Hi everyone. New to the forum.I need some help please. The maps DVD I have is the 2008/1 so I am quite happy with the version. My screen though reads SW 4 1/50 which I suppose is too old a software. My local dealership wants a lot of money to upgrade my system, so I thought I might do it myself. Is it safe for me to upgrade the software myself, does anyone you know?I am OK with the process of how to download and burn the image etc, I am just a bit unsure on whether I need to upgrade the firmware. I have read about problems with stuck CDs etc, and I am a bit apprehensive about going on with the upgrade. Could anyone tell me what the benefits would be if I was to upgrade? I am a bit frightened to have a go, just in case I muddle things up. Please help! Thanks!

I think you should definitely install the latest update.

First of all, check here to see all the history you need regarding the changes since 4-1/50, the most significant of which is Perspective Mode which you don't have.

If you're confident with downloading files and burning images then you shouldn't have any real problem. The install process in your car is very straightforward as long as you follow the procedure exactly.

The file in the very first post of this thread will download as a 97.5MB (or thereabouts) .rar WinRAR file. When extracted you will have a 250MB (or thereabouts) .ISO file. Burn this image to a disc using MagicISO, ImgBurn, Nero or whatever in Mode 2. Once burned, open the disc to view the contents, you should have approximately 13 folders and 41 files immediately visible, the majority of the files are SoftConfig.table files. These figures only relate to this v32 disc of course, but it's just a rough confirmation check that you've burnt the disc correctly.

The install procedure is described in many locations on here, and is as follows :

1) Open tailgate and driver's door and leave open
2) Go to the boot and wait for the red light on your nav unit to go out, which may take a couple of minutes, be patient!
3) Eject the map disc, I've found that you need to press the eject button twice to do this, once to wake the unit up and once to eject the disc
4) Go back to the front and switch the ignition to position 1 - DO NOT close the driver's door!
5) Return to the boot and insert your newly-burned software disc
6) Look forward and observe the screen, it may go black for a few seconds and should then show "Software will update"
7) The update process will start and a progress bar will appear at the bottom of the screen, this phase may take up to 6 minutes
8) When the "Reboot" screen eventually appears, eject the software disc, go to the front and confirm reboot by pressing the right hand button
9) Return to the boot and insert the map disc.

Don't rush the process, if your screen goes black and doesn't start the update process (Step 6) after 10 minutes or so then you have a problem, however, if you're methodical with the entire process, right from the file download point, then all should be absolutely fine.

You will probably then want to carry out the next few steps :

1) Log onto X5 World and ask how to select Perspective Mode :rofl:
2) Select Perspective Mode, the majority like it but a handful don't
3) Log onto X5 World and tell us all that you've fallen in love with your nav system all over again, and that you can't believe you haven't done this before!
12) Feel proud that you've just saved yourself the huge amount the Dealer was going to charge!

I think that's about it, I'm sure others will probably fine tune the process above. Additionally, which 2008-1 disc do you have and does it have i-TMC? (aka Traffic Messaging) this is indicated by the presence of "TMC" at the bottom middle of your nav screen. If not, there's a few of us who can point you in the right direction to get the latest 2008-2 disc with i-TMC.

If you're not confident with the download and burning process, the same source above will also provide you with disc v32.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I have TCM on my 2008/1. I noticed though that with 2007/2 I was able to chose direction of travel for the pointer, now it is only due north. Is it because of my old software? I would not say no to 2008-2 version though, if someone could offer it to me. I am a bit tight on money at the moment (new baby comming) so I cannot really spend much for it. Will try an update I think, although I would appreciate a screenshot or two comparing ''perspective mode to the one I have to see if it is worth it, since you say this is the main noticeable difference...

Thanks again!

I'm just guessing here, but I believe some map discs need a certain level of software to run correctly, this maybe why your 2008-1 won't give you direction of travel. Someone else will no doubt confirm or deny that.

You should definitely carry out the update. Although Perspective view is an obviously significant visible change there are bound to be several 'background' improvements which you would benefit from.

The first few pictures HERE show how your screen will look during the software update procedure, and pictures 5 to 8 HERE give an idea of what Perspective view is like. Ignore the first few pictures in the second link as UCrewX5 was loading a v26 beta update version, so you will not see the screenshots in pictures 3 and 4 during a normal update. In picture 8 the zoom level is 2.5 miles, but the view is better the more you zoom in. I'm sure there are better Perspective pictures elsewhere on here, have a look around.

thanks a lot for that. This looks good. i think i will upgrade. If only I was less worried about messing my navigation system up I would have done it already...Thanks again!

As long as you go about it the correct way I'm sure there'll be no problems.

Thanks. You mentioned mode 2 in Nero, but for some reason i can only get mode 1. I used Clone Cd and it burned correctly, if the '13 folders, 41 files' are any proof that things worked. It should be OK then, it seems the CD burned fine.What are the main reasons for CDs getting stuck in the unit? I have read that this is a problem hard to overcome. Certainly my local dealership would love to charge me through the nose to rectify this, should anything goes wrong. This is what worries me the most, as I am really tight with money these days. I am looking forward to your reply. Thanks for your time and effort, mostly appreciated.

P.S: I own a 330 Si Se, not an X5

In Nero StartSmart, select "Nero Burning Rom" in the applications menu on the left hand side of the screen. The main window will come up as well as "New Compilation" window, in this window select the ISO tab and the top "Data mode" box is where you select Mode 1 or Mode 2. Use the other tabs to set the appropriate criteria such as burn speed etc, then click on the "Open" tab in the bottom right of the window, locate the downloaded ISO file and burn it.

However, you seem to have done OK with CloneCD, you can crosscheck your procedure with the CloneCD method and screenshots HERE

Here is some advice from KiwiJochen on another thread :

Do not burn at 1x.
Burn at the lowest speed supported by your media that you use.
If you try to burn at a speed not supported by your media, you will get a bad burn.

After the burn do a surface scan and error check using eg Nero DiscSpeed

A perfect CD has:
1. Good surface scan
2. Zero C1 and C2 errors.

In reality a few (around 100 or so) C2 errors occur.

With regard to CDs getting stuck, this normally afflicts Mk III units when a Mode 1 CD is used to try and update the software, the unit simply crashes. On Mk IV units Mode 1 or 2 is fine.

To release a stuck CD the 3 minute method works fine and can be found HERE

I used a Cd I burn on 4x speed in Alcohol 120%
This is what the test revealed. I guess this is a fail? :dunno:

I can see the contents of the CD in my computer though, so I am really confused....

I did the test on a different disk I burned on clone CD at speed 1x and these are the results: