Many music lovers copy audio files from a computer to a flash drive for later listening to them through a radio. But it is likely that after connecting the media to the device, you will not hear music in the speakers or headphones. Perhaps this radio simply does not support the type of audio files in which the music is recorded. But there may be another reason: the file format of the flash drive does not correspond to the standard version for the specified equipment. Next, we will find out what format you need to format the USB drive into and how to do it.
Formatting procedure
In order for the radio to be guaranteed to recognize a flash drive, its file system format must comply with the FAT32 standard. Of course, some modern equipment of this type can also work with the NTFS file system, but not all radios can do this. Therefore, if you want to be 100% sure that the USB drive will fit the device, you need to format it to FAT32 before recording audio files. Moreover, it is important to perform the process in exactly this order: first formatting, and only then copying musical compositions.
Attention! Formatting involves deleting all data on the flash drive. Therefore, if files that are important to you are stored on it, be sure to transfer them to another storage medium before starting the procedure.
But first you need to check what file system the flash drive currently has. It may not need to be formatted.
- To do this, connect the flash drive to the computer, and then through the main menu, a shortcut on the “Desktop” or the “Start” button, go to the “Computer” section.
The specified window displays all drives connected to the PC, including hard drives, USB and optical media. Find the flash drive you are going to connect to the radio and right-click on its name. In the list that appears, click on “Properties”.
If the “File system” option is “FAT32”, this means that the media is already prepared for interaction with the radio and you can safely record music on it without additional steps.
If the name of any other type of file system is displayed opposite the specified item, you should format the flash drive.
Formatting a USB drive into the FAT32 file format can be done either using third-party utilities or using the functionality of the Windows operating system. Next we will look at both of these methods in more detail.
Method 1: Third Party Programs
First of all, let's look at the procedure for formatting a flash drive in FAT32 format using third-party programs. The algorithm itself will be described using the Format Tool as an example.
- Connect the USB flash drive to your computer and activate the Format Tool utility as an administrator. From the drop-down list in the “Device” field, select the name of the USB device that you want to format. From the "File System" drop-down list, select the "FAT32" option. In the “Volume Label” field, be sure to enter the name that will be assigned to the drive after formatting. It can be arbitrary, but it is highly desirable to use only letters of the Latin alphabet and numbers. If you do not enter a new name, you simply will not be able to start the formatting procedure. After completing these steps, click on the “Format Disk” button.
Next, a dialog box will open in which a warning will be displayed in English that if the formatting procedure is launched, all data on the media will be destroyed. If you are sure of your desire to format the flash drive and have transferred all valuable data from it to another drive, click “Yes”.
After this, the formatting procedure starts, the dynamics of which can be observed using the green indicator.
After the process is completed, the media will be formatted in the FAT32 file system format, that is, prepared for recording audio files and then listening to them through the radio.
Method 2: Standard Windows tools
The file system of a USB drive can also be formatted in FAT32 using exclusively the built-in Windows tools. We will look at the algorithm of actions using the Windows 7 system as an example, but in general it is suitable for other operating systems in this line.
- Go to the Computer window, where your connected drives are displayed. This can be done in the same way as was described when we looked at the procedure for checking the current file system. Click RMB on the name of the flash drive that you plan to connect to the radio. In the list that opens, select “Format...”.
The formatting settings window will open. Here you need to perform only two steps: in the “File system” drop-down list, select the “FAT32” option and click on the “Start” button.
A window will open warning you that running the procedure will destroy all information stored on the media. If you are confident in your actions, click “OK”.
The formatting process will start, after which a window with the relevant information will open. Now you can use the flash drive to connect to the radio.
If the flash drive does not want to play music when connected to the radio, do not despair, since it is quite likely that it will be enough to format it using a PC into the FAT32 file system. This can be done using third-party programs or using the functionality that is already built into the operating system.
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To listen to music or other audio information on the road, use a radio. The storage medium can be a cassette (older models), disk or flash drive. The latter option for digital storage of information is considered the most convenient. Unlike a disk, it is less vulnerable and has a compact size. The memory capacity allows you to store a large amount of information. But in order for the equipment to function without failures, the flash drive for the car must be selected taking into account all technical requirements.
