Before I send it back

[gps--dan]

Hi,

I've had my iQue since August, it's S/N 9022****.

First came the reset problems within about a month. I dealt with it.

Then the LCD grew dimmer, even at full intensity. Didn't like it, dealt with it.

But yesterday (Sunday), I got the dreaded "no satellite reception" problem.

I mean, come on!!! :( I love the product concept and its potential, I loved it when it worked, but it has to work reliably for people to trust it, buy it and embrace it.

Generally I am a tolerant and understanding guy, but I really feel like either the product was rushed to market, or QC sucks at Garmin.

Sorry for the rant. I do believe in giving folks a chance to make up for mistakes, and it sounds like Garmin is good in that respect. We'll see, I'll let everyone know, I'm calling tomorrow for an RMA.

But one question I had for the forum members here:

What can I do to ensure I don't have to re-enter all my waypoints, etc... into the unit when I get it back (esp. since it might be a different unit.)

Before shipping, I'll do a HotSync, and remove my SD card, but I know there's all this secret-handshake key exchange stuff that goes on between the PC and the iQue... I'm worried if it is a different unit (different S/N), that the PC software will freak out or force me to re-register or start over if it sees a different unit.

If I don't get my original iQue back, can I just stick the SD card into another iQue and re-sync with the PC? :confused:

Thanks for your help,
dan

P.S. sorry if this "prepare for the RMA" procedure is covered somewhere else...

[jfg]

Hello gps--dan,
I asked garmin.de to pleeease safe all my iQue stuff and send me back the RMA with same stuff in it - they did!
Good guys there!
Joachim

[apersson850]

It's possible to hotsync it back in again.

[jonasolof]

You can back up your waypoints separately to be assured.

Hotsync. Find address.dat under your user name in Palm desktop on the PC. Copy that file into another folder that you created for the purpose. Then if you do a seriuos mistake hotsynching after a hard reset or starting with a new iQue, you still have the address book with your waypoints intact.

The mistake would ususally be forgetting that changed hotsync settings are only valid once unless set as default. Letting handheld overwrite desktop is a good way to lose data after a hard reset.

[gps--dan]

Great, thanks guys! :)

dan

[Adam Helberg]

Before I sent mine back I did the Hotsync of course. I also used Backupman to do a backup onto my SD card, then I did a hard reset to delete everything from the iQue.

I found that some files are not backed up during a HotSync so it is not good enough to be sure you get everything back. For example the database for the program Checklist did not have the backup bit set and was not backed up, and there are probably others.

To be sure everthing is backed up you need to use a third party program such as BackupBuddy or Backupman.

[CaptainSpalding]

Backup with a utility on the SD card. If you only rely on the hotsync back-up, you might lose some databases, etc.

If you use a utility like P-Cam, for example, when you restore from a hotsync, you will have lost all user-entered data pertaining to your lenses.

If you back-up and restore via SD card, your Q is in exactly the same state as you left it.

[placido]

I remember when I got my replacement Ique, it will not recognize the detail map on the SD card that were installed from the previous Ique.

[anniek]

How/where are routes backed up? I notice that I don't lose them after a hard reset.

[apersson850]

Placido, that's because they have the wrong unlock code for your new unit.

Anniek, they are saved in non-volatile RAM, which does survive a hard reset. They can be deleted with the NonVolUtil program, in addition to the route application itself.

The same goes for tracks and a lot of hidden things.