How to copy to a larger SD card

[Vorlon]

If you find that there is not enough space on your device to install any further updates, you will need to purchase a larger SD Card. I recommend that you purchase a 2GB SD card with a minimum read/write speed of 10mb/s or higher.

If you have a TomTom GO x20 or x30 device (e.g. 520, 530) you can purchase an SDHC card up to 4GB.
If you have a TomTom GO x40 or x50 device (e.g. 540, 550) you can purchase a Micro SD Card up to 32GB.
All other devices will only be able to take up to 2GB.
Please see TomTom, portable GPS car navigation systems - Support home - Select your product for more details of expansion options for your device.

Some instructions will depend on whether you use a PC or Mac, and for these we have the PC instructions and first and the Mac instructions just after that so please follow the ones for your own system.

Once you have purchased the SD card, please do the following:-

STEP 1 - Create a Backup Folder

- Connect your TomTom device to your computer and switch it on
- On a PC, create a new folder on your desktop and call it 'Backup'
- On a Mac, create a folder on the desktop and call it 'Backup'

STEP 2 - Copy the contents of your TomTom device to your Backup Folder

On a PC:
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- Open 'My Computer', you will see the TomTom device as a removable storage device, e.g. TomTom (E, double left click into it
- Click on Edit -> Select All, and then click on 'Edit -> Copy'
- Go to your Backup folder on your desktop that you have created, double left click into it and click on 'Edit -> Paste'

On a Mac:
-----------
- Yyou will see the TomTom device on the Desktop, double click into it
- Select and copy all of the contents of the TomTom device
- Go to your backup Folder that you have created and double click into it
- Paste all the files into the backup folder

- Once complete, switch your TomTom device off

STEP 3 - Format the New Card

- Insert the new Blank SD card that you have bought into your TomTom device
- Switch your unit back on.

On a PC:
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- Go to 'My Computer', you will see the TomTom device as a removable disk
- Right click on the Removable disk and choose 'Format'
- Make sure FAT or Fat 32 is selected.
- Proceed with Formatting the SD card

On a Mac:
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To format the card you need to use Disk Utility
The application can be found under Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility
Click on Erase from the top middle bar then select the volume format you want to use
For SD cards to be recognized by the TomTom device, select MS-DOS File System

STEP 4 - Restore the Folders to the TomTom device

- Go to your backup folder on your desktop
- Select and copy all of the Folders but NOT the loose files
- On a PC, go to 'My Computer' and double click into the TomTom device drive
- On a Mac, double click into the TomTom drive on your desktop

- Paste all of the folders into the device (this can take a while, e.g. anything up to 1 hour to complete depending on the device)
- Turn the device off (with the on/off switch) and disconnect it from the computer
- Switch the TomTom device back on

STEP 5 - Install the latest application via TomTom HOME onto your device:

- Install the latest software update via TomTom HOME (see: TomTom, portable GPS car navigation systems - Support home - Select your product)
- Once the update has been installed, disconnect your device by clicking on 'Device -> Disconnect Device' in TomTom HOME
- Turn the device off (with the on/off switch) and disconnect it from the computer
- Turn the device back on, the update will then install on the device

Your TomTom device should now be working with the new SD card.

Vorlon

 

[dhn]

Vorlon, thanks for the information but it's out of date when referencing the size of sdhc card that x20 and x30 models can handle. 32-gigs is the limit now, not 4 gigs.

 

[tukatz]

I have a 4GB Class 6 card in my 920, with North American maps on internal storage, European maps on the SD card, and about 100 hours of MP3s on both. I still have a lot of free space.

 

[pianoCM]

Vorlon, thanks for the information but it's out of date when referencing the size of sdhc card that x20 and x30 models can handle. 32-gigs is the limit now, not 4 gigs.

That also depends on the Bootcode, not just the unit itself, I don't remember on top of my head but I believe if it is 5.50x or later, then it should be able to handle 8GB, with 5.4 or previous, don't really remember in detail.
And yes, the latest code can support up to 32G

 

[mvl]

The latest app for both the GO x20/x30/x40/x50 all install a bootloader which is capable of reading cards up to 32gb.

Although that size really is a bit of overkill.

 

[BruceH]

Hi Vorlon,

Thanks for the instructions but no go for me. Everything happens exactly the way you describe except that I get a "No maps found!" message when the device reboots.

It is a TomTom Rider 2nd edition that came with a 1GB card and UK& Ireland maps. I want to upgrade this to Western & Central Europe but, obviously, I want to be sure that a 2GB card will work before I spend the money.

The original card still works fine so there must be something missing from the instructions.

 

[dhn]

According to this TomTom link, your unit should be able to handle a 2-gig Western Europe map

 

[BruceH]

Yep, I found that link and that's what got me started on trying to copy everything onto a larger SD card because the card that came with my Rider is only 1GB. I've got an existing 2GB card and I've copied everything onto it by exactly following these instructions. However the Rider says there are no maps on the card.

I don't want to buy a map only to find that I can't download it onto the card.

 

[hestersu]

Hi!

Thanks for the great write up. I'm not sure I understand the term "loose files". Can you explain this to me? I have a TT1 2nd (or sometimes referred to as new) edition. I've had it since 2007 and it has done a great job for me. I have the 7.9x software on it and I would like to update to a newer map. I have a spare 2gb SD card that I have erased via Disk Utility on my Mac. I have a backup of my "in use" 2gb SD card that I made by copying the entire card to a folder on my Mac. I have not downloaded a new map yet. I think what I need to do is copy the backup folder to another folder, download the new map and copy the map into the newest folder. This may not be correct and I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.

 

[dhn]

See below:

Ignore the instructions about deleting or keeping. The point is that loose files are all those in the root of the unit not in any folder.

For a Mac, use Finder instead of Explorer.

I think your model can only take a 2-gig sd card. And I'm not sure (I apologize) but I think everything (map and application) has to be either on internal OR on a sd card.

The normal process for getting a new map in Home is: 1) purchase the map; 2) Home then downloads to the computer and installs on the unit from there (overwriting the old map)

So, I would first back up your entire unit's contents using Finder. Then purchase & install the map and finally make a backup to a different folder the unit's contents with the new map included.