Sportrak has problem with internet security programs

[yitbos]

My father has run into a problem with is Sportrak Pro and the use of Magellan or Norton internet security. Norton seems to slow his computer down excessively and keep his hard disk spinning all the time and he is unable to access his GPS unless he deactivates the program and then tries to connect.

 

He removed Norton and added McAfee's internet security program, which is provided by his ISP. It does not slow his computer down as much but it still causes the GPS unit to not be accessible. If he starts the GPS before the McAfee loads and runs, he is ok then.

 

Has anyone run into this problem? I have an Explorist 500 and have not had the problem so I can't help him much. Is there anything we can do to ensure his magellan loads before the antivirus software? How can I make that the last thing to load on his computer? Or, is there an internet security (antivirus, antispan, ect) bundle or program that works very well but does not cause the problems he is experiencing. I know his Sportrak is an older unit so I'm hoping someone out there is experiencing the same thing.

 

Thanks,

John

[+briansnat]

Moving to GPS Units and Software forum

[NSB]

I still use a sportrak color with topo Canada and have Norton. No problems like that here but i do get the exterme slowness and constant HD spinning. I'm on the verge of wiping the HD.

 

I have found that you have to connect the sportrak to the computer, turn the gpsr on and the open mapsend. If i open mapsend first it will not find the gps.

[+Packanack]

What Geocaching Program is he running. I save GSAK files to desktop and move them to the unit from there. I have the SportTrak Pro and run it with a serial to usb converter cable and have never had a problem . When the SportTrak started to show its age I decided to go with Explorist 500--although I much prefer the SportTrak--it created a lot of com port conflicts. So now the unit is connected and on when the computer is booted up, so it is recognized at start up. on't know if this is of any help.

[kvhollis]

My father has run into a problem with is Sportrak Pro and the use of Magellan or Norton internet security. Norton seems to slow his computer down excessively and keep his hard disk spinning all the time and he is unable to access his GPS unless he deactivates the program and then tries to connect.

 

He removed Norton and added McAfee's internet security program, which is provided by his ISP. It does not slow his computer down as much but it still causes the GPS unit to not be accessible. If he starts the GPS before the McAfee loads and runs, he is ok then.

 

Has anyone run into this problem? I have an Explorist 500 and have not had the problem so I can't help him much. Is there anything we can do to ensure his magellan loads before the antivirus software? How can I make that the last thing to load on his computer? Or, is there an internet security (antivirus, antispan, ect) bundle or program that works very well but does not cause the problems he is experiencing. I know his Sportrak is an older unit so I'm hoping someone out there is experiencing the same thing.

 

Thanks,

John

 

How much memory is in the comptuer? How fast is the processor?

[yitbos]

He is using Streets and Trips to input maps. He has had some comm issues as well, but has worked his way through them. He also uses the serial to USB cord and is running the program on a dell laptop that is about 2 years old at the most. I do know he is looking for some added memory for his computer to try and help the issue.

 

What internet security software are you using? Is there a particular program he should consider using instead of McAfee or Norton? I'm not sure what else might be good for him.

 

Thanks everyone for the assistance.

[yitbos]

He has 256M but he is looking at expanding to 512 or more.

[+embra]

This may not have anything to do with your dad's problem, but I'll mention it in case it does. MapSend DirectRoute is (at least in v1 and v2) a resource hog that sometimes won't run unless background programs like AV software is turned off to free up resources. It doesn't seem to matter too much how much RAM a machine has, and is inconsistent as to who has this problem.

 

I'm doubtful that's the deal here only because I never heard of the older programs like Streets & Destinations (is that what you mean? Streets & Trips is the Microsoft mapping program) having this problem.

[chuckr30]

If you are having problems, turn off any antivirus and internet security programs BEFORE connecting the GPS to the computer via the USB cable.

 

You should be able to disconnect this software by right clicking the correct icon in the system tray, then clicking "Disconnect" or "Disable" or something similar.

 

Since the GPS appears as another removable drive on your PC, Norton AV probably tries to do a real-time scan on the whole drive, which would slow your computer down.

 

We have had major problems here at work with the latest version of NAV trying to constantly do a real-time filesystem scan constantly, and there is no way to turn it off (that we have found).

[yitbos]

I was wrong on the program I mentioned above, it is DirectRoute not streets and trips. My apologies. We both use that program and it's version 1

[+embra]

In that case it probably is "just" the resource problem. I don't know what to tell you, because so far no fix has been found aside from shutting down other programs. I am one who has never had a DR startup problem--and I run Norton AV and a slew of other stuff. Go figure. It's sloppy programming on Magellan's part.

Edited January 26, 2007 by embra

[mtbikernate]

I was never satisfied with any Norton AV or internet security products. I ran McAfee for awhile, but my computer is showing its age (haven't changed any hardware in 5yrs), and any program with so much real-time scanning going on really kills my computer.

 

Right now, I'm running Avast! Antivirus, Firefox, and I periodically run Ad-Aware.

 

As for my hardware, I've got an Athlon XP 1800+ processor (1.53GHz), 1.12GB RAM, and 30Gig HD.

 

I do not have a Magellan GPS, but my suggestion would be to completely dump the internet security suite and use an antivirus program alone. Then use a separate program to periodically sweep your system from any adware/malware that might get in. But, smart browsing can GREATLY reduce that.