what files can i delete from my zumo 665 to free memory

How-do-you-do All:

I've simply finished a month of riding effectually in Europe, using my Garmin Zumo 660 navigation device. I bought this gizmo back in 2011, and when it was new, it worked pretty well. It would summate routes reasonably quickly, and more of import, when I accidentally got off-route it would quickly recalculate and brandish directions showing me how to become back onto my route.

Over the years, the operation of my 660 has deteriorated - information technology takes longer to calculate a route, and at times it has been painfully wearisome to figure out how to get me back onto a route when I have made a wrong turn.

After putting upwards with this slow performance for a few weeks (made worse past the fact that I was riding in the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, on a dissimilar side of the road than I am used to), I had had enough - I wasn't prepared to fork out the big money required to buy a newer device, but I couldn't live any longer with the slow functioning of my 660. Then, I did a wee bit of investigation, and found a style to optimize performance of my 8 year erstwhile device.

Equally those of us who own 660s know already, it is no longer possible to fit all of the maps for 1 continent (Canada and Us for the "Americas" version of the 660, all of Western, Central, and Eastern Europe for the "Atlantic" version of the device) into the internal memory of the 660. If we want to fit all the maps, we demand to use a micro-SD card to expand retentiveness capacity - in fact, the Garmin Limited application prompts u.s.a. to utilize a micro-SD carte if we want to download all the available map regions.

There is, all the same, a meaning penalisation associated with storing maps on a micro-SD card. The 660 cannot read cartographic information off the SD carte du jour as quickly as it can read the same information from internal memory. If we desire to become optimal performance from our 660 devices, we need to store our cartographic data (map data) within the built-in internal memory of the device, and go out the micro-SD slot empty.

In theory, this should be easy to practice - just remove the micro-SD card (if we have one installed), and employ Garmin Express to download the map region of our option to the internal memory of the 660. But, in that location is an undocumented "gotcha!" that can prevent us from downloading the region we want to download to our device. This mail will explicate what the problem is, and how to overcome information technology.

Here's the story:

Cartography is stored on the 660 (both in internal memory and on a SD bill of fare, if one is used) with various filenames. The screenshot beneath illustrates the basic filenames for cartography, which are equally follows:

'gmapsupp.img

' is the terrain map that shows terrain contours and shading when we are zoomed out or operating in a 3D view.​

'gmapprom.img'

is the map file for the region nosotros take loaded. It doesn't affair what the region is, this "basic" map file will always be called gmapprom.img.​

There are also other files used for navigation display, such as junction view files, only for the purpose of this article, nosotros don't need to consider them. There are only 3 files we need to be aware of: 'gmapsupp.img', 'gmapprom.img' and (explained farther below) a file called 'gmapsupp.img' that might be nowadays. If you have been using your 660 for a number of years, there is a loftier probability you have a 'gmapsupp.img' file in your internal memory. Nosotros likewise demand to consider music files we might take stored in the internal memory, considering they take up space that could be used for map files.

What we see when nosotros expect at the internal retentivity contents of our 660 when it is connected to our computer
Annotation that I have no music files or picture files stored in the internal memory of my device. This is deliberate.

If we go to 'Tools', then 'Settings', and so 'Map' on the 660 itself, and press the 'MapInfo' rectangular button at the bottom of the screen, those two files mentioned above are shown with plain language names, in this example the Basic 3D map and 'Alps + DACH' which means the Alps region and Germany (D), Austria (A), and Switzerland (CH).

The same files as above, viewed on the 660 Map Info screen

The hidden problem - the 'Gotcha!' - happens if we have ever loaded (intentionally or unintentionally) a second set of map information into the internal memory of our 660. If a second set of map data is present, it will have the file name

gmapsupp.img

, and will exist visible in both of the pictures shown above. When we look within the 660 internal retentiveness when it is connected to our computer (the first photo above), the 'gmapsupp.img' file will be nowadays along with the other two map files. When we look at the map info on the device screen (the second photo above), the presence of an additional map will be confirmed if we take more 2 maps (two check boxes) visible.

If you connect your 660 to your computer and start upwards Garmin Limited, you will a series of images similar to those shown below. In my instance, I had the UK and Ireland region of the European ('Atlantic') cartography installed, and I wanted to replace those maps with the Alps / Germany / Austria / Switzerland (Alps + DACH) region.

