I currently use my 120GB Zune hooked up through the A/V cables which works awesome, but before I had that I was using a hard drive media player...pretty slick little units, you take a hard drive (for me, I upgraded my PS3 hard drive to 500GB so I used my old 80GB drive) and you put it in the enclosure which looks just like most external hard drive enclosures except that it has A/V and Component outputs on the back and a small display and a few buttons on the front, and it comes with a remote. I'm sure it depends on the model that you buy, (mine was only like $40 off eBay) but mine had a really nice on-screen display and the best part about it was it was available IMMEDIATELY after the unit started up! No waiting 5 - 10 minutes. I guess the only downfall is that you can't navigate on screen and have to use the remote, but I rather liked that about it. I still have it hooked up in my car but I only have DivX video files on it now and I pretty much just use the Zune which has all my music.

You can also get them to play hard drives up to 1TB in 3.5 drives and I've seen up to 500GB in 2.5 SATA drives. And they are relativly cheap...Just something to think about if you have an extra hard drive and don't wanna splurge on an iPod.

Ive had my unit for about a week, and have been using a Patriot 16gb SDHC card from Frys for $40. It is filled to the brim with music, and I have never had a problem with it. 32gb SDHC cards are out now... I dont see how it can limit the functionality of the SDHC standard. I would only assume it would run everything that SDHC supports.

Hello,

I have been reading and searching and didn't find a clear conclusion about the external disk drive support of AVIC F900 BT.

I have tested 2 drives ( some no name 2.5" a, and a WD 2.5" HDD). neither worked.

So, .. is the problem just power? cus that can be easily resolved by powering the drive separately.

Or even, .. make a custom USB cable, and connect the power signals to a better power source.

But if the problem is from the Avic USB controller/software, . then we are out of luck. (assuming drive is formatted FAT32, with reasonable file and folder structures.)

Any suggestions ?

Cheers

Kaveh

Hello,

 

I have been reading and searching and didn't find a clear conclusion about the external disk drive support of AVIC F900 BT.

 

I have tested 2 drives ( some no name 2.5" a, and a WD 2.5" HDD). neither worked.

So, .. is the problem just power? cus that can be easily resolved by powering the drive separately.

Or even, .. make a custom USB cable, and connect the power signals to a better power source.

 

But if the problem is from the Avic USB controller/software, . then we are out of luck. (assuming drive is formatted FAT32, with reasonable file and folder structures.)

 

Any suggestions ?

 

Cheers

 

Kaveh

Unless you are using a 1.8" laptop drive, you need a power inverter to plug your external drive in. It is the only way it will work.

Hello,

 

I have been reading and searching and didn't find a clear conclusion about the external disk drive support of AVIC F900 BT.

 

I have tested 2 drives ( some no name 2.5" a, and a WD 2.5" HDD). neither worked.

So, .. is the problem just power? cus that can be easily resolved by powering the drive separately.

Or even, .. make a custom USB cable, and connect the power signals to a better power source.

 

But if the problem is from the Avic USB controller/software, . then we are out of luck. (assuming drive is formatted FAT32, with reasonable file and folder structures.)

 

Any suggestions ?

 

Cheers

 

Kaveh

I actually have an external working with music that works

its an external powered hdd, only issue ive seen so far is when the power is turned off, the power inverter goes into a shock and you have to power cycle it when you start up again.

Also, you have to unplug/plug in the hdd to be recognized by the usb drivers :/ kinda gay...

I have an external usb powered drive in my possession, i tried attaching it, but I dont think it was enough power because wince didnt recognize it and the hdd was making noises that are usually made when there is low power

I am going to install my unit in my truck Monday. I will go through every scenario I can with different hard drives to see what works. Will probably post a video here when I find the best and easiest solution. I am a tech nut, so if it can be done, I will figure it out and make sure it is the most feasible and permanent solution... because I would hate having to power cycle and plug and unplug anything every time I got in the car.

