USB Hard disk recommendation for MMI

[ScottyUK]

This seems ideal especially with the MY2010 glovebox net to hold it in.

http://www.memorybits.co.uk/shop/external-hard-drives/neso-500gb-portable-2.5inch-external-hard-n2501s500g/12922

500Gb for £79.99 delivered

Only 110 x 73 x 10mm !!
http://images1.memorybits.co.uk/product_thumb.php?img=images/product-12922.jpg&w=300&h=300

Any one got any thoughts on this ? e.g. why I shouldn't buy one.

Any other recommendations?

[ScottyUK]

Actually I've just realised that I'm getting 3G MMI which will have 10GB on the HDD and HDSC slots so maybe I don't need it...... but it would be nice to get ALL my music back in the car :D

[troc]

I've a Western Digital USB mini-drive thing which I bought with a 320Gb disk in it to swap out the old 80Gb one in my laptop which I was going to use as an 80Gb music drive but I reckon I'll be fine with the 10Gb in the MMI and my iPhone.

Still not sure exactly how I'll arrange things.

Anyway, hopefully our cars are now built, tested and waiting for a trip to the UK. Them might even be lorry buddies :)

John

[Jop]

Its just GOT to be an iPod.
My reasoning.

Itunes:
You can use iTunes to manage your library, and IMO its a GREAT library manager
Use of the iTunes Music store (and its fantastic money spending genius button)
Seamless syncing from CD-> library -> ipod
Genius Playlists
Smart Playlists: playlists created by satisfying certain conditions. (IE, recenly added blues tracks not including bb king)
The ability to rate tracks so that the dynamic playlist can use them in shuffle mode to keep you interested

IPOD:
Slim design
ALAC (lossless) support
You can get an Ipod engraved for free.

Using a USB harddrive means your basically using an explorer (or finder) type interface to manage your music, which is a bit... well... 2003 Although you do get alot more giga for your green with a USB HD.

[ScottyUK]

I get all what you're saying and I do use my Nano in the car occasionally. However at the moment the USB stick is winning as I take my Nano with me to work .... on my motorbike hence it's a pain popping it in and out the car all the time.

My S4 had a Phatnoise in it and I had all my music on th 80Gb drive. It'd be nice to have it all there. My Nano's 8Gb is a long way from that.

With regards synching - it's a peace of pish to get the USB disk mirroring whats on your home PC/server/NAS etc.

With regards the Western Digital - not sure I could cope with the exta 5mm x 5mm x 17mm dimensions :biglaugh:

It could be an option ;) I'll wait and see how I get on first I think.

:beerchug:

[Jop]

Nano? Nano?!?
Get yourself a classic for the motor. 120GB for 175. And free engraving. :)
Then no need to swap things about. and you can hold all your music.

I think its safe to say that Im an apple fan as everything i have of their's just works.

I started with a USB HDD, but quickly moved to an ipod
A. for itunes
and B. i wanted a shiny new gadget with personalized engraving

Ive stopped recommending Wester Digital drives ever since both disks in one of their Raid:1 units failed on me and I lost most my music collection.
Thankfully, I still had all the old torrents (i mean receipts) so was able to recover my data if not strictly legally.
WD were however very quick to replace the faulty unit FOC.

[ScottyUK]

£175!! Do you think I'm made of money !! :D

[Jop]

but.... You can get it engraved!! :biglaugh:

Or get one from ebay that someone else had engraved for someone who doesn't love them any more.

Can you use playlists on USB HDD, or are you restricted to Artist/Album only?

[smellster]

I picked up a 160GB black ipod specifically for the car off ebay for £130, it even came with a load of (mostly naff and quickly deleted) music. The advantage of this is that I have most of my favourite albums in the apple lossless format now playing over the B&O, and it sounds great!

[73kingstonroad]

I too was going for a HDD soon after getting my car but for two things.

1. iTunes is so easy to manage your music on. Just plug your iPod into your laptop and sync. Job done.
2. I have a MacBook Pro Laptop and when I copy files from my Laptop to a SD Card I get a copy file of 4k for each track I put on. I have research this and found it is normal for all Macs to do this. So this would mean me going through each album and deleting these files. On the MMI it shows up as a file but unplayable.
Also I'd have to buy a new lead to the AMI at a cost of £25.
I'll be sticking with my iPod for now as I'm well impressed with the sound coming from it.

