It was here yesterday but now my Garmin favorites file is not where it
should be...
The Garmin favorites file can disappear after a hard reset as well as after
a system update. It can also become damaged due to firmware issues or
accidentally deleted using the Garmin interface. Unfortunately, once the
file disappears, you don't have many options other than to restore the file
from a backup (if you have one), recreate your favorites manually, or
attempt to recover the file using data recovery software.
Assuming that you have backed up your Garmin to your PC, you can copy your
backup version of the Garmin favorites file and paste it to your device.
Since the backup copy is older than your missing file, you will likely lose
some of your favorites but at least some of them can be restored. To do
this, connect the device to your computer using the USB cable. Once
connected, right-click Start and select Open Windows Explorer.
Navigate to the folder where you previously copied your Garmin's backup
files and look for the file named "current.gpx." This is the file containing
your favorites. Right-click current.gpx and choose Copy from the menu. Next,
navigate to the drive that represents your Garmin device. Find the GPX
folder and double-click it to open it. Right-click a blank section in the
folder's main pane and choose Paste. Disconnect your device from your
computer using the Safely Remove Hardware button down in your taskbar's
notification area and reboot it. When it reboots, it should contain your
backed up favorites.
Another option for recovering the Garmin favorites file is to use data
recovery software. Some of these programs include a free scanner so that you
can see if the software can find a recoverable version of the file before
you purchase the software. When you hook up the Garmin device to your
computer, your computer treats it as a portable storage device and assigns
it a drive letter. Use a data recovery scanning tool to scan the Garmin
drive for the current.gpx file. If the data recovery software scanning tool
finds the file, it will be able to recover it in which case you can restore
it and get your favorites back. If the file is found, you'll then need to
purchase the data recovery software to perform the actual recovery. If not,
then you'll need to manually recreate your favorites.
Whether you were able to restore the Garmin favorites file from a backup,
recover it with data recovery software, or had to rebuild it, to avoid this
same problem in the future, periodically copy and paste your current.gpx
file to your computer's hard disk. Also see
www.my-favorites-list.com
for recover of favorites files on devices like Android, Blackberry and
Firefox or Chrome.