sick as a pig

[Ron Newman]

Hi all, I joined today and can see there's some real clued up members, so I'm hoping someone can help me. I've had a series of strokes and have MS starting something to do with my brain box, this is not for a sympathy trip, it's just to explain I may be the cause of my own TT probs because I can't remember how many times I've crashed my imac either by pressing all the wrong buttons, I'm asking for a bit of patience and I'm technically a numb nut so please make any help simple and step by step, sorry to be a pain in the you know where, here goes. I have a Go720 that I've had since 2007 and it's given me great service, nearly every time I've updated it I lose all Favorites and previous destinations along with my mp3's. This time I got a message saying my maps are out of date, so I connected it to my imac and went for the update and it was then I lost everything, no maps this time as well as what usually disappears.I opted for the backup got my maps back but have lost the palm tree start up picture, I just get a white screen. I've lost the option for speech spoken address feature, which I need because my hands are now so shaky, (I know I am lucky to still be able to drive, passed by my doctor). There are other TT probs but I've forgotten. So as it stands I'd be so grateful for any help and don't mind how many questions you have to ask in order to help me. Regards Ron PS sorry it's so long winded. I forgot to say myTT has a 8gb memory card

 

[canderson]

I have a Go720 that I've had since 2007 and it's given me great service, nearly every time I've updated it I lose all Favorites and previous destinations along with my mp3's. This time I got a message saying my maps are out of date, so I connected it to my imac and went for the update and it was then I lost everything, no maps this time as well as what usually disappears.I opted for the backup got my maps back but have lost the palm tree start up picture, I just get a white screen. I've lost the option for speech spoken address feature, which I need because my hands are now so shaky, (I know I am lucky to still be able to drive, passed by my doctor). There are other TT probs but I've forgotten. So as it stands I'd be so grateful for any help and don't mind how many questions you have to ask in order to help me. Regards Ron PS sorry it's so long winded. I forgot to say myTT has a 8gb memory card

I haven't had my favorites disappear during a map update for a very long time. One wonders what firmware version and Home version you are running. That will also give us an idea as to what some of the other issues may be. With the unit running, please tap the lower right corner of the screen where you see "No route planned". This will take you to the "Status summary" screen. Down in the lower right, under the Bluetooth icon and above the "Done" button, you will find your firmware version. What is it?

OK. Let's address the ASR (auto speech recognition) working again . Technically, this is NOT a feature for the GO 720, but by adding a simple file from a 730 model, this feature is enabled. I am attaching a copy of support_asr.dat in zip form (the board won't let me attach a *.dat file, so it's support_asr.zip). It is exactly ONE byte long. Do not attempt to edit it. Unzip it and place the *.dat file into the ASR folder of your 720. That will re-enable your speech recognition functions.

You should be able to recover your startup image from your backup. But we'll get to that in a bit.

Recommendation .. use Finder to make full backups of your unit to your iMac. Don't trust Home to do that.

 

[Ron Newman]

Hi Canderson, (I hope that's right, please correct me if it's not). The ASR (if I've explained myself right) was in the GO720 when I purchased it from new. The TT is in my car at the moment but my carer will get it as soon as possible. I can't find the asr.dat attachment at all, I've looked top to bottom of your message. ( I told you I was thick). Many thanks for your help it is really appreciated. Ron

 

[canderson]

Not as thick as me, evidently. After all that, I neglected to attach the file.

No reason that the ASR should have been working when new. We are talking about the ability to speak to the unit and have it respond, yes? That didn't come until the 730 unit, though a lot of people enabled it on their 720 units by adding the requisite file. Here's the file I neglected:

Still need version number for your firmware so we know where you 'are'.

 

[Ron Newman]

Zip & info from my 720.

