Converting Nuvi 2x5W Firmware to MAL/SIN Firmware

[chaicka]

Hey guys,

I have been wanting to flash my 255w US version to mal/sin but almost did it till i came across the tutorial that Peterk posted. Seems that my board is S4 which was not advisable to flash since it will brick the unit.

Anyway around this? or continue with the tutorial and use the patch to for the S4 white screen at the end of the tutorial?

Thanks.

For those with S4, hang on for now. A solution may be available soon but no promises.

[PeterK]

maikai, you can do STEP 1 (Preparation), then go to STEP 4 but do not use the file available for download at step 4.
Instead use the patch for the S4 white screen at the end of the tutorial. Like this:

IMPORTANT:

- This is for 255w/265w S4 Board units only
(To check your board version, press the battery icon at the upper right of the unit for about 8 seconds,
you'll be in the diagnostic mode. The board version is next to the unit model at the top of the screen)
- make sure battery is at least 75% charged
- Backup all your files before flashing
- Please use a quality USB cable
- Do it at your own risk

It is also a good idea to hard reset your unit before and after flashing. You can do this
by turning the unit off, press and hold the lower-right corner of your screen and turn on
the unit. Hold and wait until a popup message appear asking whether you want to
delete user data. Answer Yes and the unit will reboot. NOTE: Your saved POI will be
deleted. If you want to keep your POIs, backup the Garmin/GPX folder.

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STEP 1: Preparation

1. Remove your Memory Card (if any) from your Garmin Unit.

2. If you have security lock enabled, disable it.

3. Connect your Garmin Unit to the computer using the USB Cable.

4. Delete GUPDATE.GCD from the Garmin folder (if it is there)

5. Delete the VOICE and the TEXT folder inside the Garmin Folder.
(If you do not delete the files, problems will occur after the firmware update
rendering your device useless).
REMEMBER NOT TO COPY BACK THE BACKED UP VOICE / TEXT.

NOTE: This is because the voice files that comes with the US/EU units are not
compatible with Asian firmwares. The same is true with voice files that come with
Asian units - they're not compatible with US/EU firmwares. Even if your unit is from
Asia (such as Taiwan), please do not skip this step.

6. After deleting the voice and text folders, disconnect the Garmin Unit from the computer.

7. If you've not done so, Hard reset the unit

8. Then Switch OFF the Garmin Unit.

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STEP 4: Flash the Garmin Unit to SG/MY Firmware

1. Download the rar files.
http://rapidshare.com/files/287879386/082701000270S4US.rgn.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/285264803/SingMal_Voices___Texts.rar

Mirror:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?n05xjjk5yxy
http://www.mediafire.com/?lkezrzdrrnt

Download the updater.exe
http://www.mediafire.com/?mnzzj4ynhzn

2. Unrar the rar files.

3. Drag the file 082701000270S4US.rgn and drop to Updater.exe

4. Under Connection Setting, Select USB Device.

5. Slide and HOLD the Power Button of the Nuvi, then quickly plug in the USB cable to
connect to the computer. (Continue to hold the power button).

6. The updater.exe will detect the USB Device with your model software and Unit ID.
(Continue to hold the power button)

7. Click "Ok" on the updater to process the flashing.

8. Release the Power Button AFTER you see "LOADER" appear on the Garmin Unit.

9. Let it flash the firmware (Do Not Disconnect your Garmin unit from your computer) till it is completed.

10. Once the update completes, let the Garmin unit boots until the nuvi drive appears
on the PC. Then disconnect the cable from the PC.

11. Let the unit starts, and when it asks for the country, choose SINGAPORE or MALAYSIA.

NOTE: This is important because each country you choose gives you a different feature
set. For Asia, choose Singapore or Malaysia for the best features.

12. Verify that you have a SG/MY firmware installed by going to the "About" screen. The
version should be v2.70.

13. Copy the TEXT and VOICE files from the downloaded rar file to the garmin folder of your unit.

14. Hard reset your unit again.

15. Go to Diagnostic mode (pressing and hold the battery icon) to check that the ROM passes the test.

16. You've successfully flash your unit to SG/MY firmware.

Note: Modified from Earthkeeper's walk through

The HWID is still 827, so you cannot use webupdater to update any of the files. If you update firmware
using webupdater, your unit will change back to US system software, and you'll have problem booting up
because the voice files in the unit are not compatible with US system software. Do not use webupdater
to update the voice files too.

For 205W S4, you'll have to wait just like what chaicka says.

[maikai]

PeterK,

Thanks for the reply. Seems pretty straight forward. 082701000270S4US.rgn -> this will directly update the firmware to 2.70 right? Has anyone here successfully done this with a S4 board? Just need some assurance before doing anything.

If in the event that someone did not do this right and got a white screen...how do you revert back or apply the the 082701000270S4US.rgn file?

thanks again.

[PeterK]

This RGN file has been verified to work on the S4 board. It combines the Boot BLK & X-Loader of US v5.30
with the system software of SG/MY v2.70.

As long as you're able to access the preboot mode (updater.exe detects your device and allows to flash),
you'll be able to recover the system using the same method shown above. At least 2 users at pda4x forum
have successfully recovered from the white screen using the same RGN file.

[maikai]

Was trying to do it but hit a snag.
in step

5. Slide and HOLD the Power Button of the Nuvi, then quickly plug in the USB cable to
connect to the computer. (Continue to hold the power button).

when i plugged in the USB...windows pop-up a Install New Hardware screen and was asking to look for driver to install. Did it a few times and same thing happened. Can't get to the next step. any ideas? Anyone had this problem in the other forum?

thanks

[PeterK]

Maikai, go to http://www.garmin.com and download & install the USB driver.
After it is installed, everything should work fine.

May be this is the one you need:

http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=591

[maikai]

Maikai, go to http://www.garmin.com and download & install the USB driver.
After it is installed, everything should work fine.

May be this is the one you need:

http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=591

Oh i almost did that...then i found another solution from another forum. Access the diagnostics page, and with the first page of the diagnostics...plug in the USB. It automatically installs the proper USB driver.

Thanks for your tip.

BTW...just to clarify, does the 2.70(MAL/SIN) firmware on 255W supports TTS?

[kasahwt]

Yes...sin/mal software supports TTS. But do note peterk point about using the correct voice files.

[maikai]

Woke up and the first thing I did was bit the bullet and did the flash . Guess what...it frickin worked! awesome!

everything is fine. copied over the sing/mal voices too. thanks a lot peterK for the guide and tips.

EDIT: can i use webupdater to update maps or softwares after this flash? will it auto flash back to the US firmware?

[PeterK]

Don't use webupdater to update the firmware or voices to ensure that you won't run into compatibility problems.
Only in the case where you want to revert back to US system software, just delete the language and voice folders
and use webupdater to update to latest firmware. Then copy back the language and voices files that you've backed
up earlier.