For 6fl - Save your $$$$ - don't buy Ipod there's a better way!!!

Zagor · 08-31-2007, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gloster

BMW specifically says not to use hard drives with the USB port. I don't know why, and of course we can ignore them, but it does say it. Page 18 of the radio manual, "Do not connect USB hard disks".

I would guess it is because hard disks draw more power than allowed by USB and they don't want to make any guarantees that it will work.

Zagor · 08-31-2007, 03:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drwtsn32

Yeah, I noticed that there doesn't seem to be an easy way to take this apart. And I doubt there's a low power spinup jumper on it anyway. If there was, wouldn't WD enable that by default? Why would you ever NOT want it that way for a bus-powered USB drive?

As far as I know, WD currently does not make any 2.5" drives without this feature, so I would be surprised to see the drive in the passport not having it.

One reason for not enabling it by default would be that it affects performance by making the spinup slower. And these days benchmarks and internet reviews are important marketing tools... I agree the sensible thing would be to have it on by default though, and maybe it already is. I just thought it'd be worth checking. But I agree it's not worth breaking the enclosure and voiding the warranty just to check.

Options remaining:

1) Add an extra power supply.

2) Get a disk enclosure with built-in battery, such as the many different "OTG" devices used for backing up digital cameras and such. They cost a little extra, but the addition of a battery to handle the spin-up power surge means the USB port never gets overloaded.
A few examples: V-Tec Cutie OTG, Macally PHR-250 OTG, Teac Digi Drive

Pyranha · 08-31-2007, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drwtsn32

I thought about doing that exact thing... except WD has a dual USB cable specifically designed for the WD Passport that you might want to use instead. I linked to it in a previous message in this thread.

I bet it would solve the problem, but you'll end up with quite a few cables in the armrest.

Good call on the WD brand cable. Here's a well designed car adapter that might help limit the clutter some (even if it is desgined for the evil IPOD):

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.proc...afeed.ILU+I109

It is going to get a bit crowded in the armrest though, and I'm a hair torqued that it doesn't just work out of the box. I also thought about building a small USB power injector, but that isn't going to help the clutter issue either.

-C

gloster · 08-31-2007, 08:11 AM

Another option to consider if your music collection isn't huge is to stick with a large thumb drive. You can get 4GB thumb drives for $40 or less now, 8GB for $60, or 16GB for $135. They are tiny and use little power so you don't have the cable clutter or power issues of a hard drive.

USCTrojan4Life · 08-31-2007, 11:48 AM

One annoyance I found about this system after having used it for a day is that it's really difficult to play artists that start w/ letters towards the end of the alphabet. Scrolling down through the artists is very slow and the system always goes back to the top anytime you change the source of music (ie. tuner, cd, usb).

Is there any workaround for this? At this rate, I am never going to get to listen to U2 and all the other bands that start w/ T, U, V, W, X, etc....

dinkoh · 08-31-2007, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by USCTrojan4Life

One annoyance I found about this system after having used it for a day is that it's really difficult to play artists that start w/ letters towards the end of the alphabet. Scrolling down through the artists is very slow and the system always goes back to the top anytime you change the source of music (ie. tuner, cd, usb).

Is there any workaround for this? At this rate, I am never going to get to listen to U2 and all the other bands that start w/ T, U, V, W, X, etc....

Thats a problem with even with the iPOD

USCTrojan4Life · 08-31-2007, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinkoh

Thats a problem with even with the iPOD

Yes, i'm aware of that. the real problem i guess is in the firmware of the headunit. It's just too damn slow. Hopefully there will be updates that will make scrolling much faster.

100mph · 08-31-2007, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by USCTrojan4Life

One annoyance I found about this system after having used it for a day is that it's really difficult to play artists that start w/ letters towards the end of the alphabet. Scrolling down through the artists is very slow and the system always goes back to the top anytime you change the source of music (ie. tuner, cd, usb).

Is there any workaround for this? At this rate, I am never going to get to listen to U2 and all the other bands that start w/ T, U, V, W, X, etc....

My work around for this was to change the genre with itunes (ihate itunes but easiest) to reflect the first letter of the artists name.

Of course you lose sorting by genre but I didnt care However this makes it much faster to find say, U2 - just go to genre, scroll down to U and you have all your U artists.

Theres a full post w/instruction here somewhere from a few months back.

100mph · 08-31-2007, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zagor

As far as I know, WD currently does not make any 2.5" drives without this feature, so I would be surprised to see the drive in the passport not having it.