Why does the radio tape recorder not read the flash drive?
A common reason why the radio does not read a flash drive is the file system of the storage device. Most older models are designed to work in the FAT 16 and FAT 32 systems. For modern standard devices, the flash drive format for the car radio is most often NTFS. For the USB media to be in a supported format, it must be formatted. To do this you will need a computer or laptop.
The reason for the radio freezing or completely refusing to read information from digital media may be the volume of the latter. To solve this problem, it is recommended to study the technical specifications of the device. Another option is the selection method. A USB drive, for example, with a capacity of 8 GB, is installed in the car radio connector. If the connected device is not supported, the radio will not play sound. In this situation, take a flash drive whose memory size is smaller, for example, 4 GB, and try connecting again.
Some radios are designed to read only small volumes. For this reason, a flash drive with a size of 1 GB may be suitable.
Any device has a limited service life. Therefore, the cause of the malfunction may be a failure of the flash drive. To test this, you will need another device to play the recorded music. This can be done, for example, on a speaker (with a USB port).
If the device is working properly, has the appropriate file system, a suitable volume, works on other music installations, but you cannot listen to music in the car, the reason may be an incorrect recording.
Problems can also arise due to a malfunction of the reproducing equipment. This often happens when the radio has an Internet connection function. A car gadget may be infected with a virus, which will cause the device to malfunction.
Incorrect connection of the digital media is also one of the reasons that can become an obstacle to listening to songs in the car. In most cases, this problem occurs among car enthusiasts who have old equipment that does not have an appropriate input, i.e. The flash drive is connected via an adapter or other means.
The flash drive connector is faulty. This technical problem often occurs if the drive is removed incorrectly (torn out).
In what format to format a flash drive for a radio: why it doesn’t read
We'll tell you why the car radio doesn't read the flash drive...
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The question in what format to format a flash drive for a radio cannot be answered unambiguously.
So modern radios can work with any flash drive. So it is possible to play files from drives with the NTFS, FAT32 file system.
Previous generation car radios only support flash drives with the FAT32 file system. Most car radios only support drives with the old standard file system - File Allocation Table (FAT)
In order for the radio to be guaranteed to play audio files, you must know exactly which file system drives the device supports.
By the way, we write about flash drives quite often - we recently talked about how to check a flash drive for bad sectors
Read us more carefully and follow the site
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Let's return to our topic.
To ensure that the system recognizes the device, you must first reformat the drive into the required file system format.
You need to format the drive before recording tracks to a flash drive. When formatting the drive, all files stored on it will be permanently deleted. Therefore, before starting the procedure, you must copy all important data to a hard drive or other storage device
To check what file system the current flash drive has, follow these steps:
- We connect the flash drive to the computer via a USB port.
- Through the “Start” menu or a shortcut on the “Desktop”, open the “Computer” (or “My Computer”) section.
- This section displays all drives connected to the device, including the hard drive, optical drive, and USB drives. In what format to format a flash drive for radios will also depend on the car radio.
- Right-click on the flash drive icon.
- In the menu that opens, select “Properties”.
- If “FAT32” is indicated next to the “File system” item, formatting is not required, since the flash drive is already prepared to work with the car radio.
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What should be the format of a flash drive for a car radio?
The most common reason why a car radio does not read a USB drive is that the file system of the drive is incorrect.
In what format should I format a flash drive for radio tape recorders? Choose FAT32 - you can't go wrong.
Most radios, especially older ones, can only work with the FAT32 file system. Modern car radios support drives with any file system
Today there are relatively few car radios that support the NTFS file system. In order for an old car radio to play a flash drive, you need to format the drive using a computer.
If the car radio freezes or does not recognize a file on a USB drive, the problem may be the storage capacity of the drive. So many car radios do not support flash drives of 32 GB or less. In this case, the flash drive will be read on a laptop or personal computer
To find out what size flash drives a particular car radio can work with, you need to study its instructions. If this is not possible, you can find the maximum allowable size of a flash drive using the selection method. So, first we insert an 8 GB flash drive into the radio; if the audio files are not played, we take a flash drive with a smaller capacity - 4 GB and try again.
