hhm i know nowt about gps as i dont have but in hyperterminal you should see a com port as an option, is this com4 like you have above? have any others?

try checking the com port available, i assume com4 from above.

have a look at this link

http://www.ni.com/support/serial/verhyper.htm

does it do what it should? probably does which would lead me to think driver issue or duff cable/ gps device

Post a screenshot of your PC's device manager (while your Garmin is pluuged in), any missing drivers should show up as a question mark in there.

Big version here

Right – i have tried 3 cables and 3 drivers on 3 laptops – outcome is negative on each combo.

Are there any settings on the unit its self to prevent communication with a laptop?

Are there any settings on the unit its self to prevent communication with a laptop?

Page 62 of the manual here – http://www8.garmin.com/manuals/eTrexVista_OwnersManual.pdf

Have you tried any other software or just MM? I had problems getting my Edge 305 talking to MM, but it was fine with MapSource and Sport Tracks.
I'd try it with the web updater http://www8.garmin.com/products/webupdater/howtoinstall.jsp or GPS Unitility http://www.gpsu.co.uk/gpsrecs.html

It could be that the unit is just borked?

Are there any settings on the unit its self to prevent communication with a laptop?

From memory – go to

Main Menu > Set up > Interface
& check that the serial data is set to 'Garmin'

Try this to check if you can get connected in hyperterminal (to prove the cable/device s working)…

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/GPS_Serial_to_USB

Download the latest driver for your version of Windows from the BAFO driver’s page at: http://bafo.com/bafo/prodrivers.asp. Unzip it, and then connect the serial to USB adapter. The "Add New Hardware" wizard will likely see the new device. Give the wizard the location of the file that you downloaded and follow the instructions.

Once it is finished you can also test the GPS connection by setting your GPS to NMEA mode, then starting HyperTerminal (Start->Accessories->Communications->HyperTerminal). Create a new connection using com3 and setting the speed to 4800 bits per second. You should then start seeing NMEA sentences.

Right – Just been on the phone to Garmin tech support.

Essentially the cable and drivers are fine as proved by using hyperterminal, the unit will communicate using NMEA.

We the tried manual and web updater (SET ON GARMIN IN THE INTERFACE), neither would even find the unit. Diagnosis from Mr Garmin is that the software is corrupt in the unit and as it won't connect to any updater, no way of fixing it.

Very annoying as the unit works perfectly recording routes etc, just no way of transferring data onto or off the unit!!

£42 and £6 postage for anew one direct from garmin! Anyone reckon they can fix it?

You see that last post I put up? – did you try that?

Because mine is definitely is set to Garmin not NMEA

mine is set to garmin when i try to connect – using nmea proves that the cable will communicate etc.

Try using gpsbabel to get the routes, see the wiki link I posted.

http://www.gpsbabel.org/

Where are you based?

£42 and £6 postage for anew one direct from garmin!

That's a decent price – I'd go for that UNLESS you do a lot of riding under trees, in which case I'd upgrade to a H model.

duckers – peak district

Ahh,, out of my way,, sorry!!

downloaded gpsbabel – how would that help me to communicate with the garmin?

Using gpsbabel you may be able to upload/download data from your etrex.

how?

gpsbabel wont help if the comms bit of the unit is borked.

how can i check (via gps babel) if it will communicate?

Have you tried a complete hard reset?

http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=136623