USB Flash Drive - Issues With Music In Car - Need to format to add stuff

[OP Defiantly 41]

Hi everyone, I've got an issue that I hope someone can enlighten me on.

 

I have a 64GB SanDisk Cruiser Fit USB drive that I copy my music too (in .mp3 format) and then use in my car.  My Radio can see the USB drive and plays the music directly from it.  I format this drive to FAT32 (the only file system the car can read) using an external tool.

 

I have about 6500 track on it, with 119 folders.  Everything is organized by Artist.  The car IS ABLE to see and play everything perfectly.

 

MY ISSUE: When I add a NEW FOLDER, the car never sees it (yet my PC does).  However, if I add mp3's to a folder that already exists, the car DOES see and plays them fine.  So, whenever I add a new artist (folder), I need to RE-FORMAT the drive, then copy everything, including the new folder, back to the drive.  Once this is done the car sees the new artist along with the older stuff.

 

The process of re-formatting and re-copying 6500+ tracks takes about 3 hours and is a real pain.  I don't understand why the car doesn't see folders added but does see tracks added to existing folders.

 

I use the RidgeCrop Format tool (http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/) with a 4096 allocation size, each time I need to reformat the USB drive.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[+goretsky 498]

Hello,

 

Have you tried changing the disk volume's label or serial number to see if that forces the car stereo to reindex the USB flash drive?

 

Also, you might want to check with the car stereo manufacturer for a firmware update (or report this as a bug).

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky

[Blueclub 203]

I have had similar problems with my media device. The problem there was that the ASUS media player created a temp file that stored the listings of the USB when it was first inserted into the media player, after that, even if I added new media, it will not show it, until I formatted the drive. I then started deleting that temp file whenever I added new content, and it worked normally.

 

Once you have a fresh copy of media stored on the USB, unhide all folders/files to make sure there are no hidden folders/files on the drive, after that plug it in your car stereo, play a few songs randomly, disconnect, and connect back to the computer and see if you can any hidden files that are created, if yes then deleted them should solve it for you.

[OP Defiantly 41]

I have had similar problems with my media device. The problem there was that the ASUS media player created a temp file that stored the listings of the USB when it was first inserted into the media player, after that, even if I added new media, it will not show it, until I formatted the drive. I then started deleting that temp file whenever I added new content, and it worked normally.

 

Once you have a fresh copy of media stored on the USB, unhide all folders/files to make sure there are no hidden folders/files on the drive, after that plug it in your car stereo, play a few songs randomly, disconnect, and connect back to the computer and see if you can any hidden files that are created, if yes then deleted them should solve it for you.

 

REALLY!!!!  Ok, thank you!  I never would have looked for a temp file created my my radio.  I'll check it out tonight.

I DO have "show all files" enabled on my PC, but I wonder if this is a system file, which is still hidden with "hide protected operating system files".

Was this file placed on the root of your device, or in a custom folder?

 

Thanks again!

[OP Defiantly 41]

Hello,

 

Have you tried changing the disk volume's label or serial number to see if that forces the car stereo to reindex the USB flash drive?

 

Also, you might want to check with the car stereo manufacturer for a firmware update (or report this as a bug).

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky

I have only changed the volume label to try to get this to work. No dice.  

Also, it looks like there is a newer firmware version out there, but they are in the "replacement radios" and are not being applied to existing units.  ...which means I'm stuck with what I have.  Although, my unit works perfectly with exception to this isuue. ...which I think is more my issue than the unit's.

[Blueclub 203]

REALLY!!!!  Ok, thank you!  I never would have looked for a temp file created my my radio.  I'll check it out tonight.

I DO have "show all files" enabled on my PC, but I wonder if this is a system file, which is still hidden with "hide protected operating system files".

Was this file placed on the root of your device, or in a custom folder?

 

Thanks again!

 

Your welcome, I hope this solves it for you. The file was placed in the root of the USB. What you can do is copy a few music files to the USB and then connect it to the radio, skip through a few tracks, and then check on your computer.

[OP Defiantly 41]

Hey everyone, I have an update.

I found no additional files on the USB drive.  However, after turning on "Show Protected System Files", I saw a System Volume folder with a file inside.

I am unable to delete the folder or the file.  I can edit the contents of the file in notepad (looks like a serial number) but afterwards the car still doesn't show a folder I added as a test.

