About Unlocking & Disclaimer
Unlocking
‘Unlocking’ is not the most appropriate word, but that is the most popular term used in Google searches for those wanting to increase the versatility of their Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs). For the average consumer, it is best that when powered on they go directly into GPS mode “out of the box” – the Mio C230 does one job and does it well!
The Mio C230 is actually a 400 MHz touch-screen computer running a compromised version of the MS Windows™ CE Core 5.0 Operating System along with a modified version of iGo MyWay Navigation software that we know as MioMap version 3.3. All we are doing by unlocking the C230 is renaming one folder, making room in the flash memory chip by moving a map file or two and then adding a few steps to the start-up sequence so that we are presented with a pseudo desktop to access and use other legal freeware software that is compatible with Windows CE, just like when you add Adobe Acrobat Reader to your PC at home.
Disclaimer
The information contained in this Blogsite is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by ameridan and blog readers and whilst we endeavour to keep the information up-to-date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of my Blog. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
A big feature of C230’s Blog is the unlock package(s) for Mio C230. The package contains programs, icons, scripts, desktop images and dynamic linked libraries. These contents can be downloaded from the Internet freely; we just package them together and make them work for Mio C230. If you are the author of the contents and you believe we have violated your copyright, please contact us and we will take your contents down immediately.
C230's Weblog 
eric orsini said
having recently got a mio c230s & looking into the unlocks & added features, i’m really impressed. what does trouble me is the need to do the hard reset. is there a way to avoid having to do this??
keep up the good work.
c230 said
With my build, after disconnecting from the PC, usually a soft reset will suffice.
cplspafford said
I have a question for anyone reading this. I just got my 230 a few weeks ago. When I plug the usb into the unit, I see an extra drive in my “my computer” but when I try to explore it I get an “I/O error” . Any suggestions?? Thank you in advanced, i really want to try unlocking it.
c230 said
A couple of things to try…
plug in with a different USB cable
plug into a different USB port on your PC
If you have a SD card, insert it into slot and link Mio to PC again; does your PC not see that either?
In my case, the problems were with the cheap retractable USB cable.
Good luck.
jim said
Having problems connecting my C230 to my computer. I get a message box
showing the device is not reconized in windows. Any suggestions?
Help. I was able to connect a couple of times and unlock and change the skins. I would like to make some more changes.
Please Help.
dominique said
Hi all,
Some informations that can help the c230’s unlocking scene.
here is the names of the programm that will be automatically executed when present on a sdcard :
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\Storage Card\GOCE.exe
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– executed after a hard reboot
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\Storage Card\Oscar91ADM.exe
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– executed after a suspend/unsuspend
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\Storage Card\autorun_ABC.exe
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– executed after a suspend/unsuspend
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\Storage Card\upgrade.exe
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– ? not yet tested
This will work with c230 with the original launcher.exe …
c230 said
Thank you Dominique!
I’m having fun with your Skin Trick too. Added the C230 config folder in the MioMap2\Skins folder so that C220 skins behave properly as well as icons you want to be uniform in all skins (like meaningful Favorites in my case, rather than an assortment of hearts).
Question:
Is what I call a soft reset, a SUSPEND? I haven’t heard that term before regarding a Mio GPS unit other than with the Suspend icon or perhaps the orange power button, but I don’t know that I’d want a program initiating every time I power up.
dominique said
when i write SUSPEND/Un SUSPEND i mean effectively pushing the orange power button twice, it is not a soft reset.
With a standard unlocked c230 when you put a sdcard it does a soft reset (ok). Miomap then starts. When miomap is ready (and you have left the sdcard in the slot), you push orange button once , the c230 goes in suspend mode and another push to the orange the c230 un suspend. Now if you have a program called Oscar91ADM.exe or (and) autorun_ABC.exe, the c230 will ask you if you want to run it … It can be off course an autorun.exe (renamed) from mortscript with the .mscr associated and then you can do what you want..
here it is a link that transform a standard c230 into a game machine (sure you will recognize some games and icons …) : http://tempest69.ovh.org/C230_Games_sample.rar
c230 said
Thanks for clarifying Dominique. I remember someone asking how the Unlock could be installed on a SD card, and I think you’ve just answered that one.
