Volkswagen Eos Forum banner

RCD510 MY09 - SD Card Formatting

72K views 35 replies 17 participants last post by  voxmagna 
#1 · (Edited)
The RCD510 SD input is specified as accepting SD cards up to 2Gb in size.

When I first tried a 2Gb card loaded with tested mp3 files, I received an error message saying the card could not be read. I then tried a 1Gb card with the same files which worked fine.

After some detective work, I discovered the 1Gb card was formatted with the basic Windows FAT file system whereas the 2Gb card had been formatted with the later NTFS file system. Reformatting the 2Gb card to FAT and reloading the files proved successful.

If you experience problems with card read failures, checking the card format to make sure it is in the windows FAT file system should be the first step before blaming the card/multimedia system.

Now to see if I can get the system to play 4Gb SD cards :D .
 
#2 ·
Totally does away with IPODs' and CD changers in all cars really. That is a really good tip as I had the same problem in mine.I thought it was the way I installed it.

I had the RCD 500 Satnav and upgraded to the RCD510, I have just formatted the card and it works.

Thanks a huge amount

Rob
 
#5 ·
Hornet9 and everyone else, I have some good news for you.

I purchased a 4Gb Sandisk SDHC card yesterday and have been able to get it to work on the RCD510 when formatted in both the Windows FAT and FAT32 formats. I loaded 3Gb of files [mixed in sub-folders and as individual files visible in the main menu] in FAT32 format to see if there were any problems with over 2Gb of content [this being the limit given in the owner's manual] without any problems being experienced with playback including from the sub-folders. The Windows NTFS format definitely does not work on SD cards of any capacity and I do not have access to an Apple Mac to test the formats compatible with Apple Mac computers so will have to leave this to others to test for me.

Hornet9, a possible explanation could be your files came from an ipod and were in mp4 format - I cannot get mp4/m4a files to work on the RCD510.

If anyone has an ipod and wishes to convert their mp4 files to mp3 audio for use in their vehicle – I use a freeware Windows program called Quick Media Converter [donations are requested from happy users]. This is available for download from Major Geeks and other safe download sites.

Next trip to the city in a fortnight, I will get an 8Gb SDHC card to test as this should also be OK .
 
#4 ·
2gb is fine really just to move stuff over, so far on mine i have all the harry potter audio books, the lord of the rings sound tracks (yes all 3 films) and about 9 or 10 foulders with about 60 songs in each :)

It does however take a while to copy things over and getting the structure right can be a but of trial and error :)

Still totaly brillant no having to prep cds :)

cam
 
#6 ·
convert using iTunes

You can do the conversion from iTunes itself.

Select the music you want to convert, right click and select 'Create MP3 version'. Be aware though that this will double up the entries in your iTunes library.

Personally, I set the import settings (Edit->preferences->general->import settings) as MP3 so that whenever you import a CD it is always done as MP3 rather than the native AAC format.
 
#7 ·
16Gb SD card works sometimes?

Hi Guys, just took delivery of our Salsa Red 2009 EOS. I have beeing trying to get a generic 16GB SD Card to work. The new manual insert says up to 32GB is supported. I have found that a few Cd's worth is OK (<2Gb) but then tried it with 9GB and it refuses to work.

I will try with another SanDisk 16GB card I have in my dSLR camera and see how it goes. Like to know at what point it refuses to read the SD card.

Apart from this amount of data, the sound is great.

regards Shane
 
#8 ·
Hi Guys, just took delivery of our Salsa Red 2009 EOS. I have beeing trying to get a generic 16GB SD Card to work. The new manual insert says up to 32GB is supported. I have found that a few Cd's worth is OK (<2Gb) but then tried it with 9GB and it refuses to work.

I will try with another SanDisk 16GB card I have in my dSLR camera and see how it goes. Like to know at what point it refuses to read the SD card.

Apart from this amount of data, the sound is great.

regards Shane

Hi Shane,

Be careful of the formatting of your camera card - it might be a proprietary format specific to your camera. The card formatting is supposed to be SDHC which seems to be standard Windows FAT32 formatting. Also the music formatting has to be mp3 or wav only. If you can read these mp3/wav files on your computer card reader, you should be able to read them on the RCD510.

