Trying to upgrade my gen 2/3 2002 nav, version 1. Bought burned version 7, did not read disc. Got refund. Bought burned version 8, worked for a day, then system crashed, got refund. Tried an actual OEM version 2 from a friends car, which worked with totally different menu screens but only static instead of voice which makes me think it was not gen 2/3.
I'm about to buy another version 2, this time oem not burned.
This one is not refundable.

My question: is it actually possible to ruin the nav hardware itself (static instead of speech) from a burned disc? I would think not but....

tia to fellow sc nav sufferers.

 

You have two problems. When you upgrade from Ver 1.0 NAV data, the disc also upgrades the OS, which stays with the NAV. After that, your NAV will not read a version 1.0 data disc any more, so you cannot return to your original disc. Those copies may well have updated your OS. If they were good copies, they should have.
Anyway, what you have found out about burned NAV copies is that it is very hard to make a good working copy. They are very unreliable for several reasons. First, it's a dual layer DVD of the data type, not of the movie type. Many copies try to compress the 8GB of data into 4.4GB of data and burn it to a single layer DVD. Those are really bad copies. When you try to burn to a DL DVD, you run into two other problems. Often the layer break is not located in the right place, and changing to a different search area will freeze up the system. More importantly, as far as I can tell, all computer DVD burners burn Dual Layer disc from the center out for layer 1 and then from the outside in for the second layer, because that's the way movies are burned, to avoid a gap when switching layers. Data discs don't care about little skips like that, so DVD-ROMs (data only) are burned from the inside to the outside on both layers; computer burners just cannot do that (I am told). Also, some (maybe 50%) of burners allow you to change the booktype to DVD-ROM. Otherwise, the booktype is DVD-R or DVD+R. The NAV system looks to be sure the disc is a booktype of DVD-ROM, so if the copy was made without a change in the booktype (DVD-R only; the DVD+R cannot be changed), it will never work correctly. Finally, for reasons that are not clear to me, even a good copy will freeze up every once in a while, even after working correctly for months. The OEM copies will never do this.
So, all in all, copies are very hard to make and even the best copies do not work all the time. And of course, if you are buying a copy, rather than simply burning a copy for your own use as a backup (which is legal), you have no idea what the original data was, despite what is offered.
It's a mess to try to get a good copy of a NAV DVD. It can be done, but it's a long shot and not worth the time.

 

wow thanks. But, can the bad copies actually ruin the hardware itself, or will the lexus oem dvd now work? I will try and see if a dealer has a gen 2/3 for me to try......

 

No. A bad copy won't "ruin" hardware. If the system can't read the disc, it just say's "bad disc." Try putting in a CD or a movie; the hardware will not melt down, catch on fire or otherwise self-destruct. (Nor will it phone in to Lexus World Headquarters.)
The only permanent effect is that a disc newer than ver 1 will upgrade the OS (which then stays) and thereafter the system will not read the version 1 data disc ever again. However, it will read all others, and you can go from 5 to 3 to 8, etc., at any time.
What did you think was going to happen?

 

I understand that the hardware can't be damaged. Actually, what I am wondering is could there be permanent damage to the operating system, which I have read about I think in this forum but may be urban legend.
That is, since the new upgraded discs can change the basic OS to no longer accept v1, can they not only change the OS but corrupt the OS permanently.
I tried what I think was an OEM v2 and speech was garbled, making me think the OS was corrupted by the bootleg.

 

If you upgraded with a copy, then the copy tried to or did upgrade your OS to the newer version. If that was a bad copy, it is very possible that the system had trouble reading it, or that certain files were corrupted. Perhaps a OEM disc will correct it, perhaps not. I have no idea. Perhaps the dealers can tap into the system and install the OS from scratch (a clean install), which would erase your stored points, but that can't be a big loss. If a new OEM disc does not work, then I'd say the OS was screwed up by the copy, and maybe a dealer can reset the system for you. Good luck.