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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > AUDIO/VIDEO + BLUETOOTH + Electronics/Alarm/Software > For 6fl - Save your $$$$ - don't buy Ipod there's a better way!!!



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      08-27-2007, 12:43 PM   #23
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Hey guys, I really appreciate you guys plugging this hard drive company because it's my mother's company!
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      08-27-2007, 12:52 PM   #24
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Originally Posted by shaunt View Post
Hey guys, I really appreciate you guys plugging this hard drive company because it's my mother's company!
She owns WD???
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      08-27-2007, 05:10 PM   #25
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Is there any way to search for music by either artist or album name like you can on an ipod? It seems like which ever way you decide to store your music (ie. A-Z by artist name), you'll be stuck searching that way. Say I store all my music alphabetically w/ the artist name, but then want to search for a particular album, I wouldnt' be able to do that, right?
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      08-27-2007, 05:22 PM   #26
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Do you need any additional power source for it to work?
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      08-27-2007, 05:31 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by USCTrojan4Life View Post
Is there any way to search for music by either artist or album name like you can on an ipod? It seems like which ever way you decide to store your music (ie. A-Z by artist name), you'll be stuck searching that way. Say I store all my music alphabetically w/ the artist name, but then want to search for a particular album, I wouldnt' be able to do that, right?
I'm not sure I follow but the simple answer is that you have every function with a portable HDD as you do with an Ipod.

The only additional 6FL function that isnt available on an IPOD (that i can see) is access to directories.

See my pictures early in this thread, perhaps they will be of more help
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      08-27-2007, 05:32 PM   #28
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Do you need any additional power source for it to work?
No not for a WD passport. Some others do but most 2.5" portable HDD I've seen are just USB powered.
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      08-27-2007, 05:52 PM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 100mph View Post
I'm not sure I follow but the simple answer is that you have every function with a portable HDD as you do with an Ipod.

The only additional 6FL function that isnt available on an IPOD (that i can see) is access to directories.

See my pictures early in this thread, perhaps they will be of more help
i don't have iDrive so i don't see how i can sort through music by artist/album/genre.

Basically, I plan on creating a bunch of folders w/ the artist names. But if i do this, i don't see how i can sort through music by genre or album names. Unless I'm missing something here....
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      08-27-2007, 06:01 PM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by USCTrojan4Life View Post
i don't have iDrive so i don't see how i can sort through music by artist/album/genre.

Basically, I plan on creating a bunch of folders w/ the artist names. But if i do this, i don't see how i can sort through music by genre or album names. Unless I'm missing something here....
Sorry I can't be much help here, don't know how things work without idrive but suspect with a portable HDD it should still be the same as it is with an ipod.

The key is your ID3 tags for your MP3's - this is what the Ipod uses to sort/search by album, artist etc.

I don't know this for certain but it appears 6FL 'indexes' your ID3 tags for future, quick sorting by artist, albums etc regardless of idrive or not
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      08-27-2007, 06:13 PM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 100mph View Post
Sorry I can't be much help here, don't know how things work without idrive but suspect with a portable HDD it should still be the same as it is with an ipod.

The key is your ID3 tags for your MP3's - this is what the Ipod uses to sort/search by album, artist etc.

I don't know this for certain but it appears 6FL 'indexes' your ID3 tags for future, quick sorting by artist, albums etc regardless of idrive or not
got it. so you're saying 6FL can read ID3 tags vs. actual file names? if tha'ts the case, then it should be able to sort by albums/titles/artist/genre/etc.
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      08-27-2007, 06:44 PM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by USCTrojan4Life View Post
got it. so you're saying 6FL can read ID3 tags vs. actual file names? if tha'ts the case, then it should be able to sort by albums/titles/artist/genre/etc.

Exactly!
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      08-27-2007, 07:21 PM   #33
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sweet! I'm ordering a WD Passport today.
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      08-27-2007, 07:58 PM   #34
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Ok, I just tried plugging in a 160GB WD Passport and it seems to take too long to spin up....like the USB port is not quite providing enough power. I hear it trying to spin up over and over for maybe 15 - 30 seconds. Finally the drive does spin up, but the car does not "see" it (the USB option remains grayed out). I'm guessing the car gives up before the drive actually finishes spinning up.

I will try again later when I actually have the engine running, but I doubt that matters.
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      08-27-2007, 08:14 PM   #35
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Sorry to thread-jack but I couldn't help but notice drwtsn32's name ... are you Windows coder ... or perhaps a very unfortunate Windows admin?
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      08-27-2007, 09:43 PM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drwtsn32 View Post
Ok, I just tried plugging in a 160GB WD Passport and it seems to take too long to spin up....like the USB port is not quite providing enough power. I hear it trying to spin up over and over for maybe 15 - 30 seconds. Finally the drive does spin up, but the car does not "see" it (the USB option remains grayed out). I'm guessing the car gives up before the drive actually finishes spinning up.

I will try again later when I actually have the engine running, but I doubt that matters.
drwtsn32, what's the blue light doing?

