Just finished installing the drive and it works great. Now I can find my address (I live in a new development in SoCal)
Definitely take caution when removing the HDD screws with the #1 Philips head.
I could not get 2 out so I had to use a dremel. It was an easy thing to do but just need to be careful.
Thanks Garret .......
Just finished installing the drive and it works great. Now I can find my address (I live in a new development in SoCal)
Definitely take caution when removing the HDD screws with the #1 Philips head.
I could not get 2 out so I had to use a dremel. It was an easy thing to do but just need to be careful.
Thanks Garret .......
I had trouble with one of the screws in my tray too and found a pair of needle nose vice grips worked really well. There was just enough screw head sticking up that they could get a grip on it and remove it.
And I also highly recommend Garret and the drives he provides.
The drive that most people are using is not an automotive drive.Toshiba MK6034GAX is the most popular drive for upgrading the Avic Z series.
Garret PM sent. Daryll 
btw .... he was great to chat with via email.. very fast to respond and to get the conformation of shipping was next day (also fast).
I hear that I email him today with questions, I paid him today via Paypal and he shipped today. Wow thanks Garrett I will let you know how it all turns out. Daryll
I got mine last week...it took 2 days!!
now installing it is a totally different issue...these screws strip like butter, lol. I will be dremeling momentarily....
continuing my thought with that, it might even be in the best interest to groove out a flathead pattern with the dremel as a preventative issue, before the screws strip out.
Garret is THE MAN!
Finally got through the screw issues, and its lovely! My old outdated z1 is now a fancy new z3!! 
I just updated my Z2 using Garrets drive. It went flawless and you just have to love the tool thats included. Schweet Thanks again Goldcylon
Garret sent an email to your regualr address I have another possible sale for you but hes worried about his library on his Z1. Daryll
if something were to go wrong with the z3 drive could you put the z2drive back in?
Harley Davidson 2007
Z2
Xm Radio
Ipod
Blue tooth
if something were to go wrong with the z3 drive could you put the z2drive back in?
Harley Davidson 2007
Z2
Xm Radio
Ipod
Blue tooth
Yes.
I got my 60GB hard drive off of this guy and it works great!
The package included everything I needed for the install, small screwdriver and 60GB drive. I especially thank him for the heads up on the small screws holding the drive to the mounting bracket. I made sure I had a good screwdriver and even then it was hard not to strip the screws.
I have had my drive installed for a bit over a month now and it works like a charm. Took a long road trip and with 5+ hours of continuous driving NO issues like re-boot.
He supports his stuff so if you have questions after purchase just drop an e-mail and he will get back to you the same day. I will never deal with e-bay for this type of stuff.
I had two of my friends buy the same drives just from my experiences.
Thank you for a nice package !
Your Welcome!!
Ordered my drive on Friday and I received it on Saturday. Talk about service. Drive swap took me 15 minutes at most. I have removed small screws like this before so I didn’t have an issue. The trick to removing them is to put the drive on a solid surface. I clamp a vice-grip on the screw driver to get the turning leverage and push down on the screw driver while using the vice-grip to turn it. Works like a champ.
I was surprised that some of the settings were kept after the drive swap. I figured I would have to redo everything. I did lose all of the music I had loaded in but that is not a big deal to me anymore. Ever since I got the I-Pod interface I never use the library anymore. I have a 250 GB I-Pod that I use for my truck and have my entire music collection loaded. I live in the DC area so the map update was a big deal for me. A lot of updated streets. I had a Z1 and the upgrade was flawless.
I too am a fan. I have purchased two...one for a Z1 and one for a Z2 AND both work great.. Keep up the good work. You are definitely an asset to this forum.
was wanting to get in touch with garret im interested in the buying one of his preloaded drives
was wanting to get in touch with garret im interested in the buying one of his preloaded drives
email sent.
garrettoomey
Hey members, I bought one of Garret's drives and it was sooooo much easier then buying a drive and updating myself. I have all the tools and knowledge to do it myself but weighed my time in the price difference and Garret won hands down. Especially since the service was exceptional! To be completely honest, I think he should be charging more$$ and even at that I'd recommend it!!!
Jon
Thank you.
Worked great and was all too easy.
Garret ROCKS!
A+
Questions:
Has anyone tested this drive under severe conditions such as off-roading, or probably worse, driving around on MI roads? My current Z1 does not skip a beat in songs or NAV on any road surfaces so far with my suspensionn modifications, including trails out west.
Does this upgrade include the latest map updates, and if not, can I still update to the newest maps for a Z1, or would I need Z3 maps?
Anyway to get the music transferred, or do the transfer myself?
Thanks to all....
These drives have been working flawless in the southern heat, and I often take my 3/4 ton 4x4 off road without issues.
My drives do contain the latest maps available to any Avic z series. My drives are an exact duplicate of a factory Z3 with only a few modifications:
Music partition expanded
Pioneer banner removed from the splash screen
Latest CDDB (Gracenotes) database has been installed
Your music can be transfered, but the stock drive will need to be unlocked.
I do offer both services:
http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14915
http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16897
Thanks,
garrettoomey
That was a quick reply. (To be honest, the MI roads are worse than most of the trails in Utah 
).
Latest Z map update. So this is the map set shipped with the original Z3 and I guess they do not have any new updates since shipping the units. In the future, would I update with Z3 specific maps, or Z1/Z2 maps? (May not be an answer yet, until updated Z3 maps are available.)
No pioneer splash screen, does this mean I can add a jpeg file with my own spash shield? Will I still be able to add the jpeg files I currently use for the backgrounds>
Is there a difference in pixels between a Z1 and Z2, and if so,does this affect the display on an Z1?
Sorry for the questions, but I was ready to order the latest maps from Pioneer, and looking at the specs and features between the Z1>Z2>Z3 really does not say that much to someone who is not that computer savy.
Z1, Z2, and Z3 are all identical except for the software. The same maps and firmware will work on any Z series.
Pioneer only releases new maps for the z series once per year. Z1 in 2006, Z2 in 2007, and Z3 in 2008.
The Z1 and Z2 map updates are the same as the Z3.
garrettoomey
I am fortunate to live in the Dallas area and Garrett helped me with my Avic Z1 this evening. I can't say enough about how good this drive and Garrett is. You cannot go wrong with this drive, great deal, great service.
Thank you!!!
Check this out... I placed my order to Garret 2mey (love that abbreviation) via paypal on yesterday August 6 and got the payment confirmation email at 4:45 PM. My hard drive was delivered today August 7 at 11:11AM. That's 19Hr from order to delivery and NO I DID NOT PAY FOR OVERNIGHT SHIPMENT! Talk about service
Needless to say that I can't wait to get home from work to install it...