nuvi 1490 problem loading new maps

1490 map update and Garmin Express

I downloaded the new 2013 map update, but my nuvi 1490 doesn't have enough memory to hold the upate. I wanted to load the entire lower 48 US map. It tells me to do so I'll need at least 1.8 gb memory card. So I inserted a brand new 4gb card and it still says I don't have enough card space available. So now what?

Why are they making the maps so large they won't fit onto their gps' s?

Pretty disappointing, if you ask me.

I had a similar problem with my 1490, when I installed Garmin Express it said that I needed to update my maps to 2013.30 even though I had already installed this update. Then it said I did not have enough memory, I could do the update (which is over 3 Gb) by installing to a microSD card. I installed it to a 4Gb microSD card and it worked OK but I needed to keep the 4 gb card plugged in, if I removed it I lost all the maps. I finally did a full reset to the 1490, that seemed to clear a lot of the memory in the 1490, it has about 8 gb. I removed Garmin Express and used Garmin Web Updater to update the maps to the latest version and had no problems with running out of memory.

Glad you got it working. The 8Gb would include the 4Gb card, as the EU version of the 14xx series only comes with 4Gb of memory on board. The US version only has 2Gb. WebUpdater doesn't though update maps, did you mean MapUpdater?

If you haven't already you can also free up considerable space by following the procedure here http://forums.gpsreview.net/viewtopic.php?t=23713

I just attempted to load Mapset 2014.20 onto my 1490LMT and got the same warning, and it showed I had only 45mb out of 1.8Gb available, and needed to either use a Micro SD card, or select a reduced version of the maps.

I deleted everything but English for Voices, Help, and Text and managed to get to 190Mb free of 1.8Gb, but got the same warning.

I would have been HAPPY to have loaded ONLY the USA maps, but the choices were:
(Beside the Full USA and Canada)
1)Canada w/ Border States
2)Eastern US
3)Western US

There is no longer an option for ONLY the 48/49 State USA Mapset

I called Garmin, and the tech confirmed that almost ALL current Garmins, past, and presently on the market do NOT have enough internal memory to support the newest Map Updates. He gave a a short list of about 5 units he knew for sue would accept a complete mapset, but repeated that buying one currently sold on the market was no guarantee that the latest maps would fit. He said that while my 1490 is now considered "Obsolete," I am no where alone in having this situation, which he said was not a "problem," in that it was easily rectified by the use of the SD card ONLY if I wished to use newer maps. This is, of course, a personal choice, and I could have chosen to continue with my old maps.

I am sure that my wife's newer Garmin (only 6mo old) will encounter the same "problem" since I got a warning on it last night that the map database was now 1 year old and should be updated.

I asked the size of the 2014.20 Map Update (to see how close I was to making it fit), but he said he had no idea, and that Garmin doesn't release such information. He did say that the mapset requires more memory than is available on MOST current, and ALL discontinued Garmin Nuvi devices.

I mentioned it was like buying a car with 4 doors, and being told that in order to carry 4 people after a certain date that I would have to put them in a trailer and tow them behind the car, but that I understood he was just being honest, and I appreciated his candor.

Since there is NO current option to just load a 48/48 state version so I relented and decided to load the maps onto an existing 4Gb MicroSD card on which I currently keep an extensive POI database (but which I never install onto my Nuvi internal memory).

This means if the memory car is corrupted or damaged, I no longer have a usable GPS, but from Tech Support, this is just a "Fact of Life" for owners of almost all Garmins sold here in the USA.

I'd be curious to know if ANYONE has managed to load 2014.20 on a 1490.

I'd be curious to know if ANYONE has managed to load 2014.20 on a 1490.

Yep. I have the "lower 49" of CN NA NT 2014.20 in the internal memory of my 1490T, Alaska/Canada/Mexico on an SD card and the large JCV file also on the card.

The gmapprom.img file (lower 49) on the unit is 1,604,255,744 bytes. The other .img, on my card, is 424,615,936 bytes. The large JCV file (D3060110A.jcv) is 817,718,755 bytes.

I have about 112MB left in the 1490T's internal memory.

PS: I do NOT update my 1490T DIRECTLY. I use the clone method. That's probably why I had the "lower 49" option.

nuvi 360

I downloaded the new 2013 map update, but my nuvi 1490 doesn't have enough memory to hold the upate. I wanted to load the entire lower 48 US map. It tells me to do so I'll need at least 1.8 gb memory card. So I inserted a brand new 4gb card and it still says I don't have enough card space available. So now what?

Why are they making the maps so large they won't fit onto their gps' s?

Pretty disappointing, if you ask me.

How much memory can i put in my garmin