One reason for not enabling it by default would be that it affects performance by making the spinup slower. And these days benchmarks and internet reviews are important marketing tools...

Perhaps, as someone pointed out, because there are well documented 'complaints' about the WD's not working for everyone WD has enabled this slower spin up on more recently manufactured units??

I'll check mine later to see if by chance I have a v2 or rev2 but it might explain why some are working and others not. I'm hoping this is it because it would suck if the car is the variable.

Being a manufacturer myself albeit with completely unrelated products I can say that I've experienced times where performance was the goal but due to some incompatibilities we've had to scale back to ensure it would work with the masses.

drwtsn32 · 08-31-2007, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 100mph

Perhaps, as someone pointed out, because there are well documented 'complaints' about the WD's not working for everyone WD has enabled this slower spin up on more recently manufactured units??

I don't think it's as simple as that. I have tried a 250GB model (just recently released) and it still doesn't work in the car.

If I had the balls I'd try to crack open the case, but I can't see how to do that without likely causing damage.

USCTrojan4Life · 08-31-2007, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 100mph

My work around for this was to change the genre with itunes (ihate itunes but easiest) to reflect the first letter of the artists name.

Of course you lose sorting by genre but I didnt care However this makes it much faster to find say, U2 - just go to genre, scroll down to U and you have all your U artists.

Theres a full post w/instruction here somewhere from a few months back.

how is that any different than just going to "artists" and scrolling down to U??

drwtsn32 · 08-31-2007, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zagor

One reason for not enabling it by default would be that it affects performance by making the spinup slower. And these days benchmarks and internet reviews are important marketing tools...

It's possible, but I would think most benchmarks are started after the drive has spun up. Unless someone is actually benchmarking the spinup time, which I haven't seen on HD benchmarks.

Shame on WD if they made the choice to increase current draw to USB spec-violating levels just to speed up the spinup rate!

Oh well, I have ordered the USB Y cable from WD and a USB car adapter. I'm pretty sure that will solve the problem at the expense of having a messy center console.

drwtsn32 · 08-31-2007, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by USCTrojan4Life

how is that any different than just going to "artists" and scrolling down to U??

There is only one entry per letter of the alphabet, instead of having to scroll through 8 "A" artists, 5 "B" artists, etc.

I would be less annoyed with the interface if it remembered where you were when you redisplayed the directory. Right now it always starts at the top.

dinkoh · 08-31-2007, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drwtsn32

There is only one entry per letter of the alphabet, instead of having to scroll through 8 "A" artists, 5 "B" artists, etc.

I would be less annoyed with the interface if it remembered where you were when you redisplayed the directory. Right now it always starts at the top.

Interesting. Kind of sucks when you want to use your iPOD instead though.

drwtsn32 · 08-31-2007, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinkoh

Interesting. Kind of sucks when you want to use your iPOD instead though.

Only if you really use the Genre feature.

dinkoh · 08-31-2007, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drwtsn32

Only if you really use the Genre feature.

I think a lot of people with iPODs would care actually. Genre is easy to organize especially when making a playlist. But, I don't see a better alternative I guess with the current BMW setup.

Pyranha · 08-31-2007, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drwtsn32

I don't think it's as simple as that. I have tried a 250GB model (just recently released) and it still doesn't work in the car.

If I had the balls I'd try to crack open the case, but I can't see how to do that without likely causing damage.

Good news! I picked up a 120GB I/O Magic drive today and it worked no problem straight out of the box. I got mine from Circuit City, here's a link to the product on their site:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/I-O-M...oductDetail.do

Guess the lower spindle speed made enough of a difference.

-C

dinkoh · 08-31-2007, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drwtsn32

Every 2 or 3 seconds it cycles between bright and dim.

Yes, I formatted it with the utility you mentioned in this thread. I don't think the 6FL is controlling the spin.. it doesn't spin up enough for the platter to spin at full speed. Spinup requires the most power... it's like the USB port can't quite cut it.

I'm having the same problem. What a major letdown! USB is grayed out on the iDrive, and the Passport light is cycling bright/dim as well.

dinkoh · 08-31-2007, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by USCTrojan4Life

So I tried this last night. Picked up a 60gb WD Passport, reformatted just like 100mph said to do, and it worked like a charm!!! I'm so glad i foudn this solution. Easily saved myself a few hundred bucks.

btw...instead of creating 27 folder for A-Z, i created half as many by doing A-B, C-D, and so on. Much better imo.

If the 60GB works, I don't think it's the 5400rpm issue. Maybe USCTrojan has a stronger USB outlet, but would think it's unlikely.

drwtsn32 · 09-01-2007, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinkoh

If the 60GB works, I don't think it's the 5400rpm issue.

