ATTENTION GARMIN OREGON 550 OWNERS! Help! I may have "killed" my Garmin Oregon 550!

dvdrnldprsn said:

Would a firmware file for Garmin be a standard ".bin" file?

Unfortunately I have absolutely no experience with the Oregon models, so frankly do not know how the firmware is been packaged. I just know how it works for Garmin watches - there are ".gcd" files on that location, that can be uploaded to the watch directly in order to install the concerned firmware version.

... as for the watch, additional components such as timezone updates, maps, images, etc are rather in the folder .../Firmware/. The Folder .../PrimaryFirmware/ contains rather just the main firmware package. So I would probably start looking for the map files in the Firmware subfolder. Since there are many subfolders with a deep structure, you could try searching for the name or for the extension of your missing file.

From what I can tell you're simply missing a map file. If you put your Oregon outside with a clear view of the sky it should at least locate itself. Also look in Profiles in your Oregon and see what map choices you have, if any. That will tell you what maps you have installed. You should then be able to tell us what maps, if any, are missing as gmapsupp.img is a map file but we can't tell from the name which map it was you deleted 

Incidentally you said it was gmapsupp.img but could it have been gmapbmap.img? If so it's the Garmin basemap and can be downloaded from numerous sites

Yes, it was in fact gmapbmap.img that was the root of the problem but I cannot see gmapsupp.img there either,  KiwiGPS helped me to sort out the problem with a copy of that basemap from one of his vintage Garmins. I have a basemap back but am now having problems with Mapinstall not retaining memory of the maps that I have reloaded. Every time I open Mapinstall, it shows both Canada Topo and City Navigator North America NT as being “available for transfer to device” (my wording) with no checkmaarks in the selection boxes. And on the Oregon 550, when I look for the Map Information, it only lists the basemap, though the other two are clearly present on the microSD card.

Do you happen to know if gmapsupp.img might have sonething to do with this?

I feel like I am almost there in the quest to restore my Garmin but am missing some vital piece of information.

No idea as that file name could be anything. If it's showing those 2 maps just go ahead and install them.

Okay. I have been reading about all this.

From what I can understand of what is a bit complex for me, a single map .img file will show up on the device, either in the internal or the external (microSD) storage as a gmapbmap.img file. If multiple maps are loaded on the same device, a gmapsupp.img file is created that contains the two or more individual gmapbmap.img files as gmapbmap.img, gmapbmap1.img, gmapbmap2.img, and so on.

Does that make any sense?

Okay. I had the two maps, Canada TOPO v.4 and City Navigator North America NT, on the Oregon 550 originally and had a gmapsupp.img file on the internal memory. I lost (stupidly deleted.) the original gmapbmap.img and gmapsupp.img files and lost all my maps.

With the help of several very kind members, I managed to restore the gmapbmap.img file. I transferred the Canada TOPO map and City Navigator North America maps from MapInstall back onto the microSD card (I can see them there using Windows File Explorer.), but, and this is a BIG but, the Oregon 550 does NOT see them there in the Garmin folder on the microSD card.

I can only assume (And you know what they say about making assumptions.) that the device does not see them there because there is no gmapsupp.img file either in internal memory or in the Garmin folder of the microSD card to tell it that the other maps are present. The only map that it registers is the gmapbmap.img of the original Garmin base map (DEM, NR).

Now, I am NOT at all sure that I have this all correct, but it makes sense to me.

So, my problem, as I see it, is how do I reconstruct the gmapsupp.img file for the two maps since MapInstall does not seem to be creating it and transferring it to my device?

Anyone out there have any ideas?

Your ideas will be much appreciated.

Number of confusions here. First the gmapbmap.img is the basemap that all Garmin devices have. Some devices will work without it, others will cease working completely if removed. Other maps can have all sorts of names so it's impossible to say what is what and I'd need to see the full folder and file structure to comment correctly. Second, gmapsupp is a proper map and doesn't contain other basemaps named gmapbmap1 etc so no idea where you got that from.

As to what you can do to correct the mess you're in I assume from what you've said you have Canada topo and the CN NA maps installed to your PC and visible in MapInstall? If that's correct remove any gmapsupp or gmapprom files from your Oregon. Some will end in .img, and will be large files, others will end in .unl or .gma and are very small files.

Now use MapInstall to send the 2 maps. After you've sent one check to see its visible on your Oregon, once you're happy it is send the other one. Note both should appear. You do realise I hope that you need to select them to show in the Oregon menus? If they're not selected they won't show.

I think that we are discussing this in circles here.

There is NO gmapsupp.img file in the Garmin folder on my GO-550. I have the gmapbmap.img and the gmaptz.img files only.

I have used MapInstall to put both TOPO Canada and City Navigator NA onto my device's microSD card and I can see them both there in Windows File Explorer. Both are divided into two sections (eg. Canada TOPO v4.img and Canada TOPO v4.2.img).

When I turn on the device, the basemap loads in. Everything appears normal. This, I assume, is the gmapbmap.img.

If I then go to Setup > Map > Map Information Select Map, all that is listed is this: Enabled - Worldwide DEM Basemap, NR. The Garmin Oregon 550 is not seeing the maps on the microSD card that I can clearly see present in Windows File Explorer.

MapInstall is, somehow, NOT telling the unit that the maps are present there on the microSD card, and the unit is NOT looking for the map .img files on the microSD card.

I am not really sure how to better describe this so that you can appreciate my problem, and I apologize for that.

Hopefully, we are now on the same page.

I have to admit that this whole matter, and my inability to work this out is all a bit frustrating.

DAP