Memory Card in Tom Tom

First Up

I got a Tom Tom Go 5000 recently. It includes Lifetime Europe Maps but the installed version is a few years old. I've tried to load the latest version through Tom Tom Connect but it says not enough free memory (map needs 6644MB). So I inserted a 16GB Memory card and the device told me to format it. I clicked the button but and it started formatting but continued for hours without end.

I took the card out (mistake?) but when I re-insert it, the device doesn't recognise it and says only 672MB free memory. I am reluctant to uninstall the current map version (5922MB) in case the new installation fails.

Any suggestions? Have I corrupted the card?

Cerco

Try formatting the card on a laptop.
There are some free utilities you can download to check the card and possibly recover it if it is damaged. Worth a try.

First Up

Cerco wrote: »

Try formatting the card on a laptop.
There are some free utilities you can download to check the card and possibly recover it if it is damaged. Worth a try.

Thanks

Unfortunately its a Micro SD for the Sat Nav and my laptop only has a port for a Mini.

Alun

First Up wrote: »

Unfortunately its a Micro SD for the Sat Nav and my laptop only has a port for a Mini.

Any micro SD card I have ever bought came with an adapter to convert from a micro to normal SD card format.

First Up

Alun wrote: »

Any micro SD card I have ever bought came with an adapter to convert from a micro to normal SD card format.

Thanks - had just spotted that so trying it now.

Alun

Any luck?

It's unusual for a memory card to need formatting like that, they usually come pre-formatted, probably as FAT32 which should have been OK for the TomTom.

Instead of formatting it directly in Windows, try downloading the SD Formatter tool from https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/eula_windows/index.html and format it using that first before inserting it into the TomTom again.

First Up

Alun wrote: »

Any luck?

It's unusual for a memory card to need formatting like that, they usually come pre-formatted, probably as FAT32 which should have been OK for the TomTom.

Instead of formatting it directly in Windows, try downloading the SD Formatter tool from https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/eula_windows/index.html and format it using that first before inserting it into the TomTom again.

Still struggling with it. I put the micro SD into my laptop and went through the format process - which seemed to work very quickly (at least it said the card was formatted.)

I then put it back into the Tom Tom and after some fiddling (with the help of a discussion forum on the same topic) got it to recognise the card. Problem now is that it again asked for the card to be formatted and that process has been running for several hours. So back to square one.

According to the discussion forum, this seems to be a common problem with Micro SD cards and Tom Toms. Not sure if I should leave the Tom Tom to finish it or take it out and start again on the laptop. I see plenty of tutorials on the subject.

Alun

Weird. Is it a genuine SD card from a reputable manufacturer? It's not unknown for cards bought on fleabay and the like to be counterfeit ones that give all kinds of problems.

Did you give the SD Formatter tool a go? Possibly worth a try.

First Up

Alun wrote:

Weird. Is it a genuine SD card from a reputable manufacturer? It's not unknown for cards bought on fleabay and the like to be counterfeit ones that give all kinds of problems.

Yeah, proper Fuji one bought from proper camera shop.

Alun wrote:

Did you give the SD Formatter tool a go? Possibly worth a try.

Not yet. It is still (supposedly) formatting on the Tom Tom but its been going for at least 4 hours so I don't think its working. I'm debating when to abandon that and try the formatting tool. I have it downloaded on my laptop so just deciding when to try it.

Cerco

I put a 16GB card into a Go5000 a few weeks ago. It did require formatting in the Tomtom. I cannot say exactly how long it took but it was nothing like 4 hours. Probably Less than 15 mins.
Sandisk Ultra Micro SDHC €14.99 Carphone Warehouse.

First Up

Cerco wrote:

I put a 16GB card into a Go5000 a few weeks ago. It did require formatting in the Tomtom. I cannot say exactly how long it took but it was nothing like 4 hours. Probably Less than 15 mins. Sandisk Ultra Micro SDHC €14.99 Carphone Warehouse.

I've left it running all day but no joy so there is clearly a problem with one or other.

I've taken the SD card out (The Tom Tom recognised me doing so) and I'll try formatting it on the laptop when I get time tomorrow. If that doesn't work I know a techie guy who has sorted SatNav problems for me before.

Cerco

First Up wrote: »

I've left it running all day but no joy so there is clearly a problem with one or other.

I've taken the SD card out (The Tom Tom recognised me doing so) and I'll try formatting it on the laptop when I get time tomorrow. If that doesn't work I know a techie guy who has sorted SatNav problems for me before.

Did you remove card while device was powered on. My Go 5000 has a sleep mode, not like my previous Go1000.
I would always power it down completely before removing or inserting card.
Try powering it off completely, then insert card and hold down power button till you hear the "drum roll" (reset). It might just work.

First Up

Cerco wrote: »

Did you remove card while device was powered on. My Go 5000 has a sleep mode, not like my previous Go1000.
I would always power it down completely before removing or inserting card.
Try powering it off completely, then insert card and hold down power button till you hear the "drum roll" (reset). It might just work.

Thanks. I think I have tried all the combinations of On/Off Card In/Card Out etc.

I have gone through the formatting process a couple of times, including using the Formatter Tool. But when I try to download the Map update, it still tells me not enough memory.

When put the card in and switch on the Tom Tom, I am again asked to Format the card and when I start that it tells me it is formatting and it goes on and on....

I' m going through it all one more time but if this doesn't work I'll have to take it to a specialist. Luckily, I have found one. My only guess (hope) is that SD card is corrupted. That's an easy fix.

ED E

Are you sure you're selecting FAT32? The TomTom wont understand HFS/NTFS/exFat.

The tool from the SD Association is the way to go.

First Up

ED E wrote:

Are you sure you're selecting FAT32? The TomTom wont understand HFS/NTFS/exFat.

Yes, definitely FAT32.

ED E wrote:

The tool from the SD Association is the way to go.

The tool didn't work alas but I've dropped into a guy who has fixed stuff for me before and he's working on it now.

Thanks for help anyway.

First Up

Got it sorted. SD card malfunction - don't know why but I replaced the card, it formatted in 10 seconds and loaded the maps no problem.

All good now.