Didn't someone earlier on say they got it to work with the 160GB model too? I have tried that and the 250GB model. Not sure why I didn't get it to work and someone else did with the same model drive.

I definitely think the spindle speed could make a big difference. A slower drive would not require as much current to spin up.

bluemax · 09-01-2007, 03:51 PM

Hi all,

Am new here - just took delivery of my coupe today

Before anything else though, can I say how much I appreciate you guys on this forum. Without a lot of your posts, I'd still be in the dark ages with my car...

Anyway, just took a Seagate 80gb hard drive to the car, & sure enough, had the flashing light syndrome too. Fortunately, I already had a Y cable, so took that out & used the lighter & usb together & the drive sprang to life.

Sadly, my only problem is that my lighter plug is too tall for the rest to come down

so need to find a more shallow one.

Any suggestions

thanks
Bren

100mph · 09-01-2007, 04:15 PM

This one looks like a nice solution for extra USB power and appears to be of a low enough profile to keep out of the way of the arm rest lid.

http://www.electronics-expo.com/make...v/i109/42.html
(This link just has a better picture of what was already posted above)

Also an update, I went and picked up a 2nd WD drive just to see and sure enough no problems, fired right up...

And so it would appear I just happened to get lucky somehow with my car having enough USB power. A little disappointing but at least there are solutions like the above (w/y cable) to make a USB HDD a more universal option for 6FL and still less bulky than the IPOD cable!!

And to those who were hesitant about the 'genre fix' - the beauty of a portable HDD is you can simply 'back up' your MP3's to this drive and edit the genres only on the USB HDD keeping your original genres in tact for Ipod or other uses. However, I personally never found genres to be consistent or even there unless I spent countless hours editing them by hand.

08-31-2007, 08:11 AM	#70
gloster Captain 15 Rep 649 Posts Drives: 335i MT, sport Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Cleveland, OH iTrader: (0)	Another option to consider if your music collection isn't huge is to stick with a large thumb drive. You can get 4GB thumb drives for $40 or less now, 8GB for $60, or 16GB for $135. They are tiny and use little power so you don't have the cable clutter or power issues of a hard drive.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-31-2007, 11:48 AM	#71
USCTrojan4Life Private First Class 26 Rep 130 Posts Drives: 2019 530e M sport Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: DFW iTrader: (1)	One annoyance I found about this system after having used it for a day is that it's really difficult to play artists that start w/ letters towards the end of the alphabet. Scrolling down through the artists is very slow and the system always goes back to the top anytime you change the source of music (ie. tuner, cd, usb). Is there any workaround for this? At this rate, I am never going to get to listen to U2 and all the other bands that start w/ T, U, V, W, X, etc....
	Appreciate 0 Quote

09-01-2007, 03:51 PM	#87
bluemax Private First Class 9 Rep 134 Posts Drives: Sparkling Graphite 320i Coupe Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	Hi all, Am new here - just took delivery of my coupe today Before anything else though, can I say how much I appreciate you guys on this forum. Without a lot of your posts, I'd still be in the dark ages with my car... Anyway, just took a Seagate 80gb hard drive to the car, & sure enough, had the flashing light syndrome too. Fortunately, I already had a Y cable, so took that out & used the lighter & usb together & the drive sprang to life. Sadly, my only problem is that my lighter plug is too tall for the rest to come down so need to find a more shallow one. Any suggestions thanks Bren
	Appreciate 0 Quote

09-01-2007, 04:15 PM	#88
100mph Private 8 Rep 88 Posts Drives: 335is Coupe Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Canada iTrader: (0)	This one looks like a nice solution for extra USB power and appears to be of a low enough profile to keep out of the way of the arm rest lid. http://www.electronics-expo.com/make...v/i109/42.html (This link just has a better picture of what was already posted above) Also an update, I went and picked up a 2nd WD drive just to see and sure enough no problems, fired right up... And so it would appear I just happened to get lucky somehow with my car having enough USB power. A little disappointing but at least there are solutions like the above (w/y cable) to make a USB HDD a more universal option for 6FL and still less bulky than the IPOD cable!! And to those who were hesitant about the 'genre fix' - the beauty of a portable HDD is you can simply 'back up' your MP3's to this drive and edit the genres only on the USB HDD keeping your original genres in tact for Ipod or other uses. However, I personally never found genres to be consistent or even there unless I spent countless hours editing them by hand.
	Appreciate 0 Quote