I have a Garmin Etrex Venture HC that will not display the screen. I was setting it up last week for a trip, and it was working fine, had it on for about 2 hrs with new batteries. The problem started when I tried to use thier updater from the offical Garmin website to update my device. The 1st attempt failed due to thier web site having some issues, so I went to a friends house the next night, and he hooked it up to his computer, via usb port, and went to the Garmin web site. Everything seemed to be downloading fine, all downloaded and complete, but when I went to turn on the unit the screen blips for a milisecond, like it wants to come on then nothing happens, if you watch real close you can see the screen blip about every 10-15 seconds in the gary screen mode, like it wants to come on, but nothing. I tried a hard boot, still nothing. Could there be something wrong with the unit, or could it be the software that Garmin is using that may have caused the problem? What stinks is that I really needed it for my trip, didn't get to use it though, and they want $80.00 to send it in and repair it. I didn't even pay that much for the unit from a member here on BPL. The unit looks brand new and was working fine until I downloaded the updater from Garmin.
Any suggestions? Help!

Edited by jumpbackjack on 10/19/2011 23:50:21 MDT.

1. Are you positive that the batteries are good?
2. You don't know how the unit worked before you bought it.
3. Garmin Repair probably won't tell you anything much for free.
4. It is possible that the update procedure got scrambled, and it can't get a good checksum on the new software load, so it is just shutting down. When the display acts that way, it is a moderately bad sign.
5. If you need something workable in a hurry, then your best bet is to "walk away" from that malfunctioning unit and buy a new one.
6. If you need something workable but not in a hurry, then your best bet is to get the malfunctioning unit repaired by Garmin Repair.

I had one 1997-model Garmin go on the fritz about year 1998, so I sent it to Garmin Repair and they did it for free while it was in warranty. The repaired unit worked much better than ever before.

--B.G.--

You don't appear to be the only person to have encountered something like this. There appears to be a possible way to retry or force the update, detailed here:

http://brilliantcorners.org/2007/04/fixing-a-dead-garmin-gpsmap-60csx