External SSD Card

[Dick Brown]

I just purchased a BB1 and, rather than change the internal SD card, I purchased the following:

PNY 1TB Portable SSD Type-C.

I have loaded about 450 GB of music onto the card but the BB1 does not recognize it when I plug it into the USB slot.

What am I doing wrong and what do I need to do to fix it?

[Peter Lowham]

Hi rbroe...,

The problem here, I think, is that you are trying to use the USB C port.  On the BB1, this port is only used for powering the BB1 from an external supply.  You need to use the full sized USB port, located just to the right of the Type C port.

You can get a 'USB Type A to USB Type C' adaptor for a few pounds or dollars.  This should work fine.  I have one of these adaptors for my BB1s and they work well.

Regards,

Peter.

On Monday, 6 September 2021 at 15:35:48 UTC+1 Daniel Taylor wrote:

I think maybe the BB1 is the wrong model for you.  Have you considered the B2?  You can get it with up to 2TB of internal storage.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi All,

I received this in my PM just now.

Actually I’ve tried both ports as I have an adaptor.  Could the size of the card be the problem?

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Dick,

Did you format the SSD to 'FAT32' before loading the music onto it?  This is the only format that the Brennans will reconise.  The SSD probably arrived formatted 'exFAT' which will not work.

Regards,

Peter.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Dick,

I've just plugged a 2TB USB HDD into a BB1 and it works fine.  The artists and albums names are displayed in blue which signifies that the source of the music is the USB device (in normal usage these are shown in white).

So, your 1TB SSD should be good to go.

Regards,

Peter.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi All,

Received in my PM from Dick earlier today .

I just tried to format to FAT32 and I got a message that the format failed because the volume was too large.  Any suggestions?

Regards,

Peter.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Dick,

I ran a re-format test on a 1TB HDD on one of my BB1s today and it ran perfectly.

Two queries for you.

1.  What version Is your BB1 software?  My unit's software is dated 'BB1 Aug 02 2021'.

2.  Did you purchase your SSD from Amazon or eBay?  These sites are full of fake devices.  Here is a link to a thread where we looked into this, and also show how to test the device.

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/brennanb2/1BakkcoHSQQ/sXqO8ZJkBgAJ

Regards,

Peter.

[JFBUK]

Hi Dick,

Have you tried formatting the drive as Fat32 on another computer first ?

This may allow the BB1 to recognise the drive as formattable.

John

[Daniel Taylor]

These last few posts have reminded me about something I've seen posted before, but I couldn't remember the right terms.  But I saved a post from Peter that tells about it.  However, first do verify that the drive is not a fake.

"The problem here might be that although the 'Format' is FAT32, the 'Partition Type' could be 'GPT' when it should be 'MBR'.
If this is the case the disk will need to be formatted on a PC or Mac using a format program such as
'EaseUS Partition Master' or similar, and selecting 'MBR' as the partition type.  The other option that is shown
is 'Physical' or 'Logical' and 'Physical' should always be selected.

EaseUS Partition Master     https://www.easeus.com/partition-manager/epm-free.html"

[Daniel Taylor]

I just got this email from Dick (rbrow...):

" My software date is 8/2/2021.  I did buy it from Amazon.  The only problem I’m running into now is that I have to have the BB1 plugged into an electrical outlet to use the SSD card.  Does that sound normal?  If not plugged into an electrical outlet I just get a blank screen."

It might be that the SSD requires more power than the BB1 can supply while running on batteries.  If the drive doesn't have the capability tobe plugged into main power, sometimes people use a powered USB hub between the Brennan unit and the disk drive.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Dick,

The battery capacity of the BB1 is not really sufficient to run the BB1 and the SSD together.  What I use is an auxilliary rechargeable battery pack (a 2-pack purchased at Best Buy and rated at 20,000 mAH; so one can charge while the other is being used) and connect the battery pack via a cable with a USB-C connector.  I purchased some Velcro tape and the power pack is attached to the back of the BB1 to keep it transportable.

Have you been able to format the SSD yet?  

Regards,

Peter.