I will be back in the city on Wednesday [the Eos is getting its routine post-delivery check by the dealer] and will be buying some more high-capacity cards while I am there to experiment with. The largest in stock was 8Mb 4 weeks ago and 2Gb is the biggest i can get locally.

Currently converting and combining Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds" for the trip down :cool:.
 
#9 ·
microSD with Adapter Works

Just thought I'd let everyone know that my 2GB microSD card works with the Sandisk SD adapter. I am now looking for a 16GB microSD card or 32GB SD card... will post experiences later...
 
#10 ·
I have since used an 8Gb SDHC card successfully so do not expect any problems with larger cards.
 
#12 ·
i have close to 2 gigs free on a 20 gig iriver hp-120, but it wont let me copy any more files onto it....it just freezes....

whats a good way to clear the data off and start fresh?

I presume you are using Windows so the following applies - perhaps one of our members with a Mac can translate the following:

It is not uncommon for SD cards to have data encryption software included as a feature by the manufacturer and these are usually in hidden files on the card. They can be found by opening the Windows Control Panel, go to the "Folder Options" file, select "View"and then click on "Show hidden files and folders" in the "HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS" folder. Click OK then use Windows Explorer to check what is on your SD card. The easiest way to delete any unwanted software is to backup the files you want to keep and reformat the card in FAT32 format. Note, you will not be able to use the entire space on the card as some space is taken by the directory for the files to be stored on the card.

If you have any problems, please post details.
 
#15 ·
32GB SD card

Have played more with my SD card and here is the latest:

1. Have a FLAT directory structure or else your SD card will be "procesing" for up to 5 minutes ! ie all files in 1 diretory.
I have found a nice freeware program to do this called Copy All to One.

2. You can utilise playlists to sort them out thereafter. In order to keep your playlists at t he begining, make sure you label them AA-something. Playlist Creator is another nice freeware program for this.

Playing through up to 16gb of music so far....sweet !
 
#31 ·
Choosing SD Card

Have played more with my SD card and here is the latest:

1. Have a FLAT directory structure or else your SD card will be "procesing" for up to 5 minutes ! ie all files in 1 diretory.
I have found a nice freeware program to do this called Copy All to One.

2. You can utilise playlists to sort them out thereafter. In order to keep your playlists at t he begining, make sure you label them AA-something. Playlist Creator is another nice freeware program for this.

Playing through up to 16gb of music so far....sweet !
Can someone please tell me exactly which 32bg SD card to buy from Amazon? Thanks!
 
#16 ·
I wish I knew what the hell your all talking about !!!!
But then again perhaps I don't - happy converting to you all.

If any of you know anything about downloading snowmobile trails onto a Garmin GPS could you pm me as I need to do it and havent a clue about that either!
Gary
 
#17 ·
Track Name display wrong when advancing

I have a 32GB SD card. Loaded with over 4000 tunes in 6 different folders.

When playing a particular track, if I decide to forward to the next track, often the RCD display shows the old track name and artist etc. Is this because of a slow SD card? It is the fastest around- a Class 6.

Does this require a firmware upgrade or something fixable?
 
#18 ·
I have a 32GB SD card. Loaded with over 4000 tunes in 6 different folders.

When playing a particular track, if I decide to forward to the next track, often the RCD display shows the old track name and artist etc. Is this because of a slow SD card? It is the fastest around- a Class 6.

Does this require a firmware upgrade or something fixable?
Hi Midician,

I had the same problem and reported it in my last service. They said that they were able to reproduce the problem on my car (using an SD card they had) and a different car but there is no firmware update to fix. It seems to be a problem no matter how big a card it is. Only happens sometimes and also happens with my iphone. I did read a somewhere else that said others were experiencing this. Not sure where at the moment. I asked them to forward on to Volkswagen, so it can be fixed, but don't know if this happened.

Paul
 
#20 ·
Processor too slow?

Underdesigned? But that would mean that small directories will not have this problem and smaller SD cards would also be unaffected.

