Maximum readable data of flash drive.

[2k10SilverCoupe]

I recently picked up a '10 Coupe with the Bose System and no Nav... In any case, I was playing with the USB playback functionality because I love the idea of carrying nearly all my music with me without any extra hardware.

So here's what I ran into, I initially used a 4GB drive just to test it out and see how it read folders and tags and what not. Stuck about 2GB of music on there (~350 tracks) and it read it all no problems. So I grabbed my 16GB drive and started loading it up. I still use it for transferring files at work and stuff, so I filled it up to about 13GB which came out to 2800 songs.

When I stick it in the car, it only reads 2257 tracks. So, I go digging in the manual. It only supports 255 Folders. I had 274. Makes sense. I do some rearranging on the drive and get it down to 240 folders. Same number of files, just in less folders. Still reads 2257 tracks.

So my question is, is there an overall track limit or will it only read like the first 10GB or something? I've tried formatting and copying back over and using different files and folders. It always seems to cut me off around 2240-2270 files.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated!

[googlybear]

Stupid question, but are they all the same file format? I know the car can pick up .mp3 and .wma files.

[2k10SilverCoupe]

Yeah, everything is EXACTLY the same format. I'm super anal about my music files. All are the same encoding and bitrate as well.

[AppleBonker]

While this is not an ideal solution, it may be a valuable test:

Maybe try placing ALL of your media in one folder? I'm just wondering what the outcome would be here. I really wish I could help more, but my Bose unit didn't have the USB connection ('08) and I ripped it out withing a couple of months of owning the car. I'll try to dig up more information though.

[2k10SilverCoupe]

While this is not an ideal solution, it may be a valuable test:

Maybe try placing ALL of your media in one folder? I'm just wondering what the outcome would be here. I really wish I could help more, but my Bose unit didn't have the USB connection ('08) and I ripped it out withing a couple of months of owning the car. I'll try to dig up more information though.

I actually experimented with this a little last night. According to the owners manual, it can only support a maximum of 512 files in a folder. I put 1000 each in 2 folders. One folder only showed 634 the other cut off at 813. I left the rest on the root folder. There were 810 listed there. That's the same total of 2257. I have no idea what's going on with it, because even after changing which files were located where, it still won't show all 2800 tracks.

I'd be fine with trimming it down if there is a limitation, but I'd like to know what the limitation is so I can make sure the stuff I really want doesn't get cut out.

[AppleBonker]

Odd. So even with a 500 file limit, the unit is finding more than that? Probably a dumb question, but have you tried organizing with 500 files in each folder by like 20 folders?

And yes, I realize what a pain it is to keep tinkering with the organization on a flash drive.

[2k10SilverCoupe]

Odd. So even with a 500 file limit, the unit is finding more than that? Probably a dumb question, but have you tried organizing with 500 files in each folder by like 20 folders?

And yes, I realize what a pain it is to keep tinkering with the organization on a flash drive.

Yeah. I've fooled with it to the point of giving up. I'll just deal. Here is what I've found though that's pretty interesting (at least to me because I'm a computer nerd). A normal mp3/media player will generally read folders/files in alphanumeric order. This means it would start with symbols, move to numbers, then on to letters, just like sorting alphabetically on your Windows Desktop does. Whoever designed this particular system, has it reading by sectors. It actually reads in the order a file/folder was written to the disk.

For example, I have 2 songs on the drive. (Adema)-Giving Up.mp3 and (Tool)-Undertow.mp3 Obviously, in Windows, (Adema) would be listed above (Tool) but if I copy the (Tool) song to the flash drive first, it will be played first. I know, I know...It's not terribly relevant to anything, but I found it to be an interesting little bit of trivia.

This leads me to think that it's a size limitation moreso than a numbers thing. You know, like the thing just stops reading tracks at XXX number of MB. Following this logic, with an average of around 5MB per song, it's cutting me off right around 10GB. I don't know. I'm going to play with it some more later. Stick like a 11GB Data file on it and then a few mp3s and see what happens. I will defeat the evil Bose radio brain.

[AppleBonker]

That definitely is interesting. I'm fairly certain my Alpine reads alphanumerically, but I rarely plug a flash drive into it. I usually stick with the iPod (though leaving the iPod in the car doesn't seem to be the most durable option). Not that I have the money, but I'll probably research swapping in a 1.8" SSD to see if it's even possible.

Either way, any limitation is annoying. Some people might not hit it, but others will. Definitely keep us informed, as there may be someone else out there with this same question.

[AppleBonker]

Random other thought, but can you reverse the sorting on the flash drive? IE, have the most recently copied songs play first? And if so, would this effectively double the Bose-readable capacity of the drive?

[2k10SilverCoupe]

Random other thought, but can you reverse the sorting on the flash drive? IE, have the most recently copied songs play first? And if so, would this effectively double the Bose-readable capacity of the drive?

