32GB USB Flash Drive - any recommendations?

[gromit]

Hi there

After trying to use a Lacie USB hard drive with no success I bought a 32 GB Corsair Flash Voyager (not the XT version). It doesn't work! Flash drive works fine on the pc but in the car either it isn't recognised or it loses the connection not long afterward. Very frustrating. I'm wondering whether it's the USB connection (had similar symptoms with the hard drive) or whether the 1 series is just really picky over what is plugged in using the USB option. (I could use my ipod and indeed that works fine, but am looking to have something I can keep in the car.) So...

Can anyone recommend any 32 GB usb flash drives that from their experience work in the 1 series?

Many thanks

Jon

(Note that I'm in the UK and choice may not be as wide - and certainly more expensive - than in the USA.)

[Spook]

+1

I've used 2 different small (1GB, 2GB) drives without problem but I would like to go to a 32GB as well (I have other uses for the iPod).

[canlefty]

This is the 32GB one I use:

http://www.ocztechnology.com/product...h_memory_drive

No problems what-so-ever.

[1Ronnie]

I would try a small cheap 1 or 2 Gb to make sure it isn't a USB problem in the car first!!

[gromit]

Just tried an old Sandisk Cruzer Micro 1 GB and that works abeit painfully slowly - 10 second plus pause between songs. That usb stick is 3 or so years old so guess its a slow one and that's why there are these pauses?

[1Ronnie]

Originally Posted by gromit

Just tried an old Sandisk Cruzer Micro 1 GB and that works abeit painfully slowly - 10 second plus pause between songs. That usb stick is 3 or so years old so guess its a slow one and that's why there are these pauses?

In that case, it does sound like a compatibility problem with your original USB Drive, it may be drawing too much power, or something as well. My best suggestion is to try and get a drive someone else on here is using, adn make sure you can return it.

[Spook]

Originally Posted by gromit

Just tried an old Sandisk Cruzer Micro 1 GB and that works abeit painfully slowly - 10 second plus pause between songs. That usb stick is 3 or so years old so guess its a slow one and that's why there are these pauses?

I'm not seeing delays between songs on either of the ones I've used.

[esses]

The problem is the Cruzer Micro. I used a couple I had laying around while I waited for my 16g OCZ to arrive in the mail. What you described is exactly one of the myriad of problems I had (attributable to low read times). SanDisk is cheap and QC is inconsistent. Canlefty confirmed above that an OCZ 32g drive works perfectly, and I can confirm that an OCZ 16g drive works perfectly. Kingston, PNY and Crucial and good manufacturers also.

[amdmaxx]

I like Corsair Voyager units...

[MikeVictor]

I've heard you need to make sure the FAT is set to FAT32, not NTFS, for it to work properly.

[Redbeemer]

There are two types of problems you can have with a usb drive: first, it must be a fat 32 drive, not ntsf. If it is ntsf, you can easily reformat it to fat 32. Second, some drives just read too slowly to work well, especially if they are trying to read high bit rate songs. I tried several brands that didnt work or worked poorly before ordering a Patriot Xporter 32 GB drive and it works great! By the way, the BMW manual recommends against using hard drives with the usb input on this car.

[gromit]

Just tried the old 1 gb sandisk again, following advice here (see end of thread):

http://www.babybmw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=10096

and it seems to work fine. Looks like the USB connection not so happy with my 192 kbps M4a files but ok with 192 kbps WMA ones. Anyone else had this issue?