How much memory is too much or not enough?

[BigRich]

I just bought a Garmin 86 DriveSmart for a friend and it came with a 128GB uSD card for extra memory. The onboard memory is 16GB. Tech manual for the GPS says memory must be formatted FAT32.

I want to add enough extra memory without wasting it.

Should I format the 128GB uSD to FAT32 and use it or should I use a 32GB FAT32 uSD card I have instead?

I have had GPS’s for a long time and the maps do keep getting larger all the time but I don’t think I’ve gone past 16GB yet.

Assuming the new GPS uses more memory because it has more bells and whistles, what is a safe amount of “extra” memory to add without it being a waste?

 

[LostAgain]

Depends on how much extra data/maps one wants to put on the device as to how much extra storage might be required.
Yes you're correct, maps keep getting larger over time as more data is added to them.
I wouldn't bother changing to a smaller card, unless you want the larger card for yourself I guess, though they're pretty cheap nowdays anyway.
The extra unused space on the card does no harm if it's not being used, and it's there available if required without having to make an additional purchase or scrounge up another card from somewhere if the extra space is required in the future.

The internal storage of 16GB is for the device firmware and everything else Garmin puts on it so it has those bells and whistles, plus there has to be room for maps, GPX files and whatever else a user wants to put on it.
If a map update is too large for the available space the update will most likely fail which can cause issues, but if there's plenty of space available that shouldn't be an issue.

If a card is larger than 32 GB it must be formatted using the device, according to Garmin

 

[BigRich]

Depends on how much extra data/maps one wants to put on the device as to how much extra storage might be required.
Yes you're correct, maps keep getting larger over time as more data is added to them.
I wouldn't bother changing to a smaller card, unless you want the larger card for yourself I guess, though they're pretty cheap nowdays anyway.
The extra unused space on the card does no harm if it's not being used, and it's there available if required without having to make an additional purchase or scrounge up another card from somewhere if the extra space is required in the future.

The internal storage of 16GB is for the device firmware and everything else Garmin puts on it so it has those bells and whistles, plus there has to be room for maps, GPX files and whatever else a user wants to put on it.
If a map update is too large for the available space the update will most likely fail which can cause issues, but if there's plenty of space available that shouldn't be an issue.

If a card is larger than 32 GB it must be formatted using the device, according to Garmin

Thank you LostAgain".

I fully understand what you're saying. The person I bought the GPS for is like me, he will not be installing extra maps and I don't fully understand the "data" you and Garmin mention.

What data do people store on their GPS memory? Maybe this is what I'm missing. I've never stored anything but favorite destinations.

I realize memory is cheap but Garmin sells the device with 16 GB and it works like that. I was thinking that an extra 32GB would be more than it could ever use up in the lifetime of the device. I've had GPS's for many years and I usually end up adding some memory (not much, maybe the same amount as the device came with) before they stop working and I buy a new one anyway.

Garmin has some sort of contradictory statements regarding formatting extra memory cards. They do say that extra memory can be formatted in the device but they also say it should be formatted using a third party software on a PC.

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=Fhbvkb1ccLA06I7MdtsHH9
Here they say:

"MicroSD/SD memory cards 64 GB or larger cannot be formatted to FAT32 using standard Windows formatting tools. Third-party Windows software may be available which allows the memory card to be formatted in FAT32.

NOTE: An incorrectly formatted memory card is not compatible with the device and may display error messages or not be recognized at all.

Garmin Product Support is unable to provide support or guidance on which third-party software to use. If you are not comfortable with using a third-party software to format the memory card, we suggest using a smaller card size (32 GB or below) that can be formatted by Windows."

So I don't know why Garmin support says to use a smaller card if you don't want to use third party software. Even here, they are not 100% correct. There are Windows Power Shell commands that can format in FAT32 but the process takes VERY long to complete.

