If you find my research, weblogs, email responses and script packages useful, please consider making a donation to my coffee fund. Being retired (yep, that’s where I get all the time) it WILL be greatly appreciated!
If you decide to contribute, click on the cup-o-coffee and please donate at least $2.00 so PayPal doesn’t get it all.
Thank you!!
 | moskafim on Restore DVD for Mio C230 |
 | ameridan on Restore DVD for Mio C230 |
| moskafim on Restore DVD for Mio C230 |
| moskafim on Restore DVD for Mio C230 |
| moskafim on Restore DVD for Mio C230 |
| ameridan on Restore DVD for Mio C230 |
| moskafim on Restore DVD for Mio C230 |
| ameridan on Restore DVD for Mio C230 |
 | raj on Restore DVD for Mio C230 |
| ameridan on Unlocking the Mio C230 –… |
 | Guy on Unlocking the Mio C230 –… |
 | Rich on Restore DVD for Mio C230 |
| ameridan on Restore DVD for Mio C230 |
 | GIULIANO on Restore DVD for Mio C230 |
 | Malenda on Unlocking the Mio C230 –… |
C230's Weblog 
Siva said
I really appreciate your work and dedication to make c230 so robust. Many Thanks.
-Siva
c230 said
Siva,
I thank you very much!
Dan
robb1 said
May your coffee cup remain filled and hot! Thanks for your efforts.
c230 said
Thank you Rob, you put a smile on my face 🙂
Dan
franz dur said
I don’t even have my C230, should be here (Provence in France) in a few days), but I read your very interesting blog and appreciate your efforts. Hope to use your scripts soon 🙂
All the best
Francis
c230 said
Merci Francis,
I thank you very much! My first European supporter.
In the file autopatcher.mscr in the \MioMap\MioMap folder, you will note the following:
#The following line changes the default time zone from GMT to GMT-5 (EST); if it doesn’t apply either comment it out or export your register key after manually changing the time zone and replace.
RegWriteBinary (“HKLM” , “Time”, “TimeZoneInformation”, “2c0100004500610…….
^ You may simply wish to comment (type # as the first character of that line) out the time zone as you are probably pretty close to GMT.
#The following line updates the 2007 DST changes for EST zone; see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923027 for info on updating DST for other time zones.
RegWriteBinary (“HKLM” , “Time Zones\Eastern Standard Time”, “TZI”, “2c01000000000000c4f….
^ You may simply wish to comment (type # as the first character of that line) out the Daylight Savings Time portion as well, since this probably doesn’t apply in Europe?
Hope you enjoy your Unlocked C230!
franz dur said
Bonsoir Dan,
Thanks for the advice, time her is GMT +1 or +2 (daylight saving), i will set it accordingly. .
I’ll be most probably back in a few days with more questions once I have the unit.
Bonne année
Francis
benblue said
Just stuffed a few bills in your mug.
Thanks for all the help making the Mio that much better. 😉
c230 said
Benblue,
I thank you very much for the donation!
CD said
Drink up, friend!
c230 said
CD,
I thank you very much. You’ve givin me a lot of good suggestions 🙂
I’ll respond to them in the appropriate comments section.
Jim Warters said
Excellent work! Forwarded a few beans for the pot. Best — Jim
P.S. Mio should definitely put you on contract!!
c230 said
Franz,
Reading Amida’s blog: http://computerbits.wordpress.com/2007/12/26/how-to-unlock-mio-c230-release-3/#comment-7916
contact303’s comments at the bottom don’t sound too encouraging as far as using either of our unlock packages on the European version of the C230, so I wanted to caution you to make sure to follow the instructions closely and back-up data.zip, so if it indeed doesn’t work you can easily restore your unit.
Actually if it is just the data.zip that isn’t the same, then you probably shouldn’t copy Amida’s file, but rather edit the file yourself to unhide the Exit button. Perhaps that is all that is required to make the Unlock package compatible! If MioUtility is named different, we can accomodate that by putting the file name in the ini file(s).
-Dan
c230 said
Jim,
Thank you for the kind words and generous donation!
-Dan
Doug Wilson said
Thanks for all your work and efforts!