Martin

[MFGF]

Going back to the original question, I'd advise you to check the Audi website to make sure your potential new HDD purchase is supported by the AMI. Out of curiosity, I tried three external USB hard drives I have knocking around, and none of them was recognised. Two were IDE laptop disks in cheapy caddies purchased off ebay, and the third was a Western Digital passport 320Gb, so the lesson I learned is you can't just assume that any old USB disk will work.

As things stand, I'm using my 80Gb iPod classic, and completely happy.

MF.

[Hippogriff]

This news is extremely disheartening. I always expected a simple 2.5" USB-powered Western Digital My Passport to work straight away... regardless of capacity, too.

I have two at home that I can test with, but I do not see them on Audi's list that I found here: http://www.audi.co.uk/audi/uk/en2/new_cars/Technology/electronics/communication/mobile_phone_database.html

I will be peeved if I am stuck with some 40GB nonsense! Doubt that will be true, but you know what I mean... outdated.

I have an Audi PDF (in German) from mid-2008 listing AMI devices... the highest capacity devices listed are 160GB... I thought that was just 'cos what was available at the time, but as capacities increased, so would the compatibility list... the 160GB devices listed on that PDF are (thought I'd check for them on Amazon.co.uk too:

1) Fujitsu Handydrive... it ain't there... plenty of Handydrives, but none at 160GB... and that is all the Audi site says it supports, no 250GB, 300GB or 500GB which Amazon lists the former two for about £65.
2) IOMega LPHD160-C... can't find it, might be an IOMega eGO, but currently unavailable - doesn't match the image on Audi's site anyway.
3) LaCie 301176 P2... can't find it, might refer to LaCie Mobile Disk at £90.
3) Trekstor DataStationPocket... currently unavailable, but 320GB is £94, these are SATA and USB2 - overkill for what would, effectively, be a dedicated USB device; no need for SATA, just adds costs.

Personally, I'd expected - didn't even have to hope (or so I thought) this would be as simple as plug-and-play. I will report back on my success (or failure) with a 160GB and 320GB Western Digital My Passport after the 2nd of September.

Looks like Audi need to keep up better.

Difficult for us to buy supported stuff... if no-one is stocking it (obviously I've not done an exhaustive search, but Amazon are usually quite good at stocking stuff in my opinion).

I've not trawled through all the list at http://www.audi.co.uk/audi/uk/en2/new_cars/Technology/electronics/communication/mobile_phone_database.html yet, but, rather alarmingly, I've not seen anything above 160GB yet. Has anyone else?

Do I get the right feeling if I feel that not many people are doing this in anger yet? That most people are using their SD card slots and old iPod Classics and stuff?

[ScottyUK]

The MMI manual says :


The following USB memory devices are supported:
• USB sticks
• Single card readers
• Multiple card readers (first card slot used)
• USB MP3 players that do not require special driver software
• External USB flash memory
• External USB hard drives (HDD) - 1", 1.8", 2.5" drives with a max. starting/continuous current of 800 mA


You'd therefore expect any device that fits with this to be ok. :(

Do you know the current draw on the disks you've tried?

[MFGF]

Do you know the current draw on the disks you've tried?


The Western Digital support site indicates that the WD Passport draws up to 1000mA.

http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1731

As for the 2.5 IDE caddies, they both come with "Y" cables to allow simultaneous connection to two USB ports for power, which suggests they also draw 1000mA (a normal PC USB port can provide up to 500mA). They cost less than a fiver from ebay, so as you'd expect, technical specs for them are non-existent, but I thought I'd give them a try just to see.

The other thought is that all three disks were formatted as NTFS - not sure whether this is suitable for the AMI, or if FAT format would be required. If I get chance, I will reformat one of them and try it to see if it makes a difference (although I'm not hopeful of success).

Regards,

MF.

[Jop]

ipod

[MFGF]

ipod

Yep - that's what I'm using. The disks were just an experiment to see if I could get them to work.

MF.

[ScottyUK]

ipod


Bloody hecklers !!! :p

[Hippogriff]

All,

I think the NTFS thing will definitely be an issue... I suspect formatting to FAT32 would prove more fruitful... I could be wholly incorrect though. I did make contact with Audi and they said:

"I have spoken to Audi UK Product Marketing and Development dept and they have advised that the list of devices on the website is purely a list of devices that have been tested. Therefore your device may work but there has been no testing carried out by Audi UK. Their suggestion is to take your device into an Audi centre to try it out on a car that has AMI. I have also spoken to our workshop controller to find out if he has ever come across such a problem, however he has never experienced a device that could not be played (please bearing in mind that mostly we have people using ipods). Unfortunately we would have to have you device in order to test…"

iPod is not the solution, as it simply doesn't have the capacity required.