I have no problem using a third party software but I'm more interested in how much memory this device will ever need for the typical user like me. And, if the device runs out of memory, does it use the total amount installed (in my example 16 + 32 or 48GB) or does it stop using the onboard memory and switch to loading onto the added memory which would give you a total of 32GB in my example?

This may boil down to what "data" will be stored in the device besides the maps and destination stuff.

 

[BigRich]

FWIW, I installed the 128GB uSD card and the GPS did not recognize it, therefor no way to format it. I looked around on the GPS and could not find a format command. I used a utility called EaseUS Partition Manager (free version) under Win11 to format the uSD card to FAT32 and inserted it in the GPS.

I installed all updates and there is a little over 4GB left of the original 16GB, that, along with an extra 116GB of extra memory after the add-on card was formatted.

Here's what it looks like after all updates.

I would still like a description of how any space in the add-on memory is used if anyone knows? I can't see occupying 116GB with destinations and POI's but I don't know how big these data are.

 

[LostAgain]

No probs BigRich,
The data I was referring to is usually for new roads, tracks and whatever else is added to the maps with each update by whoever builds the maps, as the new data is added the size of the map grows.
I've been using the free OpenMapChest maps for street navigation on my Garmin devices for a few years now and notice whenever I update the size nearly always increases each time.

Other user data like waypoints, tracklogs, proximity alerts etc. can be stored in .GPX files, though these don't normally take up much room.
I have nearly 1100 personal waypoints and thousands of km's of tracks saved and all that comes to less than 40 MB in total.
Some devices can take screencaptures of what's displayed on the screen, one I have I know for sure uses the .bmp image format which is about 1.2 MB per pic, and if many captures are taken they can add up in size pretty quick.

One example of how the extra storage space might be required:
Say someone wants to travel the world and take their GPS with them.
So they decide to load the street and topographic maps for every country they wish to visit onto the GPS.
Chances are the total size of all those maps will be far greater than what's available on the device itself.

I'm not at all surprised with Garmin contradicting themselves, having to deal with them directly several times over the years to try and get bugs and device issues sorted it sometimes seems the left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing.
Nor am I surprised that the info I linked to in their online manual for the Drivesmart 86 with regards to formatting cards by the device itself failed.
Garmin is at times really lacking when it comes to testing and quality control, I guess that's one of the joys consumers can expect from a company having a monopoly.

I have no problem using a third party software but I'm more interested in how much memory this device will ever need for the typical user like me. And, if the device runs out of memory, does it use the total amount installed (in my example 16 + 32 or 48GB) or does it stop using the onboard memory and switch to loading onto the added memory which would give you a total of 32GB in my example?

I think that depends on how people are going to use their devices, how it's updated with new maps (Garmin software or manually), or what extra maps are possibly desired to be added at a future time etc..
As mentioned earlier, cards are cheap nowdays and getting one if required is usually easy enough and affordable.

I'm pretty sure Garmin software if used to update or install extra maps is supposed to check for enough memory/storage (I call it storage) and if there's not enough on the device, uses the extra space on the card, though I have no experience with updating maps using that method.

If I update maps on my devices I do it manually, plugging the device into the computer and removing the old map/s then replacing them with the new ones.
I paste the maps where I want to store them, in the Garmin folder on the device if there's room, or in a folder named Garmin on the extra storage if there's not enough room on the device.
Note that some maps, in particular Garmin proprietary maps, cannot be updated via this method and must be updated with the Garmin software.

 

[BigRich]

No probs BigRich,
The data I was referring to is usually for new roads, tracks and whatever else is added to the maps with each update by whoever builds the maps, as the new data is added the size of the map grows.
I've been using the free OpenMapChest maps for street navigation on my Garmin devices for a few years now and notice whenever I update the size nearly always increases each time.

Other user data like waypoints, tracklogs, proximity alerts etc. can be stored in .GPX files, though these don't normally take up much room.
I have nearly 1100 personal waypoints and thousands of km's of tracks saved and all that comes to less than 40 MB in total.
Some devices can take screencaptures of what's displayed on the screen, one I have I know for sure uses the .bmp image format which is about 1.2 MB per pic, and if many captures are taken they can add up in size pretty quick.

