Etrex 20 quit working on Mac

[+hangingkayaker]

Had my Etrex 20 for a few days and had to get used to it. Been using my mac and an Etrex Legend HCX with no issues other than not being able to run PQ's.

All of a sudden I'm not able to do anything on my mac with the E20. I keep getting error messages from Garmin and I've uploaded communicators and installers to the point I don't know whats going on. I doesn't read the gps. At one point I couldn't download single caches, got some advice on how to do it, it worked for a day then I can't load single caches anymore

But I can do all this on a pc. My computers a mac.

I'm not techno savvy so any one have suggestions. Is this a Garmin issue?

Frustrated as hell. Never had any issues with my HCX and mac.

 

sd

[+StarBrand]

Garmin's communicator is broken on the MAC.

 

There is a beta version that apparently works.

 

Meanwhile - you can load single caches by clicking the GPX button on saving the file in the garmin\gpx folder on the device.

[+hangingkayaker]

I downloaded the beta 4.0.1.1 and it worked briefly. I'm not sure what you mean by the GPX button?? I have an etrex 20.

 

Garmin's communicator is broken on the MAC.

 

There is a beta version that apparently works.

 

Meanwhile - you can load single caches by clicking the GPX button on saving the file in the garmin\gpx folder on the device.

[seldom_sn]

Had my Etrex 20 for a few days and had to get used to it. Been using my mac and an Etrex Legend HCX with no issues other than not being able to run PQ's.

All of a sudden I'm not able to do anything on my mac with the E20. I keep getting error messages from Garmin and I've uploaded communicators and installers to the point I don't know whats going on. I doesn't read the gps. At one point I couldn't download single caches, got some advice on how to do it, it worked for a day then I can't load single caches anymore

But I can do all this on a pc. My computers a mac.

I'm not techno savvy so any one have suggestions. Is this a Garmin issue?

Frustrated as hell. Never had any issues with my HCX and mac.

 

sd

Are you in mass storage mode?

[+hangingkayaker]

I've tried both mass storage and Garmin mode

 

Had my Etrex 20 for a few days and had to get used to it. Been using my mac and an Etrex Legend HCX with no issues other than not being able to run PQ's.

All of a sudden I'm not able to do anything on my mac with the E20. I keep getting error messages from Garmin and I've uploaded communicators and installers to the point I don't know whats going on. I doesn't read the gps. At one point I couldn't download single caches, got some advice on how to do it, it worked for a day then I can't load single caches anymore

But I can do all this on a pc. My computers a mac.

I'm not techno savvy so any one have suggestions. Is this a Garmin issue?

Frustrated as hell. Never had any issues with my HCX and mac.

 

sd

Are you in mass storage mode?

[seldom_sn]

But I can do all this on a pc. My computers a mac.

Don't own a Mac, but if you can do it on a PC it's a Mac problem. Have you emptied your trash? Seems like that's a common problem with Mac owners. If that doesn't work, try here.

[+StarBrand]

I downloaded the beta 4.0.1.1 and it worked briefly. I'm not sure what you mean by the GPX button?? I have an etrex 20.

 

Garmin's communicator is broken on the MAC.

 

There is a beta version that apparently works.

 

Meanwhile - you can load single caches by clicking the GPX button on saving the file in the garmin\gpx folder on the device.

On any cache listing page is a "GPX file" button

[+user13371]

...Have you emptied your trash? Seems like that's a common problem with Mac owners...

Second time in a few days I've seen a comment like this. And someone else suggested you had to also shut off the GPS and remove the batteries after emptying the trash.

 

Explain this to me, please. Apart from having little or nothing to do with the problem being described, I'm not sure what "common problem with Mac owners" you're talking about.

 

As far as I know, if you delete a file from a disk connected to a Mac and don't empty the trash, the deleted file is recoverable (and using space) until you DO empty the trash. Keep that up for a long time, and you could run the volume out of space. But that's not unique to the Mac. Is pretty much the same as on a Windows machine if you don't empty the recycle bin.

 

But that would not explain the OP's problem: Says the GPS works fine and transfers data with his PC but not his Mac. A full volume would still be full regardless of what machine you connect it to.

 

So... could you point me to some technical reference on what "common problem" can affect Mac owners from not emptying the trash?

