Garmin Etrex vista cx directories not seen on Windows 7

[+The Silver Surfer]

First the things that work:

My GPS Etrex Vista cx works fine and I can download .gpx files to it and have them recognised OK by the device.

If I download files from geocaching.com I can see that it is recognised as a Garmin Etrex Vista Cx.

I am able to put the GPS into mass storage mode and the device is seen as a removable drive on Windows 7.

I can write and read to the 4GB removable SD disk OK.

If I plug the GPS in via a USB to PC it can be seen in : Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Devices and Printers as Garmin USB GPS.

 

Things I have done:

I have used different USB ports and many different USB cables including one bought specifically for Garmin GPS.

I have upgraded the drivers

I have removed and reloaded the Garmin Communicator

I have tried Garmin updater

I have tried Garmin Express

 

THE PROBLEM: I have never been able to have the Garmin directory structure shown in windows explorer. I wanted to be able to load another map, hence the 4GB memory card. By the way all the above applies to the original 64mb SD card. I cannot confirm whether I was ever able to see the file structure on Windows as I have never needed to up to now. I should say this is my first foray into playing with different maps, so I may be going about it the wrong way anyway.

 

Any advice as to how I can get to the file structure so I can play with the maps would be very welcome.

 

Thanks

[+coggins]

It won't ever show, mass storage only shows the microSD card. This is where maps can be installed. You are best to use MapSource to install maps to the gps.mass storage mode is good for getting archived tracks off the card.

Edited June 21, 2015 by coggins

[+Timpat]

This sounds like a simple Win7 issue. Easy to test.

 

When exploring 'my computer' hold the Alt key and letter T key. That will bring up the Tools button (highlighted). Click on Folder Options/View. Under Files and Folders, see Hidden files and folders. Select the radio button 'Show hidden files, folders, and drives'.

 

See if this helps. Oh, nicely documented steps you already took. Very helpful for others to offer assistance!

[+ecanderson]

To clarify -

The internal memory of the older generation Garmin units does NOT appear as a mass storage device, and therefore will not appear as such if you attempt to 'explore' it. That feature did not occur until the old Colorado units started to appear on the market.

Access to internal memory of the older units must be accomplished through an application (e.g., Mapsource, Basecamp) that can communicate with the unit over its proprietary link. That is true for loading maps, caches and any other I/O activity with these units.

Edited June 21, 2015 by ecanderson

[39_Steps]

deleted by 39 Steps

Edited June 21, 2015 by 39_Steps

[+The Silver Surfer]

Sorry about the delay in replying to the recent posts; unfortunately I have been having some problem with my pc. Anyway back on line now and I would like to thank all the people that replied, I understand a lot better now. I have installed Basecamp (Mapsource requires me to own a product). I want to install a free map on my Garmin Etrex Vista Cx. I have the img file. I can't see how this can be done with Basecamp as reading the instructions it would seem that Basecamp does not allow this, unless I am missing something. Can anyone enlighten me?

 

Trawling around the internet and this forum and came across Mapset Toolkit and i wondered whether this may help in my situation. It looks interesting but I am loath to download it as I have seen mention that it may not be safe, also it has not had any work done on it for some time. http://cypherman1.googlepages.com/ . Any comments would be welcome.

 

Thanks

[+Timpat]

I used to use Img2gps to transfer home made maps and Garmin maps directly to my 60Cx without the need for Garmin software. Go here: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mdipol/img2gps

 

It combines multiple .img files into a single gmapsupp.img. Your unit can have only one such gmapsupp.img.

[+The Silver Surfer]

Yay! Eventually got the map on my GPS (It's a pretty crap map - but that's another story).

 

I tried creating a folder named Garmin under the SD Card and simply copying the img file onto the card, but unfortunately this did not work or I did something wrong.

 

I then used img2gps to load the file onto the GPS. I had to try a few settings but eventually got it going directly through the Garmin interface (boy is that slow).

 

By the way the link to img2gps did not work. I downloaded from www.softpedia.com.

 

All I need to do now is find a better UK map

 

Thanks very much for all your help.

[+The Silver Surfer]

Brilliant!

 

This time I inserted the SD drive into my PCs card reader. I renamed the map on the SD drive (deleted the extension actually). This time I just copied the file (which I downloaded from the site suggested above) with windows file explorer. I copied it into the Garmin folder on the SD drive. The folder was the one I had previously created and which still contained the old map (minus the extension) that I loaded using Img2gps. The file copy took about ten minutes as opposed to an hour with Img2gps. I put the SD card back into the GPS - and voilà! It works perfectly. No Idea why my first attempt at copying the img file into the Garmin folder didn't work and yet the copy carried out with Img2gps did. I guess finger trouble, but who knows. Does Img2gps give the GPS system a nudge to say that the Garmin folder/map is valid? I may experiment a little when I have more time.

 

Anyway, the map is FAR better than the one I originally installed

 

Thanks very much to all for all of your time.