newbee question about maps

[gnuu42]

Hello all, I have a question on buying a map for my 720.

I see I have the NA 2 gig v705.1481
and firmware 7.221

I am assuming these are the latest maps/firmware?

now my question, what is the differance between the "free map" that came with the tomtom and the ones you can buy?

I was thinking of getting the east coast one or picking up the North America one.

does it have better street maps/locations? I would hate to spend $50 or so on maps that doesnt make a difference.


thanks for any help.

 

[F22]

I am not entirely sure but I think you may be entitled to a "free" update if your unit is NEW or recently purchased.

Again, I'm not sure but I think the "regional" maps are just smaller and possibly designed for the older units that had less memory and could not hold all of North America.

Although, I've read that folks have found the map sizes seem to be different for the 720 and 920, I'm not sure where the differences lie but they also provide smaller POI files for the 720.

 

[racefan]

The newest map seems to be the 710.1584 and is about 1.7GB. The 920 map has more POI's that is all for the size difference. If your unit is within 30 days old you can get the newest map free with latest map deal but after 30 days call and plead your cae or buy now on UK site for 50% off before Feb 1 as they they are full price again.

 

[gnuu42]

thanks for the replies but I have a problem trying to download the new map thru guarantee map file.

I can see and click the map for download and it will download but when it goes to install the map I get a message saying "internal error"

then a button to send it to tomtom is there and I get a refrence number of 1701689

and the map doesnt load up.


am I doing something wrong?

when I go to my download folder I see the following files there.

a folder named North America 2gb
inside is a zipped folder named North America 2gb <about 1.7gb in size>
2 map graphic .gif icons
and a activation_ map .cab file <looks empty>


I made a back up of my tomtom and I deleted the NA map on my device and added in the unzipped NA file and I get just doesnt see the map.


what am I missing to do?

I do have it back to the old map, is there a zip file that I can download from a site and not go thru the guarantee map link?

thanks again for any help.

 

[dhn]

thanks for the replies but I have a problem trying to download the new map thru guarantee map file.

I can see and click the map for download and it will download but when it goes to install the map I get a message saying "internal error"

then a button to send it to tomtom is there and I get a refrence number of 1701689

and the map doesnt load up.


am I doing something wrong?

when I go to my download folder I see the following files there.

a folder named North America 2gb
inside is a zipped folder named North America 2gb <about 1.7gb in size>
2 map graphic .gif icons
and a activation_ map .cab file <looks empty>


I made a back up of my tomtom and I deleted the NA map on my device and added in the unzipped NA file and I get just doesnt see the map.


what am I missing to do?

I do have it back to the old map, is there a zip file that I can download from a site and not go thru the guarantee map link?

thanks again for any help.

If I understand you correctly, you deleted your map from the computer and tried to extract the contents of the map zipped in your download folder without using TTHome? If so, that won't work.

And, if that is so, delete the map contents again from your unit and power up TomTom Home. Go to the icon, Add Maps/Voices, etc. You should see listed the NA map and the location should say 'computer'. Click 'add' and let TTHome try to install.

 

[gnuu42]

dhn,

yes I tried using the tomtom home to install the latest map and I was getting the internal error, so I tried to install it manualy.

this was what I am tring to do,

I have v705.1481 north american map

I just bought this device a week ago and I can get the free upgrade thru tomtom home by clicking the file tab/click guarantee latest map tab and it will download. my problem is when its done downloading and it goes to install automaticaly I get an error message of "internal error" and it doesnt install the updated map.

could it be that tomtom map site is down or is it on my end?

I do not have a sd card installed yet but I was told to free up memory before it would download the map.

 

[greal]

dhn,

yes I tried using the tomtom home to install the latest map and I was getting the internal error

Ditto. I bought a 720 this morning and used LMG to get the latest map (710). The actual zip file downloaded just fine, but their (license) server seems to be belly up at the mo - because the .cab that should contain your tiny activation file (DRM thingie, a file they generate based on the serial no. of your device, their private Blowfish key and some black magic) is empty (0 bytes), thus the map cannot be "activated".

Without this tiny file, the map you (and I) have downloaded are useless. What's even more annoying, is that TT Home does NOT see the big zip file that's already on my disk and tries to download it over and over (arrgh... 1.7GB!).

