Just get me there

So last night, I was trying to update a Garmin GPS for a friend of mine. It was a Christmas present she got this last Christmas and had never updated the maps on it yet.

I used the link Garmin had sent her in an email to start the update. Things went well until they didn't. I got to the page where it informed me that I had to download a 'Download Manager' before I could get to the new maps download--at least that is what I inferred from the statements on the Update page.

So I proceeded to download the manager file. I was confused for a moment when the circle icon next to the 'download Download manager' statement turned to a triangle warning sign.

I thought the download had had a problem so I was poised to stop the download and retry it when I took a second to read the statement next to the icon. It informed me that the download was complete. Really? Was it? This icon denotes terror in the IT world--something has gone wrong and needs to be fixed. It does NOT communicate something that has been done successfully.

So, once I got over that confusion, I was ready when I saw the same icon show up once the next step was completed. Hey, at least Garmin is consistent with their icon use. ;)

Unfortunately, when I tried to start the Download Manager, nothing happened. I double clicked on the .exe file to start it and nothing. In fact, the entire computer locked up (it's running vista) and I had to do a hard restart.

Tonight, I'm calling Garmin and insisting that they help me. I have a sneaky suspicion that either the Download Manger is the wrong version or some crucial step is missing from their instructions. Either way, it will be updated by the time I get off the phone with them!