Garmin 705 file access

[Enw.nigel]

Hoping that someone here can satisfy my curiosity, I recently bought a second hand Garmin 705 with an SD card installed. When in 'My Computer' I can access the Garmin as Drive I and the SD card as Drive J. The previous owner has saved 10 GPX files in the GPX Folder on Drive J.
1. Is there any program available on the internet that will let me read both of these drives. There seems to be plenty for creating routes to download onto the Garmin but that is not what I am after.
2. How can I access the SD drive via the 705 to view the routes saved there.
From what I can see the previous owner saved files in GPX format which I assumed he created on 'Openstreetmap' or something similar.These I cannot access via the Garmin
Routes that I have ridden have been saved by Garmin in TCX format and these I can access via the Garmin.
Can anyone help/ What am I missing?

 

[Pauln]

You may be able to upload them to Garmin Connect garmin.connect.com

 

[amaferanga]

1. I don't understand what it is you're trying to do here. What do you mean by read? You already said that you can access both drives on your computer so what else do you want to do? You seem to already have access to all the files on the device.

2. Have you tried reading the instructions for the device? If it's the same as the Edge 500 then the routes can be found under 'courses'.

 

[fossyant]

Use the training centre programe or Garmin Connect to read either the Garmin built in storage or SD card - you can select in the software, or just browse them via Windows, and move/copy them to your PC, then import.

 

[Enw.nigel]

1. I don't understand what it is you're trying to do here. What do you mean by read? You already said that you can access both drives on your computer so what else do you want to do? You seem to already have access to all the files on the device.

2. Have you tried reading the instructions for the device? If it's the same as the Edge 500 then the routes can be found under 'courses'.

I haven't explained myself too well here. What I am trying to do is to 'open' the file to look at the course content.
What I cannot do is open 10 files on the SD card which are in a GPX Folder and labelled Day 1 to Day 10 which are shown on Drive J on 'My Computer
Likewise, there is a folder labelled GPX on Drive I with which includes rides labelled Bournemouth and Southend which are shown in 'My Computer'.
So these GPX format files that I can see in 'My Computer' I cannot find on the Garmin 705.

As you quite rightly say if you go to Training then Courses on the Garmin then I can see and open the courses that I have created (which are in TCX format). As is the case in my History folder. I have no problem with what I have created.
It is the GPX files on the two drives that the previous owner created that I cannot find or open on the Garmin. I am trying to find out why.
Hope this makes it clearer.

 

[Enw.nigel]

Use the training centre programe or Garmin Connect to read either the Garmin built in storage or SD card - you can select in the software, or just browse them via Windows, and move/copy them to your PC, then import.

Thanks' fossyant'.
I have looked at Training Centre and Garmin Connect and don't see how you can access Garmin built in storage or the SD card. There is the 'Upload' button that I have used to upload my rides but this doesn't let you view the different drives. Am I missing something obvious?

 

[Rob3rt]

Just plug the device in, access it like any generic storage device, copy the files out to your desktop then forget about the Garmin for a moment.

Now open training centre or an online route mapping software (ridewithgps is my favourite). Import the GPX files into the software or website, it varies from site to site etc but on most it is a very simple process. (In Garmin TC, file, import to current user account, all, select .gpx as file format and then select the file). Now you can view them.

If you want them to appear in the courses folder of the garmin and they are not, then move them from wherever they are into the new files folder and then restart the unit, it should find and convert them to .tcx. If this doesn't work, use www.gpsies.com to convert them to .tcx and then put the .tcx files in the new files folder or load them onto the device using whatever technique you usually use.

 

[Pauln]

. Am I missing something obvious?

As far as I am aware you can't browse the drives with garmin connect, but you could upload the gpx files on there and then view them on garmin connect.

 

[Rob3rt]

OR, just delete them!

 

[Enw.nigel]

Just plug the device in, access it like any generic storage device, copy the files out to your desktop then forget about the Garmin for a moment.

Now open training centre or an online route mapping software (ridewithgps is my favourite). Import the GPX files into the software or website, it varies from site to site etc but on most it is a very simple process. (In Garmin TC, file, import to current user account, all, select .gpx as file format and then select the file). Now you can view them.

If you want them to appear in the courses folder of the garmin and they are not, then move them from wherever they are into the new files folder and then restart the unit, it should find and convert them to .tcx. If this doesn't work, use www.gpsies.com to convert them to .tcx and then put the .tcx files in the new files folder or load them onto the device using whatever technique you usually use.

Thank you rob 3rt. Just the info. that i needed to get me on the right track.
I have all my Garmin rides recorded on Training Centre and tried' File, Import to Current User A/C' but there was no option for this only 'File,Import, History, Workout or Courses' and the GPX files do not show up under any of these options.
However your suggestion of Ridewithgps was the answer With it's 'Bulk Trip Uploader' function I was able to choose the file format to upload (GPX) and bingo - all the GPX files from the Garmin were uploaded. I could now see that the files labelled Day 1 - Day 10 were a Le to JoG route.
So stage one accomplished.
Next using the 'export' 'tcx' function Ridewithgps converted the GPX file to TCX and saved them in a folder on my PC's hard drive. It was a simple case then of connecting the Garmin to the PC to view both Drive I and J and dragging the TCX file across into the Garmin Course folder. When the Garmin was switched on there was the TCX route in the Course folder. Thanks again rob 3rt for helping me to arrive at my understanding of Garmin GPX and TCX files.
As you suggested I could have just deleted them (and I now will) but I now know that the Garmin 705 does not read GPX files. They have to be converted to TCX format. I am therefore assuming that the previous owner had deleted the TCX route files from the Course folder.
Job done. I can now sleep easy.

 

[Rob3rt]

Well I think (could be mistaken here) that the Garmin can convert the .gpx to .tcx if you drop it in the new files folder on the root and then unplug and turn on the unit. It will say "converting" for a minute or 2 and then start up.

 

[Svendo]

You can upload GPX files from your PC to RideWithGPS and view them. And probably other route planning sites.

 

[fossyant]

The 705 does use GPX - that's the format I usually use for routes.

 

[Enw.nigel]

Well I think (could be mistaken here) that the Garmin can convert the .gpx to .tcx if you drop it in the new files folder on the root and then unplug and turn on the unit. It will say "converting" for a minute or 2 and then start up.

The 705 does use GPX - that's the format I usually use for routes.

I tried dragging & dropping a couple of GPX routes that the previous owner created into the Courses folder, unplugged and turned on the Garmin but they didn't show up there. Only the TCX files of my rides are shown. From that, the Garmin is not converting the GPX files into TCX and didn't say 'converting' on switching on and also it's not reading any GPX files.
Puzzling fossyant if yours is reading GPX files. I thought I understood what was happening that all GPX files had to be converted to TCX for the 705 to read them but the mystery seems to be deepening (for me anyway).

 

[Rob3rt]

Don't put them in the courses folder, put them in the "new files" folder. The Garmin will convert them on start up and move the converted files to courses on its own. If you drop them into the courses folder they will not show up.

The Garmin will always check the "new files" folder on startup.