Does anyone have a working 32 or 64 gb USB stick in the mini (Recommendations needed)

[Rocco9999]

Hi.

as the title says, i've bought a few USB sticks which wouldnt work in the mini, plus i'm not sure if 64gb would even work?

So if anyone has one, let me know the make model (pref a link) and i'll just buy that one!

thanks

[timp]

All I've read seems to indicate that a USB stick of those sizes would take forever to load - try a 16GB Sandisk Cruzer (not the U3 type) - works for me. Amazon or Play were the cheapest recently.

[Rocco9999]

true!

I was having problems with my 4gb so 64 would take a week to load!

[timp]

I wouldn't mind it taking a week if it kept the track listing once done - it's the having to reload every time you start the car that finishes it for me.

[aestheticminis]

16 works the best. I tried using a 32 G USB and it take about 5 minute to load your music and start playing it every time you get in to your MINI. The 16G only take about a Minute to load each time. If your MINI sits for longer then a couple minutes then it starts the load process over again.

The cool thing is if you use a few different USB drives the system will remember the stopping point on each one. When I want to switch out I just turn the radio off and plug in the new drive and it will pick that one up where it left off.

[Boro Boy]

I use a 32GB flash drive in mine, and it works a treat (takes about 10 secs to load the directory listing). It is filled to the brim with mp3s too.

[Rocco9999]

Quote: Originally Posted by Boro Boy (original)

I use a 32GB flash drive in mine, and it works a treat (takes about 10 secs to load the directory listing). It is filled to the brim with mp3s too.

Thanks.
What make and model is it please?

[Boro Boy]

This is the one I use. Bear in mind though - the car I've got is a new 2011 model, I suspect it may have newer software allowing quicker loading.

[Rocco9999]

That's ok, my new one is LCI/2011


Thanks!

[Rocco9999]

...weirdly that is identical to the one I couldn't get to work!
maybe the software is better now.....

[Boro Boy]

Just thought I'd post an update. I have been using one of these for the past few weeks, and I'm very happy with it. It is full with mp3's each encoded at 320 kbps, and it takes about 10 secs for the car to start playing from it where it left off (after the car's been locked for a while, e.g. overnight). Immediate if you've just switched the stereo off, and/or the engine and not removed the 'key'. Excellent sound quality on the HK system.

The advantage of this USB memory chip, is given it's tiny physical size, it is hidden away and can't be seen by prying eyes when you leave it plugged in.

[timp]

About £60 from Amazon or is it any cheaper elsewhere?

[Boro Boy]

Yeah, got mine from Amazon for about that. For 32GB, not too bad I think. When I hold the thing in my hand though, it amazes me to think I have practically my entire music collection on it. You could of course get more mp3s on it if they were encoded at a lower bit rate.

[Rocco9999]

....in the end i just use my iphone.

its got less capacity but with the new mini connected functions I get album art and controls from the mini "i-drive" wheel (including playlists). Plus its instant, no delays.

[glitched79]

I have a working 32gb flash drive in my 2008 MINI Cooper. It works flawlessly. Does take up to 10 seconds to start playing a song when you start the car, and maybe a minute or two to gather all the information for all the tracks and break them up by Artist, Album, Genre, ETC. But I rarely use those methods for browsing my collection anyway.

What I've found works best is using the Directory browse option.

I put one folder for each letter of the alphabet on my flash drive, then I make sub-folders within each lettered folder for separate artists. It might sound time consuming, but it's really not, especially if you consider how much time you'll save when browsing behind the wheel.

Best of all - the directory browse option is the first to appear when you start the car, so that's pretty much available right away.

All of my music files are encoded as AAC files (.m4a files), like what you get from the iTunes Store. I've found that MINI radios are part of a very exclusive group of OEM head units that actually support AAC encoding.

Also, don't forget - any USB flash drive must be reformatted to the FAT file system. Not all USB drives come formatted that way, so it's always best to just go ahead and reformat it when you first get it.