Anyone else have issue with mp3s on a thumb drive taking a few minutes to load each time you start the car? I have a 32GB scan disk thumb drive. it seems to take a few minutes to load the music to be able to press 'Track List' to scroll through the music.

 

I have had the same issue with the stereo in my truck. The key is to get a (good) thumb drive that has accelerated access times. Also, don't load the thing all the way up. The less you put on it, the faster it loads. If you only listen to 4 gig at a time of music, then just load that. You may have to reload it once in awhile to keep your selection fresh, but it loads MUCH faster that way.

 

Thanks, I purchased the really mini sandisk thumb drive, my have to reinvest into another one.

 

If you want the fastest times to resume playing a track from where you left it, presenting the menus to you and using the search or playlist functions you should use an ipod. If you use a stick or hard drive damon is spot on regarding the more music you load the longer getting to all these functions takes. Additionally, if you use a really large stick or drive I have found that letting the system completely go thru completely indexing the media before shutting the car off is helpful. There will still be delay compared to an ipod but it will be faster than if the media was new/fresh.

 

I spent ages trying to make USB sticks work. I got most of my library in 320k MP3s onto a 64GB stick, but it just took too long to load up, and I didn't see any benefit to ensuring it had fully loaded before switching off.

So with a heavy heart I went the ipod route. At least with a 160GB ipod I can get everything on, and my favourites are in higher resolution. Still, the itunes and the 'stealable gadget' of it all is a pain.

The ipod works brilliantly though.

 

I have previously read this thread and was looking for the Patriot Supersonic Rage flash drive recommended above by Damon. I see that buydig has them on sale -- the 64 GB is $42 and the 128 GB is $80. If I were to NOT fill the 128 GB one, perhaps putting 100 GB of music on there, would it load quickly, or is 128 GB (and maybe even 64 GB) just too big for reasonable loading times?

 

Correct me if I am wrong, I think the way to go is to load music on an iPod Nano or Touch due to quicker load times vs UBS thumb drives.

 

nleeummd-- As I understand it Chiboy was looking for 64GB or greater...the iPod Nano only goes to 16GB and costs $149; the iPod Touch will get there but for $399 vs a $42 stick. On the other hand, an iPod Classic is $249 for 160GB.

Chiboy-- the first time a stick loads the system has to build an index. That takes more or less time based on how much music you have. At some point, while still indexing, it will begin to play the first track of the first album. When that is done music is selectable but not searchable. It then builds that index. For 64GB I have had this process take anywhere between two and ten minutes (and I don't know why; perhaps based on how many processes the PCM is running). For $42 bucks I would try it and see if it is worth it to you and if not buy an Ipod Classic of whatever.

 

Yeah, I think that is good advice. I don't care if it takes 10 minutes the first time. I do care if it takes 10 minutes every time I start the car.

 

Is the USB in our systems USB3.0 compatible?

 

Usb 2.0

 

Late getting back to this....does this mean that in a 2012 991, there is no benefit to getting the well thought of Patriot Supersonic Rage XT 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive? Or is it still a faster flash drive than others, even if the 991 can't take advantage of the 3.0 speeds?

 

There may be some help on indexing speed if it is faster at 2.0 than your average bear. My experience with car systems is the limit exists on the head end (PCM) side (not the plug in USB side) as mfgs. typically spec fairly low end processors, memory, cache, etc. They are looking to provide basic functionality and save money/cut cost; not provide database building speed.