New TomTom - hung on "don't remove SD card" graphic

[ellaguru]

My 1-month old TomTom One won't boot. It shows the animated graphic telling me not to remove the SD card, and that's all that happens, even five minutes after it's been turned on. (This is after trying to update it from one PC and then trying from a second PC - but please dont ask me to precisely describe the steps I went through to get here).

I have tried holding down the reset button for one minute - no difference. Tried holding down the power on button for a long time - I get to see the Monochrome Hardware Type/Bootloader version - and then back to the animated graphic telling me not to remove the SD card

If I then connect it to the PC, I get the Please Wait hourglass and then I just get the screen with the picture of the TomTom. From Explorer in my PC (XP SP2) I see a "Removable Disk E:" but when I click on it "The disk in drive E: is not formatted".

When starting the Home software (downloaded today), the software says "there is no compatible TomTom device connected to the computer"

I dont have a backup.

So I am well stuffed ... clearly the next steps will be to phone Tech Support and maybe get a replacement - but the device was navigating me and my car around town yesterday - its only after I tried to update the software this morning that this problem has occurred - so it feels like the problem should be fixable if you go through the right sequence of steps?

 

[fanchee]

Hi ellaguru, I'm afraid if you don't have a backup, you'll have to call support on this one. I hope they get it worked out for you, but you may end up having to send it back in to them. Rule #1... BACKUP!

 

[Pedro2NR]

Do you have a upgrade SD card or is this problem occuring with the original?

 

[digital-flex]

Do you have a upgrade SD card or is this problem occuring with the original?

I am also suspecting the earlier, in that perhaps it is an upgrade SD card.

Are you even able to select yout TT1 under Device>Change Device?

 

[ellaguru]

It is the original card - and as I say its only a month or so old. What I was doing was attempting to ensure that the ONE had the latest version of the software, voices, all that kinda stuff.

wrt Device/Change Device ... I cannot access any menus on the TomTom. From TomTom Home on the PC, when I select "My Device" I get a response saying "There is no compatible device connected ..." (which does cause an hourglass to appear on the TomTom for about 10 secs which then disappears ...) and Explorer sees a removable drive E: but tells me its not formatted and would I like to Format it Now?

 

[46jimbo]

I think it's time to contact TomTom customer service. I hope you still have proof of purchase!

 

[digital-flex]

I would agree, try and contact support and see what they suggest.

 

[markward000]

Problem: I see a "Removable Disk E:" but "The disk in drive E: is not formatted

I had a similar problem with my brand new SD card. Windows My Computer did not allow Format to work.

However, I went to the command prompt (Start: Run: cmd) and was able to format with an instruction: format e: /FS:FAT32. (Note: on my machine the TomTom was drive e: It may be different on your machine). The SD card was then empty.

I then did a Reset.

I was then able to go to TOMTOM HOME and Install to the SD card. In my case I had previously Downloaded the Map and the Zip codes, but if you have not done this it is likely that TOMTOM HOME will get the latest versions. In my case HOME provided the Voices and Applications which I did not have originally.

You may need to get Activation Code, using Product Id and Device Id at website ttcode.com.

In my case, I did not need the Activation Code, and Device Id was still registered withe the device.

Hope this helps, Mark

 

[46jimbo]

In my case I had previously Downloaded the Map and the Zip codes, but if you have not done this it is likely that TOMTOM HOME will get the latest versions.

I'd be careful about the map. If you haven't backed it up, it will be gone forever! Only the software files can be replaced from nothing.

 

[digital-flex]

I would agree with 46jimbo. The OP has stated that no backup was made and so formating might salvage the card but make it unsuable because no map software is available.

I would only format the card if the OP has the DVD update otherwise try and see if you can use the command prompt to browse the disk and copy the entire contents od the SD card to your local disk essentially making a backup.

 

[markward000]

SD Format

YES, your warning that if you do not have any map backup then formatting will empty the sd and leave you with no way to load the maps is very valid.

The dos command look at the sd card said (for me at least) that the disk was RAW and had to be formatted......

Ideally, two things should be in place:

1. With your product id, device id and activation code you should be able to get the originally loaded maps from tomtom.

2. The TOMTOM HOME literature, Quick Guide and User Manual should be very specific on how you should connect and disconnect the device to your computer, because current instructions can cause this corruption problem.

Thats all for now.