Tom Tom 730 wont turn on or connect to pc

[Lappo]

Hi,
I have a tom tom 730 that worked perfectly up until yesterday.
I tried to connect to my laptop as usual for updates however the 730 would not turn on and only displayed the tom tom symbol on the 730 screen after several minutes. . My laptop would not recognise the devise when connected to the program and the Tom Tom program did not pick up the 730 automatically as it previously done on all other occasions. I tried several times and still the tom tom would not start up as usual.
I then tried to reset the tom tom again and it still only displayed the tom tom symbol after several minutes. After resetting it a few more times it now displays symbols stating " remove the SD card'. It does not have a sd card inserted.

Has this happened to others and if so is there an easy solution to the problem.

Thanks
John

 

[dhn]

When you connect to the computer, is it recognized as a removable drive? If so, make an Explorer, not Home backup. If not sure how, see here:
https://www.tomtomforums.com/t17864-how-backup-contents-your-unit-computer-how-restore.html

Then delete all the loose files in the root of the unit, NO folders or their contents. Connect to Home and an application should be offered. Accept and install. You may need to 'update my unit' again till no further application is offered. You should be on 9.430. Then disconnect from Home properly using the Device disconnect icon.

Any better?

 

[mkhmn]

I'm having a similar problem...

I have a similar problem. Although my XL 340s will power on, the computer won't recognize it as anything other than an external drive.

I followed your advice to the other person, but it still says "device_disconnected" in My TomTom.

Any ideas on how to get it to register as connected? The device asks if I want to connect to the computer so I know it's probably ok.

 

[dhn]

That is what the XL340 should show as, an external drive on your computer. You should be using Home 2, NOT MyTomTom with that device.

 

[mkhmn]

Really? Okay, going to install now. Thanks!

 

[canderson]

Didn't your XL340 come with a CD?

 

[mkhmn]

Yes, but I haven't used it in a couple of years, so I didn't remember. I found it.

Thanks everyone for the help.

 

[canderson]

You'll no doubt have an old version. A new one can be downloaded here:

http://www.tomtom.com/services/service.php?id=16&tab=87

 

[Lappo]

Hi Dhn,

My PC/Laptop still won't recognise the Tom Tom 730 as an external drive nor will the Tom Tom home program, it just states that "no device connected". All I am getting on the screen is the tom tom logo and a picture of the tom tom after 30 or so seconds. Occasionally it will show a remove sd card symbol over and over again. Any other suggestions is appreciated.
Thanks John

 

[Andy_P]

Could be the internal memory has physically failed (not at all uncommon on the Gox20 and x30 models by now).

Do you have an SD card (with ANYTHING on it) that you could pop in the slot, just to see if the PC recognises that?

However, the screwed internal mem. MAY be upsetting the PC so much that it still won't play ball.
In that case we have to rebuild the system onto an SD card and run from that from now on. Do you have a spare 4GB SDHC card available to start working on?

 

[Lappo]

Andy_P

Andy, no I dont have a SD card at the moment however I will get one hopefully tomorrow.
Currently, my Laptop still won't recognise the Tom Tom in any form whatsoever. I tried to connect the Tom Tom to the lap top and open it up as an external device . As soon as I do that it comes up two additional devices connected ( G and F) however I can't access either except to check properties where both show zero info.
Tom Tom Home still gives me a "no device connected" when attached. At the moment the screen when connected shows the Tom Tom in its dock on a green background. When I disconnect the cable it shows a Tom Tom only ( no dock) with a SD card being removed and a red cross through the SD card. As soon as I plug it back into the laptop the above Tom Tom/ dock is again displayed.
I have located the back up files thru "HOME" however not sure what to do next. I have reset the tom tom at least 6 or 10 times however it does not display a progress bar or anything when switched back on, it just goes to the tom tom/ dock display as previously listed. I will left you know when I have a SD card
Thanks for your help and assistance so far.
John

 

[Lappo]

Andy_P

Have now got an 4gb sd card and read to start ?

Thanks

John

 

[canderson]

I'm trying to recall (we're on a new page here) whether or not you have a backup of your system from some point prior to all of this trouble. If you do, then we should be able to transfer that to your new card. Of interest, your 730 will preferentially boot of the card if it finds one, ignoring any system in internal memory.

So what is your backup status? Have you had one done via Home or manually?

 

[Lappo]

Hi canderson,
I have in the past backed up my 730 via tom tom home. The problem is now that when I connect the tom tom to the laptop it wont recognise the 730 at all. I have tried connecting the tom tom with out the dock(via usb lead) directly to the laptop and it still will not recognise it, even as an external device/drive.

John

 

[canderson]

The only reason I asked about a backup was to see what would happen if we were to restore that to the SD card and try to run the unit off the SD card.

Having used Home, your backup will be here:
\My Documents\TomTom\HOME\Backup\GO\Backup01

The file structure there is the same as was on your unit. In other words, the loose files like ttsystem and splashw.bmp go onto the root of the card, with folders as they are already established in the backup.

If there is anything remotely resembling a boot block on your 730, it may fire up with the card installed.

You'll need to move your backup data from your PC to your card using a card reader.

 

[Lappo]

Hi Canderson,

Up and running. Had to buy a sd card reader from Officeworks for $10. Copied the back up files to the sd card and up she came. Now running perfectly from what I can tell.

Thanks for all your help

John.

 

[canderson]

I'm really glad to hear that, John. I am guessing that the internal memory on your 730 finally failed, but you're lucky that you have that slot for the card, and that TomTom designed the unit to work that way (by accident or on purpose, we don't know for sure!).

Can your PC see your device now when it is plugged in over the USB cable, or are you unable to connect still? If unable to connect, you should find that plugging your card into the reader caused Home to see the card as a TomTom unit, and you should be able to manipulate and update it that way.

We recommend this backup procedure for keeping a safe copy of your card data at all time ==> https://www.tomtomforums.com/t17864-how-backup-contents-your-unit-computer-how-restore.html

 

[Lappo]

HI canderson,

Tom Tom Home still wont recognize the 730 however, when I removed the SD card and use the SD reader to up date files it takes forever to get the tom tom to restart once the SD card is reinserted. (over 20mins). At one stage I thought it had died again then suddenly the Tom tom symbol displayed on the screen.
I will back up files as suggested.

Thanks again
John

 

[canderson]

Does Home recognize your SD card when you plug it into the reader? That's actually a bad way of putting it since it's not really Home recognizing anything, it's Home being called into action ---- The way this normally works is there is an autorun.inf file in the root of your device that causes your PC to fire up Home when the unit is powered up. This same thing usually happens when an SD card with a full system on it is inserted into a card reader.

IF your SD card does not contain a file called autorun.inf in the root, please create one with your favorite text editor, and copy and paste the following into that file before saving it to the root of your SD card...

[autorun]
action=Run TomTom HOME
open=InstallTomTomHOME.exe
label=TomTom
icon=tomtom.ico
[DeviceInstall]
#This section is empty; autorun will not install device drivers to your PC.

Having done that, plug your SD card into your card reader and see if Home works. It should see the SD card as though it is your 730 unit.

DO NOT plug and unplug your 730's SD card while it is powered up. DO NOT turn your 730 on without the SD card installed.

 

[VBJ1973]

Tom Tom XL340S will not Connect to PC

I have also have an XL 340S that will not connect to any computer. I have tried every solution on the web with no luck. I can see it as a removable disk drive but when I try to open it I get the files are corrupt and unreadable. Can someone please tell me how to fix this???