How to update to TopoActive 2020.20 with a 24K topo microSD inserted into the unit.

Replaced my Montana 680t with a new 700 today. The initial excitement is wearing off pretty quickly. Did the software update, then started on the map updates. It asked me to insert a new microSD card to hold TopoActive 2020.20 and warned me that if I remove the chip, the update would be unavailable. My question is . . . how can one use a 24k topo microSD and an updated version of TopoActive at the same time? Doesn't seem possible.

0 rick25s over 3 years ago

That is the same setup I have. I have the TopoActive and the 24k on the same microSD. They do not work together. When you have the 24K enabled in the map setup->configure maps, it will not display when the topoActive maps are enabled. You have to enable one or the other. It has to do with map layering. Some other maps can combine, but not those two. I don't mind it, I just switch them around when I need one or the other.

0 atlas_cached over 3 years ago

What are the total size and available remaining space on the 24K Topo microSD card?

0 volosong over 3 years ago in reply to atlas_cached

I live on the border of two regions, North Central and West. Both are 8Gb cards. The North Central card, (the one I use the most), has 2.98 GB free of its 7.93 Gb capacity. Since TopoActive is +7 Gb, that won't work. A solution would be to move the 24k maps to a 32 Gb card, then install the TopoActive update on that card. Of course, that won't work because the Garmin cards are locked. I wouldn't want to overwrite $90 worth of 1:24k data anyway.

1:100k and 1;250k are fine for planning and regional work, but I'm most comfortable using 1:24k for local work and hikes. It's just what I've been using for most of my life. It's a shame Garmin couldn't give us more memory. It is so inexpensive these days. There should be a way to update the internal memory datasets. An oversight, I suspect. Looks like I'm stuck with an outdated TopoActive.

0 volosong over 3 years ago in reply to rick25s

How did you get TopoActive and 24k on the same, external card?

0 atlas_cached over 3 years ago in reply to volosong

How much free space is remaining on the Montana 7x0?

Have you added any additional maps to the device internal memory?

0 volosong over 3 years ago in reply to atlas_cached

No additional datasets or data uploaded. New unit this past Friday, so no time to futz around with it. Info shows 7.43 Gb free of 15.42 Gb internal memory. Update process says not enough room to perform the update. Two attempts failed due to not enough space.

0 atlas_cached over 3 years ago in reply to volosong

There is most certainly enough room on the device to update the TopoActive map. The newest version (2020.20) is not more than 7.4 GB larger than the previous version. More like a few dozen or maybe a hundred megabytes different.

I believe this to be a glitch/bug with Garmin Express, and one of the reasons so many people are currently unable to update their maps.

BTW, which TopoActive map are you trying to update?

0 rick25s over 3 years ago in reply to volosong

They are just files. I just move them around using my computer. Your problem is not where the files reside, it's a map layer issue. You can't view those 2 different tops layers at the same time.

0 volosong over 3 years ago in reply to atlas_cached

Delivered dataset is version 2020.10, so updating to 2020.20 would probably be minor. The problem might be that I'm using a Mac. I understand that Express and Macs don't play nice with each other. I guess that I'll just have to live with what I have.

p.s. One thing I like about the 700 is that unlike the 700i and 750i, the 700 has a lanyard attachment point at the top and another at the bottom of the unit. That's nice, (and unexpected). Haven't seen that mentioned anywhere.

0 rick25s over 3 years ago in reply to volosong

I am using a Mac. Everything works as designed. I also would like the active topo data while viewing the 24k maps, but the layering make that not possible.