[drwtsn32]

Originally Posted by cpippolo

I received the Iomega 120gb 4200 rpm hard drive and have loaded up my music (used 256K bit rate to play it safe as I found A BMW document that suggests higher bitrates are not supported). However, I did not reformat the hard drive. I remember seeing some posts that said their hard drive "worked right out of the box" and other posts that have indicated they had to reformat. For those of you who bought an Iomega drive, did you have to reformat it to make it work with 6fl?

I haven't received my car yet (hopefully within a week or so) so can't try it myself yet.

Go to My Computer, right-click on the Iomega drive, and select Properties. If it says "NTFS" for the file system type you'll have to format it. If it says "FAT32" (or "FAT"..can't remember which it shows) then you should be good to go.

BTW, I know what document you're talking about, but 320kbps MP3s work just fine.

[drwtsn32]

Originally Posted by cpippolo

Thanks. I'm sprprised that it wouldn't work with WMA files.

Oops, you know I never tested it with WMA files. I just assumed it was MP3 or WAV only.

[Scobar]

Originally Posted by GreekMaverick

Hey Guys, another Newbie here, sorry

Questions:

1) Where can i buy the 6fl and how much is it?
2) Who does the installation? BMW? How much do they charge?
3) I have the I-drive with the AUX port no USB, would that be a problem?

I Appreciate your answers, although i can see ppl replying as ""
I am on the run and not much time to do so, thx in advance

1) iPod/USB adapter
B) Only availiable as an option on new vehicles (there is a ipod adapter retrofit kit from BMW, doesn't work the same, and don't know the cost)
Qbert) See above.

[cpippolo]

Originally Posted by drwtsn32

Go to My Computer, right-click on the Iomega drive, and select Properties. If it says "NTFS" for the file system type you'll have to format it. If it says "FAT32" (or "FAT"..can't remember which it shows) then you should be good to go.

BTW, I know what document you're talking about, but 320kbps MP3s work just fine.

Thanks. It says FAT32, but I recall some using the WD Passport saying they still had to reformat the drive even though it was formatted FAT32. I will leave as is and see what happens.

[cpippolo]

Originally Posted by drwtsn32

Oops, you know I never tested it with WMA files. I just assumed it was MP3 or WAV only.

I went with MP3 at 256K to play it safe. Took a while to reburn all my CDs, so think I will leave as is. I suspect the quality will be sufficient, particularly given that the Logic 7 system is not an audiophile system. If I'm not happy with the results, I can do it over when I'm feeling more ambitious.

[jtmccabe]

I decided to try my luck with the WD Passport 160 GB. I formatted it as per the OP's instructions and copied my 104 GB of music to it, in folders A-Z. Unfortunately it does not work. When I plug in the drive, the blue LED flashes slowly and the car never seems to recognize it.

Oh well, it was worth a try. Back to the store it goes.

[dinkoh]

Originally Posted by jtmccabe

I decided to try my luck with the WD Passport 160 GB. I formatted it as per the OP's instructions and copied my 104 GB of music to it, in folders A-Z. Unfortunately it does not work. When I plug in the drive, the blue LED flashes slowly and the car never seems to recognize it.

Oh well, it was worth a try. Back to the store it goes.

Shame that the 2008 didn't come with an upgraded USB port.

[Iceberg]

I had installed a 4200 into a case and it worked for a while, then it started to appear only intermittently. When I listened closely, I could hear the drive "click" in a repeated sequence (aka - not enough power). Odd that it would work for a while, then stop. In any case, I have a WD 60GB that I'm going to try. It would be nice if it worked...

[sn123]

Originally Posted by dinkoh

I don't think so. Most 6FL will not play 5200rpm drives. So you are stuck with 4200rpm ones.

woohoo found my answer. ty I have a maxtor 120gb for $89 but its 5200 rpm and does not work at all. it blinks and idrive does not reognize it. i formated the drive with fat32 also and nada. guess i have to downgrade to 4200rpm as long as it works i'm happy =)

[cpippolo]

Well, I finally got my car today. I tried the Iomega 120gb hard drive, and it didn't work!!! It wasn't getting enough power. I don't know if they shipped me a 5400 rpm drive instead of the 4200 rpm, because it doesn;t say anywhere on the packaging (buy.com advertised it as a 4200rpm model). However, it came with a y-cable with an extra USB connector on one end for power. I tried a car power to usb adapter that I had and it worked, but the adpater sticks up too high to let me close the center console. I've ordered an adapter that I think will work, and converts one car power outlet to two car power outlets and two usb outlets. We'll see how that works. Hope I don't blow a fuse.

While I only had it up and running for a few minutes, it appears to have done most of the indexing of close to 4000 songs in separate directories for each artist and each album. Scrolling through the directory wasn't as slow as I had thought it would be (I don't have i-drive). I don't know if the latest software fixes some of the problems others have had.

On a related note, I tried hooking up my Ipod 2nd gen Nano and it would only play if I also used the 3.5mm audio connection. It appears the audio is going through the analog connection, and the USB is only used to control the payer and transfer data about directories, songs, etc. I would have sworn it worked on my test drive without the 3.5mm connection. Anyway, the sound quality was pretty mediocre this way. I thought maybe it was a problem because I had set up my nano to use as a disk, but I changed that setting back and it didn't fix the problem. Not a big deal if my hard disk setup works, but if anyone has any idea whether the Ipod is supposed to work that way and, if not, what I did wrong, I'd appreciate any advice you have.

