Tip & How-To about Garmin nuvi 205W GPS Receiver

How to Perform a Hard Reset of your Garmin Nuvi 205 and 205W (Mark 2a

How to Perform a Hard Reset of your Garmin Nuvi 205W

Does your Garmin Nuvi 205 or 205W Freeze at Loading Maps?
Does it lock up or stop working?

This tip will describe how to perform a hard reset of the device, and how to backup your 'Favorites' in case the hard reset erases them. The next step in fixing your Nuvi when it doesn't start properly is to update its system software using Garmin WebUpdater.

A hard reset (or Clear All User Data) has been known to resolve unit quirks and strange behavior after firmware updates. It is generally recommended to perform it after a firmware update but is not required by any means. However, if you're seeing quirks and strange behavior with your unit after the firmware update, it is a good idea to do a hard reset of the unit.

Backup and Restoration Procedure for Your Favorites:

The Hard Reset procedure has been known to delete your Favorites, so back them up beforehand.

From the Nuvi drive, copy '/Garmin/GPX/current.gpx' to a backup location on your computer.
After the hard reset, copy your backed up 'current.gpx' from your computer back to the '/Garmin/GPX/' folder on the Nuvi, but be sure to rename it 'temp.gpx'.
On the next power cycle, the Favorites will be read from 'temp.gpx' into the non-user accessible memory area on the Nuvi where they are actually stored.

Perform the Hard Reset:

*Note that this will clear all user selected settings on the unit

Power the unit off.
Remove the battery and wait several minutes.
Install the battery.
Press and hold (and continue to hold) the bottom-right corner of the screen while powering the unit on.
Continue to hold the screen until the "Do you want to erase all user data?" prompt appears.
Press "yes" and the unit will reboot. This resets all your location settings and user preferences.

If possible after the hard reset, let the unit sit outdoors in the open for about 30 minutes or so to let the unit re-acquire the satellite almanac data.

You have now performed a hard reset of your Garmin Nuvi 205 and 205W.

I hope that helps.

Related Questions:

0helpful

1answer

Garmin Nuvi will not load maps - why

Try the Hard Reset procedure outlined in this tip.

Does your Garmin Nuvi 205 or 205W Freeze at Loading Maps?
Does it lock up or stop working?

This tip will describe how to perform a hard reset of the device, and how to backup your 'Favorites' in case the hard reset erases them.

A hard reset (or Clear All User Data) has been known to resolve unit quirks and strange behavior after firmware updates. It's generally recommended to perform it after a firmware update but is not required by any means. However, if you're seeing quirks and strange behavior with your unit after the firmware update, it is a good idea to do a hard reset of the unit. It's also one of the first things that Garmin will have you do when contact tech support regarding quirky unit behavior.

Backup and Restoration Procedure for Favorites:

The Hard Reset procedure has been known to delete your Favorites, so back them up beforehand.

From the Nuvi drive, copy '/Garmin/GPX/current.gpx' to a backup location on your computer.
After the hard reset, copy your backed up 'current.gpx' from your computer back to the '/Garmin/GPX/' folder on the Nuvi, but be sure to rename it 'temp.gpx'.
On the next power cycle, the Favorites will be read from 'temp.gpx' into the non-user accessible memory area on the Nuvi where they are actually stored.

Perform the Hard Reset:

*Note that this will clear all user selected settings on the unit

Power the unit off.
Remove the battery and wait several minutes.
Install the battery.
Press and hold (and continue to hold) the bottom-right corner of the screen while powering the unit on.
Continue to hold the screen until the "Do you want to erase all user data?"prompt appears.
Press "yes" and the unit will reboot. This resets all your location settings and user preferences.