USB in the car

[Don Draper]

Here's what I hope is a simple question:

I have a USB with thousands of songs on it. All the songs play on the USB input of my car but not in my sister's car.

Why is this and is there a way to circumvent this? Any suggestions?

 

[WoodPeckr]

The players might be different. The player in your car reads them and the one in your sisters doesn't or may be is defective.

 

[bsi]

Some players do not work with more than 256 files in the root. Try moving the files to a subfolder. I call my subfolder 01

 

[Promo]

Can you tell us the make of each car and then i can look it up in the manuals? If your not comfortable providing that data, search the year/make/model in Google

Possibilities:
1) Format of the USB key can make a difference: FAT32 vs. NTFS i.e. Acura only plays FAT32

2) Format of the files on the key - not all players support all formats: i.e. MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV

3) Extra files on the key. Delete them. Only have music files and folders

4) Some of the cheaper flash drives have both plastic and metal on the body part that plugs into the car. I've noticed these types can be flakey in my car. Try a USB drive with an all-metal connector.

5) It's possible your sister's car's player is defective. Does another key work?

 

[Don Draper]

Can you tell us the make of each car and then i can look it up in the manuals? If your not comfortable providing that data, search the year/make/model in Google

Possibilities:
1) Format of the USB key can make a difference: FAT32 vs. NTFS i.e. Acura only plays FAT32

2) Format of the files on the key - not all players support all formats: i.e. MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV

3) Extra files on the key. Delete them. Only have music files and folders

4) Some of the cheaper flash drives have both plastic and metal on the body part that plugs into the car. I've noticed these types can be flakey in my car. Try a USB drive with an all-metal connector.

5) It's possible your sister's car's player is defective. Does another key work?

This would make sense about the formats. I suppose very little can be done about this?

 

[WoodPeckr]

This would make sense about the formats. I suppose very little can be done about this?

Not sure if format or filesystem type matters. I have thumbdrives with filesystem type: msdos, that are loaded with mp3 music files that all play fine in all GM vehicles. Plus they were all created by drag & drop, using Linux. Mp3 files seem to be the key here. GM usb vehicle ports will support thumbdrives of 64GB and read/play up to 10,000 audio files! This works, I've done it but 64GB thumbdrives take forever to index/load. Found 16GB and 32GB thumbdrives load/index quicker.

I use this usb option all the time now and never have to listen to AM/FM or Sat radio and listen to ALL those endless commercials, promos and ads that overwhelm and pollute the airwaves now!..... :thumb:

 

[Promo]

This would make sense about the formats. I suppose very little can be done about this?

There are many good freeware programs that can recode between audio formats.
http://download.cnet.com/windows/dvdvideosoft/3260-20_4-6290628-1.html
http://www.freemake.com/free_audio_converter/
http://sourceforge.net/projects/bonkenc/
Disclosure: I've used sourceforge in the past (>2 years ago), but not tried the other two.

Most car systems support the common 3: MP3, WMA and AAC. What formats are on your USB key?

I'd suggest you check each of the items listed above before trying to convert formats ..... unless your files are not one of the 3 listed.

 

[Promo]

Not sure if format or filesystem type matters. I have thumbdrives with filesystem type: msdos, that are loaded with mp3 music files that all play fine in all GM vehicles. Plus they were all created by drag & drop, using Linux. Mp3 files seem to be the key here. GM usb vehicle ports will support thumbdrives of 64GB and read/play up to 10,000 audio files! This works, I've done it but 64GB thumbdrives take forever to index/load. Found 16GB and 32GB thumbdrives load/index quicker.

I use this usb option all the time now and never have to listen to AM/FM or Sat radio and listen to ALL those endless commercials, promos and ads that overwhelm and pollute the airwaves now!..... :thumb:

Definitely matters for Honda / Acura. Honda / Acura only supports FAT32. 64GB drives are most likely formatted NTFS (to get by the 32GB FAT32 limitation) and therefore won't work. GM appears to be very versatile!

 

[SkyRider]

In related news. I have a video player and it won't play AVI.

 

[Promo]

In related news. I have a video player and it won't play AVI.

UGH! Not related to the topic at all.

What is the video player? Are you sure you have all the needed video codecs? I use the standard codec pack from K-Lite: http://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm

Related query Rocky: Is the sky still blue at night?

 

[SkyRider]

UGH! Not related to the topic at all.

I figure it was late enough in the thread to also bring up video (in addition to audio). I actually have 2 players that can play video from a USB key. One is simply call a media player, the other is a SONY Blu-Ray that has a USB slot. I was told that AVI is a very old format and that the newer players won't/can't play AVI. MP4 and MOV is not a problem. BTW: My 7 year old TV does not have a USB slot/port.