Thread: Garmin Drivesmart 61 stuck in boot loop

Thanks, will need it.
I assume that if I go the RMPrep way reformating the device, I reboot, get into preboot (I guess that it is a fixed bootloader thatwill not be erased), and then flash it with updater.
Now, is there any way I can restore the statistics, because it is quite funny.
It is a proof that I have the fastest car in the world, and I have broken the sound barrier with it.

Spoiler: Broken Sound barrier

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The GPS is allways correct, isn't it?

Originally Posted by TomasL

Thanks, will need it.
I assume that if I go the RMPrep way reformating the device, I reboot, get into preboot (I guess that it is a fixed bootloader thatwill not be erased), and then flash it with updater.

To use RMPrepUSB you must have Cure fw flashed because it needs MSM enabled on the device. Once the device can be seen in Windows File Explorer and has a drive letter allocated it can be formatted.

Preboot is a relic from the 'old Garmin days' when all the automotive and many other devices didn't have a visible file system. Their flash memory consisted of various regions none of which were visible via a computer. The modern device's visible file system is in fact one of those regions albeit much larger than other regions and formatted differently - it's FAT32 whereas other regions don't have a recognized format. All old-style devices updated by connecting to a computer exclusively in "Garmin Mode" which is essentially the same as what we now call "preboot mode".

Now, is there any way I can restore the statistics, because it is quite funny.
It is a proof that I have the fastest car in the world, and I have broken the sound barrier with it. .....

To quote Maxwell Smart, i think you "missed it by that much" .... Isn't Mach 1 around 1225 kph at 15 degrees Celsius? .... My uneducated guess is you're a Swedish Air Force jet jockey in fact, umm?
Well ,you'll always have that photo even if we can't recover the history. But first you need to un-brick it so back to work

Nothing is working, so I have to use RMPrep, However, it seems to be a bug in RMPrep, since, regardless of options, it adds ZIP option that renders the drive unusable.

After formating, I managed to connect with updater, but the result was pure crap, seems that the whole device was garbage.
RMPreb was not able to reformat the drive, however I managed to do it in Windows Disk management, and then run RMPrep.

It seems that after each failed attempt 2 folders are created, .system and Journal.
At the same time it looses the Volume Label.
So, What is going on really

Edit:

After loading the original firmware with updater, it still loops.
Reflashing with Cure I can see that the storage/disk is basically empty, is that correct?

I have two folders in the root .System and Journal

.System contains two folders Diag and SQLite

Diag contains one file sys_log2.bin

SQLite contains one folder, temp that is empty

Journal contains one file JEF.bin

Please advise if you manually created a folder named Garmin, because it may not be capable of booting empty. Also whether you then added other folders/files if needed following what i suggested in Post #21 should it still not boot:

Originally Posted by Butters

......
Remove everything and then add back files/folders progressively starting with empty Garmin folder before loading original fw (it may refuse to boot if there's nothing at all present) ..........
.............
Finally the third way, is to reformat with RMPrepUSB using only the recommended settings which is what i'd do only if the using one of above methods become too onerous and removing the most likely files hasn't allowed it to boot.

If it still won't boot with just an empty Garmin folder then add back progressively the least-suspect, i.e. Voice, Text etc. folders with their files. However many devices will simply boot completely empty and self-recreate the Garmin folder and its GarminDevice.xml so try that first.

Alternatively, are you still using the PC which initially only recognized the device as a removable device? Best use another computer if that's the case as there may be other settings/restrictions on it causing the weird behavior of RMPrepUSB.

There's another (statistically less likely) explanation which is my earlier concern, i.e. of the device having a physical flash problem. It's odd that you were able to format using the Windows built-in tool but not initially with RMPrepUSB using appropriate settings. Usually that's reversed in my experience. Perhaps if there is a flash failure it's intermittent at present but that'll be progressive and it might simply fail completely while being stressed and time will tell with constant flashing. Hopefully it won't die.

@TomasL
I understand that EN isn't likely to be your first language and my responses do tend to be 'wordy'. I intentionally give as much detail as possible to avoid mistakes but sometimes ppl can be confused by the length, scope and technicalities of replies when we're trying to assist in recovery of a bricked device on the other side of the world. Think of you acting as my proxy. I don't have hands on the device but just like a game of chess there's an intent in my moves which, for the board to be accurate in a remotely played game, you must replicate exactly at your end. In other words, none of my suggestions or questions should be regarded as 'optional' or 'TL;DR' because we'll not achieve the required result... or worse.

Whether you're (a) not doing the moves or (b) you're doing them but not reporting them, the result may be our ongoing gambits will fail and irretrievably hard-brick it at worst or just be confusing at best. Here's what i must know crucially before we proceed:

• Did you remember to manually create a Garmin folder in the root of the device before flashing original firmware? (If you didn't, reload Cure fw and do that now).
• Or if you did create it, has it disappeared when .System and its subfolders were created by the device on start attempt after loading original fw?