I am going to install my unit in my truck Monday. I will go through every scenario I can with different hard drives to see what works. Will probably post a video here when I find the best and easiest solution. I am a tech nut, so if it can be done, I will figure it out and make sure it is the most feasible and permanent solution... because I would hate having to power cycle and plug and unplug anything every time I got in the car.

worst part is im a consultant and must get in/out of the car often, sometimes 8 times within the day...

ok, so i figured out why the hdd doesnt get read when the unit boots up... it's because the unit starts up too fast, the hdd doesnt have time to boot up... I'll prob mount a switch somewhere and connect it to the inverter... this way i can start up the hdd whenever I want...

Our rep said he was using a 16GB SD card w/ no problems. No idea about USB

I use a 16Gb Class 6 card and it works like a charm for music and video.

This explains a lot. I used a 2gb usb drive and it worked fine. I tried a 8gb usb drive and no dice. Guess I will break down and buy a stupid ipod so I can get all my music on one device.

Our rep said he was using a 16GB SD card w/ no problems. No idea about USB

 

I use a 16Gb Class 6 card and it works like a charm for music and video.

thats different...

black, I'm not giving up, I will have a way to do it... even if i have to switch the hdd on myself... which isnt that big of a deal, i dont want the inverter running 350watts the whole time... thats 29/28 amps... and I have much more music than I can fit on the largest thumbdrive (32gb i believe) Its hard for me not to have a hdd....

As I posted in the general section... I purchased a 32 gb Corsair USB drive today for $59 with a $30 rebate and it works perfectly.

ya... 32gb still too small

ok, so i figured out why the hdd doesnt get read when the unit boots up... it's because the unit starts up too fast, the hdd doesnt have time to boot up... I'll prob mount a switch somewhere and connect it to the inverter... this way i can start up the hdd whenever I want...

I don't think thats it; because you can stick a USB memory stick in the unit after its fully booted and it will recognize it every time.

plug in a stick while the uit is off, turn it on.... check if it works (wont show up)

I have the 32gb stick that I bought yesterday with 30gb of music on it and it is located after about 2 minutes. I do not take it out, I have just left it plugged in.

plug in a stick while the uit is off, turn it on.... check if it works (wont show up)

I didn't have to re-plug the USB stick after it booted in pre-2.0, just left the same one in there all the time and it always showed up.. I'll check and see when I get home if this is still the case

if you guys havent realized I've been talking about an external drive... usb thumbsticks dont need a powersource so they are always on...

if you guys havent realized I've been talking about an external drive... usb thumbsticks dont need a powersource so they are always on...

external hard drives and thumb drives will have the same behavior; they will either be recognized at any time or only post-boot. I have an enclosure I can test with when I get home, I'll just have rig a power-passing USB injector

anybody figure out the prroblem with the HDD im still waiting for some high tech type of individual

that can figure out the mystery.....cheers

theres been a few older threads on this.

hdd's dont get enough power to spin up via the usb input. not on the f900bt anyway. you need a secondary usb dedicated for feeding power to the hdd, and the other usb just for data. so far the most ive been able to get a hdd to boot up with is about 17GB of music recognized. right now, it makes more sense to buy a compatible ipod with a large capacity. im not gonna fold and do that though.

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=24072

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=23298

I have a 30Gb HDD from dealextreme, branded as Toshiba with a 1,8" drive inside, and it works fine. It takes about 45-60 seconds to start playing, but always works. There is available another one in 60Gb, but I did not want to have that risk. 30Gb works, and it´s enough music for me.

Thanks diego this is really good information

The best information for the best forum

1) i bought an ipod classic 120gig of music and video i dont need a touch ipod cuz i touch my avic and not the ipod

2) you can feed the external drive i have someone making me a power supply the local car audio shops in your area will prob make you one for like $20 this is the cheaper way to go for under $100 you can get 100gigs at your fingers