how to delete geocaches from etrex30x?

[+Korichnovui]

I can't believe I couldn't figure this out with internet searching, but here I am. How do I delete geocaches off of my etrex 30x???

[+cerberus1]

7 minutes ago, Korichnovui said:

I can't believe I couldn't figure this out with internet searching, but here I am. How do I delete geocaches off of my etrex 30x???

 

A simple search on google with a few from these forums as well.  

[+Korichnovui]

Just now, cerberus1 said:

 

A simple search on google with a few from these forums as well.  

 

Yep, how quaint.

 

First problem there is that there is no "GGZ folder" anywhere. Yes my software is up to date. Okay well there is a "GPX" folder and it contains files with names of geocaching lists and stuff I've downloaded. I delete those and then eject the Garmin and then when I plug it back in, the files are still there!!  I've done it 3 times now... Also can't seem to get new ones onto the Garmin, using Garmin express it says they've successfully downloaded, but they're clearly not on the Garmin.

 

Maybe it's a device-specific problem? Time to chuck it in the river...?

[+Korichnovui]

I think I've narrowed the problem to Garmin Express program, it's doing unusual things. I closed that completely and deleted the files off the Garmin, and now they're gone! I'm just concerned that if I try to load any geocaches back onto my Garmin, it's going to reload the OLD ones and not the ones I want... Only one way to find out...

[+Korichnovui]

Okay it was some kind of Garmin Express problem. It was somehow resetting old downloads instead of the new one that I wanted. But by deleting the GPX files off my Garmin (GPX folder, not GGZ as their website says) with the Garmin Express NOT RUNNING, and making sure to eject the Garmin from the computer, I was able to make the deletion stick. Then I was able to download my new geocaches as normal. Thanks for any who took a look here and gave it some thought.

[+The Jester]

I've never used Garmin Express to load caches, but have you made sure the folder the files load from is empty before setting up a new load?  I've seen that in GSAK where someone doesn't delete the old files and keeps getting them loaded with new files.

[+Korichnovui]

23 minutes ago, The Jester said:

I've never used Garmin Express to load caches, but have you made sure the folder the files load from is empty before setting up a new load?  I've seen that in GSAK where someone doesn't delete the old files and keeps getting them loaded with new files.

Yes, I wanted to look into this but I’m not tech savvy enough to figure out how. The user interface for Garmin express is extremely bare bones. For now I got things set up how I want for my trip and I’m calling it good.

[+ecanderson]

Connect to PC.

Look at device like you would any thumb drive or other external device.

Peek into the Garmin/GPX folder.  If there are *.gpx files there, then there will still be caches on your device.

Nuke *.gpx files, caches go away.

Load a new *.gpx file(s) and those caches will appear (I'd just copy them directly to your device, Garmin Express unnecessary for this task).

[+Mineral2]

Garmin Express only loads caches when using the "Send to Garmin" feature from the website, whether on individual cache pages or sending a list. No matter what, the Send to Garmin feature should install a fresh GPX file each time, overwriting any previous files of the same filename.

Overwriting a file does work. For example, if you use pocket queries and install the GPX files yourself, the filename will be the same each time you run it. But because the file has a new date stamp, it gets a new MD5 checksum value that gets compared against the database in the Garmin. Each time your Garmin boots up, it looks for changes in the GPX and GGZ files and re-writes the database if any files have changed - including new files added and files deleted.

You were sent to check the GGZ folder because the eTrex models come factory loaded with 250,000 outdated caches in Garmin's proprietary GGZ file format. Deleting this file is desirable and is a frequently asked question in these forums as many users go straight to the GPX folder to find that pesky geocache file.

[+Korichnovui]

1 hour ago, ecanderson said:

Connect to PC.

Look at device like you would any thumb drive or other external device.

Peek into the Garmin/GPX folder.  If there are *.gpx files there, then there will still be caches on your device.

Nuke *.gpx files, caches go away.

Load a new *.gpx file(s) and those caches will appear (I'd just copy them directly to your device, Garmin Express unnecessary for this task).

Yes, this process seems straightforward but WAS NOT working when I had Garmin express open (attempted 3 times). It worked when I did not use Garmin express.

[+Korichnovui]

1 hour ago, Mineral2 said:

Garmin Express only loads caches when using the "Send to Garmin" feature from the website, whether on individual cache pages or sending a list.

I will argue with you that mine was doing something different. I would delete Geocache1.gpx from the Garmin device, and then on geocaching.com I would send “some geocache list” to garmin, it would open in Garmin express and download and give me a green status “all finished”, then I would eject the Garmin and observe that “Geocache1” was still loaded on the device, and also “some geocache list” was NOT loaded on the device. Once I had successfully deleted “geocache1” from the device as described above, and then separately sending in the list, did it work. Smells like a bug in the Garmin express software, if you ask me, but I’m no expert.

Edited August 6, 2020 by Korichnovui

[+Atlas Cached]

You will be an 'Expert' by the time you get it all to work correctly!