One example of how the extra storage space might be required:
Say someone wants to travel the world and take their GPS with them.
So they decide to load the street and topographic maps for every country they wish to visit onto the GPS.
Chances are the total size of all those maps will be far greater than what's available on the device itself.

I'm not at all surprised with Garmin contradicting themselves, having to deal with them directly several times over the years to try and get bugs and device issues sorted it sometimes seems the left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing.
Nor am I surprised that the info I linked to in their online manual for the Drivesmart 86 with regards to formatting cards by the device itself failed.
Garmin is at times really lacking when it comes to testing and quality control, I guess that's one of the joys consumers can expect from a company having a monopoly.


I think that depends on how people are going to use their devices, how it's updated with new maps (Garmin software or manually), or what extra maps are possibly desired to be added at a future time etc..
As mentioned earlier, cards are cheap nowdays and getting one if required is usually easy enough and affordable.

I'm pretty sure Garmin software if used to update or install extra maps is supposed to check for enough memory/storage (I call it storage) and if there's not enough on the device, uses the extra space on the card, though I have no experience with updating maps using that method.

If I update maps on my devices I do it manually, plugging the device into the computer and removing the old map/s then replacing them with the new ones.
I paste the maps where I want to store them, in the Garmin folder on the device if there's room, or in a folder named Garmin on the extra storage if there's not enough room on the device.
Note that some maps, in particular Garmin proprietary maps, cannot be updated via this method and must be updated with the Garmin software.

Thanks again LostAgain.

Since this new GPS is for a friend and he is not very technical I just installed the 128GB uSD. If it were mine, I'd use the 32GB uSD and if it ever ran out of space, I'd replace the card and restore from the most recent backup. I am almost certain my friend will not be doing backups even if I strongly suggest it.

I can guarantee neither my friend nor I will be loading any maps other than the USA. I do recall a GPS I had years ago forced me to only load the eastern US map because it had no room for the full USA.

My memory isn't that good, but I seem to recall that it had 4GB onboard and I added an 8GB uSD card and it seemed to move everything to the new storage and stopped using the onboard. Maybe that issue has been resolved but I wouldn't bet on it. They probably don't even consider it an issue.

I reiterate that I agree that memory is cheap but I would think there are a lot of GPS users that don't know how to get the exFAT uSD's reformatted to FAT32. Like I said, I could not find the format utility on the DriveSmart 86 and it did nothing when I plugged in the 128GB Lexar uSD which was formatted exFAT from the factory.

 

[BigRich]

Posting for informational purposes only...

FWIW, I just updated my two Garmin DriveSmart 65's. The older one was purchased in March of 2022 and the newer one was purchased in February 2023. They are identical except for saved destinations. The newer one is used more and demanded more memory about a year ago. I added a 32GB uSD.

The older one still has a little less than 4 GB left of the original 16GB. The new one has moved to the add-on card by a little over what it had left when it needed more storage.

Here is what the newer GPS with the add-on memory looks like today with my normal usage over the past 2 years and 9 months.

 

[Motorcoach Driver Steve]

Another data point FWIW -- I used to have memory concerns with my old Zumo, but with a DS66 and now a DS76, I've never come remotely close to needing any added memory. I use Garmin maps, load all of North America and keep them up to date. I do all my trip planning in BaseCamp and when I take a trip, I delete previous data from the device and load the data only for that trip. I have it set to not record tracks. I always have over 4Gb of available storage even with a long trip loaded. My BaseCamp data currently includes 2899 saved waypoints and 2615 saved routes from 10 years of travel. The complete backup of all that data creates a file about 0.1Gb in size, so even if I kept everything on the device and didn't use BaseCamp, I don't think I could ever come close to needing any added storage. Of course it depends on how you use it, but there's just one more data point to consider.