Backup device advice

[Tim Baker]

Hi I have two HDs that when used as USB the Brennan does not like, no problem just a little disappointing.

I have several USB sticks the device does not recognize.

I have a usb stick you can put micro sd cards in (really good for moving files to phone) that my Brennan B2 does not like.

I thought to be safe would by a hardrive off of the Brennan web page, However it says sold out.

A recent software update seems to have stopped my brennan going to sleep or freezing so backing up will probably work now.

I have now finished ripping all my households CDs, edited erroneous track names album names or added where the cheap CD was not on the database,  so would like to do a backup before it goes wrong.

Can someone please recommend one, My Brennan is 2TB but  only used about 400 gig .

[Daniel Taylor]

The Most likely reason that the B2 would not recognize a USB disk is because the disk is not formatted as FAT32.  That's the only format that Brennan will recognize.  The B2 can format the disk for you.  Use the Format USB C (or A) command in the Maintenance menu.  If the disk is not recognized, the B2 behaves as if nothing is connected - just igore that and run the command.  It takes a second or two for Partitioning, and then the Formatting process takes longer the larger the disk is.

[JFBUK]

Hi,

just to add to Daniel's reply ,disks greater than 2Tb will not readily format to FAT32  on the B2 so best to stick to 2Tb or less.

John

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

Yes, your problems most likely relate to the fact that all the devices you have tried to connect to the B2 are not FAT32 formatted. I have found that having formatted the HDD, SSD, USB stick to FAT32 (using the B2 to do this), the B2 will work with them all.

F.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi All,

Yes, my experiences with using external HDDs and USB devices, including SD card adapters, is that the B2 works fine with nearly all of them. 

I buy bare HDDs (from 320GB up to 1TB off eBay from £5 - £20) and use a USB to SATA adapter to connect them to the B2.  To date I have 13 HDDs, 3 USB to SD card adapters and about 20 SD cards and they all work fine, even on the older JB7s.

There is one HDD that I have to format on a PC and that is because it is a 4TB version.

So, as you guys have already advised, there is a fundamental issue with Tim's set up that is preventing his B2 from using his devices.  Hopefully it is just a formatting issue, as many devices are formatted 'exFAT' these days and the B2 can't  read those until they are reformatted to 'FAT32'.  The B2 can format these devices using 'Settings' --> 'Maintenance' --> 'Format USB C' (or 'Format USB A').

Regards,

Peter.

[PMB]

Hi Timuk,

Just to add to the above replies, formatting the HDD/memory stick/SD Card will erase everything stored on the device, so make sure you do not need anything before formatting.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Tim Baker]

Thanks all, although I was expecting the Brennan to have to format was assuming tHe drive would be recognised. So will try again. Thanks you have saved me a few quid if it works.

[PMB]

Hi timuk,

Let us know how you get on with the formatting.

Paul

Brennan Support.