Doug
c230 said
Doug,
I thank you very mych for your donation and feedback!
I replied in detail to your feedback in that thread.
Dan
Lucas said
Mio c230 – $150.00
2gb SD card – $20.00
Coffee fund donation – $15.00
Owning a highly customizable PND with text-to-speech that saves routes, optimizes routes, plays music and video, show photos, play games, tells time, calculates, takes notes and more… all for well under $200.00 –
PRICELESS!!!
Thanks for the cool work!
Ed
c230 said
I thank you for the kind words and donation Ed.
David (Labman) said
Sent $10 thank you so much will probably make another donation soon after I get the Data.zip file working lol you rock!
c230 said
David,
Thank you very much for the donation. Sorry I wasn’t online at the time you were having a hard time, but glad to hear that the extra code I added helped. It tells me that you didn’t put the scripts folder in the root of flash drive, but instead put it into the MioMap folder along with the downloaded MioMap folder.
I added that extra code that kicks in if the script folder isn’t installed properly to help you identify the problem rather than just freezing up.
bulldog485 said
Have a few pots on me in appreciation of the joy your upgrades have brought. I look forward to seeing more magic as we get further into 2008.
Any motorcycle route planning in the works???
c230 said
bulldog,
I just mad a pot of coffee and logged in. Thank you very much!! There is more coming! As far a motorcycle route planning, is there a unique aspect to it that I am unaware of? My next release will allow you to choose font sizes for the maps – that would probably help on a bike. The larger font would make the map a little easier to read.
One thought that comes to mind – by adhering a microphone / transmitter to the rear of the Mio, similar to the units in your helmets, wouldn’t you be able to hear the Mio through your conversation system? Or would it be easier to do the headphone jack mod and plug in a transmitter?
Dan
strider_mt2k said
Awesome work.
c230 said
Thank you strider!
Mike said
Please enjoy your coffee,
Awsome work,
-Mike AKA davvinchi
c230 said
Thank you Mike! I hadn’t tried out the Chess game until today to test the script mod. It’s a great program, and maybe I’ll learn how to play chess now with it.
strider_mt2k said
Hey I’m sorry guys, but I’m not sure where else to ask this.
You seem like the folks who are “doing stuff” and that’s where I’m at right now too.
I’d like to find a decent little Solitaire game I can install on my C230 and possibly integrate into the menu if I can. Maybe swap it for the Lights On or the Free Cell games. I’m running the 3.4 mod.
It seems like it might be as easy as installing into the WinCE system, but I’m not sure what would be compatible, as I am a complete newcomer to Windows CE 5.0 at this level, though I come from a Palm OS background and build PCs and stuff.
I don’t know if WinCE is backwards compatible as far as apps are concerned, or even how to install them, but I’m looking for some tutorials in the meantime.
c230 said
I’ve been searching myself as I too would like to play it. Version 3.5 will have a seperate Games page, so if a stable Solitaire game is revealed, it will be included!
Let’s take further discussions on this to this thread though: https://c230.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/unlocking-the-mio-c230-version-34-with-route-screen-settings-management/
🙂
Evan said
Dan,
The Garmin Zumo is designed for motorcycles. They have a feature which chooses roads that are more fun to ride. With your new skin, we have 4 choices (Fast/Short/Ecconimical/Easy), so I’m not sure if a “motorcycle” choice would be any different then the choices we have, but it might be worth looking into. A motorcycle route is neither fast or ecconimical, but rather a route that takes it’s time and sees the sights. Twisty roads and backroads (paved) are prefered. Not sure if these are possible.
