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Max size micro SD card for Garmin Montana 610


n2stitch

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Can anyone tell me maximum size (and class) microSD card that the Garmin Montana 610 can handle?

64GB seems to be it. What are you planning?

 

Here are a couple of links that may help:

https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?24147-Montana-600-Micro-SD-Card

https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?86225-Maximum-microSD-card-size-is

 

Whatever size, it must be formatted in FAT32. 64GB can't be formatted in FAT32, but there are more ideas suggested. And if you're intending to load up the whole thing with birds-eye views or whatever, note the post that says a 32GB card full of stuff takes two minutes to boot up.

Edited by kunarion
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Can anyone tell me maximum size (and class) microSD card that the Garmin Montana 610 can handle?

64GB seems to be it. What are you planning?

 

Here are a couple of links that may help:

https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?24147-Montana-600-Micro-SD-Card

https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?86225-Maximum-microSD-card-size-is

 

Whatever size, it must be formatted in FAT32. 64GB can't be formatted in FAT32, but there are more ideas suggested. And if you're intending to load up the whole thing with birds-eye views or whatever, note the post that says a 32GB card full of stuff takes two minutes to boot up.

 

I just want a card that can hold a good amount of topo maps and City Navigator. I have both the Garmin 1:100k topo and some of the 1:24k state topo maps from GPSFileDepot. I have a few track-based maps that I've made from trail data, as well.

 

Thank you for the links. I tried searching and got back 1000 posts.

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64GB can't be formatted in FAT32

 

Not true ... there are numerous programs that can do it.

Please DO NOT cut up my posts to argue with your edit.

 

For the future reference, here's what I actually posted:

 

"64GB seems to be it. What are you planning?

 

Here are a couple of links that may help:

https://forums.garmi...0-Micro-SD-Card

https://forums.garmi...SD-card-size-is

 

Whatever size, it must be formatted in FAT32. 64GB can't be formatted in FAT32, but there are more ideas suggested. And if you're intending to load up the whole thing with birds-eye views or whatever, note the post that says a 32GB card full of stuff takes two minutes to boot up."

 

I do not craft my posts to cover every possibility. Yet I posted info for additional reading, which specifically refers to work-arounds to format a 64GB card, and the complex issues surrounding it.

Edited by kunarion
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Back to the OP's question. Keep in mind that the limitation of the largest micro SD that you can, or would want to use is really is a limitation the Montana 6X0's OS itself not FAT32. Mainly, that it can't read a file larger that 4GB, and that the total number of sectors that all of the loaded map files can contain is in the neighborhood of 4000.

Knowing this, Generally, with limitation of the total number sectors, it is not usually practical to load more than 8GB of maps at a time (even if the are turned off in the 'Map Select' menu. That being said, I most often have a 64GB XC class 1 in my Montana 650. An no, it doesn't take 2 minutes to boot up. How? Don't put all the maps in the /GPX directory. Only about 5 GB of files or so go there. The rest go in a /Map Cabinet or a directory the Garmin OS never directly looks in. Why? Because of one of the other limitations of the Monatanas. Their hideously slow USB 2.0 interface. Loading a map through the USB port takes forever compared to loading it with a SD card reader, or just moving it around between directories on the card while hooked up to some outside computer in Spanner mode. In the field you can either move the map files around with a laptop, or with an OTG (On The Go) cable hooked to a smartphone. Yes, if you have multiple version of City Nav, Garmin Topos (100k & 24K), all the US States OSM & GPSfiledepot maps on a 32GB or larger card, you can easily fill it.

 

Plus, it's not just maps on the card that you may be putting there. If your GPSr has a camera, more storage space for pictures is useful too.

 

One should be able to format SDXC cards in FAT32 up to about 2TB in size (if, or when that they are made). Don't know if the 128GB available now for about $45 actually work in Montana. This is only because the 64 GBs can be had for under $20.

 

Anything faster than class 4 card in a Montana is probably an overkill. But, with class 10s and U1s being relatively inexpensive, might as well go with the fastest that you may use in something else.

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Back to the OP's question. Keep in mind that the limitation of the largest micro SD that you can, or would want to use is really is a limitation the Montana 6X0's OS itself not FAT32. Mainly, that it can't read a file larger that 4GB, and that the total number of sectors that all of the loaded map files can contain is in the neighborhood of 4000.

 

The 4GB file size limit is a limit of FAT32, not the Montana.

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