Hi there, opened the zip and I've got a VLC icon that reads support_asr.dat and I've put that into the ASR folder in my TomTom, is that right. I've still got my TT stuff on screen.
The following is from my 720, the no route planned was on the left side of my screen.here goes with the info :
version : 8.351 device AK4S8 BSHUS
App 8.351 (9982/090518) OS:315187
GPS v1.20 Boot 5.5120
Maps wester Europe v880.3810
if this is not right tell me what to do to correct it.

 

[Ron Newman]

I for got to answer your question about the ASR, When i go to navigate it gives me the option of spoken address, that's the only place that speech apply's. Could I have downloaded it from TT 'cause it has always been there.

 

[Ron Newman]

Yippee it's back in my 720 ASR that is, cheers so far m8

 

[canderson]

Your firmware is quite old (8.351). For that version, it is true that your favorites will be lost with certain updates. These, along with other configuration info, are held in a file called mapsettings.cfg (it's in your W. European map folder), and if you back that up before any updates, you can restore it by copying the file back to your map folder after the update. That said, we recommend keeping a current backup of your entire unit using Finder to copy and paste to your PC, especially before any major update activity. With a full backup, we can get you out of just about any ditch that isn't related to broken hardware!

Were you to update to the current firmware, you'd find that updates won't clobber your favorites or other settings. Doesn't Home keep recommending that you update your firmware?
I do not believe that they ever closed the 'ASR' loophole that allows the 720 to operate this way in the new firmware, but before you update, let's wait for my fellow mods to confirm before you do so.

 

[Ron Newman]

Your firmware is quite old (8.351). For that version, it is true that your favorites will be lost with certain updates. These, along with other configuration info, are held in a file called mapsettings.cfg (it's in your W. European map folder), and if you back that up before any updates, you can restore it by copying the file back to your map folder after the update. That said, we recommend keeping a current backup of your entire unit using Finder to copy and paste to your PC, especially before any major update activity. With a full backup, we can get you out of just about any ditch that isn't related to broken hardware!

Were you to update to the current firmware, you'd find that updates won't clobber your favorites or other settings. Doesn't Home keep recommending that you update your firmware?
I do not believe that they ever closed the 'ASR' loophole that allows the 720 to operate this way in the new firmware, but before you update, let's wait for my fellow mods to confirm before you do so.

Hi Canderson, here you can see that I have a real problem (since my strokes & MS)
I couldn't find the right place to leave this message, it usually shows a reply box, but I couldn't find it. Anyway back to the problem in hand. Thanks for getting my ASR back and working.When the time comes to back up using Finder, I've never done it thay way and will you tell me in steps what to do. (sorry) I am my own problem when I back up or reinstall from a backup, I don't even know where it's kept, and when I press install from backup It always gives me choices and that confuses the hell out of me and that's when I always make the wrong choice. I'm not clear on what to do next, if I'm supposed to be doing any thing. Yes Home does ask me to update my firmware but it's never clear to me what to do, so I don't. Thanks Canderson for being Patient with me and not making me feel more stupid than I know I am.

 

[canderson]

Not being a Mac guy, I can't recall where Home is storing the backup of your unit. What we're recommending for both Windows and Mac units is to use Explorer (or in Mac case, Finder) to make a full copy of the TomTom just as though it were being treated as another disk drive.

So you will first be selecting and copying the contents of the TomTom itself to a folder on your PC, and then separately selecting and copying the content of the SD card to another folder.

Once you have all the bits safely copied to your PC, the restore can be as easy as copying all of this back to your TomTom and SD card.

As for the firmware, I understand your reluctance to move ahead with that. The problem is that you will not be offered any other updates that do not include the firmware (the box for the TomTom 'application' cannot be unchecked in current copies of Home). There are ways of fooling Home, but they're a bit convoluted. As long as you're doing OK with what you have, I guess there's no harm in leaving well enough alone for now.

Just be sure to get those backups made.

 

[Ron Newman]

Not being a Mac guy, I can't recall where Home is storing the backup of your unit. What we're recommending for both Windows and Mac units is to use Explorer (or in Mac case, Finder) to make a full copy of the TomTom just as though it were being treated as another disk drive.

