Notices

(Firmware 1.2)

As many other people have noticed, when you really need ovi maps, it does not work if not having a network connection (due to some bugs mentioned in other topics).

However, even when the GPS gets a lock it will not show any preloaded maps without a network connection. erasing the .qf file in /home/user/MyDocs will make the software create a new fresh one again. But changing the name of the directory:

/home/user/MyDocs/cities

to something else will not make Ovi Maps crash or recreate it once you have both a working GPS lock and a network connection.

Instead it will just behave as it always does, meaning, as long as the network is up and running one can happily find places, zoom into street level and do whatever, otherwise it will just show your position upon some nice green piece of waste land.

If having everything up and running looking upon some nice maps and all, ending the program, turning of the Wifi and (with a GPS lock) restarting the software, will not make you see any data (as it seems to not have gotten stored anywhere).

Not complaining about a non existing /home/user/cities/diskcache folder, and not creating any new one, makes me only come to one simple conclusion; it is never used.

ovi maps does however create an equivalent cities/diskcache folder structure under /tmp/maps-ddc. Though nothing will actually get stored there. Removing this, creating a link to cities/diskcache will not improve things. This folder will be re-created when restarting ovi maps if it has been deleted.

FWIW I had copied my entire cities folder from my E71 where I had stored all the maps of the whole world, and it works "fine"* on the N900.

* The problem is my current location shown on the map is incorrect (offset by a few hundred metres or so). I renamed the cities folder and let Ovi Maps create a new one but the offset problem is still there. BTW Ovi Maps does create the citiies folder if it doesn't exist (and the rest of the folder structure inside).

When your ovi maps ignores the preloaded maps, it is because of a bug that makes it unable of finding them on your media.
Try in xterm to change directory to the one where there are the .qf file and cities folder (should be /home/user/MyDocs) and start nokia-maps from the terminal: it should again be able to use its maps offline.
I haven't been able to find the origin of this bug, but possibly it is some third-party package. Somewhere in the forums I described how to make a .desktop file to get an icon that launches nokia-maps from the right directory. However, when I reflashed my device to Pr1.2 the bug was over. Not that I use nokia-maps too much: I prefer Sygic.

I am baffelled you succeeded to figure this one out debernardis. Your solution works, but maybe a bit in a different way than described. As you mentioned, the solution is to start a xterminal, change directory to:

/home/user/MyDocs

and then run:

nokia-maps

however this will not make OVI maps start fully. After running it, one just have to leave the program stuck on whatever it is doing and then also run OVI maps from the menu. Exactly why it works having two instances running at the same time is beyond my knowledge, but it will make OVI maps understand where the base directory is to which it will find all sub folders.

Is this the same way you got things started or are you maybe running things in a different way?

Oh, you are also talking about things being 'over' with 1.2. I assume you mean the bug was fixed with the new firmware, which is a bit odd since I do have this problem with this version.

The time I had this problem, it was enough for me to run nokia-maps from its own daa directory, and it was ok without stalling. Maybe your problem is more complex.
Reflashkng to 1.2 solved the issue, as I said. Maybe there is some file which gets damaged and we don't know which one, and when reflashing it's restored.

EDIT: when you are in /home/user/MyDocs, try to run
This should work