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Typically, car radios can only play flash drives up to 8 GB. There are also radios that play flash drives with a capacity of only 1 GB. Thus, the problem in which format to format a flash drive for radio tape recorders is most often solved simply.
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Which flash drive to choose
To listen to songs, select a flash drive that matches the parameters of the device playing music. The characteristics of the device can be found in the operating instructions.
The cheapest flash drive for a radio will not last long in most cases. You can extend the service life if you do not frequently re-record the music.
The price of inexpensive media can start from 200 rubles. The cost will depend not only on the quality and manufacturer, but also on the memory capacity of the gadget.
You can select media from the following models:
How to format
To check the format of a flash drive, you should connect it to a laptop or computer. In the “My Computer” folder, right-click on the media icon and select “properties”. The window that appears will display all the technical information of the gadget.
Before formatting a flash drive for a car radio, it is recommended to copy all the information contained on the digital medium, because You will have to say goodbye to previously recorded data. The formatting process involves completely deleting (cleaning) the device.
To correctly format a flash drive for a radio, you need to call up the context menu on the gadget icon (right mouse button). Select “Format” from the drop-down list. In the file system item, you need to select the format that is needed for the radio. To start the formatting process, you must click on “Start”.
How to format a USB drive
In order to format a flash drive, you need to do the following:
- First of all, we connect the drive to the computer and copy information from it, if possible, since after formatting all data will be completely and irrevocably deleted.
- Next, find the flash drive in the “My Computer” menu, right-click on it, find it and click on the “Format” item.
- After this, a notification will be displayed on the screen stating that during the formatting process, all data from the flash drive will be deleted. Click the "OK" button, and then select the necessary formatting parameters: file system - FAT32, cluster size (choose depending on the size of the stored data - the larger the data, the higher the indicator), volume label (in fact, this is the name that will be used flash drive later). Click the “Start” button.
To start the formatting process, click the “Start” button
Video: proper formatting of a flash drive
If, after formatting, the car radio still refuses to work correctly with the connected USB drive, then most likely the problem is not in the flash drive, but in the radio itself. This means that you will have to visit a service center, where specialists will be able to diagnose it and, if possible, fix the problem.
By recording your favorite audio tracks onto a flash drive, you can enjoy them in your car at any time. If the correct device is selected, music files will play without problems. And the instructions described above will help not only write data onto the media as quickly as possible, but also solve the most common problems when using it in a car.
In my opinion, life in a car without a USB socket is not as good as with one. On Korolka it was very annoying to cut blanks with music. RAV4ika, of course, has such a blessing to civilization as a USB connector. But, as expected, there are a small number of nuances when using flash drives.
Personally, I (I think like most people on the forum) initially did not look/read the instructions. And therefore, when I first tried to use a flash drive, I found out that the file system was NTFS
The radio
does not accept
. After formatting the flash drive in FAT32 format, I found out that the radio does not read more than 255 files in the root directory.
How to record music correctly
Recording music onto a flash drive for a car radio is carried out using a laptop or computer. To avoid any problems, it is recommended to use a track format that is supported by the car device. This information is located in the technical passport of the music gadget.
If the song was downloaded from the Internet, transmitted via Bluetooth, etc., i.e. not from an official source, you need to check the format before recording it on media. To do this, click the right mouse button on the music file icon. In the context menu, select “Properties” and get all the necessary technical information.
When the track format is inappropriate, the problem can be solved in 2 ways:
- Download the corresponding encoding file.
- Use a converter program. You can convert a track using Format Factory. This program is well suited for inexperienced users, because... has a simple Russian-language interface.
Some radios may not read the media with recorded data if the song titles are signed in Cyrillic. For this reason, before transferring music to a flash drive from a computer, it is recommended to rename the files, i.e. sign them in Latin letters.
A complex hierarchy can also result in a car device not playing music. To avoid such problems, it is recommended not to create subfolders.
When all the tracks have been collected, their format has been checked and other recommendations for listening to audio files have been followed, you can start recording.
The flash drive is inserted into the appropriate port of the computer or laptop and wait for the device to detect it. After this, select all the necessary files and drag them (holding the left mouse button) onto the media icon.
