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A bunch of points with flags (or other icons) would be waypoints. If there's a pink line connecting them, it is a route. A track is a continuous blue line on the Nuvi without any icons.

You need to "import" routes on the Nuvi, did you do that? Go to Menu > Tools > My Data > Import Route. Does it find anything? If you import it, you could activate it with Menu > Where To > Routes. If you can choose a new route, then you may find that the flags will become points along a pink line.

The files used directly on the gps (like those on a memory card) are not intended to be used on your computer. They are some kludges which may or may not work, but normally you would need to install maps on your computer using a whole process which is not trivial. You can't just "open" the files.

So yes, I would say what you describe is normal.

I think .gdb files are just "Garmin Database" files that contain a mixture of routes, tracks and waypoints. A .gpx file can contain the same things. I don't believe the gps itself "understands" .gdb files. I think it's just a Mapsource (and maybe basecamp?) thing.

But your observation about tracks matches what I have read about the 500 series before, and my personal experience with several other Nuvi's. Guessing that trapper sent a route instead of a track.

Cypherman has released a new beta version 1.75 Beta (2010/01/27). Haven't tried it yet myself but the changes are supposed to be:

- NEW: Backup and import a mapset
- NEW: Add lock and routing information in installed mapset list.
- FIX: Create FamiliesNT mapset.
- FIX: Errors in install mapset

Download here: http://cypherman1.googlepages.com/

I think that makes sense for your unit. If you decide you really want aerial imagery then sell the 60csx and get an Oregon or Dakota. Then you can simply subscribe to Garmin "BirdsEye" for $30/year, or make your own maps from aerials using the custom maps feature.

This is why I rarely update any of my Garmin firmware. I had my Oregon for almost 2 years with the original firmware, and only updated it when they introduced the custom maps feature. I am several versions behind, and think I'll stay there for awhile. 

Yes, you need to download Mapsettoolkit and try to delete ibycus. You will see a box listing all of your installed mapsets, and you would select ibycus and delete it.

However, I've also run into this problem when messing around with my own maps. If mapsettoolkit doesn't fix, you may indeed have to reinstall ibycus, then remove it using add/remove programs.

If it really isn't downloading, you probably need to check your security settings in Vista. This is a real PITA. Vista was driving me nuts until I figured out how to turn off all the "helpful" things it does.

A few days ago I helped two friends install print drivers on the Vista laptops in the office. One of them had his settings similar to mine and it was easy. The other had (apparently) the default settings and it was a real pain.

The older units can do the same thing, but it's just a little more convenient on the Oregon/Dakota. But the big improvement is that your unit doesn't have any restrictions on map filenames, which is what maps4gps alluded to when he suggested renaming the gmapsupp.img file.

The older units will only recognize ONE file and it must be named gmapsupp.img. On your Dakota, you can name map files anything you want as long as they have a .img extension. This makes it easy to simply drag and drop map files to your GPS. On the Dakota itself, you will see a map screen similar to the screenshot (from the Colorado) in the page you linked to. The map names displayed there will not be the same as the filenames however. They will come from information stored inside the map file.

Try http://www.tritonforum.com/. There are a lot of helpful people there, and you will also find links to free maps for Magellan. As maps4gps has said, the maps here at GPSFileDepot only work on Garmin units.

I think you got confused with the "DVD player" part.

If you purchase official Garmin maps there are three options.

1. Download the maps to your computer from Garmin's website. Most of the time this is a bad idea because the maps can only be installed on your GPS and they cannot be used on your computer. They will be permanently locked to your GPS and can't be used on another one.

2. Purchase a memory card from Garmin. This will plug directly into your GPS and be ready to use immediately. It can also be plugged into any other GPS, but it can't be copied. It also cannot be used to view the maps on your computer.

3. Purchase the maps on a DVD from Garmin. This is not like a movie on a DVD, it's a disk that you put into your computer. The maps are then installed on your computer so you can view them there. You then connect your GPS to the computer and send the maps to it. These maps can only be used on your gps and cannot be used on another one.

The fourth option which Dan describes is to download some of the user-contributed maps on this site.

That is interesting, but I'm not exactly clear on what you did since I've been avoiding basecamp. If you actually sent a track file (.gpx file) and the Nuvi displayed it, then the 500 is different from other models. It is a common complaint that the Nuvi can't do this.

I was able to find some trails that had downloadable tracks and the was able to send them to my nuvi.

You were able to download tracks and send them to your Nuvi? What model do you have? None of the Nuvi's I've seen can do this. Tracks can be received from the Nuvi but not sent to it. Well, actually you can send them, but they just vanish and are not displayed.

Did you install with Mapsource? Depends on the map, but typically you can't just drag .img files there.

Press Menu > Tools > Settings > Map > Map Info. You will see a list of all installed maps. Uncheck the box next to City Navigator and check your new map. If you don't see the new map listed then you did not install properly.

If I understand... Garmin has reserved some of the Family ID codes for their own use, so locked maps which use these codes have stopped working. But it appears the fix is to just use another code. For our free maps, we make up own own FID's (or at least that's what I did) and just hope for the best. I guess the FID takes on some added significance if you are locking your map.