 

I really appreciate everyone's input.  Sadly, no dice.

I'm starting to wonder if the allocation size I format the drive to is an issue.  I choose 4096 each time.  (as I'm formatting a 64gb drive to fat 32)

[JJ_ 127]

I don't think it will be saved as a system file, just a regular hidden file. Try skimming through your folders and sort files by extension. The index file should stick out like a sore thumb amongst your mp3 files. Check the folder that would come first in alphabetical order. Failing that, try a wildcard search of your USB thumb drive for any .txt file or .dat file

[OP Defiantly 41]

I don't think it will be saved as a system file, just a regular hidden file. Try skimming through your folders and sort files by extension. The index file should stick out like a sore thumb amongst your mp3 files. Check the folder that would come first in alphabetical order. Failing that, try a wildcard search of your USB thumb drive for any .txt file or .dat file

Hi JJ,

I did try that and came up with nothing.  The only additional file on drive is the System Volume.

[+goretsky 498]

Hello,

 

I found a nice little write-up on changing the volume serial number here:  http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/5825/Changing-volume-s-serial-number

 

Perhaps that will be of use.

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky

 

 

 

[JJ_ 127]

Hi JJ,

I did try that and came up with nothing. The only additional file on drive is the System Volume.

Hmm how odd :s is this music player an after market head unit? If so, what make is it and what's the part no?

[daorbed9 85]

Most car radios are dumb.  They scan a new device once its detected but not again.  Would it be easier to unplug your radio fuse and reprogram the radio stations?

[wiretap 25]

I had this issue before on my Pioneer AVIC F700BT.. I had to check the option to reindex the drive after it is reinserted again and that solved it. Maybe there is a similar setting?

[tsupersonic 1,136]

Most car radios are dumb.  They scan a new device once its detected but not again.  Would it be easier to unplug your radio fuse and reprogram the radio stations?

I've had good luck with the BMW iDrive system. I use MediaMonkey to sync music to a 64 GB flash drive. Works flawlessly - I just create playlists in MediaMonkey, and the car recognizes those. Additionally, the iDrive system has a folder browser, so I can navigate to a specific folder and start playing tracks from there. It recognizes new tracks (or artists/albums/playlists) without any problems.

 

@OP, I recommend MediaMonkey to sync to the flash drive. 

[Thor57 0]

Try using AAC instead of MP3, MP3's are not good audio files.  If your car can play WAV format it is a losses format(big files).  Try not using so many folders. 

example: Beatles\Number 1's.  Instead copy music into one folder\Beatles-Number1's.  This way there will be less folders to read, less confusing. 

I am big into audio, I use WAV files in my car.  I understand that everyone may not be anal about sound.  AAC files are better than MP3's.  Don't convert MP3's into AAC files.  Just burn your CD into AAC files.  If you are using iTunes under preferences, advance change settings to AAC.  You can also select not to use VBR(don't use VBR).  Also select 256, 320 does not give you better sound.

 

Ciao.

[Booda 0]

I am having a similar problem.  I have ripped some CDs into my computer, and then synched them to a flash drive to use in my car.  Some of the songs from the CDs show up and play just fine with the album cover, name of the song and artist, but others do not play at all.  When I go to the menu and select a song from that particular album, I get a symbol of a USB connection for a second or two on the display screen, and then nothing at all.  Song does not play, no name of artist, etc.

I have been using Windows Media Player to create the flash drive files, so that does not seem to be the problem, since all the songs play and show the title on my computers, and some of them play and show information on my car's display, but others do not.

Any suggestions.  I am using .wma format, and my flash drive is 32gb.  I am not even close to using 1gb yet due to this problem. 

I was hoping to put most or all of my CDs onto a flash drive since my newest auto a 2015 Prius only holds one CD at a time in the player unlike my 2010 Camry that holds up to 4 CDs at once.  Also a flash drive would save a lot of space compared to 50 or more CDs.  Adding a hard wired CD changer is out of the question since this car is leased, and after 3 years may exchange it for another car. 

Any help or suggestions will be most appreciated.  I am not a computer geek or techie, so do not overwhelm me with technical jargon.

BTW have tried two different brands of flash drives.  Same result on both.  Have also tried Windows Media Player on two different computers, same results there, so problem does not seem to be WMP, computers, or flash drives. 

Booda