By the way I just released a new skin along with an example of your Skin trick. Thanks for sharing your findings!
jtracker said
Hi Everyone,
I’ve just got my unit and have unlocked ok, but I’m sure I messed something up since I can’t seem to get the all the themes I’ve loaded as shown in various areas.
I also just added themes from OP’s blog and I can’t switch between the two versions.
I tried to restore what was originally in the unit to get back to the beginning, but it doesn’t seem to help. Any idea what I’ve done wrong?
Thanks for everyones help.
JT
c230 said
At this point, I would undo whatever changes OP had you do. My Unlock package works great, but like any software, any alterations you make afterwards, you do at your own risk. Enjoy the unlock first and gradually make changes after you become more familiar. For instance, if you didn’t like the green theme, I explain how to manually make your changes, but for the most part you just replace your BACK.BMP file and tweak the placement of your icons.
By manually making theme changes, you can incorporate changes like OP’s with some forethought and knowledge.
Emily said
I just stumbled upon this weblog. I gor a C230 for Christmas and this looks super fun, but I don’t really understand what I’m reading. Do you have a page with a starting point set of directions?
Thanks~!
c230 said
This might be the best place to start.
Play around with it a little and determine if you want to kick it up a notch later, but I’ve done my best to make each blog comprehensive yet understandable, so if it isn’t clear, perhaps it’s best to have a teen friend assist you (they know it all, right?).
Emily said
that’s what I was looking for! thanks!
M13 said
Great site. I just got a C238. I live in Taiwan….but am a non-Chinese Canadian (so I can’t read the Chinese instructions…).
I can’t find the C238 on any English sites so I’m guessing it’s a local model….only offered here. Does that mean it’s crappier?
I’m guessing that the C230 is it’s closest cousin since that’s the only one I can find on English sites. Any info is appreciated.
Cathy said
Hi I have the mio c230s bought in Canada and I would like to get detailed USA maps and I am not sure how to do it. Could anyone please help me?
Thanks
Cathy
Sung said
Hi! I have Mio C230 asia version which include Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand maps. It it possible to unlock this version ? and where can I find Europe map for this C230?
c230 said
Sung,
Yes, it is possible to unlock, but I’m pretty sure my Unlock will not do the trick, nor do I know where you can obtain Europe maps. Check out http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=37 to see if MioPocket might help you out.
Alain said
Excellent software! I’ve try a couple of GPS and the C230 with your lite software are incredibles… I’ve 2 questions if you can help… How did you make icon text appear ? Like under the icon of the Game BallBreaker, it indicate Ball Breaker… I add AquaBall and AquaPearls but no icon text appear under… It seem to be include in the .ico I’ve try a couple of icon software but I don’t see where I can put an icon text… Second… When I quit Aquaball or AquaPearls, the taskbar appear at the bottom… In the taskbar I see the program MainShell. Do you know how I can ‘hide’ this…
ameridan said
Thank you Alain,
Perhaps this posting will help you with the icons: https://c230.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/all-new-iphone-look-icons-released/
Regarding the taskbar, simply toggle it off before starting the game(s).
Alain said
Thanks a lot.. With this thread I manage to understand how icons work… For the taskbar, it seems to turn automatically on with returning to the device… I use RunWait to start the game but it don’t seem to execute what is remaining in the script after exiting. Until I found how to resolve this, I will put a command to manually hide the taskbar.
ameridan said
Alain,
I don’t have access to my unit right now, but there is a difference between hiding the taskbar and turning it off.
Play around with it some more…
Alain said
I found that when using RunWait with somes games, the game is started but the script continue to run… When exiting, to game bring the task bar to the front. So I cannot use the base script to hide the taskbar since the script I terminated before. I will look to change to script to ‘sleep’ until the game is ended. But it’s ‘another game’ for me 😉 When I will do this I will keep you up to date.
I will look also at what you told me…
Regards
Alain