As far as a microphone for the unit, that is not a good idea. The wind would distort anything that comes out of the speaker. Rather, for those who want it, the headphone jack mod you have listed would be a better choice. That way, a rider could either plug in a FM modulator, bluetooth transmitter or a helmet headphone. Me personally, I’ll just deal with it and hope that if I need the voice TTS, that it is loud enough. If not, then I’ll just mute the whole thing and live with it. I don’t use a comm system anyway but rather listen to my stereo and the sounds of the road. The GPS voice might be muted anyway…
Once again, great work and look forward to seeing what the future brings… My big project right now is coming up with an acceptable method to mount the Mio C230 to my motorcycle…
Bulldog…
c230 said
Bulldog,
The route options are defined by iGo, so although we were able to unhide “Easy”, I don’t believe any other options were written. Be aware that the Mio isn’t known to tolerate “extreme” heat, so hopefully there is a spot on your bike that shields the direct sulight, yet doesn’t block the GPS signal. 🙂
Stan Sloan said
I just added some java to the coffee fund to show my appreciation for your work. I have unlocked my C230 with your instructions (3.4) and will be looking your way for additional assistance as this old guy learns how to manipulate this technology. Thanks!
c230 said
Stan,
I thank you very much. I spend more time writing up the instructions, than I do some of the actual changes and I’ll help in any way I can.
Glmwpg said
Thanks for all your hard work. In the 2 months of owning my Mio it has been to Winnipeg Canada (home), Minneapolis MN, North Dakota, Miami, and Puerto Rico. This is a somewhat basic value GPS unit, but enhanced with the community support it easily lines up with much much more expensive units.
Get yourself the biggest coffee you can, you’ve earned it!
c230 said
glm from wpg,
I thank you very much. A good French Roast today! Yes, you have a well-travelled Mio, and the additional Unlock capabilities probably come in very handy for you!
Mathew said
Enjoy your coffee.. Keep up the great work. 😀
c230 said
I thank you Mathew!
Ari said
Hey thanks for your effort. I just donated (not much…I am a poor student) :). My C230 looks fantastic with your hack !!
c230 said
Ari,
I thank you very much! I appreciate every donation as well as the positive feedback. That is actually what drives me to continue; seeing what everyone is working to improve upon and adding my time and labor to help if possible.
Ari said
Enjoy your cofee! I have a few questions and hoping you could answer them.
1) I wanted to have the default factory skin as one of the skin options so I put it in the skins folder on the SD card along with other (quicksilver and ameridan) skins. Now there is no exit option for the factory skin. I know you have created ax exit button for it but the data.zip file can’t be downloaded (gives page not found error) for that.
2) C230 fails to exit a few applications and just hangs – such as calculator (which doesn’t even have a back/exit button), extra tools like pdf viewer, word doc viewerr, excel viewer. Also, the explorer button on the main page doesn’t work at all. It just shows the orange Mio Digiwalker screen and hangs
Again, thanks for yout tremendous effort. I feel like I own a $500 GPS
Davvinchi said
Once the explorer is open click down at the very bottom of the screen and the task bar should pop up. most of the apps that don’t have exit buttons can be exited though the task bar. hope this helps. I sometimes use my fingernail to get the toolbar if i didn’t set the stylus right.
C230 Excellent job on the continuing upgrades enjoy your cafe’. I have 3 friends that are all buying the c230 cause your upgrades make it the best value out there. -Mike
c230 said
Ari,
1) The ameridan skin is a factory skin with a few enhancements including an Exit button. An actual factory skin is expected to behave as you describe, because it is not compatible with the Unlock scripts without a means to Exit. One option we weren’t aware of until Dominique posted the Skin trick was actually adding the one file with the Exit Door mod to the Skin folder in MioMap2, but if you are switching skins, that might mess up other Skins.
2) All these questions are answered in the blog – The calculator does have an Exit button (click on About first) and the Explorer does work, you just have to click in the lower right corner with your stylus the first time after a reset and select Desktop. This then fixes the toolbar as well. The instructions do cover all of these issues.
[Thanks Davvinchi, we were both typing a reply at the same time]
Ari said
I am sorry for asking questions that have already been answered in the Blog. I was a little overwhelmed with the amount of information and somehow missed those relevant parts. Thanks for your patience Ameridan. Thanks to Mike too
Ari said
Enjoy some more coffee !!
c230 said
Thank you once again Ari!!
dominique said
Hi, it’s not coffee, but i think it might be of interest …
http://dl.free.fr/bSvmzky17/cab_file.rar
Here you will find 3 files :
– wceload.exe : it is the windows cab installer
– unload.exe : it is the windows cab uninstaller (did not work for me)
– iomogu.cab a little game in a .cab to test and play :.) with wceload.exe aygshell.dll missing so must be copied after the cab installation in the folder of the game – wceinf is missing cab file adding function :.(.
