PC cannot detect my Garmin Gps

[Seftonz]

I am at my wits end, I have a new serial - usb cable and have had a lot of trouble downloading the drivers. Finally i have the driver working. I have gone into the Garmin web site to download the communicator required to download information, but, half way through it tells me it cannot detect my Garmin Gps device.

I have downloades easy GPS as well and that also tells me it cannot detect my device.

Very frustrating.

Any advice?

[+geodarts]

The question is probably outside of my league, but what garmin unit are you using and what operating system is on your pc?

[jholly]

I am at my wits end, I have a new serial - usb cable and have had a lot of trouble downloading the drivers. Finally i have the driver working. I have gone into the Garmin web site to download the communicator required to download information, but, half way through it tells me it cannot detect my Garmin Gps device.

I have downloades easy GPS as well and that also tells me it cannot detect my device.

Very frustrating.

Any advice?

 

Is it serial, the 9 pin connector, or usb, the rectangular connector with 4 pins? If it is serial the Garmin communicator will not work with serial.

 

Jim

[WPMD]

This might seem silly, but the GPS is turned on, isn't it?

[table/cache]

If you are not familiar with serial devices there is a catch you may not be aware of. The software usually needs to be told what Serial Port the device that it is looking for is attached to. It will be something like COM1, COM2 COM3, etc

 

That option may be under something like Setup, or GPS menus...

[pratzert]

Maybe my experience will help.

 

I had never had a problem with my PC's recognizing any of my GPS units.... until.... I got the newer nuvi units.

 

I went absolutely CRAZY for weeks trying to get my PC to "See" it.

 

What made it worse was sometimes it saw it, and other times it did not.

 

I tried loading and reloading the Garmin drivers with no luck.

 

Then... by sheer accident, I discovered that there was some sort of hardware/driver conflict.

 

I found that if I leave my printer turned OFF, the PC see my nuvi. As soon as I turned my printer on, it did not.

 

I spend several hours on the phone with Garmin and they could not figure it out

 

So... try your luck with turning off or disconnecting all other hardware/connections and see what happens.

 

.

[+gothmog1065]

I just hooked up my eTrex from Garmin. If yours is similar to mine, your computer may not "see" it in My Computer, much like you won't see printers and such on My Computer.

 

Most of your software that "talks" to the GPS will use a COM port. Even if you have the USB/Serial converter or a straight wire (like mine) that is customized and plugs straight into your GPS, your computer won't treat it as a plug and play device.

 

To find it depends on your manufacturer and the driver names. Once your drivers are installed, go to Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manager > Ports

 

There you will see a list of your COM ports. Generally it's COM3, and it's named something that will have to do with your GPS or wire itself. Mine was "Prolific-to-Serial Comm Port (COM3)". Once you find that you know where your GPS device is at. This is where your computer "sees" it. This is what you will set your COM port to when transferring data.

 

You won't be able to browse it like a PDA or smart phones now. The only thing you can do is pull information off and on it, depending on the software.

[+StarBrand]

if it is a unit with a USB connection - did you install Garmin's USB driver?

[+NetMinder29]

I just had my Legend HCx have the same problem. After talking to the Garmin people on the phone and trying assorted stuff, they agreed with me that the problem was with the unit. Since it was only 3 months old, they replaced it (with the help of Mountain Equipment Co-op where I bought it) right away.

 

Maybe call the Garmin troubleshooting hotline.

 

Nets

Edited November 10, 2009 by NetMinder29

[Dreamwolf]

I'm having a similar problem with my GPS unit. I have an eTrex Legend (the one with the clear blue case, I know, I really should upgrade, but they take abuse so well) and I need to upgrade the firmware to take care of the WAAS bug problem. I downloaded the Garmin USB driver package and started it up. I got to the point where you turn on the unit, then plug it in and wait for windows to see it. The "New Hardware Wizard" popped up and Garmin tells you to just make it proceed with the "automatic" search and install option. But then, for me, that option doesn't work. Windows just tells me that it couldn't install the device, and the Garmin package tells me it couldn't complete. I have the unit on and the data exchange setup to "GARMIN" like the instructions say. No dice. Any ideas?

[gitarmac]

I'm having a similar problem with my GPS unit. I have an eTrex Legend (the one with the clear blue case, I know, I really should upgrade, but they take abuse so well) and I need to upgrade the firmware to take care of the WAAS bug problem. I downloaded the Garmin USB driver package and started it up. I got to the point where you turn on the unit, then plug it in and wait for windows to see it. The "New Hardware Wizard" popped up and Garmin tells you to just make it proceed with the "automatic" search and install option. But then, for me, that option doesn't work. Windows just tells me that it couldn't install the device, and the Garmin package tells me it couldn't complete. I have the unit on and the data exchange setup to "GARMIN" like the instructions say. No dice. Any ideas?

 

I have had a lot of trouble with both garmin communicator, and mapsource. For awhile, communicator was telling me I needed the latest version, which I had. Reinstalling it seemed to help but sometimes it seems like i have to install multiple times or something. It will work for long periods on end, then for no apparent reason, it will not "see" my gps. Then I have to jump through hoops. I don't remember exactly when I do to make it work again but I eventully do. Right now it's working.

 

On vacation I needed mapsource to transfer maps to my venture. For some reason it decided, since I did not have the interweb, or my CD, to find fault with the maps I wanted to transfer, in spite of my transferring the maps just fine only days before.

 

It's always something. I wish garmin was as successful in making software as some of the third parties.

[+gothmog1065]

First off, make sure you have the proper drivers, which you can find here.

 

Again, lots of people have problems with the serial to USB converter. If you are not plugging into a male DE-9 on your computer (Pinout, looks like a standard monitor plug, but reversed, also make sure you're in a serial port, designated by something that says "serial" or |O|O| or something similar), you're probably either A> using a converter (Plugging your DE-9 into a converter then plugging into your USB port), or using a wire that is designed to go straight from your USB into your GPS unit. If you bought these wires, sometimes you'll have to install drivers for those as well as they have microchips in them to convert from standard serial to USB.

 

Also, I've heard LOADS of people who have had problems with a converter (DE-9 to USB), so you may try going straight into a serial port (IF You have one) or using a wire that is made to go from your device to your USB. If you purchase one of these (Say off of Ebay), make sure it comes with a driver disc as well.