What I have learned from this thread is the following...

most Audi drivers are using iPods - not a surprise, as I guess we are all brainless-marque-chasers at heart ;).
any NTFS-formatted USB disks are most likely not to work at all.
the Audi site showing what is supported can be expanded upon, it isn't exhaustive and verbatim.
if the Western Digital My Passport 40GB works, I now (since MFGF mentioned NTFS) still have hope that a Western Digital My Passport will work.
Appreciate any news of successful testing... I'll still post my results in two weeks or so.

[ScottyUK]

"Their suggestion is to take your device into an Audi centre to try it out on a car that has AMI."

They're really not trying to help are they as most people have the car and AMI already and want to know what device can go in it. :(

[Hippogriff]

Personally, I wasn't too bothered by the response... by "take it into an Audi Centre" I presumed they meant someone would try it and, if it didn't work, may help you understand why.

I was much more pleased that their published device list wasn't intended to be prohibitively restrictive.

I mean, on the file system front... NTFS and FAT32 mean less than nothing to the majority of the population, that part of the population that are really just technology users. Many people could format their disks to NTFS... almost blindly / unknowlingly really... and if that is an issue, i.e. the disk must be FAT, then it'd not work and you'd need someone to tell you this. Maybe the Audi Centre would be of use in that situation.

The "convert" command in a command prompt window is very useful when going from FAT to NTFS... going back, though... that's another story - better to format.

Most Audi users are iPod users... gee! What a black mark against me...

[ScottyUK]

If we could play DVD's from the USB HDD then perhaps we'd have a problem going onto FAT but I agree it's not a problem.

The MMI manual does say the media has to be FAT16 or FAT32 :

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6644&d=1250776056

[Hippogriff]

Good clarity that. I hope MFGF has different results when he tries with FAT.

If I have an Audi, will people then think I also have an iPod?

This concerns me... Audis are cool, but iPods are quite the opposite. :D

[Jop]

Good clarity that. I hope MFGF has different results when he tries with FAT.

If I have an Audi, will people then think I also have an iPod?

This concerns me... Audis are cool, but iPods are quite the opposite. :D
You clearly just dislike ipods because they are ipods and you like to think of yourslef as "too cool for an ipod".
Now look where thats got you.. in a world of hurt not knowing what harddrive to get if it has the correct power rating and formatted correctly, then if your file structure is compatible

fix all that with 1 word.
iPod.

[Hippogriff]

Aw... at least you make me laugh. ;-)

[AndyH123]

Having had a quick flick through here, might be worth searching for my old thread on USB HDD's.

You definitely need FAT32 and I believe I put some details in there around formatting on post XP OS'.

Let me have a quick look..

Edit - here you go: http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=43095

[MFGF]

Thanks Andy. I hadn't come across your post (I'm now standing in the corner with my "D" hat on). This saves me the trouble of emptying and reformatting my WD Passport to FAT32 (I don't need it as a disk in the car - I was just curious if I could get it to work).

To update the very last point made in the post, I can confirm that the MMI now plays Apple's m4a as well as MP3 files - some of the tracks I transferred to the onboard HDD via the SD slots are m4a and they play just fine.

Thanks again for the detailed clarification - much appreciated!

MF.

[AndyH123]

No need for the D hat! I should really go back and change the thread title to help it appear in searches.

Good news on m4a. I took a note of all my version numbers prior to my first service so might be worth comparing notes in case that's a recent addition to the software.

Also, if anyone has any updates on Playlist support for USB, I'd love to hear!

[MFGF]

Good news on m4a. I took a note of all my version numbers prior to my first service so might be worth comparing notes in case that's a recent addition to the software.

My version info is:

Software version: HNav_EU_K0022_1_D1
Nav. database version: 8R0060884C_ECE 5.6.8

Train Version: K0022
MU Software: 0047

This is for MMI 3G with HDD nav and the new AMI with no tray in the glovebox. Not sure whether it's useful info?

MF.

[AndyH123]

Just popped down to the car to get my numbers and they are nothing like those!!

I've got SW B8-HU 51.7.0.0741

and numbers for HW, FC SW, FCPS and FC HW

(edit that's old fashioned MMI / AMI with nav)

[MFGF]

Wow - they're entirely different. I guess this means you can't use my car's version to judge whether your AMI is up to date. Sorry.