You can also use the context menu. After selecting all the tracks that will be recorded, right-click and select “Copy”. On the gadget icon, they also call up the context menu, but select “Insert”.
Once all files have been copied, it is recommended to safely remove the device.
In order for songs to be played randomly, you will need to install and apply additional programs, such as:
Reasons for lack of work functions
First of all, you need to identify the root cause why the radio tape recorder stopped seeing the flash drive. If the equipment
If you want to listen to music purchased in a store and cannot be listened to from the media, you should send it in for repair under warranty.
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Before this, you need to check it by inserting a new flash card into the computer and making sure that it is in working order, insert it back into the music device. If the work is not restored, then the essence of the problem should be attributed to warranty repairs. The main reasons why any radio model, including the Pioneer, does not see the flash drive include the following:
- Damage to the connector at the junction of the storage medium with the music equipment. This moment occurs when the movements during connection and removal are performed inaccurately;
- Poorly performed work regarding the internal wiring of the system leads to damage or breaks. Result - the Pioneer radio does not see the information card;
- If the radio sees music on the flash drive, then the chip or board that is responsible for playing music from the flash card may be damaged;
- A mandatory procedure is to check the equipment for the operation of the radio and disks. Perhaps it doesn't work at all;
- Faulty state of the memory source. Outgoing contacts or a burnt-out microcircuit responsible for control prevents this device from functioning normally;
- The control buttons located on the equipment and responsible for playing melody from a portable device have stopped working correctly;
- Software error. This is another problem why the radio tape recorder stopped seeing the flash drive. If detected, you must immediately contact the service center to eliminate it;
- Inconsistency with model specifications. The Pioneer radio does not see the flash drive, since it should be remembered that it does not see flash cards larger than 8 GB, much less 16 GB. Because maintaining them requires more power than it can provide;
- The priority of the folders on the memory card is incorrectly set. In this case, it is recommended to check if the checkbox located in the folder settings is checked, because this permission reads them only on a specific computer;
- The content needs to be formatted or completely cleared. This may be necessary if a virus has penetrated and deleted all data, and the radio is not able to open the information because it has ceased to exist;
- Recorded file formats do not match. Instead of mp3, the FLAC or AAC formats are installed, which are supported by quite a few devices.
After identifying a breakdown and establishing the specific cause of its occurrence, everyone wants to know what to do to fix it.
Common fixes for this problem
To eliminate an unpleasant situation and get an answer to the question: “What should I do?” Perhaps you can learn from these steps:
- Format.
First, the files are checked to see what extension they are recorded with. If they meet the stated requirements, then the entire drive is formatted. The entered data is copied to it again. This process is done in this way: a portable device is connected to a laptop or computer, the “removable storage” section is located and the right mouse button is clicked on it. Next, it is recommended to select the “format” button and select FAT32 in the menu that appears. If, at the end of this procedure, the memory card is detected on the PC, but not on the car radio, then the fault is in the music player. - Synchronization. The file system of the portable storage device is being checked. Most often, the FAT32 system is present in the radio settings. It is worth checking before operation because it may be locked to the NTFS system function by default. After synchronization is completed on your computer, you need to open the properties of the flash card by changing the type of file system.
- Connector compatibility. This is a particularly important point. Because you need to select a removable device in accordance with the connectors presented to it, USB 1.0, 2.0, 3.0. Thus, if the most advanced version is connected to an outdated version, then a program conflict occurs and the radio does not read the card.
To solve this problem, when buying a memory card, be sure to read the characteristics with what capacity of the removable card, namely less than 8 GB or more than 16 GB, a car radio, for example Pioneer, is compatible. And also know the main points that will allow you to correct the problems that arise.
How to connect to a car radio
To connect a music storage device, it must be inserted into the appropriate connector. It is not recommended to do this procedure with the radio turned on, because The device software may crash. But even if you ignore this advice and insert it into the connector, in most cases the equipment automatically switches to playing music from a USB drive.
You can connect a flash drive to a car radio, not only when the equipment has the necessary connector.
USB adapter from mp3 player
To connect a USB drive to the standard radio, you will need a player that can read information from the corresponding media. An mp3 player must have a headphone jack. You will also need a soldering iron.