Any yes, I love the car. Other than a slightly rubbery and long shifter (the six-speed on my RX-8 was fantastic), I'm thrilled with the car. I may think about a short-throw shift kit at some point, but downshifting seems pretty optional in most circusmatcnes in which I would have had to downshift (sometimes two gears) in the torqueless RX-8.

[100mph]

Originally Posted by cpippolo

On a related note, I tried hooking up my Ipod 2nd gen Nano and it would only play if I also used the 3.5mm audio connection. It appears the audio is going through the analog connection, and the USB is only used to control the payer and transfer data about directories, songs, etc. I would have sworn it worked on my test drive without the 3.5mm connection. Anyway, the sound quality was pretty mediocre this way. I thought maybe it was a problem because I had set up my nano to use as a disk, but I changed that setting back and it didn't fix the problem. Not a big deal if my hard disk setup works, but if anyone has any idea whether the Ipod is supposed to work that way and, if not, what I did wrong, I'd appreciate any advice you have.

Yes unfortunately the ipod plays through the 3.5mm jack not through the USB port - must be some technical limitation... it sure would be nice to have digital IPOD music through 6FL - part of the reason I tried a portable hdd (and started this thread).

[cpippolo]

Thanks for the response. That's amazing that they have to pipe the sound through the 3.5mm analog connection. I installed an Ipod adapter on my wife's Honda and it doesn't use a 3.5mm connection, just the digital connection. I presume there are other large capacity MP3 players with USB connections that would work solely with the USB connection, like how many use a USB memory stick or hard drive. The difference in sound quality between 3.5mm versus USB was night and day to me.

Correction to my previous post - It had not completed indexing. I noticed this morning that the menu was providing album, genre, artist selections, etc., which i don't recall seeing yesterday, so it apparently still was (and maybe is) indexing.

Also, when I first tried to switch over this morning to the hard drive, the radio kept turning itseld off. Only happened for the first minute or two, and then was fine. Not sure what this was about, maybe an issue while the usb port picked up the hard drive after power up, or maybe a problem while indexing. We'll see if the problem continues.

[jtmccabe]

Just wanted to let anyone watching this thread know that I made a new thread about drives that have been tested, and under what conditions they work or don't work.

This thread has gotten pretty long and it takes a lot of reading to figure out which drive to try.

[jtmccabe]

Originally Posted by Dr_Dirt

I was in fry's today and saw this 4200rpm Buffalo hard drive that comes with a right angle usb2.0 wrap around cord.

So I bought it and plugged it in and it spooled up fine

Dr Dirt, just to clarify, are you only powering the drive from the car's USB port or are you adding power from another power source?

If it powers up with just the USB power, then this drive is the answer to my prayers. Anyone else tried this drive?

[Dr_Dirt]

Originally Posted by jtmccabe

Dr Dirt, just to clarify, are you only powering the drive from the car's USB port or are you adding power from another power source?

If it powers up with just the USB power, then this drive is the answer to my prayers. Anyone else tried this drive?

Yes, it totally powers up and runs with only the power from the USB port.
I secured it with the pouch under the armrest.

[timtech]

I just installed an IO Magic 40gig usb drive and it worked perfectly
(Staples.com - $25 after rebate).
It comes preformatted with fat32.

For $25 I was able to get my Ipod back for the train ride into work and the sound is 100 cleaner being all digital.

It's only been a day of testing but so far so good.

[flexinator]

has anyone tried hooking up their phone to the 6fl adapter and using an onboard memory card as a source. I plan on adding a 4gb or 8gb card to my sprint mogul to use for music anyway... it would be great to plug it in to charge, allow the bluetooth to work for the phone in the car, and access the memory card for music... I found a little program that allows any windows mobile device to be accessed as a usb drive... but no way to see if it works (I will pick up my car in february). Anyone else try this?

[ku5165]

i own a nokia n91 with 4gb hdd inside it...and probly it will work with this cuz its hdd will be powered by the mobiles battery...but its not an option for most peopel cuz it would cost more than the hdd...
as to my (geeky) knowledge, a 2.5" enclosure with laptop hdd will work (4200rpm u say?)
and that laptop hdd will also handle all the jolts for the car easily....
lemme know on ur info????
ku

[jct0518]

Originally Posted by gloster

actually, it does support playlists on a thumbdrive/harddrive. Almost all music programs other than iTunes use a standard format for playlists. Just go into one, e.g. Windows Media Player or Creative's program, and make playlists. Transfer those along with your music files to your thumbdrive/harddrive.

what are the standard formats for playlists??

[mid-corner fun]

Originally Posted by jct0518

what are the standard formats for playlists??

m3u works fine, however I had to edit the playlist file and take out the drive letters for each entry before transferring to the car.

[jct0518]

Originally Posted by PeterM1

m3u works fine, however I had to edit the playlist file and take out the drive letters for each entry before transferring to the car.

I have a mac and cant find any possible way to create a m3u since only winamp creates them..Are there any other formats which are compatible?? how about .xml or .pls?? if I cant create the playlist i will have to go with the ipod

[mid-corner fun]

I have a mac and cant find any possible way to create a m3u

Have you tried googling it? I just did and I got a bunch of results on exporting itunes playlists as m3u.

since only winamp creates them

??? Virtually all PC music programs support the m3u format. In fact, m3u is nothing more than a text file with full (or relative) paths to songs, one per line. You can create an m3u playlist with a simple editor (textedit for the Mac) if needed.