eTrex Venture HC Firmware v3.30 (10/26/09) - It's broken!

[s101710r]

Hello everybody.
Yesterday, I decided to update my eTrex Venture HC from its current
firmware v3.10 to the latest v3.30 posted by Garmin on 10/26/09.

Well, despite of the fact it will wipe out all your user data, it also
will kill your GPS!. After the update, it wouldn't turn on and it will
sits in a kind of loop trying to go past the initial splash screen (the
white screen that is shown for less than a second when you turn it on).

Fortunatelly, I found this page who gave me the salvation for my GPS:

Fixing a dead Garmin GPS
http://brilliantcorners.org/2007/04/fixing-a-dead-garmin-gpsmap-60csx

Using the technique described there, I was able to downgrade my Venture HC
to v3.10 and it survived!

Does anybody ran into the same problem ?
Does anybody had success updating a Venture HC to v3.30 ?

Regards,
Matias.

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[s101710r]

s101710r had written this in response to
http://www.psjournal.com/garmin/eTrex-Venture-HC-Firmware-v3-30-10-26-09-It-s-broken-29857-.htm
:
This is the answer I received from Garmin Support:

"Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I am happy to help you
with this. I've been able to test this out on as many units as I could
find, and all seem to receive the update just fine. The eTrex has a
Boot-Block function that will allow WebUpdater to see the eTrex and
reinstall its software.

WebUpdater is a free download that will check for and install software
updates without using your Internet web browser. Download the WebUpdater
for Windows here:
http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=931
or for Mac here:
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/downloadsDetails.jsp?id=3699&product=999-99999-27&&pID=9566

Following are instructions on how to perform the Boot-Block on your
eTrex:

1. Connect the eTrex to a computer
2. Press and hold up on the THUMB STICK
3. Press and hold POWER for 5 seconds, release, and continue holding up
on the THUMB STICK
4. Run WebUpdater and the unit should be recognized as if it were
powered on

IMPORTANT: You must hold down up on the thumb stick until loading of the
software has completed! If the button is released at any point prior,
such as during the LOADER screen, the update will fail."

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[Jonathan Spallanzani]

I had the exact same problem. I tried to update the firmware using
Webupdater from v3.10 to v3.30 on my etrex Venture HC. It did not work
and unit would not start anymore.

Tried the thumb stick trick with the Webupdater, it found the device
but re-installing v3.30 caused the same problem again. Nothing was
solved. I managed to find the 3.10 version on Google and tried it
using the same "trick". It recognized the unit and installed v3.10. I
got some error messages at the end of the setup but now it works just
fine.

Link to 3.10 version: http://www.tramsoft.ch/gps/garmin_etrex-venture-hc-firmware-upgrades_en.html

Anything wrong with 3.30 ??

Thanks guys again for your posts, I'm using this GPS for flying and
really did not want to send it to Garmin.