The modification work begins by removing the CD drive from the radio. Power for the player will be taken from the standard device. Additionally, a voltage converter is required. It is necessary to ensure that the player does not burn out. A signal is taken from the player’s output and will be fed to the input of the AUX radio. The connecting cable must be shielded. On the car radio board you should find the audio input contacts. The wires from the mp3 player are soldered to them.
What format of flash drive is needed for the radio?
Format—drive file system. There are 3 main ones: FAT32, NTFS, EXT. The last 2 are not used for radios.
The FAT32 (File Allocation Table) format is understood as the standard version, which was created from the previous FAT16. Almost not supported due to being outdated.
FAT32 is a special table where files and information are located in a given sequence. This uses 32-bit cluster addressing. Now this system has been maximally improved.
FAT32 is a flash drive format for car radios, although it is the simplest. But complex data will not be stored on such a medium either.
Choice
Not only a special flash drive format is needed for the radio. This type of storage has become one of the most common. In addition to the file system on the flash drive, attention is paid to other criteria for choosing a device for a radio in a vehicle.
It is necessary to take into account the specifics of turning on the radio in the car. Since the USB connector may be located in the front, a large flash drive will break. The nest may also be damaged. Therefore, you need to choose a small option that will not stick out too much and interfere.
A small device should be well protected. The flash drive will work in any weather with temperature changes, vibration and other unfavorable factors.
Because of this, malfunctions in its operation may appear over time, so it is better to choose the most reliable option.
It is necessary to pay attention to the volume of the media. It is best not to choose a flash drive with too high an indicator, since the radio may not see the files. A good option is 4 GB. You can upload a large number of musical compositions there. Suitable for both old and new car radios. You can additionally check drives with larger capacities. If everything functions stably, then you can take this option.
Several options for good flash drives for car radios:
- Apacer Handy AH134. Looks like a car key. It is small in size, convenient in shape and waterproof. The body is solid. Models with a capacity of 4 and 8 GB are sold.
- HP V165W. The device can operate at air temperatures of +0…+60°C. There are volumes up to 32 GB.
- Kingstone Micro. The device has a special hole where you can thread a rope or keychain. The body is stamped from the inside. This option is less durable. It is suitable for those who do not plan to often remove the flash drive from the connector.
- PQI U280L Button Disk. The case has special hooking elements to make it easy to remove the device from the connector. But it is not necessary to remove the flash drive, since it can be left in the car overnight. This model can operate at temperatures ranging from -20...75°C.
- Pretec iDisk BulletProof. Manufacturers claim that the device can withstand even being shot with a bullet. The downside is its large dimensions, so it should be used carefully. The case itself is durable, but the socket can be damaged. Options with memory from 2 to 32 GB are sold.
How to format correctly
To correctly format a flash drive for a car radio, you need to insert it into a USB connector on a computer or laptop. Afterwards, you need to right-click on the icon of the device itself and select “properties” from the drop-down context menu. Next, a window appears where the format - the type of file system - is displayed under the name of the media.
If this format is not readable in the car, you need to format the flash drive for the radio:
- Right-click on the media.
- Select the “format” tab.
- Select FAT32 format.
- Click the “start” button.
After some time, the format will be converted to the required one. Then you can transfer all the data back to the media.
It must be remembered that after formatting the flash drive, all files on it will be deleted.
It is best to simply save the data on a computer or other storage device.
Sometimes the radio cannot work with the selected drive and displays an error. In this case, you need to format the flash drive so that the radio can read it.
How to record music
Before you record music onto a flash drive for your car radio, you need to take some preparatory steps.
The algorithm of actions is as follows:
- Determine the file system and select the correct one. Please note that the radio will support FAT32. If necessary, format the media.
- Select the correct file format for the recorded song from your computer. Almost all car radios have an MP3 option. If the files have a different extension, then you can either convert them or find a replacement composition, but with the required format. For the first option, the Format Factory program is suitable. You will need to drag the file into the work area, select the appropriate format in the window, and then click “OK”.
- Copy and record music to a flash drive for the radio. To do this, you need to insert the media into the appropriate slot. Then open the folder where the music is stored and copy it (right-click to select the “copy” function). Then open the drive itself and insert the files (right-click to select “insert” from the drop-down menu).