To install a .cab (cab is deleted after install):
wceload.exe nameofthecab.cab
it is more easy to register this prog with “.cab”…
the installation creates a .unload file in the /windows folder and normally unload.exe is used to uninstall the .cab (did not work for me)
Bye
PS : still working with activesync …
c230 said
Merci Dominique.
Too bad WCELOAD doesn’t register itself like MortScript does. I’ve just finished modifying autopatcher so that cabFiles are associated with wceload.exe in the registry (took 2 hours to get the quote marks just right!), so that now users can just double-click on cab files to install! I tried PHM PowerToys ARM.cab and they all installed!
[ I’ve created a StickiNote on this topic to continue development and for related comments ]
Chris said
Great work! As an IT worker (and soon to be semi-retired as well) I’m very impressed by the hacks. The Geocaching option is the one that finally prodded my donation to the coffee fund. Can you elaborate on how to install it? I’ve got a C230 with a 2gb SD card.
Thanks again,
Chris
c230 said
Chris,
I thank you very much!!
Although I haven’t heard back from anyone yet, you should be able to copy the BeeLineGPS folder to your SD card and using FileManager, point to BeeLineGPS.exe in that folder and double-click it.
Now that I’m somewhat caught up, I’m currently redoing my desktop screens so that Metro and BeeLineGPS will have proper shortcuts, rather than using FileManager. Anyone producing icons yet? A nice one for BeeLineGPS would be nice to have…
ameridan
Chris said
ameridan,
Thanks. Right after I submitted my question, I tried perzactly what you suggested and got it working. I just thought maybe I was missing a more elegant way to start up BeeLineGPS. Thanks again for all the great hacks. You have turned one of the most economical GPS units into one of the most functional and useful GPS units. No small task.
Regards,
Chris
TCKWAN said
bought a C230…(it’s $150 up here in Canada)
found your site, did the sd card unlock, got the US state maps, downloaded the Quicksilver CarLocator skin, and we’re all set for our trip down south next month,…
a BIG thanks, great job and keep up the good work,
a small donation as a token of appreciation sent,
tckwan
Markham, ON, Canada
c230 said
TCKWAN,
Appreciate the kind words, but your donation seemed to find it’s way to kombitz (amida) rather than to my coffee fund at c230.wordpress.com (ameridan). 🙂
Good to know that the link(s) to the USA maps work yet!
ameridan
TCKWAN said
Hi;
ah, I see what happened, my firewalls on my desktop machine seem to lock me out of Paypal redirected from your link for some reason, but coffee is still on me, will retry on my laptop later tonite…
both your, and kombitz’s sites deserve support!
thanks
tc
c230 said
tc,
Your town is about 12 miles away from Scarborough, where my dune buggy body was manufactured (back in 1968). Small world.
The CarLocator skin is my current favorite too. There are probably many of us that forget what the factory skin looks like now. 🙂
I thank you very much for the generous donation!! I can drink the good stuff once again. 🙂
Dan
TCKWAN said
hi Dan;
hey, if you’re ever up north of the border, I’d be more than happy to introduce you to a Tim Horton’s (a Canadian ‘Starbucks’!?) cuppa 🙂
-the hacks certainly gave me added value to my Mio;
you guys do good work and earned it,
tc
c230 said
To Blog readers that have donated recently (including Amida, Tahoe Rod, Frank from Brazil, Bleep55, etc.) without necessarily adding comments here, I again thank you very much for your donations!
strider_mt2k said
I’m down for another xtravetamochafrappoduchivitaragarocholate no sugar!
3.6 rocks my friend. Thank you for your continuing work.
c230 said
strider,
I thank you very much for both forms of support!! I don’t think I’ve ever tried a xtravetamochafrappoduchivitaragarocholate 🙂
Glen said
I have the Mio C220,
Can this update be done on the C220
Thanks,
c230 said
Glen,
Not having a C220, I’m not sure. I think I’ve read feedback from an older version that it worked, but the newest versions have really been tweaked for the C230 only. My suggestion for the C220 is that you investigate the MioPocket Unlock instead (@ gpspassion.com), since it is written with all Mio models in mind.
