TopRam 150X 4GB SD card NFG for XL-S

[rjm2140]

I purchased a TopRam 150X 4GB SD for my XL-S and encountered more problems than I could imagine after I installed it. Occasionally, things would settle down and as long as I did not connect it to TTHome, it worked 'OK'. As soon as I'd try to update, it would lock up with the 'RED X'. I'm now an expert at resetting the thing. Downloading small files worked occasionally, but larger files crashed every time. I could not install another computer voice, no matter what I did. The reason I bought the TopRam 150X 4GB SD was that it's not advertised as an SDHC, but eventually a little Googling, Wikipedia, etc. I found that anything over 2G in an SD format is SDHC. So I swapped the TopRam with a 2G Sandisk Ultra II from my wife?s Nikon. Now she can store twice the number of photos on her camera and it downloads much faster. How about my XL-S, you ask? 100% of all problems were instantly gone and it hasn't hiccupped once! I installed the larger POI file, four computer voices, updated, etc. etc. and it works great. So I have fully convinced myself that the TopRam 4G card is SDHC & SDHC is not fully compatible with the XL-S. If you have an XL-S, go with 2G & be happy. A side benefit to all of this is that TTHome V2.2.1.58 now runs OK on my laptop with the 2G card installed, but no such luck on my desktop which still is very unhappy with V2.2.1.58.

 

[Smokiewolf]

So I have fully convinced myself that the TopRam 4G card is SDHC & SDHC is not fully compatible with the XL-S. If you have an XL-S, go with 2G & be happy. A side benefit to all of this is that TTHome V2.2.1.58 now runs OK on my laptop with the 2G card installed,.

You're correct SDHC are not compatible with ONE devices. I thought the TopRam 4GB cards were Non-HC, but I guess you proved that wrong! Oh well, there's really no reason for a 4GB card now anyway, since the larger maps are device specific!!!

 

[SShadow]

I had thought that in order to use the 4gig cards, you HAD to have a supporting card reader in your PC because while you can READ the SDHC card when it was in the GPS, you could not write to it through the GPS. You had to do all updates to the unit by copying the information to the card.

I know it's a pain, but if you really need 4 gig, you could always update information on a smaller card and then copy it from smaller card to larger card and run the larger card in the unit. It's a little extra work - but if you want to put MP3s and stuff on the larger card, then it may be worth while.

 

[rjm2140]

I had thought that in order to use the 4gig cards, you HAD to have a supporting card reader in your PC because while you can READ the SDHC card when it was in the GPS, you could not write to it through the GPS. You had to do all updates to the unit by copying the information to the card.

I know it's a pain, but if you really need 4 gig, you could always update information on a smaller card and then copy it from smaller card to larger card and run the larger card in the unit. It's a little extra work - but if you want to put MP3s and stuff on the larger card, then it may be worth while.

I have a card reader and tried all sorts of tricks with it, but I could not positively verify your 'read only theory'. But, since most problems I incurred seemed associated with 'write functions', you could be correct. The bottom line is that it's too much of a hassle and a PITA to use a 4G card. It's 2G for me!

 

[SShadow]

Agreed as well. I have a 2gig 150x card from ATP Pro in mine. Works flawlessly. I wouldn't mind having a 4gig just so I could throw a bunch of MP3s/Videos on there for when I'm waiting in the truck for my wife to finished whatever the heck it is she does in the dept stores... But for now, I just read books on my PDA... (I wish I could find a 3rd party document reader for my XLS... that would be most sweet!)

 

[Gilbert]

What speeds are you getting on the regular SD card compared to internal memory?

I need to do further testing with my TopRam 4GB card which works fine with its own adapter but is problematic under Home for writes. With the Tomtom connected and Home closed, I was able to do some operations of copying from one to the other with smaller files without problems. With Home executing, the situation is problematic most of the time and may need a reboot as FireFox goes wild with large constant cpu usage and don't know what it is trying to do as I usually have a bunch of open FireFox folders at the same time.

Does anyone know if there is some software that can tell what type of USB connection is involved such as USB version 1.1 vs version 2?

 

[dhn]

Does anyone know if there is some software that can tell what type of USB connection is involved such as USB version 1.1 vs version 2?

Contol Panel>>System>>Hardware>>Device Manager. Look at the listing of USB controllers. If you see at least ONE saying 'enhanced', then all the usb ports should be 2.

However, also make sure, if on XP, that you have service pack 2 installed for usb 2 functionality to work properly.

 

[Gilbert]

Contol Panel>>System>>Hardware>>Device Manager. Look at the listing of USB controllers. If you see at least ONE saying 'enhanced', then all the usb ports should be 2.

However, also make sure, if on XP, that you have service pack 2 installed for usb 2 functionality to work properly.

I just looked inside the device manager and see the mention of enhanced but am under the impression this only refers to the port and not necessarily the capacity of the device connected to the port. What I am wondering is if the tt system has a version 1.1 or version 2 adapter? I know my ports are usb v2 from my Asus motherboard documentation. I have yet to see a diagnostic sw that gives the characteristics of the devices capabilities connected to the USB ports. I tried Everest but did not get that information or did not see it listed.

I had a look at the Navigons and heir documentation state their usb adapter is version 1.1 but never saw this information from Tomtom.

 

[SShadow]

SiSoft Sandra, maybe? It's the only other one I can think of off the top of my head that may produce that information. In a little bit, I will do a search and see if I can find any more information...