Thanks canderson for realizing my problem is not downloading time but connection issues. I checked the account info as you suggested and the new serial number is listed. I also checked that web address and was able to get thru. I also checked my internet lan settings and made sure proxy wasn't checked, then tried one last time and it actually made some progress before timing out. Also note that I have been plugging right up to the router with the ethernet cord.
What could be blocking my connection? Any other suggestions? Someone noted that they reset their wireless router...how do you do that? TomTom told me to send the unit back but I just don't see the unit being the problem (2 in a row with the same issues?) Then again, it does this on both of our laptops...but we do use the same router.
Another thing, around the 5th or 6th try, the smaller files updated okay (safety cameras, application, etc) but it's the map that does this everytime.
Could there be something about the size that my laptop is wigging out over?
OK. The good news is that many of the possible problems are eliminated by way of fact that you've been able to pull down some of the smaller files. At least you've got a real connection going.
I assume that pulling down the safety camera data (thankfully, we don't have those around here, so I've not had a reason to download them) is a "TomTomPlus" service, indicating that you're not just pulling down files that anyone could get, but that indeed, your account is being checked and validated. If I'm wrong about that, then it's another story. We need to assure that this is true.
If so, then we're down to some sort of timeout issue -- an inability to hold the connection together for long enough to get the larger files.
Believe it or not, what may be happening to you may be entirely normal by "internet standards". It used to happen so often, though, that manufacturers of hardware and those writing software started to include a workaround for it.
It is possible that your problem really is related to slow downloads (temporarily stalled ones, actually), but the effect is a bit more dramatic. It is possible that either your ISP (most likely) or your own equipment is responding to a lack of any new data from TT for an extended period by tearing down the IP connection. In order to defeat that, one thing that is sometimes used is a "keep alive" option that periodically pings something through to give anything that might be looking to time out a sense that there's actually some activity. Some routers provide this as a toggled option, and some only allow it for certain types of connections. Not knowing what you have for a computer, operating system, or router, it's hard to give you specific advice. For starters, I'd take a LONG look at your router for an option that meets this description, and get it enabled.
As for resetting your router -- the only time I've seen this to be necessary is if someone forgot their WEP key. The "hard reset" button is designed to be pressed with power on, and usually sets the entire unit back to factory defaults. My experience also says that a typical home wireless router won't exhibit the problem you've got -- it'll just start ignoring attempts at wireless connections entirely. In those cases, pulling the power on the router and plugging it back in acts to reboot it without blowing away your WEP and other settings as would the factory reset button (usually located on the back -- paperclip required). So I'd pass on the factory reset, and just yank the power once if you have any doubts in that area. FWIW: Linksys wireless B routers were famous for needing this sort of attention about once a month. A nuisance, but not too bad.