I downloaded the latest system software for the S-series and installed it. The program updates Navdesk 2008 and then offers to install the latest software on the S30. This appeared to work until it asked me to disconnect the SatNav from the PC and wait for it to reboot. There were dire warnings about switching it off before it got to the user agreement screen. Unfortunately although the image update appeared to work fine it then went straight back into its reboot cycle - but displaying the new software version number.
I switched the S30 off and plugged it back into the PC. The installation software went ahead and installed a new version of SmartST 2008, but it made no difference. It still reboots over and over again...
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Navman S30 Reboots and Reboots and...
The Navman S30 is a budget SatNav with a pretty good spec that currently sells for well under a £100 in the UK and appears to be very popular. I've been using one for a few months and have been impressed with the device. It does have a few idiosyncrasies - for example, you cannot search for junctions on the M25 - but on the whole has been extremely useful and reliable.
Switching the S30 on today put it into a continuous loop of reboots. It gets to the map loading screen (photo of a woman hanging out of a car window), displays the software version number, waits a few seconds and then repeats... for ever.
The Navman Technical Support FAQ is no help - they suggest resetting by holding the power button down for 6 seconds and then turning it back on again. A quick Google reveals a fair number of users of the S-series describing the same symptoms but no resolution. Everyone who reported trying to contact Navman technical support appears to be still waiting for a response.
What to do? Plugging it into a PC and switching on does put it into USB Mass Storage Device mode. So I tried running NavDesk 2008's "Reinstall software on your Navman" option. Directly I accepted the licence agreement it reported:
I had not made any selections and there has been no additional maps, voices or other data installed on the device but opening the S30 as a Windows drive and looking at its properties shows 0 bytes free. A delve into its file structure reveals that it is running Windows CE and that it has filled any free memory with log files. In the "My Documents" directory were 6 Mbytes of log files that appear to list events such as user inputs, travel distance and speed and so on. I deleted them.
In the root directory there was an app_asrt.txt file which is a log of its latest attempt to boot-up. There were also a hundred app_asrtNN.txt files fromt the last hundred boot attempts, most were zero bytes due to the lack of disk space.
The app_asrt.txt file reports that it is trying to read:
\My Flash Disk\Program Files\Navman\SmartST_CE\UserData\device_settings.ini
in binary mode. Later it tries to read default_settings.xml from the same directory. The directory exists but only includes a user_settings.xml.
Looks like a reinstalling the system software will probably fix this. Just need to work out how to get the new software on to the S30 without bricking it.
Switching the S30 on today put it into a continuous loop of reboots. It gets to the map loading screen (photo of a woman hanging out of a car window), displays the software version number, waits a few seconds and then repeats... for ever.
The Navman Technical Support FAQ is no help - they suggest resetting by holding the power button down for 6 seconds and then turning it back on again. A quick Google reveals a fair number of users of the S-series describing the same symptoms but no resolution. Everyone who reported trying to contact Navman technical support appears to be still waiting for a response.
What to do? Plugging it into a PC and switching on does put it into USB Mass Storage Device mode. So I tried running NavDesk 2008's "Reinstall software on your Navman" option. Directly I accepted the licence agreement it reported:
There is not enough space to install these option(s).
Please free up some disk space or modify your selections.
I had not made any selections and there has been no additional maps, voices or other data installed on the device but opening the S30 as a Windows drive and looking at its properties shows 0 bytes free. A delve into its file structure reveals that it is running Windows CE and that it has filled any free memory with log files. In the "My Documents" directory were 6 Mbytes of log files that appear to list events such as user inputs, travel distance and speed and so on. I deleted them.
In the root directory there was an app_asrt.txt file which is a log of its latest attempt to boot-up. There were also a hundred app_asrtNN.txt files fromt the last hundred boot attempts, most were zero bytes due to the lack of disk space.
The app_asrt.txt file reports that it is trying to read:
\My Flash Disk\Program Files\Navman\SmartST_CE\UserData\device_settings.ini
in binary mode. Later it tries to read default_settings.xml from the same directory. The directory exists but only includes a user_settings.xml.
Looks like a reinstalling the system software will probably fix this. Just need to work out how to get the new software on to the S30 without bricking it.
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