I received my new MCS this week after what seemed like the longest 6 weeks of my life.
When I was building the car with my sales guy he told me about the new HI-FI systems in the 08 model that comes with a 10 gig harddrive that would hold 1000’s of songs. I thought this was a must have. I would not have to take my iPod along for the ride anymore. He said I could use a USB drive to upload the songs and I would be good to go.
Here is my problem. When I use the USB stick it says loading and will play the songs. After I unplug the stick it cannot seem to find the songs or access the harddrive.
I called the MC support line and they had no idea what I was talking about. I called my sales rep and he didn’t know how to use the new harddrive yet. He said he would need to get back with me.
I was wanting to know, while I wait for his call back, if anyone else knows how to access the HD or have had this issue?
Thanks for your help,
D

 

why do you unplug it... leave it in the car....

 

Because it's supposed to store the song on the harddrive, eliminating the need to have an ipod or usb drive plugged in at all times.

 

Not being familiar with the situation, yourself, or your MA, I don't want to outright call this a lie, but you have absolutely been misinformed. There is not a hard drive in the '08 MINIs (or any MINI to my knowledge) for storage of media. There is a very limited amount of memory (32MB I think?) that the audio system uses to store your song information and other information from external audio sources (USB or iPod) so that it does not have to re-index the same files every time you plug it in. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that USB stick and / or iPod is going to need to stay in the car.

 

Your MA is wrong.

As far as i know and i have just looked at the latest releases of the wiring for 08 MINI's there is no such thing as a HARD DRIVE option.

This may end up being a option at some later point in time but not even the latest BMW's have this yet and they always get this stuff before MINI's

No it is possible to hook up a portable USB hard drive such as the western digital PassPort Series but i have found that you need to also have a special cable that no one seems to sell (not even western digital even though they show a part number for it on the passport page). What hte cable does is plug into the cigarette lighter to power the drive and the USB port to access the data. A standard PassPort needs more current than the USB port in the MINI can provide.

I know this because i have done extensive testing with these products and even after getting it to work it loads to slow and is very cumbersome to use if you have a 320GIG drive almost full of music. There is jsut tomuch scrolling to do to find what yo are looking for.

No if you were to use say and 8 gig sub stick and load that with music that would work and depending on how much music was on it as to how long it would take to load the data (not the music) in to the car.

See this thread for much more of an explanation. Make sure you read all the posts. Especially posts # 60, 62, 65, 67, 71, 75, 81, 84.
These will explain the way the system works. if you still have questions please feel free to ask after reading this thread.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...usb+hard+drive

 

Wow. They really got me on that one didn’t they. I’m anxious to find out what he has to say about it when he calls me back.

 

Wow is right. Sorry to hear that your MA is so misinformed. I almost get the idea that he/she was told what the USB connection is for when selling the convenience package, then somehow made the leap to it containing a hard drive instead of requiring one. Either the most non-tech saavy MA ever or grossly incompetent(or both).

 

The only thing that I can think of is that he's thinking of BMW's recent announcement for iDrive cars. It's not a MINI though, and even that's only in cars not available yet.

If you have a Nav system, you can burn MP3's to a DVD and play them in the drive instead of map data.

But the HiFi package? Upgraded speakers and an amp.

I got the new MA too

 

Was your MA new? Maybe he just got hired form one of the Ford dealers that closed and he thought he was selling you a F-250 Super Duty Duallie with the " Sync" option

 

Here is the response from my MA. I won't name names because overall my experience with them has been pleasent enough and I'm totally stoked on my Mini regardless this.

"I may have unintenionally misinformed you, but only because this is what I was led to believe by the wording of what comes with the quick reference guide in the MINI ownership books. If you read the final paragraph on the usb/audio interface the wording clearly states that the car can store up to 20,000 songs off of up to four different usb sources. I apologize if this is not the case, i can assure you, it was completely unintentional."

