13 M1 MBP: Garmin DriveSmart doesn't show up in Disk Utility?

[Pine_Sol]

Hello,

I have a 13 M1 MacBook Pro OS 14.1, and I am trying to transfer a GPX file to my Garmin Drivesmart 65 via the original Garmin cable using an Anker usb hub adapter.
I have downloaded and installed Garmin express, updated the gps via an Angker dongle and the cable (the computer and gps seem to be playing together so far). in disk utility, when I plug in a thumb drive into the dongle it shows up as an external drive. the gps is in mass storage setting, but unable to show up in the disk utility.

what am I missing/ doing wrong?

Thank you
Pine Sol

 

[Boyd01]

I still have a Drivesmart 65 but no longer use it. Was also a moderator at GPSReview.net for many years, until the site just mysteriously vanished one night and never returned (not too surprising, it became a pretty lonely place).

Anyway, USB problems with the DriveSmart and other new Garmin automotive units are pretty legendary. They can be very particular. I'd guess the problem has something to do with your hub, that has typically been the issue in other cases. I don't have an M1 Mac and haven't followed their specs very closely. Does yours have a USB-A port? If so, I would try going directly into that (assuming the Garmin cable is USB-A).

If the laptop only has USB-C ports, then I would try going directly into one of those using only a simple USB-A to USB-C adapter. I would also disconnect any othe USB devices, such that the DriveSmart is the only one. If all this fails, pretty sure you could copy your GPX file directly to a micro-SD card and put it in the card slot on the GPS. Be sure to format the card as FAT-32.

When Garmin's own software transfers GPX files, it names the file "Temp.gpx", so I'd also suggest doing that. When the GPS starts up, it should scan both the internal storage and any inserted SD cards for .gpx files and automatically import them.

 

[pfmoloney]

One other simple thing - wait!
For as long as I’ve had Garmin devices they can take an age to mount on Mac
My experience is with Garmin Express to transfer route from Basecamp to device, as before try to connect directly to computer, or Apple usb to usb c adapter and give it time - enough to make a coffee!
Peter

 

[Boyd01]

Trying to remember here.... I believe Garmin changed the way routes are handled on the device sometime around when the DriveSmart series was introduced. In the past, they were simple GPX files that were compatible across devices. But these new ones are different and the GPX files required translation/conversion. I *think* the GPS does this automatically when importing an old-style GPX routes, but not 100% sure.

But GPX files can also also contain waypoints and tracks. IIRC, none of the recent Garmin automotive devices can import tracks at all, this goes back to the Nuvi series. I think they will just ignore GPX files that contain tracks. Waypoints are pretty straightforward though, and you shouldn't need any software to import them. If you can mount the device as a USB disk, you should be able to directly copy a GPX file. Pretty sure you will find a folder named GPX on the device, you could put the file there, but (IIRC) the whole disk is scanned for files when it starts up.

One other common "gotcha". Be sure to delete the GPX file after you transfer it, it's no longer needed after import. If you don't delete it, you will never be able to delete any of the waypoints it contains. If you delete a waypoint using the menus on the GPS itself, the next time you start it up, the same waypoint will be re-imported from the GPX file if it's still on the the disk!

 

[Pine_Sol]

Thank you for your replies.

My first Garmin gps was a Montana 650, which after the first year of using it; died. Garmin replaced it, that unit never worked from day 1, and again Garmin replaced it. That one worked for a summer and also died. Again Garmin replaced it, and yet again it died. After having 5 of them I decided to stick to less expensive units, I now buy *new* used items. Above gps I used with basecamp and windows computer. basecamp was finicky but I was able to mount and unmount custom maps.

Next gps was a Garmin nuvi 2597. Took it apart, filled and sealed it up with silicone to make it (as much as I can) water resistant to be mounted on an unfaired motorcycle (used it all over s.e. Asia). to which it worked amazingly well (it still works). loaded custom google street maps (also OSM street maps) via the usb power/ data cord, as the micro sd card was siliconed in place. Above gps I used with Garmin express and linux (elementary os) computer. mounting and unmounting custom gpx maps.

