[beww]

Not entirely true. I routinely use 32GB Flash Drives and format them to FAT32 with no problems. I think I have even used a 64GB Flash Drive formatted to FAT32. I do this on a Windows 10 PC.

A FAT 32 partition (note "partition" not "drive") can be up to 16TB, but Windows puts a limitation of 32GB on it for some reason.
It is possible to create FAT32 partitions over 32 GB on Windows, but not without some tricks that would not happen by default.
You can create as many 32GB partitions as will fit on a drive of course.
The other limitation is individual file size, but few music tracks exceed 4GB. (Wagner?)

 

[williamsji]

A FAT 32 partition (note "partition" not "drive") can be up to 16TB, but Windows puts a limitation of 32GB on it for some reason.
It is possible to create FAT32 partitions over 32 GB on Windows, but not without some tricks that would not happen by default.
You can create as many 32GB partitions as will fit on a drive of course.
The other limitation is individual file size, but few music tracks exceed 4GB. (Wagner?)

Yeah, if you feed a Windows PC a USB stick bigger than 32gb it does not automatically offer FAT32 as a format option. Microsoft really really really wants to kill off FAT32.... but so many other systems that take USB sticks still rely on it so it's not going anywhere.

So... you do have to use a 3rd party app or drop down into using the Command Line Interface. Most folks probably benefit best by grabbing a 3rd party utility. But if they are comfortable with CLI, that is easy, but it may not be fast on a big USB.

 

[beww]

Yeah, if you feed a Windows PC a USB stick bigger than 32gb it does not automatically offer FAT32 as a format option. Microsoft really really really wants to kill off FAT32.... but so many other systems that take USB sticks still rely on it so it's not going anywhere.

So... you do have to use a 3rd party app or drop down into using the Command Line Interface. Most folks probably benefit best by grabbing a 3rd party utility. But if they are comfortable with CLI, that is easy, but it may not be fast on a big USB.

Unix CLI Forever!
My Home is a Microsoft Free Zone.
Personally I prefer journaling file systems, usually use ext4, which CAN be done with the gen5 head unit, but I don't advise it unless you're a nerd like me.

 

[williamsji]

Unix CLI Forever!
My Home is a Microsoft Free Zone.
Personally I prefer journaling file systems, usually use ext4, which CAN be done with the gen5 head unit, but I don't advise it unless you're a nerd like me.

Indeed. I too am well off of the "turn key" OS pathways too.

We use a mix of PCs, Chromebooks, tablets, phones in our family. They are all connected together and backed up automatically via my Synology NAS though, which runs on Linux. Everything on the NAS side is all EXT4, including the automated backups of the NAS.

I like Chromebooks a lot, because they are pretty well bullet proof, are constantly updated (and quickly) and they are built essentially on a Linux core. But I still have need of running some windows Apps in the household... so we keep a couple PCs in the home as well.

My NAS is just that a Network Attached Storage, though I also run a cloud server with VPN tunnel to the outside world, streaming music and video servers on it as well as a webserver with a VPN tunnel to the outside world. It is a fire and waterproof NAS though for disaster protection, and a backup drive attached externally.

Everyone in the family just thinks everything runs magically in background and they are oblivious as to what I actually have setup as a home network cluster.

 

[billb22]

I have a HP desktop....it has a dvd drive.
I don't have any music recorded anywhere, nor do I have any cd's. Haven't had anything like that in many years. I'm just getting started- this is brand new to me. I'll find some local that can help me.

Have hundreds of tunes loaded on thumb drives plugged into my CRV (2019). Just select the thumb drive from source and off you go.

We have a 2021 Hybrid CRV with display audio and the thumb drive plays fine, but it is irritating that it goes back to the first selection every time you turn the car off. My other car, a BMW, always goes back to the same song when you start it back up. Does anyone know if there is there a solution to this?

 

[Stelcom66]

My 2012 CR-V seemed to be doing this the last few days. But, I was changing some settings with the play mode. I have a separate thread about what I found out re: the playlist order. Anyway, I changed the setting to Normal Play. Not sure what setting it was on before, maybe Repeat One Folder? I checked after parked for a while and the system resumed playing at the point where it was when I turned it off, which is what I want. The owner's manual doesn't define Normal Play, while other modes seem self explanatory. I'll verify the mode and results again tomorrow.

 

[Stelcom66]

The music did in fact resume where I left off yesterday. The setting is Normal Play.

Re: my other thread, I mentioned I tried making a playlist within a folder by renaming each file with 01 (songname) 02 (songname).. etc., but found out the playlist seemed to be determined by the order in which the files were sent to the USB drive.

 

[beww]

Re: my other thread, I mentioned I tried making a playlist within a folder by renaming each file with 01 (songname) 02 (songname).. etc., but found out the playlist seemed to be determined by the order in which the files were sent to the USB drive.

With a real computer operating system you can modify the "atime" (access time) of any file to be whatever you like, so you could make the files show up in any order you want under those conditions.
As for doing that on Windows, I have no idea if it's even possible.

 

[DavidL2415]

A free Windows utility called DriveSort is available that solves the file sort problem. Easy to find in a search, it's easy to use and allows you to sort files and folders alphanumerically, then save that sort on the USB stick. While operating systems for Mac and Windows sort files before displaying them to the user, embedded operating systems in MP3 players (and the Honda media player) do not. DriveSort sorts the directory tables of a volume formatted in FAT12, FAT16 or FAT32 according to a customizable order.

Another good utility to improve your listening experience in the Honda is dBpoweramp Music Converter. This one is not free, but there is a free trial version. You can use dBpoweramp to rip CDs to digital audio files in a wide variety of file formats playable on your Honda media player. I really like the WMA Lossless format (NOT standard WMA), the files are slightly larger than an MP3 but the audio resolution is close to CD quality, much much better than MP3. This file format is supported on the Honda player and sound terrific.

 

[billb22]

The music did in fact resume where I left off yesterday. The setting is Normal Play.

Re: my other thread, I mentioned I tried making a playlist within a folder by renaming each file with 01 (songname) 02 (songname).. etc., but found out the playlist seemed to be determined by the order in which the files were sent to the USB drive.

I appreciate your help. I will check my settings.

 

[Stelcom66]

A free Windows utility called DriveSort is available...

Another good utility to improve your listening experience in the Honda is dBpoweramp Music Converter. This one is not free...

Thanks for the information, I'll check both out. I don't mind paying for something if I get good results. One genre I listen to is fine, almost preferable to be random, another I prefer as configured in a playlist.