Music Hard Drive

[blueman2]

Originally Posted by zibawal

Thanks. I'll put a couple, wave and flacs on USB to test. Btw if on iphone, does it show cover art.

Btw just acquired 2010 E93 DCT!

Congratulations on the new E93!!!!!

As for the music compatibility, I just tried flac. Confirmed: does not work.

[BobsM3Coupe]

Originally Posted by E90M3CDFR

FYI: you can rename each USB1 USB2 etc folder to something you specify.

Also you can backup the music onto a USB drive...for example when you take the car in for service in case they do an update on the iDrive software that wipes the drive. With the newer iDrive software the back up process is very quick (about 45 mins for a 10GB)...with an earlier version it took so long I would run out of gas before the backup completed.

I just backed up the music from the HDD to a USB (Thumb) Drive. I see it all loaded onto the USB drive but for some reason I can't get the music to play when used in my desktop or notebook pc. Any reason why?

[blueman2]

Originally Posted by BobsM3Coupe

I just backed up the music from the HDD to a USB (Thumb) Drive. I see it all loaded onto the USB drive but for some reason I can't get the music to play when used in my desktop or notebook pc. Any reason why?

My guess is that it backs up the music into a special format. Not readable my anything but the iDrive, as I understand it.

[BobsM3Coupe]

Originally Posted by blueman2

My guess is that it backs up the music into a special format. Not readable my anything but the iDrive, as I understand it.

Thanks, that would explain it.

[zibawal]

Originally Posted by blueman2

Congratulations on the new E93!!!!!

As for the music compatibility, I just tried flac. Confirmed: does not work.

Thanks You saved me trouble! Wave sounds better than FLAC any ways! I believe in purity.

[gemurdock]

Just an fyi: I ripped some CDs using Windows Media player in the Windows Media Audio (Variable Bit Rate) format, and loaded it onto a 16 GB USB memory stick (PNY). My 2011 M3 would not recognize the USB stick in the glove box, but recognizes it installed in the armrest. This document seems to indicate that the bitrate max is 256 Kbs: http://www.bmw.com/com/en/owners/nav...usb_audio.html

[blueman2]

Originally Posted by gemurdock

Just an fyi: I ripped some CDs using Windows Media player in the Windows Media Audio (Variable Bit Rate) format, and loaded it onto a 16 GB USB memory stick (PNY). My 2011 M3 would not recognize the USB stick in the glove box, but recognizes it installed in the armrest. This document seems to indicate that the bitrate max is 256 Kbs: http://www.bmw.com/com/en/owners/nav...usb_audio.html

Turns out the glovebox is for COPYING only. It is not for PLAYING of USB music. I found the same thing as you when I tried.

[gemurdock]

Originally Posted by blueman2

Turns out the glovebox is for COPYING only. It is not for PLAYING of USB music. I found the same thing as you when I tried.

How long did you have to wait for the idrive to recognize the USB drive? I found that if it was plugged in when I started the car, I would get a message of "Please wait", and after several minutes it would report "No entries" in gray. I can imagine it might take a while to load, but in the center console it was essentially immediate.

[ttnm3]

Sometimes even in the center console, the USB is not recognized after you start up the car. I just pull it out and plug it back in.

Does anyone know if you can create playlist in the internal HD?

[New_m3]

I use a 120 gb samsung s1 mini external hard drive for music. It works extremely well. If you getting an external hard drive through the usb socket you need to make sure that it only needs a small amount of power to run.

So 1.8 inch drives work perfectly!

[Alex1911]

Didn't want to start a new thread, I can't get anything to upload. I got a SanDisk Cruzer USB 2.0 Flash Drive... nada, I plug it in, hit upload, and nothing happens. Tried a WD USB hard drive, nada. Tried both USB ports, nada.

Under external devices, my front USB port is always lit up, even when nothing is plugged in.

What am I screwing up here, or is my port broken?

[Gyoung]

You cannot save ipod music files into the car. It's designed to do so

[Sedan_Clan]

Good thread. I just uploaded a couple of CD's for the first time today. Does the bit rate quality suck that bad that I should consider the recommendation to upload the CD's via a flash drive?