The 2597 was/ is a decent gps, but it the processor is a bit slow to deal with as is the screen quality/ size. so I upgraded to the drivesmart 65. the plan is to also fill it with silicone and to be mounted out in the elements on a motorcycle. removing the sd card would have been an easy solution but in my case not really valid.

I used the drivesmart last summer, easily loading (and unloading) custom google street maps converting the KML file to GPX (here), cut & paste directly into the gpx folder on the drivesmart via the supplied Garmin cord and elementary os.

have upgraded to a M1 13 MacBook which only has two USB-C ports, and the drivesmart cable uses USB-A, hence the dongle. but I found it interesting that the mbp was able to see the thumb drive, but not the gps. which made me wonder if they were simply not speaking the same language.

I tried connecting the dongle up to my Samsung tablet, and the thumb drive via one of the USB-A ports, it worked. I then tried the drivesmart, the tablet could see it, and acknowledge that it was plugged in but unable to see any folders. so maybe it was less of a Garmin issue and more of a language issue.

I then did some reading on google to see if I could find anything, and I found this page. after cross referencing the suggested MTP issues and some more googling for their idea of a solution, I downloaded the Android File Transfer, and gave it a try. The drag and drop to instal an application on a MacBook seems bizarrely weird, if it weren't for the wife I wouldn't have gotten past that part.

In the end I got it to work, I was able to access the gpx folder on the drivesmart via the Android File Transfer pop-up window, to manually load and delete my custom gpx files via the supplied Garmin cable and using the anker usb dongle. it does not show up in the Disk Utility.

Once again, thank you for your thoughts and ideas

 

[chown33]

...

I then did some reading on google to see if I could find anything, and I found this page. after cross referencing the suggested MTP issues and some more googling for their idea of a solution, I downloaded the Android File Transfer, and gave it a try. The drag and drop to instal an application on a MacBook seems bizarrely weird, if it weren't for the wife I wouldn't have gotten past that part.

In the end I got it to work, I was able to access the gpx folder on the drivesmart via the Android File Transfer pop-up window, to manually load and delete my custom gpx files via the supplied Garmin cable and using the anker usb dongle. it does not show up in the Disk Utility.

These parts make me wonder if the problem lies with the file-system on the Garmin device.

I would start by using the System Info app on the Mac, with the Garmin device connected by USB. Under the USB section of the Hardware heading, find something whose name probably has "Garmin" in it, or pretty much anything that isn't a USB device you recognize. If that device adheres to the mass-storage device class, then you might see some details about what System Info thinks is the file-system on the device. Please post a screenshot of any details.

Another thing to try with the Garmin unit connected is the 'diskutil' tool in a Terminal window.

diskutil list

Simply enter this command and press Return, and it should list all the disk-like devices it knows about. Please post that output here.

I know from experience mounting uSD cards destined for a Raspberry Pi that Macs don't recognize many typical Linux file-systems. Here's the 'diskutil list' output from a Pi uSD card:

/dev/disk2
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:     FDisk_partition_scheme                        *2.0 GB     disk2
   1:             Windows_FAT_32 BRIJ2                   43.0 MB    disk2s1
   2:                      Linux                         2.0 GB     disk2s2

If I enter the command 'mount' on the Pi, here are the equivalent partitions:

/dev/mmcblk0p2 on / type ext4 (rw,noatime)
...stuff omitted...
/dev/mmcblk0p1 on /boot type vfat (rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=ascii,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)

What the Mac identifies as "Linux" the Pi tells me is "ext4". Likewise, the FAT-32 format on the Mac is listed as "vfat" by the Pi.

FWIW, I think the Mac still ships with an 'fdisk' tool. See what 'man fdisk' says in Terminal, or 'which fdisk'.

 

[Pine_Sol]

sorry for the delay, suddenly life got complicated.
have been researching and reading in google to understand what you were asking me.

When I type "which disk" into Terminal it says:
/usr/sbin/fdisk

I think these are the two scene shots that you had asked for.
Thank you for your assistance.

Pine Sol