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G3X + Mac Database Update Redux Again

Tango Mike

Well Known Member
I'm the whiner OP Mac user with about three years of intermittent problems updating Flight Charts in my dual G3X-equipped RV7. The abridged backstory is that all the other DBs would update smoothly, but the process hung up on the Flight Charts with "preparing to update, this may take a few minutes." Sometimes it might complete after a few hours. Other times it was still preparing after leaving it overnight. I worked with Garmin tech support on multiple occasions and no matter what we tried, nothing provided consistent success.

Other forum members with Macs replied to the thread by saying they weren't having similar problems, and a few PC guys suggested buying a cheapie Windows machine just for that purpose. I resisted doing that, primarily on principle, but finally gave in.

The first few updates worked okay, until in the middle of a download I received a message that the "wrong device was in the drive" and it was a "non-recoverable error."

Tech support suggested that I open Fly Garmin for Windows from within the computer rather than allow the update system to do it, then clear downloads and check for updates to Fly Garmin for Windows to ensure it was current, then check for updates.

The first time we did that, the update was successful. The next time I tried it, it didn't work, and I was left with failure of both methods.

But as it turns out, a comment from tech support during a Team Viewer session during a successful Windows update may have inadvertently discovered the source of the problem from the very beginning. We were watching the progress bar and I mentioned that it often hung up like it was doing then, then after awhile it would begin advancing. The tech said he'd never seen that happen.

The next morning I realized that the only component in the process I hadn't investigated was the SD card reader. A quick trip online found one advertised as being fast, a #1 bestseller, with a few thousand 5-star reviews.

I decided to try it with a Mac update first, which immediately failed because I didn't realize that my tail number identified me as a Windows user ever since I had switched over. Once that was fixed on the Garmin end, I tried a Mac update, and all the DBs, including Flight Charts, successfully updated the SD card in about 10 minutes.

This may be old news to most Mac forum members, but I wanted to post this update in case anyone else runs into a similar problem.

Hopefully, there are no more gremlins waiting to cause havoc with updating my system.

Tosh
 
What was the original card reader?

The next morning I realized that the only component in the process I hadn't investigated was the SD card reader. A quick trip online found one advertised as being fast, a #1 bestseller, with a few thousand 5-star reviews.

Can you clarify, was the original card reader the one built into the Mac, and you replaced it with an external USB version, is that correct?
 
Can you clarify, was the original card reader the one built into the Mac, and you replaced it with an external USB version, is that correct?

They were both external readers, the original an FG and the replacement a Sabrena. I didn't mention this, but earlier this year I got a new Mac and anticipated that the updates might improve with the faster machine. That didn't happen, and it didn't occur to me, the dummy, to check this before, but the speed difference between the old USB 2 reader and the new 3 one might be a key factor.
 
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