[seldom_sn]

As far as I know, if you delete a file from a disk connected to a Mac and don't empty the trash, the deleted file is recoverable (and using space) until you DO empty the trash. Keep that up for a long time, and you could run the volume out of space. But that's not unique to the Mac. Is pretty much the same as on a Windows machine if you don't empty the recycle bin.

But that would not explain the OP's problem: Says the GPS works fine and transfers data with his PC but not his Mac. A full volume would still be full regardless of what machine you connect it to.

Apparently, the trash is stored on the device with a Mac. When I delete a file from a memory card on a PC I get a message "Are you sure you want to PERMANENTLY delete this file?" My hard drive's trash may fill up, but I'm not likely to fill up a device with removable memory.

 

When the OP says "But I can do all this on a pc. My computers a mac." maybe he meant it "works fine" but he wasn't that specific. Didn't say how long ago he could do it for instance. Sounded to me like it was a device problem (trashcan) or maybe a BaseCamp problem. That's why I linked him to Garmin's BC for Mac forum.

[+hangingkayaker]

Funny, but everything worked fine on my mac until I renewed my membership 2 days ago. Then nothing worked on the mac. Coincidence?? Maybe, but I did have the ability to download individual caches on mac for the 4 days I owned the E20 prior to renewing, then nothing. I can't even load my Garmin map disk on the mac but can on the pc.

Yes I can use a pc to make everything work but that is not my computer.

One thing I have noticed is that Garmin communicator 4.0.1 works on the pc. It doesn't on the mac and I need 4.0.1.1 which is not readily available. It seems that if I have one version loaded on the gps, i can't use the gps on the other system that is not compatible to the currently loaded version on the gps.

 

As far as I know, if you delete a file from a disk connected to a Mac and don't empty the trash, the deleted file is recoverable (and using space) until you DO empty the trash. Keep that up for a long time, and you could run the volume out of space. But that's not unique to the Mac. Is pretty much the same as on a Windows machine if you don't empty the recycle bin.

But that would not explain the OP's problem: Says the GPS works fine and transfers data with his PC but not his Mac. A full volume would still be full regardless of what machine you connect it to.

Apparently, the trash is stored on the device with a Mac. When I delete a file from a memory card on a PC I get a message "Are you sure you want to PERMANENTLY delete this file?" My hard drive's trash may fill up, but I'm not likely to fill up a device with removable memory.

 

When the OP says "But I can do all this on a pc. My computers a mac." maybe he meant it "works fine" but he wasn't that specific. Didn't say how long ago he could do it for instance. Sounded to me like it was a device problem (trashcan) or maybe a BaseCamp problem. That's why I linked him to Garmin's BC for Mac forum.

[+user13371]

...on the mac I need 4.0.1.1 which is not readily available.

"Readily" available depends on how hard you look. CommunicatorPlugin_4.0.1.1.dmg is downloadable directly from this directory but I admit that's not easy to find...

 

It seems that if I have one version loaded on the gps, i can't use the gps on the other system that is not compatible to the currently loaded version on the gps....[

That's interesting. I thought the Communicator plugin only installed on the host computer and didn't change/do anything on the GPS itself - so installing something on one computer shouldn't change how the GPS interacts with a different computer.

 

Could you give a little more detail about what error messages you're getting - exact wording - when you try specific things?

Edited April 13, 2012 by Portland Cyclist

[+allory]

Another point worth bringing up is the browser. There have been times in the past (with both Mac and PC), where Firefox wouldn't work the same as Chrome or Safari.

[robertlipe]

I've renamed this topic. Using better subject lines increases the odds of getting the attention of an expert on the problem you're having.

[+hangingkayaker]

On another note, I can't download my TOPO Canada maps onto the mac. I can put it on the PC. I get a failure error on the mac. I've been dealing with Garmin on this as well and they don't seem to have any answers other than asking for screenshots.

 

I've renamed this topic. Using better subject lines increases the odds of getting the attention of an expert on the problem you're having.

[Wintertime]

Hanging Kayaker, as Portland Cyclist asked on April 13th, if you'll give us some detailed error messages, we'll have a better chance of helping you sort out your problem loading GPX files onto the eTrex via your Mac.

 

Also, I suggest that you start a new thread about getting topo maps from a DVD to your Mac because that has nothing to do with your eTrex and will just confuse this issue.

 

Good luck!