TomTom Via 52 - Won't boot (glitchy cog wheel then red X screen) software corrupted?

[adamnewt]

Hi there,

I have a Tomtom Via 52 model 4AP54 serial EM2099I02321. The model is old and the battery wouldn't hold charge. It just kept turning itself off before it had a chance to really boot up at all. Eventually it would just display a glitchy cog wheel followed by a screen showing a depiction of the device connected to a computer, with a red X on the cable between the two.

I've tried the following so far:

• I'm a tinkerer so I opened it up, located the battery and ordered a new one online. New battery in, put the thing back together, starts up and stays on this time (i.e. new battery working ok). However same glitchy cog wheel and error message coming up. Googled around, found that it could either be the software corrupted by the dead battery, or a hardware issue.
  
  
• Tried "soft reset" (hold down power button for 20 sec or so) multiple times. This caused no change. There's no reset button on the Via 52 that I can see and according to a google search.
  
  
• I downloaded both TomTom Mr Drive Connect and TomTom Home. I get the usual "usb device connected" sound on windows when I connect it to the PC, but neither My Drive Connect or Home were able to recognise the device. I couldn't get past the stage where it tells you to plug in the device and turn it on. In Windows "Device Manger", the TomTom is only coming up as "Remote NDIS compatible device".
  
  
• I found forums with people talking about using clear_flash.exe to try and get it to work. Downloaded clear_flash.exe but again, it's not recognising the device. I can't get past the point where clear_flash asks me to plug in and turn on the device.

I guess you're going to say that it's probably a hardware issue, but I'm convinced it's the software that's been corrupted by the battery being low and running out. It's been like that for so long. For over a year already it would only work at all if it was plugged into the car. Many, many times it'll do the drum sound, immediately run out of bat, realise it's plugged in to the car, immediately turn itself on, drum sound, immediately run out of bat, and repeat and repeat. I'm sure the bat was completely dead and the software got corrupted.

I was wondering if there's anything else at all anyone can suggest I try before I give up and chuck this little guy in the bin? It's not worth the cost of sending it in to TomTom or a third party to fix it. And it's definitely not in warranty any more.

Thanks so much!

 

[Scout]

Hi there,

I have a Tomtom Via 52 model 4AP54 serial EM2099I02321. The model is old and the battery wouldn't hold charge. It just kept turning itself off before it had a chance to really boot up at all. Eventually it would just display a glitchy cog wheel followed by a screen showing a depiction of the device connected to a computer, with a red X on the cable between the two.

I've tried the following so far:

• I'm a tinkerer so I opened it up, located the battery and ordered a new one online. New battery in, put the thing back together, starts up and stays on this time (i.e. new battery working ok). However same glitchy cog wheel and error message coming up. Googled around, found that it could either be the software corrupted by the dead battery, or a hardware issue.
  
  
• Tried "s
  [...]

• 
  
  The "Remote NDIS compatible device" showing in Device Manager is actually the key clue here. This means Windows is seeing the TomTom but identifying it as a network adapter rather than a mass storage device, which is what TomTom software and clear_flash.exe need it to appear as. This typically happens when the device is stuck in a recovery/bootloader mode rather than its normal operating mode, and it prevents the usual tools from doing anything useful.
  
  Here are some things worth trying:
  
  Driver swap approach: In Device Manager, right-click the "Remote NDIS compatible device" entry and choose "Update driver" > "Browse my computer" > "Let me pick from a list". Try switching it to a generic USB mass storage driver or a WinUSB driver. Some people have had success using Zadig (a free tool) to forcibly replace the RNDIS driver with WinUSB or libusb, after which clear_flash.exe or MyDrive Connect can then detect the unit. This is probably your most promising next step.
  
  Try a different USB port and cable: Use a USB 2.0 port (not USB 3.0) and try a different cable if you have one. Some powered USB hubs can also help with recognition issues.
  
  Timing of connection: With clear_flash.exe, the sequence matters. Start clear_flash first, then connect the device while it is already showing the red X screen (not while it is mid-boot). Some versions of the tool require the device to already be sitting on that error screen before it will detect it.
  
  Manual firmware recovery: If none of the above works, there is a manual recovery method sometimes called "dead device recovery" for TomTom units where you place specific firmware files directly onto the device storage if you can get it to mount as a drive at all. The TomTom Go / Via recovery firmware files for the 4AP54 hardware can sometimes be found on specialist GPS recovery sites. If you can share whether Zadig helps you get the drive to mount, that would narrow things down considerably.
  
  Your instinct that this is a software/firmware corruption rather than hardware is reasonable given the history of repeated low-battery shutdowns mid-boot. That exact scenario is a well-known cause of filesystem or bootloader corruption on TomTom devices.
  
  This is an automated reply from the GPS Forums AI assistant. AI can make mistakes, so please double-check anything important.
  
  Prefer no AI replies to your own posts? Manage your AI reply settings