MF.

[ScottyUK]

After starting this thread about HDD's it seems this is a flawed solution due to the maximum file count.

I've therefore given up and have bought an iPod Classic 160Gb. Nice easy control, easy upload and organisation of tracks, no problems and I can use it out of the car with just a paid of headphones unlike a HDD.

Job done :beerchug:

[Jop]

:)
Reminds me of this scene in a classic film.

http://www.homevideos.com/freezeframes2/bluesbrothers126.jpeg
http://bb.wynnear.com/pics/the_light.jpeg

[ScottyUK]

Not quite. I've already been using my Nano but I wanted all my music available.

I'm just trying to show the light to someone else. Can you guess who?

:biglaugh:

[MFGF]

Hi Scotty,


I've therefore given up and have bought an iPod Classic 160Gb. Nice easy control, easy upload and organisation of tracks, no problems and I can use it out of the car with just a paid of headphones unlike a HDD.

Welcome to the Dark Side ;). I know there are folks who don't rate iPods, but as an in-car solution with the Audi AMI they do work really well. My iPod Video 5G 80Gb never leaves the glovebox (except when I need to add new tracks to it).



I'm just trying to show the light to someone else. Can you guess who?

Jake? Elwood?? :cool:

[ScottyUK]

What's with the seen the light and the dark side etc.

I've had an iPod for a couple of years!

[MFGF]

Ah, yes, but now you've attached it to your AMI, you've nailed your colours to the mast! :) You will now be forever generalised as "An iPod person" (ooer!!!) :)

MF.

[ScottyUK]

eerrm I'd done that with my Nano before also ... well at least since March :D

[Jop]

Basically.. you thought you would use a hard-disk and not an ipod as your first choice.

Thats it really.
El Steve'o will want a letter of apology.

Dont forget how amazing ipods are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx7v815bYUw

[ScottyUK]

Basically a HHD is 1/3 price of a iPod for more storage. It if worked then it's the logical way to do it. Since it doesn't then I've gone with a wokring solution.

[juniperz]

Basically a HHD is 1/3 price of a iPod for more storage. It if worked then it's the logical way to do it. Since it doesn't then I've gone with a wokring solution.
I couldn't decide which way to go but ended up buying a cheap Western Digital Passport HDD because I don't think the 10 000 track limitation is going to cause me any problems (oh the shame - admitting I don't have 10 000 mp3 tracks, and probably can't be bothered to rip the entire CD collection). It works fine, playlists and everything,
Now I am just tempted to buy an iPod Touch 32GB as well, because it is just such a fine gadget. Just don't tell the wife...

[Hippogriff]

i couldn't decide which way to go but ended up buying a cheap western digital passport hdd because i don't think the 10 000 track limitation is going to cause me any problems

4,000?

[juniperz]

4,000?
I mis-remembered - I thought you had said that the USB-HDD was limited to 10 000, but I am wrong.
Well I have about 2500 currently on my laptop, so that will be fine for a while. By the time I have exceeded the 4000, maybe Audi will have a software upgrade to remove the limit??

[Hippogriff]

Folders seem to count as 1.

[GolferPete]

Ok - I have an IPod Touch 32Gb and it works fine via the connector and in the net in the glove box. I was hoping that I would be able to import all the tracks into the 10Gb partition of the HDD in the jukebox, but the system doesn;t give me the option to import from the IPod Touch - is this correct?

Seems a bit silly if so, maybe I just have to rip/import them from the original CD's - what a PITA.

[juniperz]

Ok - I have an IPod Touch 32Gb and it works fine via the connector and in the net in the glove box. I was hoping that I would be able to import all the tracks into the 10Gb partition of the HDD in the jukebox, but the system doesn;t give me the option to import from the IPod Touch - is this correct?

Seems a bit silly if so, maybe I just have to rip/import them from the original CD's - what a PITA.
Only guessing (since I don't have MMI or an iPod) but can't you just copy the tracks from the iTunes library on the PC/mac onto whatever media the MMI can copy from e.g. SD card?

[Jop]

Only guessing (since I don't have MMI or an iPod) but can't you just copy the tracks from the iTunes library on the PC/mac onto whatever media the MMI can copy from e.g. SD card?

yes, you can do this.
spot on: Copy the files to a USB storage/SD then you can import them to the internal jukebox.
You cant do it on an ipod, its a restriction in place by apple. An attempt to stop you coming around mine and me copying all your music off. (although im sure there is software to "backup" your ipod library)