I motor in an '09 MCS with Nav.

The other day it really annoyed me how slow the Nav system is when switching between screens the first time of the driving session, and how slow it is for "loading lists" when doing any Nav searches.

I wondered if it's possible to rip the NAV disc, copy it to a small hard drive, and then swap out the OEM NAV DVD-ROM drive with a standard hard drive? If possible, it should result in far faster response times for doing anything NAV-related.

Anyone try this or have any thoughts?

Thanks!

 

On a computer, this would be achieved through software deviice drivers. With the Nav, you don't have that option and you'd have to find a hard drive that can mimic a DVD drive as a plug-and-play replacement. Anything is possible with enough reverse engineering but it may be difficult.

You may gain some speed with a hard drive but it isn't clear how much. The overall performance may be hampered by other bottlenecks as well.

 

Guess I'll just have to open up the dash some day and see if the drive is a standard IDE plug or not. If so, maybe a swap for a HD would work.

 

It's more than having a compatible interface (IDE or other). The Nav unit may send DVD-specific device commands that a hard drive couldn't interpret. On a standard computer, you would use a device driver to perform translation that makes the system think the device is different from what it actually is.

 

The OEM head unit which acts as the computer for this and many other uses in the car is not a standard computer and thus will not be able to have the DVD drive replaced with a hard drive under normal circumstances. It is proprietary and designed to do very specific things unlike a desk top or laptop It would also take completely re-writing the software for the car.

Anything is possible but the time and money spent IMHO on this type of project would be way over board.

 

Thanks for all the great feedback, guys. I guess the best way to speed up my Nav access and eliminate those subtle '80's era sounds when the DVD drive is being accessed, is to just upgrade the car to an '11 model ;-)

 

Tha would probably be cheaper. lol

 

I'm guessing that the nav system in the mid-cycle refresh next fall will be hard drive based. BMW has had this for a couple of years now, and looking at the center stack in the new Countryman, I think it is already a done deal.