An educated guess (as I'm a computer pro myself) which also contains a big dose of wishful thinking (i.e. avoiding the dreaded thought that TT's servers are just crappy) would be that this is some sort of scheduled downtime (backup time and other maintenance stuff, that usually happen on Saturdays and/or Sundays). A note on their site would be nice, though. Not to mention other strategies that would ensure uninterrupted services, like everybody else (yeah, sure, keep dreaming...).

 

[greal]

I just bought this device a week ago and I can get the free upgrade thru tomtom home by clicking the file tab/click guarantee latest map tab and it will download. my problem is when its done downloading and it goes to install automaticaly I get an error message of "internal error" and it doesnt install the updated map.

Sorry, just realized something really scary: so you're saying that you've been getting Internal Server Error for a week now? Good grief!...

 

[dhn]

Sorry, just realized something really scary: so you're saying that you've been getting Internal Server Error for a week now? Good grief!...

TomTom's servers are notoriously uh, what is a polite word for 'crappy'

Anyway, that is most likely the issue ... you see, the maps are 'locked' to a specific device upon installation on the unit. As was pointed out, the 'internal error' is from TomTom, it has nothing to do with your computer.

All I can suggest is you keep trying the option in TomTom home to Add Maps. Home should see the map on your computer. Click 'add' and let it try to install. You cannot just unzip the files onto your unit manually, the activation will not take place and you would get an error on the unit saying 'no maps found'.

Or, try calling TT support.

 

[gnuu42]

thanks all for the help, I tried one last time this morning to install the zip file thru home and still nothing, I must have deleted /redownloaded that file 5 times over now so I will leave the file as is and try contacting tomtom tomorrow and see what they say. At least the unit still works fine, just like to have the latest driver at some point

well once again thanks to all replies and the help, this forum is great.

 

[dhn]

thanks all for the help, I tried one last time this morning to install the zip file thru home and still nothing, I must have deleted /redownloaded that file 5 times over now so I will leave the file as is and try contacting tomtom tomorrow and see what they say. At least the unit still works fine, just like to have the latest driver at some point

well once again thanks to all replies and the help, this forum is great.

Much to my great surprise, another member of this forum did delete his entire map folder on his unit, recreate the folder name 'North America' (no quotes) and manually unzipped the contents of his map in his download directory to the newly created folder on the unit .... and got it to work! The unit did recognize the existence of the map.

That method never worked for me or many others but, hey, what is there to lose .....? (do make a backup first, though)

 

[greal]

An educated guess (as I'm a computer pro myself) which also contains a big dose of wishful thinking (i.e. avoiding the dreaded thought that TT's servers are just crappy) would be that this is some sort of scheduled downtime (backup time and other maintenance stuff, that usually happen on Saturdays and/or Sundays). A note on their site would be nice, though. Not to mention other strategies that would ensure uninterrupted services, like everybody else (yeah, sure, keep dreaming...).

I was finally able to download the 710 map this morning (6 am Pacific); the (unfortunate) keyword here is "map", as TT Home was not aware of the 1.7 GB zip file that had downloaded OK on Saturday (quick reminder: all I needed was the tiny license file), so everything (including the small and insignificant Guam map) had to be downloaded from scratch.

My educated guess seems to have been confirmed; for sanity's sake, let's keep on the bright side of life and assume it was just a matter of "planned downtime", something that usually occurs on weekends (although 48 hours seems a bit excessive). Again, an official announcement would've been nice. Oh, well...

 

[gnuu42]

well I thought I would try to download again and tried the guam map first, thats a fast download and BINGO!!! that worked now I am downloading the 1.7 gig file hopefully one last time, waiting time 50 mins download and counting

 

[greal]

well I thought I would try to download again and tried the guam map first, thats a fast download and BINGO!!! that worked now I am downloading the 1.7 gig file hopefully one last time, waiting time 50 mins download and counting

Well, it's approximately 3,600 times bigger than Guam, so...

Now, wouldn't it be nice to get the 2008 version too (whatever its internal versioning number might be)? According to some rumours, those new maps were due January 20 - although it would have made little sense, with the current sales ending January 31. With a little luck, we might be able to use Latest Map Guarantee again to grab the newest maps before our 30-day period ends. Let's just keep our fingers crossed