FAT32 and macOS

[Me My Self and I]

Had my Brennan a week or so now. I was a little bemused how to format a disk in FAT32 on my iMac. Disk Utility only shows the options of "FAT" or "exFAT".

I formatted a USB SSD in exFAT and tried to copy my music library over, but it wasn't recognised by my new B2. I formatted the drive on the B2, took it back to my iMac, copied the files to the USB SSD and then imported them onto the B2.

I then found a few tracks with missing artwork, incorrect titles and the like so wanted to copy those too. I thought I'd use a memory stick for that so I could keep the USB SSD as a "backup" in case disaster struck.

I read a few online posts and it was suggested that Apple's "Disk Utility" can format disks in FAT32. If you open Disk Utility, select the memory stick, click erase and then set the Format to "MS-DOS FAT" and the scheme to "Master Boot Record" (having set the name to something sensible too) and then click "Erase" the disk will be formatted by macOS. Once this is complete the disk should be fully readable by the Brennan. It seems as though for Apple, "FAT" actually means "FAT32", or at the least, FAT32 compatible.

I used a disk formatted in this way completely successfully with my B2 and imported a few Gb of data using it.

[Me My Self and I]

Here I am, about to format my 8Gb USB Flash Disk using Disk Utility.

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

Hi  Mkste....

Why don't you use your B2 to format the disk? 

Plug the disk into USB A then power up the B2

Then from the front panel and round knob, select (Main menu > Settings  > Maintenance > Format USB A)

Fred

[Daniel Taylor]

Hi Mkste....

That's good information for those who have a Mac computer.  Apparently, there are discs that do not use MBR that cannot be formatted by the B2.  So this method will solve the problem for quite a few people.  Thanks.

[PMB]

Hi Mkste...,

So did formatting to MS DOS (FAT) on the MAC work with the B2?

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Would Be Pilot]

Hi Paul, just to confirm Mac MS DOS (FAT32)  in disk utilities worked for me formatting my new Seagate Ultra Touch 1 Tb portable HDD.

Andrew

[PMB]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks!

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Me My Self and I]

It certainly did for the USB memory stick.

I have used the "format" option on the Brennan, but find the menu structure impossible to make any sense of so can never find any of the options whilst at the Brennan. Even after having just spotted an option, trying to remember the sequence to get to it again takes about a dozen attempts.

Also when I'm about to copy music on my iMac, I don't want to have to keep walking back and forth to the Brennan. Being able to use the macOS disk utility is far easier for me.

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

I find that this web page help when "planning" a delve into the menu structure

https://www.brennan.co.uk/itemcontent.php/content/Menus

Fred

[Warren Knauer]

Hi Fred--and others seeing this...  I can understand how someone might judge the "menu structure impossible."  I'm a "noob" so the menus are far from 2nd nature to me.  The Brennan menus cause suffering from having never heard of or "bought into" the Hrair limit concept...

First world problem (or annoyance).

Regards,

Warren

[Peter Lowham]

Hi All,

I have attached two PDF files each of which contains the Menu structures (courtesy of the Brennan website), one is for the B2 and the other is for the BB1.  These show the menus as at 26th January 2021.  There are some additions after that date but the Brennan website has not yet been updated.

Regards,

Peter.

[Rik]

Thank you, Peter. I still have the paper that came with my B2 and refer to it when I forget what to do. I've never had a problem with the menus but I'll print this off because it’s useful to have an  updated one without having to check on the website

[Daniel Taylor]

Very nice, Peter.  Thanks!

[PMB]

Hi All,

I have updated the Menus on the web site.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Me My Self and I]

Thanks for the menu .pdf. That will help a lot.

I checked what little paper (a tri-folded A4 sheet) was supplied with my B2 and it has next to nothing on it at all, certainly not a list of the menu. 

I understand that as features change, printed manuals become outdated and I realise that everything can be found on the internet. But the information on the Brennan website is often out of date, refers to functions or features that don't exist or has two conflicting and contradictory statements! Plus I find it harder to absorb information on a screen in the same way as I do when it is on paper. Even a terse indented menu tree would have been better than nothing. Had there been an option to purchase a properly written printed manual, I'd have taken it. I might be tempted to write a "Dummies Guide" book myself.

By way of example, the "manual" supplied with my B2 bought 1st March 2021 is dated January 2018. 

Nowhere does it state that USB devices need to be formatted in Fat32, I might have assumed that the USB sockets were "broken" had I not known this. The instructions for switching off state: I recommend that you you press and hold the stop button - then remove the power. No mention of waiting for "Saved" and for the clock to reappear. 

No mention of pressing "Next" to start playback in random order.

[PMB]

Hi mkste...,

Thank you for the user feedback.

Paul

Brennan Support.