So you will first be selecting and copying the contents of the TomTom itself to a folder on your PC, and then separately selecting and copying the content of the SD card to another folder.

Once you have all the bits safely copied to your PC, the restore can be as easy as copying all of this back to your TomTom and SD card.

As for the firmware, I understand your reluctance to move ahead with that. The problem is that you will not be offered any other updates that do not include the firmware (the box for the TomTom 'application' cannot be unchecked in current copies of Home). There are ways of fooling Home, but they're a bit convoluted. As long as you're doing OK with what you have, I guess there's no harm in leaving well enough alone for now.

Just be sure to get those backups made.

Hello m8, so, my understanding of backing up using Finder is (1) connect my 720 to the imac and select find TomTom, ( do I open TT and copy or copy the icon of TT ) (2) copy TomTom to a folder I've made and named, (3) do the same with the SD card. I've no objection to upgrading my firmware, if you think it's better for me in the long run, I'd be more than happy to, I can't believe someone is nice enough to give up so much of their time, Thanks again.

 

[canderson]

If possible, I'd copy from the full TomTom icon. I create folders on my PC by date and keep more than one backup -- at a minimum, two full copies of the device prior to the last two updates I've done.

So I create one folder on my PC that might be called "GO740 Backup 22 Feb 13" and copy both the full folder/icon that represents my TomTom to that folder, then copy the full folder/icon that represents my SD card to that folder as well. This assures that nothing has been forgotten or mangled by Home, and it's easy to restore things later if need be with simple copies in the opposite direction.

There have been comments over time about issues with Bluetooth phone connections going a bit downhill in the 9.XXX versions of code. If you use that feature, it might be just as well to stick with 8.351.

I went back and checked my own 720, and double checked to be sure that more recent firmware updates didn't close the ASR loophole (really, that did start only on the x30 models!). So long as the support_asr.dat file is present, the voice control still works. When I attempt a "Navigate to", I am still offered the "Spoken address" and "Spoken address (dialog)" screens. So there's no issue there if you update your firmware. It could be that your only benefit will be to avoid losing your favorites, but again, as long as you have a 'fresh' copy of your mapsettings.cfg file available on your PC, you've never really lost them :thumb:

 

[Ron Newman]

If possible, I'd copy from the full TomTom icon. I create folders on my PC by date and keep more than one backup -- at a minimum, two full copies of the device prior to the last two updates I've done.

So I create one folder on my PC that might be called "GO740 Backup 22 Feb 13" and copy both the full folder/icon that represents my TomTom to that folder, then copy the full folder/icon that represents my SD card to that folder as well. This assures that nothing has been forgotten or mangled by Home, and it's easy to restore things later if need be with simple copies in the opposite direction.

There have been comments over time about issues with Bluetooth phone connections going a bit downhill in the 9.XXX versions of code. If you use that feature, it might be just as well to stick with 8.351.

I went back and checked my own 720, and double checked to be sure that more recent firmware updates didn't close the ASR loophole (really, that did start only on the x30 models!). So long as the support_asr.dat file is present, the voice control still works. When I attempt a "Navigate to", I am still offered the "Spoken address" and "Spoken address (dialog)" screens. So there's no issue there if you update your firmware. It could be that your only benefit will be to avoid losing your favorites, but again, as long as you have a 'fresh' copy of your mapsettings.cfg file available on your PC, you've never really lost them :thumb:

I don't know what to say about my720 & ASR, is there a way I can find out for sure what my TT is, I've looked all over and there is nothing on it to tell me, there is a serial No :M67307A08914 if that helps ,I only know It was on it when I got it, and no one has ever put anything in it other than the times I've updated through TT Home, I've also now got 'My TomTomSA', I don't remember downloading it or what it does, I know I can't eject it 'cause I've tried to in every way I know. As to the backups I've already opened the TT icon and copied the folders into a folder I made and named, So now I'll go back to it and copy the whole TT icon and the same with the Sd card. Ceya a & thanks again.

