Randy’s random musings

There are quite a few reasons why you would want to install TomTom on the Evesham Nav-Cam 7700. TomTom’s software is less glitchy, easier to use, and has more complete maps, with the opportunity to update in the future. I also like the capability of adding celebrity voices! Should you decide to make the attempt, hopefully you’ll find the following information useful.

Please realize, installing TomTom on this device isn’t something that can spelled out in step-by-step instructions, because it will be different for different cases. It may take some trial-and-error, but the payoff makes the effort more than worthwhile!

Before starting, you’ll need to follow the instructions on this page to access the Windows desktop of the device.

First, you’ll need to decide where you want to install TomTom. The Evesham Nav-Cam 7700 has 1 gigabyte of internal memory, which is just barely enough to hold the TomTom software with the USA/Canada map, and the base install of voices. That means you’ll need to remove the factory software to make room. (If you decide to go this route, I strongly suggest making a backup of the “MyStorage” disk prior to erasing the factory software, in case you ever want it back. I’ve read on other forums that the software on the included CD is defective, and if you restore from it, the unit will freeze when you try to enter a ZIP code.) I have heard from someone who didn’t want to purchase an SD card, and managed to install TomTom over ActiveSync, using the USB cable, and it worked fine for her. This method would slower, and more complex, since you need to backup and then delete the factory software, and the USB interface is very slow compared to an SD card in a memory card reader.

The alternative is to purchase an SD card, 1 gig or larger, and install and run TomTom from there. This is the simpler method. (check out Pricewatch for great prices on SD cards)

A combined option is probably the most ideal: you keep the original software on internal memory, and install TomTom application to internal memory as well, installing only the map to your SD card. You avoid the crashing during power cycling, plus you have the option of running the original navigation software, should you wish to.

Depending on your source for the TomTom software, you’ll either have a .cab file, or a bunch of files that are already extracted, and ready to run. You will need to find version 6.00 of the TomTom software. The most recent version, 6.03, will NOT run this device, period! It may be possible to install 6.02 or 6.01, but then you will run into difficulty with the software saying “No maps found!”. (the newer versions expect to find maps in “My Documents”, and nowhere else. I’m working on trying to get around this…)

• If you have a .cab file, copy it over to your device onto the SD card. You can accomplish that by either copying it onto the SD with a memory card reader, or by connecting the USB cable and using the Windows file explorer to copy it. (My Computer, Mobile Device, SDMMC) Now, working from the device, you should be able to navigate to it in Windows explorer, and double-tap it to run it, but first: visit Start, Settings, Control Panel, System, and click the memory tab. Drag the slider over to right a bit, to give some extra storage space available for the install. When it prompts for a location, call up the on-screen keyboard to press enter. (it’s the one shaped like a backwards ‘L’ on the far right, just above the right arrow key) I don’t think it matters if you specify a location, it installs into /Program Files/ regardless.
• If you have a bunch of files and folders, you should be able to simply drop them in the root of your SD card, and then find and run the “TomTomNavigator.exe” file to start the software.

Map location:

TomTom, on startup, searches multiple locations for map files. It will refuse to start unless it finds at least one active map. Your map folder should be located in the root of either the “SDMMC” disk, or the “MyStorage” disk.

TomTom application location:

By default, TomTom should install to /Program Files/Navigator. You’ll probably want to move that folder into the MyStorage disk after installation. It will work fine from there, and if you have to do a hard reset, you won’t have to worry about reinstalling! It’s best to run it from internal memory, anyway, otherwise you won’t be able to power off the device with TomTom running. Well, you will, but it will crash when you turn it back on! You can run the application from internal memory, and have the maps loaded on the SD card, if you’re worried about internal memory space.

Voices location:

This can vary depending on your installation. There should be a voices folder pre-populated with the default voices from TomTom, in the same folder as “TomTom Navigator.exe”. If none of your voices work, try deleting the “collected.ini” file located inside that voices folder, and then loading TomTom again.

GPS Setup:

Once TomTom is installed and running, you’ll need to configure the GPS. Choose “Configure” from the GPS status screen, choose “Other NMEA GPS receiver”, 115200 baud (try 4800 baud if you have trouble acquiring a satellite lock), COM2:, and after about 10 seconds, the status should change from “No GPS device!” to “Waiting for a valid GPS signal”. You can tap the signal bars on the right side of the status bar and get a nice chart showing the visible satellites, signal strength, and latitude and longitude, once you’ve achieved a fix. NOTE: The signal bars on the status bar of the driving page will indicate that you have no signal, even if you have a great fix. This is a bug, but it’s pretty minor, since you can simply tap it to learn detailed signal information. (it was recently discovered that if you open the factory nav software, quit, and then run TomTom, you’ll get those signal bars, until you reset. Still looking for a better way…)

Other considerations:

• Windows taskbar: After installing TomTom, you’ll want to turn on the “Always on top” and “Autohide” options. When you run TomTom, the taskbar should retract to a thin gray line on the bottom of the screen. You may have to use your fingernail or a pen tip to click it, but once you do, the taskbar should come back up. (the “OK” button is on the top right-you may need to drag the window to the left in order to click it) Also, it may not retract when you first launch TomTom. Click “Start”, “Settings”, “Taskbar…” and it should go away.
  
• Sound: The hardware volume switch on top doesn’t work. As a workaround, it can be adjusted through the Windows Control Panel. See “Launching” for another, better workaround.
• Original Software: Should you want to run the original, built-in software, you should be able to access it by running “welcome.exe” from the Windows folder, assuming you didn’t erase it!
• Map version: If you live in North America, you’ll want to double-check that you have the most recent version of the map, which is “‘USA and Canada’ 675.1409″. You can find this information by tapping the signal bars on the right side of the status bar in TomTom, and then tapping the version button that pops up in approximately the same spot.



• Launching: So far, there doesn’t appear to be a “best” way to launch TomTom on startup. You can paste a shortcut to “TomTom Navigator.exe” into the Windows/startup folder, but the shortcut may disappear if you have to perform a soft or hard reset. Also, it won’t give you a chance to turn up the sound (see the note above) prior to TomTom running. Personally, I prefer running TomTom from a shortcut on my desktop. You can make one yourself by pasting the shortcut into the Windows/desktop folder. NOTE: If you still have regedit.exe renamed as mobilenavigator.exe, per the Windows boot instructions, you can launch the LiteOnAP file on the desktop, which will open the factory menu. Combined with the instructions under “Windows Taskbar” above, you should be able to bring up the taskbar, and click the small desktop icon near the clock. Now your hardware volume switch will work in any application you run, including TomTom! It looks like there is finally a better solution! Please click the “tweaks” for further information.
• Crashing?: If you are running TomTom from the SD card, and you power the unit off without exiting the TomTom software, it will crash with a “Fatal Application Error” when you turn it back on. Either run from internal memory (MyStorage), or exit TomTom before powering off. Running from internal memory would be the ideal solution. You can still keep the map on the SD card, and run the application from internal memory: TomTom will check the SD card for maps automatically.