[GTBlackline]

I've had a quick look and not seen a definative answer to this question, so folks:

What is the maximum size USB drive size you can plug into the Blue&Me USB socket in the glove box?

I've read the manual and it says it can't add more than 20,000 tracks to the playlist, so won't play more than that many and won't dig deeper than 20 nested sub folders (not a problem for me). But the manual doesn't say how big the drive can be.

The reason I ask is because I was planning on using a 2.5" hard drive and a USB / IDE interface, left in my glove box with all my music on.

Anyone tried this, anyone know if it'll work?

Ta, Dan.

 

[dcystar147]

Have tried a 60GB host powered USB hard drive but it would not spin up.
Have had success with 8GB, 16GB and 32GB pen drives. Had some problems with not all songs playing but more to do with MP3 tags and filename issues than size I think.

 

[GTBlackline]

Have tried a 60GB host powered USB hard drive but it would not spin up.
Have had success with 8GB, 16GB and 32GB pen drives. Had some problems with not all songs playing but more to do with MP3 tags and filename issues than size I think.

That's a bit of a bugger. I was hoping the USB would be able to power a hard drive. I can get a 120gb USB hard drive for around £20, but a 64gb USB Flash Drives are around a £100 for a reputable one.

It is good that it can read 32gb though, you can get alot of music on there.

Cheers for the reply.

 

[Guest]

There are plenty of low power USB drives available on the market
that will work with B&M.

I've had a 60GB LaCie up and running no probs.

You need to format in FAT32 and the disk formatter under
windows has been hobbled so you cannot format >32GB drives
so you need to do this under another OS.
(Most USB drives >32GB will be formatted to NTFS.)


As dcystar147 says the biggest hindrance to B&M library function
are MP3 tags and file names that are too long or contain special characters.

 

[GTBlackline]

Thanks for the help Nev, this is what I've done:

I bought a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 250gb removable hard drive from Maplins, USB powered, small, USB2, seemed perfect. See this link:

250GB FreeAgent GoFlex Ultraportable Drive Black : Seagate Portable Hard Drives : Maplin

I got it home a deleted all the crap they put on it. I then deleted the NTFS partition, created a new partition for the full size of the disk and then formated it using a program I found on the web. As per the instructions I found here:

CrapControl.com: Article / How to format a large drive in FAT32

The drive seemed to work okay now it's FAT32, so I loaded a small selection of tracks to it from my laptop. I didn't want to spend hours copying it all over to the drive if it won't work on the Blue&Me.

I then went out to the car and plugged it in. It didn't work! Undetered I unplugged it and tried again (after all Blue&Me is a Microsoft product). Hey Presto, IT WORKED!!!! It's pretty quick on the seek times and track changes are seemless, although I do think copying all me music onto it's gonna take a while.

I'm pleased so far, I didn't want to spend £100 on a 64GB flash drive when a hard disk unit was only £35 for 250GB.

 

[GTBlackline]

Thanks for the help Nev, this is what I've done:

I bought a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 250gb removable hard drive from Maplins, USB powered, small, USB2, seemed perfect. See this link:

250GB FreeAgent GoFlex Ultraportable Drive Black : Seagate Portable Hard Drives : Maplin

I got it home a deleted all the crap they put on it. I then deleted the NTFS partition, created a new partition for the full size of the disk and then formated it using a program I found on the web. As per the instructions I found here:

CrapControl.com: Article / How to format a large drive in FAT32

The drive seemed to work okay now it's FAT32, so I loaded a small selection of tracks to it from my laptop. I didn't want to spend hours copying it all over to the drive if it won't work on the Blue&Me.

I then went out to the car and plugged it in. It didn't work! Undetered I unplugged it and tried again (after all Blue&Me is a Microsoft product). Hey Presto, IT WORKED!!!! It's pretty quick on the seek times and track changes are seemless, although I do think copying all me music onto it's gonna take a while.

I'm pleased so far, I didn't want to spend £100 on a 64GB flash drive when a hard disk unit was only £35 for 250GB.

 

[Guest]

Hopefully not too off topic but, as it's been highlighted as a limitation, has anyone worked out what the maximum length of filename or folder name that the software will take actually is?

 

[Guest]

...Or to spin the question on it's head, anyone here care to share what the longest filename they have working is?