trouble getting Mapsource

[novice]

I have a nuvi 265wt which does not have Mapsource, I would like to download maps of the Dordogne region of France where I will be bicycling. I opened the GPSFile Depot March 10,2010 tutorial "How to load maps on my Garmin ..." The tutorial suggested i could "download and install Garmin MapSource on your PC if it wasn't included with your GPS unit (such as the Garmin Nuvi)." However, the only two Mapsource download links (one is a patch) for my windows XP svc pk 3 system don't do the job. I am able to download, extract but when I try to run the program I get a message to the effect that mapsource was not previously loaded and therefore the action will be terminated.

Did I do something wrong? Are the maps public domain and can I get them them into my PC and then into my Garmin? If so, will I be able to zoom in and out and use the garmin as I am accustomed ?

Thanks for your help.

[maps4gps]

You need to install the training center first.
Then upgrade MapSource to the latest version.
Then install any mapset.

Another way would be to download BaseCamp from Garmin, then install a mapset.

Both MapSource and BaseCamp will allow you to select quads/tiles, or an entire mapset(s) and upload it to your GPSr.

[-Oz-]

Tutorial: http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/tutorials/how-to-install-mapsource-if-it-didnt-come-with-your-gps/