[billingw]

I'm using Mac OS 10.7 to load MP3 songs onto a 16GB USB thumb drive (TD). I used the TD right out of the package and loaded 400 songs using the Mac. All appeared to load but only about 200 played in the car and all showed up in one folder - I didn't even expect a folder, but that was fine. I assumed a bunch didn't play b/c they were not all MP3 format, so I converted them. They are all DRM-free. I then loaded all 400 on the TD and 254 showed in one folder and 11 in a second folder - go figure, I didn't use any folders. I'm thinking my next attempt is to 1) erase and re-format the TD and then 2) load the songs into, say 4 folders of 100 songs each. My Mac allows me to format in either MS-DOS (FAT) or ExFAT (assuming I have to format in PC/non-Mac format). Which should I use? Any help available? The Toyota service department can't really help with computer-related issues...

 

[JMII]

I assume MS-DOS FAT is the format you'll need. In addition the song count makes me think you should put them in folders, broken up into blocks of less then 250 to be safe. Also watch out for any illegal characters or symbols, most systems wouldn't recognize things like [email protected]#$%^&*(){}?>

Does the car support an iPod / iPhone (dock) to USB adapter? As an '11 I'd bet it does. If so I bet things would work much better that way. You can grab a used iPod off eBay like the 4th generation Nano pretty cheap these days. Then you could manage everything thru iTunes and replace the thumb drive with the used Nano. The Nano is flash drive based storage so leaving it in the car will not be an issue long term. The heat might mess up the LCD screen, that's why I'd recommend going the used route unless your going to remove the Nano every time you exit the car.