This is the first screen, showing what I presently have installed
The Garmin Limited application never shows that the 3D map is present - this is to avoid confusing the user.

If I press the "Map Options" text hyperlink in the screen above, the following screen appears, giving me the option of changing the map region installed on the 660

If I press "Change Map", the following screen will appear. RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO LOAD THE WHOLE CONTINENT ON A SD CARD!

If you lot press "Choose a Region" in the screen shown above, and you lot are using a European (Atlantic) 660, you should see the menu of regions presented to you shown in the picture directly below. If y'all have a Northward American (Americas) 660, you volition encounter a similar page, but information technology volition probable list different regions of the USA & Canada (perhaps someone who has a North American 660 could mail a picture showing the regions available on the Americas device).

But - if you have ever loaded a 2d map into the internal memory of your device (in other words, if a 'gmpapsupp.img' is present in your device), Garmin Limited will have annotation of the size of the 'gmpapsupp.img' file, and refrain from showing you whatsoever private regions that would not fit into whatever empty internal retentiveness space is withal available.

In other words, if you take a 'gmpapsupp.img' file on your device - or, if y'all see more than 2 check boxes visible when you go to 'Map Info' on your 660 screen - you might non be shown all of the available regions that tin be downloaded. The same problem (suppression of some of the available regions from being displayed to y'all) may likewise happen if y'all take a huge corporeality of music stored in your internal memory, and that quantity of music is so large information technology does not leave enough empty space available to download some of the larger regional files.

This shows ALL of the regions available on the European 660.

I wanted to download the Alps, Germany, Republic of austria, and Switzerland maps, and then, I selected that region, as shown in the picture below.

It took almost 20 minutes to download the file. I had previously downloaded the entire Western, Primal, and Eastern Europe 2019.20 cartography to my computer, so, I did not bother checking the "Utilize map with Garmin BaseCamp" box in the prototype above. Checking that box downloads the map file to your computer's hard drive, also equally to the Garmin device, assuasive you to programme routes on your calculator without having the device connected to your reckoner.

This screen appears while the download is in progress

Finally, the download finished, and I had the region I wanted installed in the internal retention of my 660.

A review of primal points:

one)

The older Garmin devices, such every bit the 660, volition calculate and display a heck of a lot faster if they are reading from internal memory and not from a micro-SD bill of fare.

two) Be enlightened that simply having a micro-SD menu installed in your device volition crusade a performance penalization.

3) If you have a 'second' set of maps on your device yous will take a file on the device called 'gmapsupp.img', and this may forestall Garmin Limited from displaying all of the bachelor regions you could cull to download for your continent. Garmin Express volition never remove or over-write a 'gmapsupp.img' file.

4) Remove the 'gmapsupp.img' from the internal retentiveness of your 660 (if such a file is present) by using Windows Explorer before you run Garmin Limited. Don't remove any other files, except that you can remove music files if you have a lot of them and desire to free up internal memory space. If you want to be extra-cautious, instead of deleting the 'gmapsupp.img' file, cut it from the Garmin device and paste information technology onto your figurer'due south desktop. You tin can throw it abroad later in one case yous are certain everything is working.

five) If yous want to go on a supplemental set of maps on your micro-SD chip, fine, load the supplemental set onto the chip, and then tape the fleck to the back of the battery door and go out it there until you need it. I keep the entire continent loaded on my SD flake, but I never install this scrap into the slot in the 660 unless I ride off the area that I take loaded in internal memory and absolutely need to utilize the (bigger) mapset I have loaded on the SD flake.

6) Be judicious and realistic well-nigh how much cartography you lot really need loaded on your device. There'due south no indicate in loading the entire continent'south worth of maps onto a micro-SD card if you generally stay in one area of the continent - all that volition do is brand your older device (e.grand. 660) run slowly. Far better to load merely the region you lot commonly ride in (or the region yous plan to ride in, if you are doing a cross-country tour) into internal memory, leave the SD slot empty, and bask much faster route recalculations and screen re-drawing.

Regards,

Michael

mcwhirterwassiriour.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.st-owners.com/forums/threads/how-to-improve-performance-of-garmin-zumo-660-665-devices.168924/

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