 

[canderson]

Your "M6" serial number confirms that it was manufactured as a 720. Evidently the support_asr.dat file snuck in via one of the updates at some point. No complaints!

You won't want to use the MyTomTomSA software unless/until you retire your 720 and get one of the newer models that requires that interface to talk to the unit. Meanwhile, you'll be using the old TomTom Home 2 software just as you have been. If you need the space, feel free to nuke the MyTomTomSA application.

Good deal on the backups. Apart from a real hardware failure, having those backups allows us to get you out of just about any possible ditch.

 

[Ron Newman]

Your "M6" serial number confirms that it was manufactured as a 720. Evidently the support_asr.dat file snuck in via one of the updates at some point. No complaints!

You won't want to use the MyTomTomSA software unless/until you retire your 720 and get one of the newer models that requires that interface to talk to the unit. Meanwhile, you'll be using the old TomTom Home 2 software just as you have been. If you need the space, feel free to nuke the MyTomTomSA application.

Good deal on the backups. Apart from a real hardware failure, having those backups allows us to get you out of just about any possible ditch.

I've tried always to delete that MyTTSA it won't go, It's not a space issue I've got plenty of that, if you think it's no probs to me I'll leave it alone, I've just had a thought, could it be anything to do with upgrading my imac to Mountain Lion from Snow leopard?

 

[canderson]

No, it was just a function of being on the TomTom site and grabbing what you probably thought was Home2 and grabbing the MyTomTom software instead.

I don't know how you kill a 'task' on a Mac, but likely you'd need to do that before you'd have success getting rid of the application. Among other things, the MyTomTomSA acts as a USB to TCP (internet type) bridge between your device and your Mac. The newer units act like little mini-servers ... nothing like you're used to with the 720.

 

[Ron Newman]

No, it was just a function of being on the TomTom site and grabbing what you probably thought was Home2 and grabbing the MyTomTom software instead.

I don't know how you kill a 'task' on a Mac, but likely you'd need to do that before you'd have success getting rid of the application. Among other things, the MyTomTomSA acts as a USB to TCP (internet type) bridge between your device and your Mac. The newer units act like little mini-servers ... nothing like you're used to with the 720.

I'll find out through google how to get rid of it. I've deleted the backups I made and have now done it the way you said whole TT icon & SD card icon all done. You is a bit of a genius ain't Ya. So now I'll wait regarding updates until you confer with your fellow mods, until then, Thanks a million, you've taken away all my confusion and headache. :[_

 

[canderson]

No genius here, just too much experience, not all of it much fun!

As for updating, as noted, see no reason why you should or should not if the unit works acceptably for you the way it is. You now know how to recover your favorites and other settings after a map update.

 

[Ron Newman]

Your right if ain't broke, don't try and fix it, I'm happy now things are back where they should be. just one small point, when and if I update especially maps, Home gives me a choice of SD card or internal memory, I usually go for SD, is that ok or part of my probs.

 

[canderson]

You can put your maps where you like, and Home will update a map in its current position, wherever it is. Home does an inventory during startup to see where things actually are.

When you first fire up Home, it will ask if you are interested in 'internal' or SD locations, but I find that none of that ever seems to matter, even though I have multiple maps and mine are out on the SD. It certainly shouldn't be causing you any problems. The ONLY way you should ever lose the ASR file again would be in the event of a firmware update (which you probably won't bother to do), if the "asr" folder is overwritten. I can't recall if I've seen that happen or not, but I'm certain you're not the first person we've had to have restore that file on an x20 device.

FWIW, many of us keep our maps out on the SD (or uSD) card and leave everything else to the internal memory.

That said -- if some day your internal memory finally dies (flash doesn't rewrite forever), you can actually load the entire system onto SD and the device will preferentially boot the unit's software from there! So we can even recover from some odd hardware issues.

Glad you're sorted again, and if you run into anything else, be sure to drop us a line here.