How to format 64 GB USB sticks/SD cards so that the Hifi Professional can read them (bigger than 32 GB)

[Squiddie]

Bit of my continuation of my EQ measurement thread:
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=73993

I finally managed to format USB sticks larger than 32 GB so that the Hifi Professional in the E89 can read them. Tried a 64 bit card, no problems observed, reads all music and playlists off it.

mkfs.vfat -F32 -s64 -v /dev/sdm1 # or whereever yours lives

This 64 GB formatted one works in the e89, in Canon Powershots, in a Canon 1D Mk 4 (which cannot format such a card but works if you formatted it that way), my dashcam, Rockbox running on a Sansa Clip Zip and my Zoom H4N (which previously recognized 64 GB cards but failed to correctly use them).

If your OS doesn't make mkfs.vfat the settings translate to this:

• Format as FAT32 (32 bit FATs)
• 64 sectors per cluster
• 32 sectors per track

Should look like this:

00000000: EB 58 90 6D 6B 64 6F 73  66 73 00 00 02 40 40 00  .X.mkdosfs...@@.
00000001: 02 00 00 00 00 F8 00 00  20 00 40 00 00 00 00 00  ........ .@.....
00000002: 00 78 8B 07 80 3C 00 00  00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00  .x...<..........
00000003: 01 00 06 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
00000004: 00 00 29 87 74 A9 8C 20  20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20  ..).t..
00000005: 20 20 46 41 54 33 32 20  20 20 0E 1F BE 77 7C AC    FAT32   ...w|.
00000006: 22 C0 74 0B 56 B4 0E BB  07 00 CD 10 5E EB F0 32  ".t.V.......^..2
00000007: E4 CD 16 CD 19 EB FE 54  68 69 73 20 69 73 20 6E  .......This is n
00000008: 6F 74 20 61 20 62 6F 6F  74 61 62 6C 65 20 64 69  ot a bootable di
00000009: 73 6B 2E 20 20 50 6C 65  61 73 65 20 69 6E 73 65  sk.  Please inse

 

[jamesbond]

Hello

I would be interested in how to do this? as I noticed our 35is will not identify USB mem sticks above 32 Gb .. as the limits of fat32 etc. I use window lossless codec via DB power amp rip software, this way all the artwork shows on the screen etc.

I was going to try and partition a 64GB USB stick as two 32Gb partitions, but have not been successful ..

would you be happy to share how you did this

best regards

Nick

 

[Squiddie]

I don't have a windows system, unfortunately. If you use a windows program to format disks that allows you to specify parameters you will probably succeed by using the parameters I stated above (sectors, clusters etc).

Or maybe you have a friend or relative with a Linux system?

 

[Z4Bob]

Or maybe download Ubuntu on to a usb stick making it bootable. Load Ubuntu from usb stick whenever you need it.

 

[Squiddie]

You don't even have to make a USB stick, you can just run a "live CD" that you burn from a single download. However, I do not know whether the basic Ubuntu with no additional packages has this program preinstalled. And then there is the problem of a Linux first-timer being able to identify the correct device to format, you don't want to wipe your harddrive.

I would actually be thankful if people could post more help that I can't easily provide, such as a step-by-step with a live Ubuntu, or instructions where to get a Windows program that is flexible and controllable enough to do the above formatting.

If you are local to Boston I can do it for you on a cars'n'coffee or so.