Hi all
i am just wondering what is involved in updateing the SW in a GPS
i mean why its done and what does it do?
dont give me a hard time on this as i am REALLY useless when it comes to electronics, i took my GPS in to get it updated the other day and i had no time to stay there and get the guy to go thru it with me
feed back on this would be great and if your going to explain fancy terms, could you PLZ type it slow for me>>>>LOL
thanx
Daz
in general terms
hook it up to a computer that has the latest software on it (presumabley download from the manufacurers web site) then with a few clicks of a mouse on the right buttons and you have updated software. You also want to hope the power doesnt drop off the computer in a crictical phase as sometimes they cant be retrieved/revived.
cheers
blaze
I didn't know what SW was so I was stuffed
Now I know
thanx Blaze For that info
about a month ago i tryed to upload SW on my handheld GPS, i really dont know what i did wrong but the GPS shut down, now the thing wont show anything on the screen, i can turn it on but the screen is blank,also it wont power off,the guys sent the handheld over to Magellan in Perth, thats why i took my Garmin in to update
with the new update on the Garmin, would i notice anything different on the screen itself?
thanx
Daz
Originally Posted by finga
I didn't know what SW was so I was stuffed
Now I know
yeh sorry Finga, i should of wrote softwear
i was just being to lazy
Daz
C/jack
Software updates may change the screen view or maybe simply an internal housekeeping update that doesn't show any difference to the user.
The is no way of knowing what the changes are unless the Manufacturer also provides a description of the update (often the description is for geeks only to understand).
cheers
John
No worries...I just have to get used to semi-geek talkyeh sorry Finga, i should of wrote softwear
i was just being to lazy
Daz
SW, Softwear, SoftwareHi all
i am just wondering what is involved in updateing the SW in a GPS
i mean why its done and what does it do?
dont give me a hard time on this as i am REALLY useless when it comes to electronics, i took my GPS in to get it updated the other day and i had no time to stay there and get the guy to go thru it with me
feed back on this would be great and if your going to explain fancy terms, could you PLZ type it slow for me>>>>LOL
thanx
DazBut then you don't want a hard time but obviously want the right time?
Why is it done? Depends on the reasons why the FW was released in the first place? Might be an enhancement, changes to internal tables, system changes or simply to fix a stuffup (a Bug) in the FW.
What does it do? Generally fixes things (hopefully) and makes things better but then new FW upgrades have been known to create "other" issues!
Generally a bad practice to immediately update the latest just released FW. Give new versions time to settle down and if there are problems then there will generally be a quick follow up version to fix the new stuff ups in the last version that was supposed to fix/enhance other things as well as previous stuff ups (bugs).
Most manufacturers who provide Fw updates (not all manufacturers can) will also list the changes/fixes in this version, so one should read these first before making a decision to upgrade. If there is no benefit to your requirements then sometimes it's best to ignore the update.
FW updates are quite simple and done with the GPS connected to a PC and then follow the manufacturers instructions precisely.
Regards, Kerry.
Last edited by Kerry; 15-02-2007 at 05:17 PM.
thanx Kerry / stark
PS Kerry, i tried to send a PM but your message box is full
Daz
I updated the firmware on my Eagle 642, was really simple, just download the update slap it on a blank SD card, put it in the GPS and it updated automatically.
For some reason the firmware encountered a corruption one day out at sea and the GPS failed to work, after I reinstalled the firmware away it went, no problems.
Lee
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