'No USB device' - when there is one

[C Owen]

I apologise for what is probably a question with an obvious answer, but...

 I would like to transfer some music from my recently bought B2 onto a USB stick so it can be played in the car (which irritatingly lacks a CD player).  When I go to USB functions on the menu, after inserting a USB stick in USB A or USB C (I've tried both), and after trying switching off and on again, it simply says "No USB device" and tells me to insert one.

Is this because I am doing something I shouldn't, not doing something I should, because there is something wrong/incompatible with the USB stick (it's new, the brand is Mooco if that's relevant), or something else?

Any tips welcome.

Thank you 

[Daniel Taylor]

There are a couple of possibilities that I can think of.  One is that the USB stick is not formatted as FAT32.  If the B2 does not see FAT32 format, it acts like there's nothing there.  So long as the USB stick or disk drive is good, you can invoke the Format USB C (or A) command and format the drive, after which, the B2 will recognize it.  Warning:  we've seen a few folks mistakenly use the Format HDD command.  Don't do that - that deletes all the music on the internal disk drive.

Another possibility is that you have a fake USB stick.  They are incredibly common.  The problem you would have with that is that it won't have nearly enough space as you were led to believe.

Go ahead and try the Format USB C command and take it from there.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Crispin,

There are some possibilities here.

1.  The USB stick is not formatted as a 'FAT32' partition.  When you purchase a new USB stick, it is often formatted as an 'exFAT' or 'NTFS' partition.  This can be fixed on the B2 by going to 'Main menu' --> 'Settings' --> 'Maintenance' --> 'Format USB C' (or 'Format USB A') depending on which USB port you are using.

2.  If you purchased the USB memory stick from eBay or Amazon, there is a high chance that this is a fake stick and it will never work correctly.  Here is a link to a thread that gives details as to how to test for this situation.

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

Regards,

Peter.

[C Owen]

Daniel, Peter

Thank you very much - sorry it's taken me a couple of days to try your suggestions, and, now I've tried them, the B2 recognises the USB stick.  I'm really grateful.

I did try to download H2TestW incidentally - but when I tried to download it, I repeatedly got "410 - gone" 410 Gone (softpedia-secure-download.com) . Probably my fault. But that's very useful advice about USB sticks.

Best wishes

Crispin

[C Owen]

  I  apologise in advance for these questions - I am a bit out of my depth.

  1.  Now the B2 recognises the USB stick, how do I transfer tracks onto the stick?

2.   If this involves creating a playlist, how do I create a playlist? In some other discussions, this seems to involve looking at lists of tracks, but I can only see the track being played. Related to this, people discuss downloading artwork, but the display on my B2 - unless I'm missing something - isn't nearly big enough for this. Did I leave something in the box?

Best wishes

Crispin

[JFBUK]

Hi Crispin,

Yes you will need to create a playlist if you want to copy only certain tracks to your USB stick.

From your post it sounds like you are not currently using the Web User Interface (Web UI) to manage your B2 ?

Is the B2 connected  to your home wifi network ?

Although you can do pretty much everything , including creating a playlist and copying it to a USB stick , by using only the Brennan B2 remote and the front panel,  it is much easier and visual using the Web UI.

To access the Web UI you will need to type the network address (IP address) of your B2 into an internet browser on  the device you normally use to access the internet, PC, tablet etc.

This link from the Brennan website explains

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

Post again if you need more help

John

[C Owen]

John

Thank you very much. You're quite right - I wasn't using the web user interface. I see from the leaflet that came with the B2 that you can control the B2 through its web interface - but I didn't realise (and I don't think the leaflet points out) that you can do much more with it. And I'm not clued up enough to work that out without being told...

I followed your instructions plus those at the link you gave me - and it worked!

Which is a good start, so now to try creating playlists...

Thank you again

Crispin

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

Once you have created your playlist for the car, I think you will need to go back to the B2's front panel to write it to your USB stick.

The overview of ALL the menu functions is here 

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

and the section yo need is this

IMPORTANT ....... After you have Exported your playlist you will need to press and hold in the Play/Stop (button 6) until "Saving" appears on the front display. Then wait until the clock reappears before your unplug the USB stick.

Fred