Has anyone taken out their NAV hard drive (e.g. 2000 Lexus) and done any diagnostics for file structure, operating system, etc.? Doing a search on this forum brings up no results, nor does a search on Google groups.

I don't want to reinvent the wheel if someone has already put together some information on this topic.

My interest is trying to update the database, if *remotely* possible, without paying the $350 10-minute hard-drive swap from the dealer. But I *am* willing to pay Lexus for the data on DVD or find for free (I doubt) with open-source geographic data (don't even know if it exists.)

Is the database something that could be bought on DVD from Lexus, and then downloaded with new data and database to the removed hard-drive, with a computer intermediate using my cables/etc?

Thought I would get the ball rolling on this topic... a lot of us like a computer challenge. It's *just* 0's and 1's, right?

Doc Rings
San Diego

 

Hey man, you read my mind. I was thinking exactly that. The thought of paying Lexus $ 350.00 for 10 minutes of hard drive swaps, socks real good. Is got to be a way to go around it. I got the same problem(2000-GS-400) and I have not been able to upgrade my nav. It turns out that 1999 Lexus had 2 or 3 upgraded included on the warranty, but NOT the 2000 Lexus. So, I `ll wait until I can go around it. Josey ps : Am pretty sure there are a lot of guys with the same thought.

 

The harddrive is made by Fujitsu, labtop IDE 2.5GB (can't remember exactly the size) (you cant get the bare drive around $60). Data is stored in some unknown format. can't read from windows/Dos base machine, but can be cloned using an drive clone software. I havent try mine out yet, I am getting a second drive soon, maybe I will try to make an image from the drive and see what happen.

Anh

 

Sweet! I have not torn into the unit yet myself, but it would be nice to get a series of photos showing the removal of the unit, the hard-drive with step-by-step details, etc. Could be a great FAQ with lots of utility by alot of people! Keep your digital camera handy when you get started with your project!
Do you think the Lexus NAV DVD is just an "image" that one could place onto the hard-drive and have it boot like it would boot from the DVD?
Anyone have insight into this, or are the operating systems/BIOS/hardware too different?

Doc Rings

 

Do yo guys know if a GS400 Nav screen could fit in an SC400?

 

I would post that question as a separate new thread on the forum. This thread concerns the NAV hard drive.

PS: I don't know the answer to your question...

Doc Rings

 

That will be great. I`ll wait for your results. Don`t forget the camera shots; This is going to be a great FAQ for everybody. If it works, I`ll do it myself. josey

 

BananaGS, we await your results!
Doc Rings

 

The Hard drive is 2GB + or - a couple of hundred Meg.
The DVD is a Dual Layer DVD with almost 8 gig of data.
the DVD includes 2 seperate map data providers + canada data + more POI data.
The Map data on the DVD is a different format than data on HDD (different search areas..think of them as partitions)
The OS is proprietary DENSO software.
It is possible to clone from one hard drive to another, but not from DVD to HDD.
The hard drive is not stock, although it is made by fujitsu.
It has been hardened to withstand lower and higher temperatures than stock harddrives. (Automotive parts requirements).

Thats just a few points off the top of my head, ask specific questions, and I might be able to provide more helpful info.

 

Great information!

Anyone out there have an Lexus hard-drive with updated information on it I can buy to install (a legal original)???

Too bad it's proprietary, but if I was "them" I would do the same thing to maximize security (aka profit). It would be nice to open-source this sort of thing, but where would be the profit in that? The only "legal" way to do it would be to backward decrypt the data and encode it with open-source street data...

Doc

 

any more info on this??

also, i have a 98 LS. is free upgrade included in the warranty??
any input is appreciated
thanks

 

Nope. Too hard, too few beneficiaries. Now it's all DVD based.

The sad thing is that my friends Chevrolet has a better street database than my Lexus!