GARMIN ZUMO 660LM SYSTEM SOFTWARE MISSING

turtleossie46

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Hi all,

Firstly it's a hello from me, think this is my first post on here and already I'm asking for help ….

I have a Garmin Zumo 66|LM which has been working faultlessly, the other day it said connect me and download a map update, so today I have connected the unit to my PC, downloaded the Garmin Express software which recognised the device, it suggested a software update and new map, and I clicked the update process.

Note I didn't think the back up the memory card before I begun … DOH … big lesson learned.

So after a few HRS of apparently nothing happening my kid ran past the PC and kicked out the USB cable.

I've had to restart the process but now when I plug in the GARMIN to my PC it is not recognised as a USB device and the unit itself just powers up to the GARMIN front screen and states 'SYSTEM SOFTWARE MISSING'. It just sits there, forever. Of course the Garmin Express software also ignores the device.

Thinking GARMIN would help I phoned them and they said, you unplugged the cable, your fault, we don't support that unit any more, we will give you 30% off a new unit if you buy from us and return the old one.

Really? Has anyone else had this amazing offer?

This morning I had a perfect unit, now I have a useless brick and a potential £390 hole in my wallet!

There MUST be a way to get this thing back to life, has anyone had any luck? Could you advise what to do …. please, pretty please.

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide?

S
 
Hi,

Thanks for the fast reply, I've had a read through this and many other pages, maybe they do refer to my issue but I'm still struggling to find sensible help.

A hard reset is not possible as the unit simply turns on and immediately goes to a blank screen other than one which says, GARMIN and just above 'SYSTEM SOFTWARE MISSING'. If I power on and keep the ON/OFF button held down the unit simply turns back off, no amount of holding my finger on any part of the screen does anything during a power up sequence.

The unit is not recognised as a mass storage device via the USB i.e. does not appear as a drive under my computer, but interestingly does pop-up / disappear in the device manager as a GARMIN USB, so there's some life there...

Whatever buttons I press I can't get any other info up on the NAV. I'm guessing the firmware in the unit is corrupt and now the unit is useless save a re-flash, is this something that can be done?

Any other help greatly received.

S
 
on the off chance try another usb lead as your youngster may have damaged the one he kicked
 
Yeah, I tried this. I'm an engineer so tried a few things but it seems this is a very common fault if the cable gets unplugged during an upgrade. Let's be very clear, Garmin were very quick to say the unit was damaged beyond repair and that the ONLY course of action was for me to upgrade. As a goodwill gesture they would give me 30% off the cost of a new unit as long as I returned the 'damaged' unit to them. Because I was honest and admitted what had happened i.e. the cable was unplugged during the upgrade routine, something they say the upgrade specifically states you must not do, then there was no course of action other than the upgrade 'offer'. I pushed them and they admitted that in cases where the update simply fails i.e. where say a cable was not pulled, then they would look at each case on a 'case by case basis'. Given this is a very common issue when updating GARMIN units I suggest that when you ring the UK support centre that you are very careful about the words you use to explain what went wrong.

Meanwhile I've paid £37 which includes postage to have the unit repaired by the afore mentioned at https://satnavrepairservice.com/ , the repair was done within a day and the unit back to me next day, go figure.

So for Garmin to state the unit is not repairable was a lie, no surprise, and maybe also answers the question why on earth would I need to return the old 'unfixable' unit to them in exchange for a brand new unit, I'll leave people to do their own MATH.

I'm off to fill in the customer feedback form Garmin recently sent me and ask that they at the very least refund my repair bill, in my experience their customer service was diabolical.

Be careful out there, the big multinationals are out to rip us off LOL.

You've all been warned :beerjug:
 


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