The Kenwood in my old car (RIP) and the Alpine in my other ride both read Alphanumerically.

Unfortunately, when you plug in a flash drive to the Bose, it just "reads" the files and then plays. You can set it to random or repeat. That's about it for options. And it's not so much when they were added, as where on the disk surface they are. For example, if I copy a new folder on now and it fills empty space on the disk between two existing folders, that's where it seems to fall in the playback order regardless of the date added. I'm going to try to low level format the flash drive and then copy the folders over one at a time in exact alphabetical order and see what it does.

I'm putting waaaaaaay to much effort into this, but I guess that's what happens when you work in Software QA.

[AppleBonker]

Got it. That's actually a terribly designed system. So rather then setting up playlists or something like that, you'd have to copy the files into separate directories? Time to start buying flash drives in bulk...

Edit: side note - software QA for what company if you don't mind me asking?

[DJ_B_Easy]

Before I type this, let it be known that I am by no means a computer junkie. Disclaimer complete.

From what you describe above, it almost sounds like the USB is getting fragmented like a hard drive would. I know you said you tried moving things around, what if you dump EVERYTHING and start over from scratch with the appropriate number of folders and files per folder? Essentially defragmenting the USB and reloading?

Either way this sucks, would drive me insane.

[2k10SilverCoupe]

Got it. That's actually a terribly designed system. So rather then setting up playlists or something like that, you'd have to copy the files into separate directories? Time to start buying flash drives in bulk...

Edit: side note - software QA for what company if you don't mind me asking?

Yeah, I think I may do the bulk flash drive thing. You can pick up 2-4GB drives for 5 or 6 bucks around the holidays. I'll just use them like CDs. I played with it a little more. Did a low level format and put them on the drive in the order I wanted to play them in. Only did about 2GB, but it appeared to play back as expected. Then I used some super fancy nerd software and rearranged their physical location on the disc. They then played in that order. I don't know, seems like a crap design to me.

I may just see if I can pick up a used iPod (even though Apple is the devil) to leave in the car. I would just use one of my old Android phones to play back through the AUX input, but that means running a cable and dealing with the garbage audio level of the line in. I'll continue my exploration. I may try an external HD and see what it does.

As for your side note, I work on software for the Air Force through a defense contractor. Nothing too interesting though.

[AppleBonker]

Only problem with the external hard drive is keeping it powered. I don't know if the single USB port provides enough power from the head unit.

I, too, dislike Apple. But manufacturers tend to offer the best integration options for them. At least that's what I've noticed (and about the only reason I keep and iPod around).

[2k10SilverCoupe]

Only problem with the external hard drive is keeping it powered. I don't know if the single USB port provides enough power from the head unit.

I, too, dislike Apple. But manufacturers tend to offer the best integration options for them. At least that's what I've noticed (and about the only reason I keep and iPod around).

Luckily there is a cig adapter next to the USB port. Most external HDs have the dual end USB cord specifically for the extra power so you can just grab a 12V to USB adapter for a GPS or whatever and drop it in if need be. I'm going to give that a shot, but if it turns out the head unit can only read a limited amount of data, it's not going to matter anyway.

[DJ_B_Easy]

No one liked my idea?

Ha j/k, sounds like you have it pinned.

I did have another thought though. Is the memory device on an SD card the same as Flash memory? What if you got an SD to USB reader and tried dropping some files on the SD card? No? Ok I'll go now...

[2k10SilverCoupe]

No one liked my idea?

Ha j/k, sounds like you have it pinned.

I did have another thought though. Is the memory device on an SD card the same as Flash memory? What if you got an SD to USB reader and tried dropping some files on the SD card? No? Ok I'll go now...

Actually, I tried your idea. Multiple Times. It will play back in the order they were copied, but still doesn't see them all.

External Hard drive has the same results as USB drive, and for the record, the USB port does have enough juice to run a 160GB drive no problems. I doubt it would effectively spin up a 1TB desktop model, but I don't know anyone that would attempt to carry that much music with them anyway.

And finally, I moved some things out of sub folders and it recognized a few more tracks. I'm seeing 2300 now. It's only about 80 more, but it's still an improvement. The manual says it can read 8 folders deep, but I'm callin BS on that. I'm going to move everything out and see what I get. I'll get a final determination up this weekend for anyone else who may be interested.

[2k10SilverCoupe]

So here is the final determination. The Bose system stops reading at ~12.5GB. I don't know why, as this doesn't follow any known limitations of existing OS's, but it does.

I used a 160GB external HD and a 32GB flash drive and stuffed them full. I then checked which folders appeared and went back into Windows and got the size of all the folders it did see. To investigate further, I stuck an 11GB file at the beginning of the drive and filled the rest with music. Sure enough, it only saw about 1.5GB of music on the drive. I'm perplexed, but it is what is I guess.

As for the arrangement of the files, it reads in exactly the order it was written to the drive. Therefore, if you want it to play back in a particular order, you better stick them on there that way.