Need help with backing up/formatting/restoring unit

[lanimilbus]

I've been having problems with my TomTom GO 920 for a while now...freezing on the splash screen, restarting for no reason, not turning on, etc etc...I can fix these issues by doing a pin reset but that's a pretty big hassle while driving. So I'm going to try and backup, reformat and restore it to see if that fixes the issues but I just wanted to make sure I'll be doing it right.

First, when I connect my TT to my computer there are two drives: "Removable Disk (E)" and "TomTom (F)". I assume that "Removable Disk (E)" is my 8GB SDHC card that I use for the TomTom; it has 3.81GB of used space whereas "TomTom (F)" has 212MB of used space. Do I want to back up and format both of these (E and F)? The SDHC card appears to only have maps on it.

Second, just to be sure I'm understanding this correctly (and assuming I do want to back up and format both E and F) the process is to simply make two folders on my desktop, open Removable Disk (E), select all, copy and paste to the first desktop folder -- then once it's done transferring, open up TomTom (F), select all and copy and paste to the second desktop folder. After this I'd go to 'My Computer' and right click on Removable Disk (E), select Format, select FAT 32, deselect "Quick Format" and click Start, then do the same for TomTom (F)?

And lastly, at this point (after formatting the TomTom) I've seen three different sets of instructions for what to do next and I'm not sure which to follow...

• The first says to simply copy and paste the contents of the desktop folder(s) back onto the formatted TomTom then disconnect the device and that's it.

• The second says to use TomTom HOME to go to Manage My Device -> Items on Computer -> select Applications and Voices and click Remove Items from computer. Then back in TomTom HOME click Update my device, select the application and a voice, click Update and Install, click done. Then also in TomTom HOME click Add Traffic, Voices, Safety Cameras etc, click Items on my computer, click Maps, click add, click postcodes, click add, then disconnect.

• The third says to disconnect the TT and switch it on; it'll then load to a red cross on the screen. Then reset the TT with a paperclip in the reset hole for 30 seconds. Then switch it off and switch it on again and it will still show a red cross on the screen. Then reconnect it to the computer, copy the folders from the desktop back onto the TomTom, turn it off, disconnect it, then turn it back on again. Then connect the TT to the computer and switch it on once connected and install the latest software update via TT Home, then once that's done disconnect it once more, turn it off, then turn it on again.

So like I said, I'm confused about which set of directions to follow -- also confused about whether or not I should be backing up/formatting the SD card as well as the TomTom. Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[canderson]

First, when I connect my TT to my computer there are two drives: "Removable Disk (E)" and "TomTom (F)". I assume that "Removable Disk (E)" is my 8GB SDHC card that I use for the TomTom; it has 3.81GB of used space whereas "TomTom (F)" has 212MB of used space. Do I want to back up and format both of these (E and F)? The SDHC card appears to only have maps on it.

Assuming that your assessment of what's on your SD card is correct, and you have never loaded the firmware to your SD card (in which case, nothing in internal memory is being used anyway) then all you need to deal with now is your internal memory. In fact, you can and should remove the SD card (with power off, of course) before starting the process of formatting and bringing a fresh firmware load to your unit's internal memory. There is (at present) no need to mess about with your SD card, although if things continue to behave badly after we reformat and bring firmware to your internal memory, we may wish to do so later. Again, only if the thing continues to behave badly do we mess with your SD card that contains your maps. It will probably not be necessary.

So just this next part is relevant for now:

open up TomTom (F), select all and copy and paste to the second desktop folder ... select Format, select FAT 32, deselect "Quick Format" and click Start...

And lastly, at this point (after formatting the TomTom) I've seen three different sets of instructions for what to do next and I'm not sure which to follow...

The simplest method is as follows:

Having formatted your internal memory per what you noted above (FAT32, and not Quick), connect your unit to your PC and let Home fire up. At that point, you will be offered a firmware update immediately since it will recognize that you do not have the current (or any, for that matter) application on your unit. Allow Home to load the application firmware to your unit via the Update process.

Given you have a 920, you may have to allow Home to offer you subsequent applications by asking it to update your unit several times. Perform the proper USB disconnect on your device each time, and when reconnecting, observe what firmware updates are being offered.

Which one you want to "stop" with will depend upon how you user your 920. It has Bluetooth connection issues after a point (I'll have to look to see which release broke Bluetooth). Apart from that, I believe you should allow it to continue offering until you have reached the final release of 8.351. At a minimum, you must update to 8.302 in order to use that 8GB SD card. Prior to that, the 920 could manage only 2GB.

Once you have a fresh firmware load, disconnect for the last time, power down, and install your SD card and see how it behaves for you. Let us know and if necessary, we can continue from there.

 

[lanimilbus]

Alright so I took out the SDHC card, formatted the TomTom, disconnected it and turned it off, reconnected it and turned it on, pasted all the files/folders from the desktop backup into the empty TT directory, then opened TT Home and got an error message saying something about a faulty proxy connection (unfortunately I x'd out of it on accident so I can't copy/paste it here).

Should I not have pasted all the files back on first or is it something else that's going wrong?

EDIT: Just repeated the process, no error this time. It's saying I'm all up to date and that I already have the latest firmware (8.351) -- that's after formatting it and then pasting the desktop folder's contents back into the TT directory. If I just put the SDHC card back in at this point is that enough or do I need to reload the firmware that I already had on there (aka not paste in the contents of the desktop folder)?

 

[canderson]

Should I not have pasted all the files back on first or is it something else that's going wrong?

Do not pass GO, do not collect $200! You're going to want to start again. Note that I didn't suggest copying the old files back to your unit. Assuming that the problems you have been experiencing could very well be contained in those files, you want a FRESH copy of the firmware from TomTom to work with. By copying all of the old files back, you may have just re-created your problem.

So go back and reformat, reset, connect to Home, and allow it to manage getting the new firmware to you. Do NOT copy the old files first. If you copy them, Home will see that they are there and you will be offered nothing "fresh" for your unit. We want a clean start.