[BobsM3Coupe]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

Good thread. I just uploaded a couple of CD's for the first time today. Does the bit rate quality suck that bad that I should consider the recommendation to upload the CD's via a flash drive?

It sounds great to me. But everyone's ears are different.

[mesohuanny]

new_m3, are you saying you can play from the harddrive without copying anything over?

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by BobsM3Coupe

It sounds great to me. But everyone's ears are different.

I was thinking the same thing, but then I assumed that my hearing was off.

[CFTconnet]

Hey guys,

don't mean to hi-jack this thread but I'm having a different kind of hard drive issue. I have a 2011 328xi sedan.

I copied a greatest hits CD on to the hard drive and when playing the songs back they sounded like they were scratched, skipping and jumping.
I figured my CD may have been scratched, however, when I look at the CD I see no scratches and when I play the actual CD in my BMW it sounds perfectly fine. It doesn't scratch or skip.

I deleted the whole album, and copied the CD again.
A lot of the copied tracks still jump, skip, and sound scratched although this occurs at different times on the track.
For example, the first time I copied the album, track 1 would skip at the 2 minute mark. After deleting and re-copying the album, track 1 would still skip or sound scratched but would do so at the 3:15 minute mark.

Is this a known problem? Could the hard drive be defective?
I've copied a few other albums which seem to sound fine (truth be told I haven't listened to every single track on ever album I've copied, but in general they sound fine).

Would driving over bumpy roads affect the CD copying?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone

[Technic]

The best sounding method of loading MP3 songs into the HDD is by USB stick after converting the songs to 320kps. When a commercial CD is used to load songs into the HDD, the iDrive automatically rip those songs at a default 128kps WMA format.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by CFTconnet

Hey guys,

don't mean to hi-jack this thread but I'm having a different kind of hard drive issue. I have a 2011 328xi sedan.

I copied a greatest hits CD on to the hard drive and when playing the songs back they sounded like they were scratched, skipping and jumping.
I figured my CD may have been scratched, however, when I look at the CD I see no scratches and when I play the actual CD in my BMW it sounds perfectly fine. It doesn't scratch or skip.

I deleted the whole album, and copied the CD again.
A lot of the copied tracks still jump, skip, and sound scratched although this occurs at different times on the track.
For example, the first time I copied the album, track 1 would skip at the 2 minute mark. After deleting and re-copying the album, track 1 would still skip or sound scratched but would do so at the 3:15 minute mark.

Is this a known problem? Could the hard drive be defective?
I've copied a few other albums which seem to sound fine (truth be told I haven't listened to every single track on ever album I've copied, but in general they sound fine).

Would driving over bumpy roads affect the CD copying?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone

I've noticed this on a few CD's as well (..only Method Man: Tical and a Sway & Tech CD). Everything else has copied fine.

[CFTconnet]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

I've noticed this on a few CD's as well (..only Method Man: Tical and a Sway & Tech CD). Everything else has copied fine.

Thanks for the response Sedan_C!
The problem CD for me was David Bowie's Greatest Hits CD 1.
I also copied Eminem's Slim Shady LP which played fine until the last 4 tracks, which sound horribly scratched and jumpy when played back from the HDD.
I wasn't able to physically inspect the Eminem CD but I can't imagine it would be that scratched since I take pretty good care of my CDs.

Anyone else having this problem?

[Z06M3]

Originally Posted by Gyoung

You cannot save ipod music files into the car. It's designed to do so

I have a second gen Ipod Nano that won't play any which way I install it. If I plug it into the glovebox I'm able to rip music from the Ipod in disk mode to the car. Weird!

[mexicanmike]

Originally Posted by xzlnt

I have a second gen Ipod Nano that won't play any which way I install it. If I plug it into the glovebox I'm able to rip music from the Ipod in disk mode to the car. Weird!

An ipod running in disk mode is no different than a USB flash drive or external portanble HDD. There is nothing weird about this.