Can the Garmin Topo 24K Southwest map I ordered be displayed on my laptop from the SE Card? I have been told that it cannot be downloaded on the laptop.
Garmin stopped selling the DVD versions of their maps a number of years ago. These were designed to be loaded onto your computer where you could use them in Basecamp and Mapsource. But they no longer support this map format.
Now your only options are downloadable maps that are locked to the original device you install them on or pre-loaded SD cards. However, you should be able to connect the GPS to your computer by USB and access the maps in Basecamp while it's connected. You could also just put the card in an SD card slot if you laptop has one, or a USB reader otherwise.
These cards are copy protected so that only the original will work in the gps, however a copy of the card should work in Basecamp.
See this for more:
https://www.javawa.nl/virtualdevice.html
Thanks. I downloaded Basecamp and will try to do what you suggested.