Tomtom Home on Mac Messes Up Brand New 930

[Emily]

Argh! Needing to vent. I got a new 930 today, and it worked beautifully. Then I connected it to TomTom Home on my Mac, and it installed a whole slew of updates. Result: The device now flashes a red X and can't recognize its software.

I know that backing up is the first thing to do, but it wouldn't let me. It launched right into updating, and I was afraid to cancel out of the process for fear of screwing something up. I tried right afterward to back up, and got an error message saying "this function is not supported on your device."

I should mention that I always properly ejected the unit, and at no point during updating did it experience a power interruption.

What really drives me up the wall is that the same thing happened to me two years ago, the day I got my new 910. Unit working beautifully + TomTom Home = very expensive brick.

I've gone through soft resets and TomTom's process of reinstalling the device software and clearing the flash memory a couple of times, with no luck. I'm afraid to reformat the drive without a real backup... doubly so because I can't seem to even make a manual backup of the device (I get an error message saying I don't have permission to do that, or a write error).

I don't understand why TomTom's software is so awful. It was bad the whole time I had my 910, but I managed. Still, why does it suck so much? And why on earth doesn't the company include a software restore disc, knowing how buggy Home is and how likely it is to brick your TomTom?

So I get to wake up early tomorrow to call TomTom Support and see if they can walk me through a few hours of troubleshooting before work, instead of driving around happily with my new TomTom as I was supposed to do. Just the experience you want a new customer to have...

 

[dhn]

I understand your frustration and yes, call support at 866-486-6866.

BUT, you say you knew you should have made a backup first but it wouldn't let you. Sorry, but you could have made a backup using Finder prior to even starting Home.

In any event, give them a call...............

 

[Emily]

I don't see how I could have made a backup using the Finder. When I plugged the TomTom into the computer using the dock, it started up TomTom Home and launched into updating (which, as I said, I was afraid of canceling out of for fear of screwing things up).

Not to mention the fact that I'm unable to make a copy using Finder... I've tried using both Duplicate, and Copy in the contextual menu. I get either a -8058 error or a message telling me I don't have permissions to copy several items on the unit.

 

[dhn]

Sorry, I'm not a Mac person so I can't help you there. When you first install Home, there is a preference setting whether to start Home as soon as it detects the unit is connected. While Home suggests that this is how it should be functioning, many of us do not select that option. You can switch that in Home, tools, preferences...

For the other issues? I guess Support at 866-486-6866 unless some other member here is able to assist.

 

[mvl]

Pull out the sd card (if any) and try removing/replacing the application:

http://www.tomtom.com/9091

After removal, click the disconnect button on home, then power off/on, prior to the reinstall step.

 

[Emily]

In my case, TomTom Home was already installed, because I already own an earlier-model TomTom. I will keep the preference in mind for the future, if I manage to get this 930 fixed.

I tried that process of removing and reinstalling the application a couple of times. But maybe a Mac-familiar TomTom Support person will be able to see something I didn't.

 

[mvl]

Did you try copying the map folder to a backup, formatting the tomtom as fat32, then copying the map back?

After this disconnect and start up the tomtom until the red x, then reconnect and re-download the application. This is most thorough reset you can do to the device. If you still have a red x after this, you're probably going to need warranty repair.

Edit: Hmm - one more thought - the application is downloaded from the internet to the mac, and then copied from the mac to the device. If you downloaded a corrupt application, then a delete/reinstall to the tomtom won't fix the corruption. Try going to home, and choose "remove items" and remove the application from both your computer and the tomtom. Then redownload a new one.

I'm not a mac person, but I don't think your bug is mac-related.

 

[Emily]

Thanks.

I did use Remove Items to delete both the computer and device versions of the application software, before updating again. Did this a couple of times.

I looked for the map folder, but wasn't sure what it was named. Just the "North America" one, or do I need to grab more?

What do you mean by reformatting the TomTom as fat32? Is that a Windows/PC thing?

The only possible Mac-related issue might be this Spotlight thing mentioned on the TomTom support site, but I doubt it caused this. And for some reason my Mac Spotlight won't allow me to add the TomTom unit to the list of folders and devices not to index... maybe because the unit in its current state isn't fully mounting, or something like that.

 

[dhn]

The North_America map folder is what you are looking for. All the files you need reside within that folder.

It's just that, especially with a 930, you probably have a map folder and then within that a North_America folder AND a folder called UK & WE (or something like that).

So, in retrospect, if you can copy the map folder with the 2 specific folders within, that is probably safest.

Any other folders/files on your unit can be replaced at no cost; it's the maps that you want to be careful you have backed up because they may cost $$$$$ to replace.

 

[Emily]

Thanks, I will do that.

I'm wondering now if the fact that I was downloading the updates and application software via WiFi might have played a role. Maybe the connection was too slow or was inconsistent, so corrupted the software each time. It's a long shot, since my WiFi is fast and I haven't had problems with any other software downloads. But I'll try accessing the Internet via Ethernet cable when I go through the reinstall process again.

 

[mvl]

What do you mean by reformatting the TomTom as fat32? Is that a Windows/PC thing?

Reformatting is a windows/PC thing. It is how you fully wipe out a drive. I haven't used a mac in years, but I googled and found this website is explaining how to do the same thing in a mac.

How to Format a Hard Drive in Mac OS X | eHow.com

In step 1/2, choose the tomtom as the drive.
In step 4, choose "MS-DOS" as the volume format option.

 

[dhn]

To Emily:

Insightful comment of yours about dl using a wireless connection. There are plenty of posts about users dl large files (read: maps) on a wireless connection using Home and winding up with corrupt files.

Shouldn't happen, I agree.........but once in a while it does.

 

[Emily]

TomTom Support (always surprisingly competent) had me do just that, wipe the drive using Disk Utility and then update to install the software again.

I had managed to cobble together a backup copy of the TomTom manually, by dragging individual files and folders, including the map folders and all invisible files. Still won't let me make a real disc copy using Duplicate.

But in short, I dragged the maps back and now it seems to be working well. Whew. Now all I have to do is make both a manual backup and a TomTom Home backup, and then proceed to installing voices back in. Here's hoping I manage not to screw it up all over again.

Thanks all for the guidance, which really helped.

 

[dhn]

I'm sure it wasn't really a screw up on your part in the first place. I'd completely forget about Home backups and just rely upon the Mac functionality.

 

[Emily]

I'm definitely going to rely on manual Mac backups from now on, and use Home for as little as possible.