First time I hooked mine up to the pc it did something similar but turned out the cable wasn't seated properly - the blue light was going on and off, on and off till I popped it in properly.

One other time in the car I started it up and when the radio came on I plugged in the hdd and nothing, no lights on and no 6FL. I tried unplugging it and back in, nothing. I had to shut the car off and start over to finally correct it - no idea why though.

Of course I'm sure you've tested it on a PC? Maybe just a bad unit.

Did you format it yet? I can't see it but perhaps if 6FL somehow is controlling the spin up and doesn't like what it see's it shuts it down and tries again??

Let us know what happens - I'm sure USCTrojan4Life is worried if he already ordered his LOL.

btw - Costco up here in Canada had the best deal for the 160GB - $120
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      08-28-2007, 08:46 AM   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by planetscott View Post
Sorry to thread-jack but I couldn't help but notice drwtsn32's name ... are you Windows coder ... or perhaps a very unfortunate Windows admin?
Both actually
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      08-28-2007, 08:52 AM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 100mph View Post
drwtsn32, what's the blue light doing?
Every 2 or 3 seconds it cycles between bright and dim.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 100mph View Post
First time I hooked mine up to the pc it did something similar but turned out the cable wasn't seated properly - the blue light was going on and off, on and off till I popped it in properly.
The cable seemed to be seated fine, and I tried it multiple times with the same result. I may try another cable, but this cable works fine on my PC.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 100mph View Post
Of course I'm sure you've tested it on a PC? Maybe just a bad unit.
It definitely works fine on the PC... no problems at all.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 100mph View Post
Did you format it yet? I can't see it but perhaps if 6FL somehow is controlling the spin up and doesn't like what it see's it shuts it down and tries again??
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 going to try another Passport drive later today. Maybe some drives are different than others...
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      08-28-2007, 09:33 AM   #39
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drwtsn32 - well sounds like you've done exactly what I did. The only variables left I suppose is your actual WD drive or your cars usb port.

Not that I have a scientific way of telling but but I don't sense that the WD is just marginally powered in my car. It comes on right away, light is bright etc and no hesitation or spinup/down cycles.

Hopefully a new drive will do the trick, perhaps others will experiment with a WD or other portable hdd's - as you know on another forum there were a few people who got other brands of hdd's working, one needed an external power supply but the WD doesnt really have that option.

I'm going to be incommunicado till the end of the week but will be very curious to see how you make out.
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      08-28-2007, 10:20 AM   #40
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Check this out... WD sells a "USB booster" cable that compensates for the fact that some USB ports do not supply enough juice to fully spin up the drive:

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/acces...asp?ProdID=170

This cable simply plugs into two USB ports in order to double the amount of power available to the drive. Unfortunately it won't work for our cars as we only have one USB port.


ALSO, in the WD knowledge base it says the drive requires a bit more than 1000mA power to spin up the drive. That seems kinda high as many USB ports are only rated at 500mA.

Will keep digging, and I'll report my findings with a second drive tonight.
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      08-28-2007, 10:45 AM   #41
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I found the section that says it requires 1000ma but under the specifications its says "Drive Maximum Power Draw (milliamps) 650 Ma"

That booster cable says its for SOME computers that only supply 500ma so I'm assuming MOST computers and the USB standard is more than 650 ma or even 1000ma.

I really hope I just didnt happen to get either a low power requirement drive or a high powered (USB) car.

One thing worth noting is the WD is a 5400 rpm drive where others are 4200 rmp - I'd have to dust off my electronic engineering books but suspect that the later would require less power.
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      08-28-2007, 10:58 AM   #42
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Yeah, I'm sure a 4200rpm drive would require less juice to spin up.

As far as USB port power, you can check Device Manager to see what each port provides. It almost always says "500mA per port" unless it's a passively powered port on a USB hub.

To see what I'm talking about, go to Device Manager, expand USB controllers, double click on a USB root hub (or some other hub), and click the Power tab. It will report what power is available to each port.

I speculate that even though Windows might say 500mA each port, it is possible more power is likely available, especially on newer systems. However, if you search Google you can find many instances where people have issues with the WD Passport spinning up on regular PCs and Macs.


I am trying to find specs on the Seagate FreeAgent Go drive to see how much power it requires, but since that drive actually comes with a USB Y-cable, I doubt it's lower than the WD Passport.
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      08-28-2007, 11:17 AM   #43
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In PCs there are ports that do not provide that full 500mA, powered ports vs. unpowered. I am guessing the 6FL should be ok in that regard. I was also trying to find the spec sheets, but they seem to be hard to find now...

Keep us updated with these field tests.
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      08-28-2007, 11:24 AM   #44
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Quote:
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In PCs there are ports that do not provide that full 500mA, powered ports vs. unpowered.
All ports directly on the computer chassis should be powered. Unpowered ports are usually only found on passive hubs. Google shows some people having problems with the WD Passport spinning up even on their powered USB ports.

The USB port in the car is definitely powered, but in some cases it doesn't seem to provide enough juice for the drive to spin up. I will do more testing tonight with a second Passport drive and different cables.
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