 Hwid):

1. First try with SD Flash GarminDrive 50 with HWID 2267:
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

System software missing happened after this, and I think here is a mistake

2. Then I use Flash x Dezl580 (via preeboot and updater):
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Clear NV before and after, and was really successful convert, and normal functionality of one month, and couple days ago start to restarting, blinking...

Then I had try with your OUT.rgn successfully completed but same result, still blinking,
Then with CURE3 from drivesmart40-50 GUPDATE via preeboot, and then sometimes is recognized by GE and WebUpdater (I make one or two reinstall via WebUpdater)

Had try with RMPrepUSB but can't recognize

And then make with Cure3 original (without format)from DS40-50 via updater
After this I had try original Gupdate from Dezl 580 to make cure (changing 282601000400.rgn to a 226701000590.rgn) start only 40 %

Now had a situation that I see internal storage (probably strange preeboot mode around half a minute or minute sometimes), with no possibility to format and WebUpdater and GE can't recognize neither. Sometimes Garmin restart by itself and only logo is active

And still no luck and I think maybe it's broken, but I'll try some other things if you have more possibilities...

I'm sure you already know that any flashing carries some risk and that cross-flashing greatly increases the chance of a irreversible problem. Changing the devices' HWID and its region layout amplifies the risk many more times again. I'll look at the files linked in your post when i have time and post again with my thoughts, however i must say that having such symptoms re-occurring with different fw and HWIDs doesn't bode well for recovery.

Butters you said in an earlier post
"As an inexperienced user myself i was very grateful for the patient and comprehensible help given by old hands like Catymag, Ballabar and innumerable others many years back. I'm glad i can play those favors forward to some extent."
Without people like you more and more of us would be totally screwed.

@kopca
There seems two possible causes for the restarting symptom, neither very palatable and one likely fatal:
1. There has been incompatible/corrupt data indelibly written to the device non-vol region (rgn154) which cannot be removed by normal clearing of non-vol.
2. The flash chip is failing and will eventually die completely. If so it's toast, strip it for usable/saleable parts and junk the mainboard because replacing the chip and subsequent re-programming requires specialist equipment and skills.

If it's the first, there is still a slight change to recover it by erasing (not clearing) the non-vol. Use the usual SD method with this command "ergn,154" and "reboot". It that's successful the device will boot properly and partially re-create clean data in region 154. However, some functions may be lost and it may not properly identify the specific model on the splash screen. But it will work, mostly or even fully as intended.

If erasing doesn't change anything or results in an error then unfortunately it's almost certainly a hardware failure.