Speed Up My Garmin – tweak the boot process of your Garmin outdoor handheld! You might know this: You want to check the position on the map from time to time – and the GPS device needs some hours 🙁 until the startup process is completed!
In the following article we will discuss the reasons for a slow system and how to solve it!
During the boot process the Garmin GPS handheld informs on a black screen which elements are currently loading: waypoints, tracks, routes, maps, profiles … especially the item "Waypoints, Tracks, Routes" might take a long time.
A GPSMAP 64sx with inserted memory card* is used for the test (* SanDisk Ultra HC1, 16 GB capacity). The device is still in its original state with all standard settings.
We made severals tests by copying GPX-files (tracks, waypoints, geocaches, pocket queries) and map images to the internal memory or the memory card. After each copy process we measured the time to start.
What did we learn? How can you speed up your Garmin GPS device?
- The number of map images in the internal memory or on the memory card is irrelevant; likewise, it has no influence on whether the maps are activated or not. However, the first startup after copying new maps to the device takes a little longer.
- Archived tracks have no influence on the startup behavior.
- The number of GPX files with tracks, waypoints etc. in the internal memory or on the memory card is important, the more data the slower the startup process. So clean up from time to time and delete data (e.g. tracks with the help of the track manager or Windows explorer) or copy unneeded tracks to the archive (open a track in the track manager and use the "Archive" function).
- If the files with tracks are in the internal memory, the startup process seems to be slightly faster than when the files are hold on the memory card.
What other options do you have to speed up the boot process?
- First of all, the file "startup.txt" for displaying owner information during the startup process should be mentioned. This information should be avoided if possible. You find the "startup.txt" file in the internal memory; you can add informations like you address or phone number.
- A few milliseconds can be saved by deleting all unneeded profiles.