For a computer, reading directories is a BASIC function and if it cannot do so then, there is a big problem.

Will raise this with my Dealer when its in to get the other problems fixed. Groan! Another problem.....Can I suggest that all Eos owners raise this issue with their dealers? Its like political lobbying- if there are enough complaints it will get fixed.
 
#21 · (Edited)
I am very happy with the functionality of the RCD510. So much so that I signed up for iTunes and downloaded a song. Then to discover I have no apple device and the song does not save as an MP3 file. So, I then activated my 30 day free Napster software that came with this 3yr old computer..lol. Again, paid .99 for the same song and tada... its now in my car on the HD. Just love that I can pick and choose songs "I LIKE" vs. buying an entire cd. (where have I been all these years???)
 
#22 ·
No firmware upgrade fix

Raised the issue of SD card track names not updating when forwarding to the next trrack with dealer and guess what- they say its a problem with my SD card even tough the music plays ; which proves that the files is being read OK. C'mon VW surely this is a firmware fix! Can we start a petition for VW to respond to this minor but irritating issue?
 
#24 · (Edited)
SD card

I have over 4000 files on one folder, 6 folders total with half my music collection....it works and I can access all files.

A workaround of the track info not updating is to pause play before advancing the track and that seems to work.....
 
#25 ·
Midician -

I finally got around to getting a 32gb sd card for my Eos. Sadly, I am not experiencing the same luxury as you are. I have tried the flat-directory thing, and the list of files isn't as long as the actual card contents. I've tried the one-layer-of-directories thing, with each artist having a folder, but not the albums (just goes artist-song) and I have culled down to 415 artist folders or so, and still the list only gets to the Ss (and T is where all artists starting with "The" are located!). Easily 30% of my library is just not being read from the card, and I've slimmed it down to less than 3000 files!

And forget 5 minutes, mine is processing for 15. Every time i start the car.

=0(
 
#26 · (Edited)
slight update:

I found that with a flat structure, i.e. no folders, the card only is read up to 512 tracks (regardless the size of the card).

However, with one folder per artist, again, processing for 15 minutes or more and only gets to R.

So instead I've gone back to a flatter structure, broken into alphabetical folders (and the music filenames themselves are now artist and song title together so I can still read what's what). I have something like 6 folders (A-C, D-H, etc) and kept each to ~500 files, hence the irregular letter grouping. Still, though, the card only reads through the "R-The J" file, while "The K" and after are left out still. (I have a lot of bands that start with 'The')

EDIT: This is a total of 2246 files, I found. So the 2048 number I had heard of is indeed incorrect.

Please help! Anyone? Bueller?
 
#27 ·
File Structure

My file structure which loads in a bout 25 seconds is as follows:


Root directory
Playlists
Rock​
Files​
playlists​
Classical​
Files​
playlists​

Country​
Files​
playlists​

World​
Files​
playlists​
 
#28 ·
Update:
If your SD card music is skipping and dropping out, there are 2 things you should do:
1> Reset the RCD510
2> Format your SD card and reload files.

My SD card was defragmented by 5% and was skipping constantly, and reformat and reset fixed it!
 
#29 ·
FYI, the FAT file system is a very old filing system that has had some updates over time to allow larger files, and long filenames...
On a FAT filesystem there is a restriction on the number of ROOT directory files and folders that can exist. This limitation is usually 512 entries (that means a file OR a folder).

This limitation of 512 entries ONLY applies to the ROOT folder and thus if you create a folder off of the root called MP3s then you will be able to put any number of MP3s in that folder.

A FAT filesystem will not limit the number of files you can store on the SD card (not entirely true, but considering the amount of space an SD card offers and the space the MP3 files take up means you wouldn't reach this limit).

If there is any limitation on the number of files then this will be down to the head unit itself assuming it caches a list of files and folders when you insert the SD card.

Steve
 
#32 ·
Which 32GB SD Card?

These are so common these days- you should be able to buy any 32GB card with a Class 6 or 10 rating and it should do.

Sandisk , Joyflash, Team are brands that I am using without issues.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top