Which thumb drive to use for adding music to hard drive? - BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum

SF Space Grey · 10-31-2012, 02:21 PM

Can someone recommend a good thumb drive that will work with the internal hard drive in my '09 335i? This is for adding to and backing up the "Music Collection" content through the USB jack in the glovebox. I have an old 2GB Lexar drive that the system recognizes, but it's a pain having to add music 2GB at time into a 12GB drive. I bought one of these: http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer...bxgy_pc_text_y, hoping that would work, but can't for the life of me get the BMW system to recognize the presence of the thumb drive (though it works flawlessly in my PC). I tried using a couple different formats, with no luck.

What am I missing here? I'd like a flash drive that can hold at least 12GB of music--and preferably one small enough that I can close the glovebox while it's plugged in and updating. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks!

gpb · 11-01-2012, 06:42 AM

Are you 100% sure you're using FAT32 format on the drive?

Also make sure you don't have one of those weird Sandisk U3 partitions set up; while I don't know for sure I bet the presence of two partitions on the drive would confuse the BMW system.

SF Space Grey · 11-02-2012, 10:52 AM

Thanks for the help. I'm definitely using the FAT32 file system, so that's not the issue. And I did a full format of the drive, which I assume would have eliminated any partition, right? Not sure how to check for that.

Can anyone recommend a 16GB flash drive that works well on their '09's glovebox port?

SF Space Grey · 11-03-2012, 01:56 PM

To clarify, the 16gb drive that wouldn't work is formatted in FAT32. The 2gb drive that actually does work is in the FAT format. I understand that the FAT format can't be used with drives larger than 2gb. But now we're getting into computer stuff over my head.

Can someone with an '09 at least confirm that they've gotten the glovebox port to recognize a flash drive with a capacity above 2GB?

Thanks!

Kid Red · 11-05-2012, 02:41 PM

Since it's a 12gb HDD, maybe it won't read the 16gb thumbdrive? My Audi Nav won't recognize SD cards over 2gb.

I've used Kennsington thumbs with success on my '10- iDrive, in 2gb and I think a 4gb. I tried a 32gb but that did not show up as an option.

10-31-2012, 02:21 PM	#1
SF Space Grey Private Drives: 2009 335i sedan Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 50 iTrader: (0)	Which thumb drive to use for adding music to hard drive? Can someone recommend a good thumb drive that will work with the internal hard drive in my '09 335i? This is for adding to and backing up the "Music Collection" content through the USB jack in the glovebox. I have an old 2GB Lexar drive that the system recognizes, but it's a pain having to add music 2GB at time into a 12GB drive. I bought one of these: http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer...bxgy_pc_text_y, hoping that would work, but can't for the life of me get the BMW system to recognize the presence of the thumb drive (though it works flawlessly in my PC). I tried using a couple different formats, with no luck. What am I missing here? I'd like a flash drive that can hold at least 12GB of music--and preferably one small enough that I can close the glovebox while it's plugged in and updating. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks! __________________ 2009 e90 sedan \| sport pkg \| navigation
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11-02-2012, 10:52 AM	#3
SF Space Grey Private Drives: 2009 335i sedan Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 50 iTrader: (0)	Thanks for the help. I'm definitely using the FAT32 file system, so that's not the issue. And I did a full format of the drive, which I assume would have eliminated any partition, right? Not sure how to check for that. Can anyone recommend a 16GB flash drive that works well on their '09's glovebox port? __________________ 2009 e90 sedan \| sport pkg \| navigation

11-03-2012, 01:56 PM	#4
SF Space Grey Private Drives: 2009 335i sedan Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 50 iTrader: (0)	To clarify, the 16gb drive that wouldn't work is formatted in FAT32. The 2gb drive that actually does work is in the FAT format. I understand that the FAT format can't be used with drives larger than 2gb. But now we're getting into computer stuff over my head. Can someone with an '09 at least confirm that they've gotten the glovebox port to recognize a flash drive with a capacity above 2GB? Thanks! __________________ 2009 e90 sedan \| sport pkg \| navigation

11-05-2012, 02:41 PM	#5
Kid Red First Lieutenant Drives: 2010 335i Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Casselberry, Fl Posts: 325 iTrader: (1)	Since it's a 12gb HDD, maybe it won't read the 16gb thumbdrive? My Audi Nav won't recognize SD cards over 2gb. I've used Kennsington thumbs with success on my '10- iDrive, in 2gb and I think a 4gb. I tried a 32gb but that did not show up as an option. __________________ My Current: 2010 Sapphire Black Metallic 335i /Sport/DCT/PDC/Nav/Black Leather/CF Wrapped Interior/Gloss Black Grill/More coming... My Other: 2006 Audi A4/Quartz Grey/Black Leather/E-Codes/APR tune/19" VRM v708s/FK Silverlines/RS4 Front Sway Bar/S4 Mirrors/Black Grill/Arc Audio-Focal Sound system

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11-01-2012, 06:42 AM	#2
gpb First Lieutenant Drives: 335i Cabrio Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Atlanta Posts: 393 iTrader: (0)	Are you 100% sure you're using FAT32 format on the drive? Also make sure you don't have one of those weird Sandisk U3 partitions set up; while I don't know for sure I bet the presence of two partitions on the drive would confuse the BMW system.