UPDATING SOFTWARE ON A LOWRANCE 332C

bryce600rr · April 13, 2009, 09:46:38 AM

i have been trying to update my 332c. i got the the update from lowrance.com and it says i need to update the GPS reciever before i update the GPS unit.. i have tried it with 2 different cards.. they are a 2gb and a 4gb cards.. i cant get it to work with either card. when i insert both cards in my PC it shows the software being on there, but when i insert the card into the 332c it shows the card as empty. does anyone have any idea what i am doing wrong or why it is doing this?? is the cards that i am using wrong? to much memory capacity? i have tried everything i know to do.. i havent tried the actual update for the 332c because it says on lowrance.com in red letters that i MUST UPDATE THE GPS RECIEVER FIRST or it could mess up the 332c.. here is a link to the update page from lowrance.
http://www.lowrance.com/en/Products/Marine/Full-Size-SonarGPS-Chartplotter-Combos/LMS-332C/Downloads/LMS-332C-Software-Update/

Mike Cork · April 13, 2009, 11:05:51 AM

BassBUFF is fairly knowledgeable on Lowrance updates, he will be along soon to see if he can help.

bryce600rr · April 13, 2009, 12:09:32 PM

cool. thanks man!!!

bryce600rr · April 13, 2009, 03:10:46 PM

bassBUFF!!! where ya at???

-Shawn- · April 13, 2009, 08:33:19 PM

YEAH sTEVE, wHERE ARE YA?

After you told me how to update at the shootout, I wasn't able to get it to work.

Hopefully when you help him, I will be able to figure it out too. $:-\$

BassBUFF · April 14, 2009, 05:18:06 PM

Quote from: bryce600rr on April 13, 2009, 03:10:46 PM
bassBUFF!!! where ya at???

Sorry for the late response, I'm TDY in Dayton, OH!

I've used a 1gb card but the 2 should work. The one thing I found is that you have to download it directly to the SD card. It won't work if you download it to the computer first and then transfer it to the card. It's one of Lowrance's security steps.

Let me know if this was the problem

. If not we'll get it worked out

.

fishrman · April 14, 2009, 05:26:17 PM

Bassbuff is correct. DO NOT DOWNLOAD TO YOUR COMPUTER. Only to the card. Made the same mistake myself, not once but twice. Put it strait to the card and you will be fine. After you get it on the card, you may then copy it to you computer.

bryce600rr · April 15, 2009, 09:11:18 AM

okay i will retry it that way.. the 2gb card that i have is a kodak high performance SD card. that should work right?? also can i download both the update for the gps reciever and the update for the 332c at the same time and then when i put the card in the 332c and just select which file i want to update first? also i have a 4gb sandisk card that i would rather use because it is blank.. it says 4.0gb SD and then uder the SD it says HC. my guess is that the HC stands for High Capacity. will that one work?? thanks for your help..

BP

fishrman · April 15, 2009, 10:33:23 AM

The 4 gig will work. I have 10's in both my units. You can keep multiple files and open which ever one you wish.

bryce600rr · April 15, 2009, 11:54:58 AM

cool!!! thanks i will try it again and let ya know how it does..

bryce600rr · April 17, 2009, 11:39:29 AM

well guys i did excatly how instructed.. still did not work

. i know the card reader is working because it reads my Nav. map card.. i tried it on both of my cards.. one of the cards dosen't even get recognized by the 332c, the other card shows up but when i go to browse MMC cards files it shows the card as being empty...WTF?? any other suggestions??? thanks for the help.
Bryce

fishrman · April 17, 2009, 02:24:06 PM

Did you download it straight from the site to the card?

bryce600rr · April 17, 2009, 03:31:16 PM

yep!! when it ask me to save, run or open i saved it straight to the SD card. is that the right way??

fishrman · April 17, 2009, 04:00:25 PM

well I have windows xp. My options are to save or open. I save. once saved I use the computer and open it up, (from the card reader to check it). Then open it up in the unit. We I screwed up before I had to contact the source that I got it from and get a new download sent to me. Seems for security reasons i only got one shot at it. It seems yours is not getting to the card, do they have a technical support?

bryce600rr · April 17, 2009, 04:26:07 PM

i am not for sure about the technical support.. i can open the card up in the computer and the file is in there.. but my 332c shows the card as being empty!! i am running windows vista, do you think that might have something to do with it?

fishrman · April 17, 2009, 04:56:14 PM

Not sure on that. I will send you a pm with the cell number of the Lowrance rep that I fish with.

Mike Cork · April 17, 2009, 07:17:07 PM

Let us know what comes about after talking to the Rep, that way others will know about the Vista thing?

BassBUFF · April 18, 2009, 09:44:45 AM

Vista

is my favorite 4-letter word now if you get my drift. The last time I updated my software was with XP. Give Lowrance a call (1-800-324-1356) and they'll be able to work this out.

BassBUFF · April 18, 2009, 10:57:39 AM

OK, I got curious and tried to update my 520C. Looks like Lowrance has changed some things. I tried downloading while using Firefox and the Java installer wouldn't even begin. Tried using IE7 and it would download but wouldn't extract using the Java routine. I don't know if this is a Java, Lowrance, or a VISTA issue but it did download the LMS-XXX.exe file.

Here are the steps to get it to work:

1. Download the file to your SD card. (It will have a .exe extension)
2. Run the .exe program from the card (double click from Windows Explorer) and the Lowrance installer will extract the update files.
3. It will ask you where to install the files, choose the SD card drive (ex. f:\, G:\, H:\, I:\, etc....)
4. Use the default settings throughout the process.
5. Shut down the card and remove from your computer.
6. Install the SD card in your Sonar (make sure it is OFF first).
7. Turn on your sonar and it should update. It will turn off after it does.
8. Remove the card and turn your unit back on.
9. Hit "Menu" twice and select "System Settings"
10. Select "System Software" and see it should match the software you downloaded.

This should get you fixed up

!

-Shawn- · April 18, 2009, 02:37:12 PM

Cool, Thanks Steve!!!!!

bryce600rr · April 20, 2009, 08:37:34 AM

got the PM fishrman!! thanks
i am going to try what bassbuff suggested step-by-step. if that dont work then i will give the rep a call and see what he says.. it will be a couple days before i can get back to the boat to try it.. i will let you guys know the outcome as soon as i can.. thanks for all the help and info..

BP

BassBUFF · April 20, 2009, 12:11:55 PM

This should get you all fixed up

! Let me know one way or another please.

Mark from NY · April 21, 2009, 12:40:01 PM

Have you checked the antenna software version? Maybe it is up to date already. Current version is 1.9
I also have heard some off brand SD cards were trouble. Try a smaller Sandisk 1Gig or smaller.
Also make sure the power to the NMEA2000 network is on.

-Shawn- · June 12, 2009, 08:37:09 PM

I must ba a complete freaking idiot!! I can't get it to download to the sd card at all.

BassBUFF · June 13, 2009, 04:37:49 PM

Quote from: -Shawn- on June 12, 2009, 08:37:09 PM
I must ba a complete freaking idiot!! I can't get it to download to the sd card at all.

When you download it from the lowrance site make sure to have your SD card installed and choose it's drive # to download it to.