Why the flash drive doesn’t play in the car but plays on the computer: solved
Sometimes the flash drive opens on the computer, but refuses to play in the car - let’s find out how to solve this problem...
If a flash drive plays on the computer, but not in the car, then this does not necessarily indicate a malfunction of the drive.
The problem may be either in the disk drive or in the radio itself. Most likely, the flash drive is simply formatted in a file system that the car radio does not support. Of course, there are other reasons why a flash drive does not play in a car, but works on a computer.
There are several main reasons why a flash drive does not play in a car but plays on a computer:
- The memory capacity of a flash drive is not supported by the car radio - as a rule, these are large-capacity flash drives. The car radio manufacturer always indicates the maximum disk storage capacity supported by the device. Thus, if the manufacturer warns that the radio only recognizes flash drives up to 4 GB, the radio will not read 8 GB flash drives.
- A car radio does not support the file system of a flash drive - old radios, for example, usually do not support drives formatted in the FAT32 file system, respectively, if the flash drive is formatted in NTFS, then the music will not play in the car.
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Before solving the problem of why the flash drive does not play in the car but plays on the computer, you need to make sure that the file system of the flash drive is supported by the car radio.
The file system of the flash drive must be supported by the car radio. To find out the file system of a flash drive, you need to connect it to your computer - after it is recognized in the “My Computer” folder, call the right-click context menu and look at what is written in the “File system” field.
If the file system is different from FAT32, the flash drive must be formatted in FAT32 by first making a copy of all the files contained on it.
Errors on a USB flash drive are another reason why a flash drive doesn’t play in the car but plays on the computer. In this case, most likely the reason lies in bad sectors and other errors that are contained on the disk drive
It is necessary to format the disk drive again, after making copies of all the files that are on the flash drive.
You need to format the flash drive as follows:
- Connect the flash drive to the computer;
- After it is recognized as a removable drive, you need to go to the shortcut properties and select “Format”, in the formatting options select the FAT32 system.
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After formatting is complete, you can re-upload music to the flash drive.
If a flash drive is not readable on a computer, it is often easier to throw it away than to repair it - restoring a flash drive is often comparable in cost to buying a new one. It is most often impossible to recover data on a faulty flash drive.
If you are wondering why the flash drive does not play in the car but plays on the computer, you should also recheck the test in another car or on another radio. If in another car music is playing from a flash drive, then the fault must be looked for in the radio...
How to connect a flash drive to a car radio
If there is no special connector for USB, then the flash drive can be connected to the radio in other ways.
Modulator
This is a listening device that transmits signals from a flash drive over a radio channel. It must be connected via the cigarette lighter. We'll have to modify the radio a little.
Connection instructions:
- Disassemble the radio and disconnect the player.
- Disassemble the modulator and remove the microcircuit.
- Solder the plus from the modulator to the plus in the radio. Do the same with the negative cable.
- USB output to the front panel.
Next, you need to connect the audio output of the modulator and the input of the car radio with a wire. This device is suitable for playing in a car.
USB adapter
This is a device for connecting a flash drive. It is connected to the audio outputs of the radio.
Installation is as follows:
- Pull out the car radio.
- Connect the wire from the adapter to the corresponding connector on the radio.
- Connect the adapter to the other end.
If necessary, you can connect the adapter to the glove compartment or another place where it will not interfere with driving the vehicle.
Adapter
For this type of connection, you need to make modifications for a flash drive.
The whole procedure boils down to the following:
- You need to take the wire from the headphones and remove the insulating layer. The green and red wires will be visible. These are the left and right channels. The headphones need to be cut. Clean the conductors and solder them to the tulip-type connector.
- Secure the main cable braid to the base of the tulip.
- An adapter must be connected to the output for the external signal of the radio. And you can already connect the media to it.
In the end, all that remains is to activate the AUX function.
Via AUX
If there is no AUX connector, then the flash drive is connected to the standard radio.
In this case, it is necessary to modify the device:
- Dismantle the device.
- Remove the panel.
- Remove the seal.
- Remove the fixing bolts, remove the back cover of the radio and the top cover of the player.