Thank you for checking us out though.
c230 said
Ronald,
Thank you for your donation today. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten a donation as the C230 activity has died down. Glad someone appreciates my leaving the blog and downloads intact. 🙂
c230 said
earthtonegirl,
Thank you for your donation earlier this week.
Your question resulted in yet another improvement. I’ll post the modified file on the Version 3.6 blog page as well, to make it easier for others to find.
desertboy said
Dan, hello, can you please send me a private email for some work we are interested to do on the c230 and could greatly use your experience and services, thanks
c230 said
OK, will do
Steve said
OK I NEEDD HELP!… My MIO 230 ended up with a MELTED back panel…. from being in the sun. MIO will not sell me the back panel but they will GLADLY charge me $80.00 to repair it. I am looking for someone who has a bad, rboken etc unit that will sell it to me so I can replace my back cover. My unit is hacked to perfection and dont want to change it. Anyone? Steve
sjaffe@cfl.rr.com
c230 said
Hey Steve,
Sorry about the melt. My guess is this unit shouldn’t go higher than $35 – $40 because it has a broken switch. You’d have other spare parts to boot.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mio-C230-GPS-PDA-Games-Video-Audio-w-Bad-Top-Switch_W0QQitemZ270439268272QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGPS_Devices?hash=item3ef76fbfb0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
Steve said
OK next question…………..Ever get the TMC to work in US on the C230???
c230 said
No, and I’m not aware of anyone else that has either.
sandrar said
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. 🙂 Cheers! Sandra. R.
Steve said
Ok folks check this out…. I fought with MIO about my “melted” back. They ended up charging me 40.00 to fix and senta fully refurbished unit back to me, in a box, complete with a new window mouth, power cord etc. Not what I was expecting at all.
On another note…. anyone know how to just fix the globe on the GPS DATA page without hacking the whole thing?
c230 said
Steve,
Great news on the refurbished unit option…
Regarding your question on skin mod(s), backup the Data.zip file and overwrite it with the one in a skin you like (don’t unzip the file). I would recommend trying the one in the ameridan c230 folder of my 3.6 Unlock package – just don’t use the EXIT button.
Dan
c230 said
Thank you Darryl F. for your very generous donation!! I’m assuming you found the Unlock script very useful.
ameridan said
Thank you P.K. for your donation.
ameridan said
Thank you Nirapada for your donation. For those that might be curious, my latest blog has to do with “Unlocking” Microsoft Money which will soon be OFFLINE and no longer supported by Microsoft. We’ve found a way to bypass Microsoft’s MSN servers and get all of our financial data, statement updates, credit card transactions, etc. 🙂
ameridan said
Thank you Stuart for your donation.
Andy said
Hi C230
I just made a donation to your coffee fund. Could you please email me a copy of the Canada Maps for C230? Hopefully you see this message before the long weekend 🙂
Thanks
Andy
ameridan said
Andy,
I’ve just sent the link to you. Thank you again for the donation. Also thanks to Randy for his donation.
ameridan said
Thomas,
I’ve just sent the link to you. Thank you again for the donation. Also thanks to Anand, Amina, Rob, Devesh, & Chris for their donations over the past six months. 🙂
Pete said
Hi Ameridan,
Just want to make sure your DVD offer is still valid, and am looking to update my MIO C230 to the max. Will glady make a donation!
ameridan said
Yes it is 🙂
alexis said
Hi Ameridan,
Same question than Pete just a few years after 🙂
Just want to make sure your offer is still valid.
I especially want to install the canadian map on an old C230 MIO
I would be glad to make a donation.
Thanks.
ameridan said
Yes, I still get 1 or 2 donations a month and I promptly forward them a thank-you email that includes the link to the Canadian map file.
ernest askins said
Do you still have a restore disk for mio 220? thanks
ameridan said
I never had a disk for the Mio C220, only for the C230, but I no longer have that either. Thank you! Link sent:)