 

The supplementary owner's manual does not say what this guy thought it said at all. He must be new, because he didn't even refer to the thing properly and I had to dig through my packet to find the "quick reference guide". He completely misread it. It reads as follows:

"Information from up to four USB devices or for approx. 20,000 tracks can be stored on the vehicle."

It does not say that the car can store the songs, only the song information as zonedguy said earlier.

 

I would ask for the manager, and ask for a refund of at least a portion of the funds paid for the HiFi, especially if the main reason you purchased it was for the "hard drive".

At least you had the USB package, or else, you wouldn't even be able to use a memory stick...

 

Thanks for checking. I think I'm going to let it slide. After all, this is the dealer I will be taking my Mini to for service!

I've had no troubles with using a 2 gig usb stick so this will be sufficient. At least I won't have to leave an iPod in the car.

 

That's unfortunate but as you noticed, the hd really isn't needed given the size of usb drives these days. I bought this one recently ( http://www.supermediastore.com/super...T.mc_id=cjtext ) and it's tiny, barely notice it is plugged in. Indexing and delays are not noticable.

 

Crap. I skipped the feature because I didn't care for Bluetooth, but I just put a $129 Clarion in my kids' car, and it has a USB source, and I love it. Sure, I've got MP3 players of various brands, but I prefer the USB for two reasons: 1) Controlling it via the radio controls and 2) It doesn't need to be charged - just hangs from my keychain.

So, the question is: would it be possible to order just the USB option after the fact?

 

Click on this link
http://www.newministuff.com/new/shop...roducts&cat=28

 

Cool- it's a shame it doesn't integrate with the steering wheel for track control. Looks like it's an FM modulator that also does RDS to transmit song titles?

@ mslatter - A retrofit of the OEM USB system is technically possible. The USB module is built onto the Bluetooth module, and it sounds as though the entire car computer/radio system would need to be swapped. There's been a few people that have gotten estimates in the $1200 range.

 

That's a great deal for an 8gig stick. I spent more on a 4 gig than that!

 

I would like to hear a success story of someone installing the aftermarket USB interface.

 

Not going to happen, The MOST system in the BMW/MINI is proprietary and thus any additions or subtractions to it affect many many other systems in the car.

I have even tried to put in a Powered USB Hub so that i could connect up to four USB sticks and it is just not something that will happen with out MAJOR rework of the hardware and software in the car.

 

So you're saying this (as posted above) doesn't work?

http://www.newministuff.com/new/shop...roducts&cat=28

 

No, I am not saying that. These DO NOT connect to the stereo in the same way as the OEM. There is splicing that needs to be done and if that is screwed up it could screw up more than just the radio. The Guy that makes these is an absolute marvel at what he does. But that is not to say that these will work with every software upgrade that my also come along for your car.

Unfortunately i do not trust any after market items spliced to the main computer of the car. Who knows what could happen.

It just like other people that have spliced performance parts to their car and then had major problems and Voided Their Warranty. This item will do the same Void your warranty.

Good luck to anyone that uses this item.

 

That device seems to use an FM modulator to put the signal into the HU. I'd be surprised if it were the least bit dependent on software configuration, or had any warranty risk at all.

 

Yeah, it looks like it uses an FM modulator, but the product description specifically lists that three splices are necessary. There's no steering wheel integration, so it can't be to the steering wheel buttons. Maybe ground, power and FM antenna?

Once you cut/modify wires, I'd say related warranty coverage is kaput. It might depend on the dealer though. I asked about aftermarket mods specifically at my dealer, and they said that "in general" installations performed by an ASE certified mechanic would avoid breaking the warranty on stock bits.

 

It would be up to the dealer, and the case could be made under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act that your modification had to be proved to cause whatever repair the dealer is denying under warranty. This seems like an easy install, but still, I agree there's a risk with everything, and more so when undertaken by the inexperienced.

Really, I'm not quite as interested in this device as I would be with one that integrates with the HU and displays song info on the normal display. I'm not sure this one has a display of any kind, now that I think of it.