rdperkins
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Use Portable USB Hard Drive with Car Stereo USB Port?
I have a car stereo which has a USB port and I can play MP3 files directly from a USB memory stick (4gb). I also have a spare 80gb portable USB hard drive which I use for backups. It's actually a Toshiba laptop drive with a third party case and USB cable. How can I use the 80gb with my car stereo like I do with the memory stick/key?
You should be able to do it, but you may have to format the portable drive as FAT16. This is also assuming that the portable laptop drive enclosure is "usb powered".
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ASKER
The hard drive is formated as NTFS and the USB device FAT32. The NTFS drive is actually 120gb. Can I convert the 120GB NTFS to FAT32 without problems?
Windows 2000 and XP won't let you create a FAT32 partition larger than 32GB. The article I posted earlier was instructions on how to use Ranish Partition Manager to do it, after which, it will work fine.
that is true, but fdisk will, up to 128 GB
www.bootdisk.com
www.bootdisk.com
The "correct" manner in which to "convert" an NTFS partition into FAT32 is, alas, backup+format (i.e., start again): there is no true conversion. :(
ASKER
I've formatted the drive as FAT32 and placed some sample MP3s on it. The car stereo recognizes that a USB device is plugged in, but doesn't display any files. I suspect it is not supplying enough power to the drive. Any ideas about an external source for the drive?
see my previous post : use the car lighter
If the drive only has one USB connector, it may be tricky to get supplemental power to it. The other possibility, too, is that the stereo may not recognize FAT32 above a certain size.
ASKER
The spare drive I have has a separate power input plug, one that attached to a second USB port on the computer. I could jury rig this to work. My great concern is the amperage and voltage. I believe the auto system is 12-14 volts, and don't know the amps. Couldn't this be a large problem, potentially burning out the hard drive?
Yes; but people already make USB car power adapters. Here's one: http://www.amazon.com/Zip-Linq-12V-Auto-Adapter-ZIPPWR-DC/dp/B000167V50
ASKER
I am going to buy the power adapter to try this, but it may take me some time go get one as I'm living and working in Qatar and there isn't a Best Buy down the street. This post may need to stay open a few weeks, but I suspect more than one person would like to know the results.
ASKER
Closing this one out. Bought the power adapter, formatted the drive as FAT32, separate power and USB cables attached to the car stereo, but it didn't work.