Can anyone please help me.

 

Until yesterday I have been very pleased with the Columbus system in my Superb. However following a long journey during which I used the Sat Nav and CD functions throughout without any issues, the following day the system will not boot up.

 

On turning the ignition, the "welcome on board" screen appears and then fades out after a few seconds. When driving, the system tries to boot up but never does so. CD's can be loaded but do not play, so the unit is receiving power but just seems to struggle booting up for whatever reason.

 

Not sure why this is the case or if there is an easy way to fix this - I hope so as otherwise it could be costly!!

 

Any help appreciated.

 

 

Hi,

 

Posted this a while ago.  It's still working fine.

 

 

I recently had the dreaded constant reboot problem with my Columbus, the one where the software fails to load properly and just goes into an endless cycle of re-booting. Most commentators on this site will say that points to a duff HDD and they might be right. However, I've got it working again, at least for now.

My Columbus is a 2009 H11 unit, originally with 1164 firmware and V3 (I think) maps. I first upgraded to V8 maps, but couldn't, of course, get 7-digit postcode functionality. Baffled and dismayed by the reams of conflicting advice about upgrading the firmware in steps, I decided simply to take the plunge and upgrade to 4024 with a disc I acquired from... somewhere.

It worked.

I now have fully functioning 4024 firmware with 7-digit postcodes, maps, POIs and music and have recently upgraded to V9 maps (which definitely DOES have more recent mapping than V8).

Now, when the above fault appeared, I first tried SWL_FIX, again widely available from all good stores via Google. The unit accepted this and completed its actions but this did NOT fix the problem. My next step was to re-install the 4024 firmware.

This DID fix the problem.

Lesson 1: by all means fear the worst, but don't re-mortgage your house to get a new Columbus until you have tried a few options.
Lesson 2: seek and ye shall find. 

Hook it out and fit an aftermarket,

 

You can get some nice units for £300 from Sony,JVC and Kenwood, Mirrorlink is the latest thing if you have the right smart phone, sadly I had to sell mine as it wouldn't look right in my car I have now but in my old B6 and in the Octavia it went into it looked pretty good, sound quality is 100 times better as well, option to consider for you, my unit was a Sony 601BT and the phone side of it was clarity.

Worst case scenario is replace hdd which I'd say will be less than £300. But try Ned's suggestion first if you can get hold of updated maps. Not least because if it works and you were running older firmware, the improvement is significant.

The columbus unit is on the whole excellent and easy to used for a non-technical minded person like me, but it is seriously flawed in the reliability and quality department. My previous two Skoda's have both had units replaced under warranty and I am pretty sure that my current car is going to have the same scenario.

Skoda would have been better getting the cheapest Chinese electronics company to supply the units since they probably would be more reliable than current supplier (whoever they are).

than current supplier (whoever they are).

Continental Automotive (sister company of the rubber company). Wouldn't be many people's go to brand for consumer electronic devices.

If you want something to replace it look at the Chinese ones that look OEM, won't cost as much, do 3x more things and still look like Skoda fitted it.

Continental Automotive (sister company of the rubber company). Wouldn't be many people's go to brand for consumer electronic devices.

Never heard of them, although their tyres are good. I wonder if the VW dealerships have the same headache? or do we get the second rate units perhaps?

Just get hold of the dealer re boot discs. Can't remember exactly what they were but I think They were SWL and firmware discs.

It is well documented on this site what to do.

Mine did the same as yours and these discs fixed it. I bet there is nothing wrong with your Columbus. It is simply a software glitch. After mine had been re booted it hadn't even lost any of my music or navigation settings!!

There are companies you can send your unit off to and they will re boot for you.

Get on google.

If I had listened to all the advice I had when mine did it I would have just ended up hundreds out of pocket and still with a poorly Columbus.

GET THE DISCS before you do anything. The Columbus is basically a computer and every now and then they get a bit confused.

@Sideshow

The exact same happened to me on 27th August after a three hour run in the car (2009 170 DSG) at the start of a two week trip around the north of England. No Sat Nav radio etc. Horrific start!

Anyway I had a fast broadband connection at my first hotel and reading this forum found out that this is a common problem, but there are many posts giving different advice both on here and the VW forums. After some false starts I messaged Ned and he very kindly helped me through the process.

I managed to download the software version 4024 (657Mb) and copy this onto Verbatim DVD-RW and CD-R discs. The DVD didn't work but the CD-R did and 55 minutes later the firmware had been successfully installed. The process deletes all the maps and music but I have a pukka v7 maps disc and loaded this fine. So with much gratitude to Ned the Columbus has been working fine since and with seven digit post codes!

For the record, after upgrading I found my Columbus delivery part unit number is 3T0035680B. Firmware version 4024 installed fine, no need for SWL_FIX nor an interim version.

I have some issues with v7 maps and want to upgrade eventually.

Good luck and I hope the fix works for you.

Richardo

If you want something to replace it look at the Chinese ones that look OEM, won't cost as much, do 3x more things and still look like Skoda fitted it.

ive had 2 different chinese oem look units and in my opinion they are crap. they look good but the firmware is shocking to say the least and radio reception poor. I would rather the columbus any day.