- The cables seen must be removed from the exits.
- Take 3 wires of different colors. They should be up to 50 cm in length. The diameter is small. One cable is soldered to ground, the other 2 are connected to both channels. Be sure to write down the colors and correspondence of wires and channels.
The wires must be covered with shrink film.
Choosing a suitable radio
To listen to music from a flash drive, you need to choose the right radio. Popular devices are from Pioneer, Alpine, JVC and Sony.
It is important to pay attention not only to the proportions between signal and noise, sound power, size and type of device, its sensitivity and other criteria, but also to choose a device with USB.
For example, the following radios are suitable: Pioneer MVH-1400UB, Pioneer DEH-6400BT, Mystery MDD-6220S.
Possible problems and how to solve them
Sometimes the car radio does not read files on the flash drive.
The main reasons are as follows:
- The media format is incorrect. In this case, the media must be formatted.
- A complex hierarchy of folders on a flash drive, which makes the files unreadable. You need to move them to the root directory from subfolders.
- High media capacity. All car radios can work with flash drives up to 8 GB. Not all devices support larger volumes.
- Incorrect file names. The standard problem is that their names are written in Cyrillic. In this case, you just need to rename them.
- Differences in file formats. Some can be sent by friends, others downloaded from the Internet, recorded from disks, etc. Sometimes a problem arises that the files cannot be read, because they are written in different formats and the required codecs are missing. The standard set is mp3 and wav. To change the format, you need to use a special converter program.
- Virus infection. Occurs at multimedia centers that have Internet access. To prevent this, it is necessary to check flash drives for viruses before plugging them into the car radio.
- Technical damage. For example, there may be problems with the power cable, drivers, or damage to the integrity of the connector. In this case, you will have to do repair work.
For these reasons, playback freezes, but such errors are easy to fix.
The radio does not read the flash drive? There is a solution!
Sometimes the radio does not read a flash drive with music, which can be opened and read on the computer without any problems. To be more precise, the radio sees the flash drive, but after reading the contents, the screen simply became dark.
Why doesn't the radio read the flash drive?
The fact that the USB port is working is confirmed by the fact that when you connect a flash drive, the playback mode automatically changes from Radio to USB, after which the radio even tries to read information from the flash drive. This means the problem is in the flash drive itself.
Most often, radio tape recorders read flash drives whose file system is FAT or FAT32. If your flash drive has an NTFS file system, then you should change this. However, even with FAT or FAT32 systems, the radio will not read the flash drive.
The size of the flash media does not matter for the radio. But there are exceptions. Not all radios read flash drives larger than 8 GB.
Reading the flash drive on the radio
The whole problem may lie in the fact that the flash drives used were used as boot drives. When a bootable flash drive is created, part of its volume is allocated for the boot area. It is in this area that the radio tape recorder looks when it reads the flash drive, not finding anything there (because the radio tape recorder is not even able to read this area), the player simply goes into standby mode (black screen).
Such a hidden area is found not only on flash drives that were used to install systems, but also on completely new flash drives. Our task is to format the flash drive so that there are no more hidden areas left on it. Now let's move on from theory to practice.
We need to download a program that can perform low-level formatting of a flash drive. Install and run the program, the program can be used in two modes:
- Free for a limited time
- Paid, for about 3 dollars
The free mode is quite enough for us. When you launch the program, click on the free use button.
In the window that opens, select your flash drive and click “Continue.”
Open the LOW LEVEL FORMAT tab, check the box (this box will delete all partitions on the flash drive, including boot ones), click on the “Format this device” button.
Agree with the warning.
Now you just have to wait a few seconds for the formatting to finish.
The program can be closed. Open My Computer and try opening your flash drive.
Since the flash drive is completely “naked”, the system will offer to format the disk first.
Click on the corresponding button, leave the file system as FAT32, uncheck “Quick Format”, enter the name of the “volume label” and click “Start”.
Depending on the size of the flash drive, formatting time can take up to 10-20 minutes. After formatting is complete, your flash drive will be ready for use in your car radio. Throw your favorite music on it and enjoy it on the go! Thus, any flash drive is suitable for a car radio.
Do you play music from a flash drive on the road? Share with us in the comments.
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