Learning how to put music on a USB drive for a car can be challenging. It is challenging to save your favorite playlist on a USB drive and play it on your car music system because of compatibility and configuration issues. You can read this article to get a clear guideline on how to upload music on USB drive for a car.
Getting your first car is a magical dream for most people. It is a magical dream because a car signifies freedom of the open road and your ability to control your future. Playing your favorite playlist while you embark on your journey is the final touch of adding a soundtrack to the story of your life.
You can read this article to figure out how to put music on a USB drive for a car.
1. Figure out the type and model of your car stereo
The first thing you need to do is to take note of the type and model of your car stereo. You can use this information to conduct an online search for your stereo’s specifications.
By doing a specification search, you get a clear idea of all the supported audio formats for your music system. Note all the audio formats that are compatible with your car stereo.
The first step helps you avoid navigation issues when playing your music files from a USB drive.
2. Prepare your USB
- Prepping your USB drive means you format your USB drive using the correct partition type. You can follow the procedure below to prepare your USB.
- Ensure you have a reasonable-sized USB and plug it into one of the USB ports on your PC.
- Open Windows file explorer and check if your OS recognizes the new plugged-in device.
- Locate your USB partition by checking the corresponding size of each on your PC. Right-click on the USB partition and click on the format option.
- Rename your USB drive to help you identify the USB partition.
- Ensure that the USB partition type is FAT 32 before checking off the quick format box.
You can complete the USB preparation process by clicking Ok and waiting until you get a confirmation message indicating that the USB formatting process was successful.
3. Preparing your music
The next step is prepping your music files ready for the upload process. The following guidelines will help you prepare your music files.
- Audio music files are preferable because they are less likely to cause visual distraction when driving.
- Create your music playlist or music mix that can keep you awake and focused when driving.
- Ensure your music is in a file format compatible with your stereo. You can download media converters and use them to convert the unsupported file formats into a file format compatible with your stereo.
- Compile your playlist and music mix files and ensure that the total file size is less than the available storage space on your USB drive.
4. Uploading your music to your USB
You can follow the following process to upload your music files to your USB drive.
- Plug your USB drive into your computer’s USB ports and wait for it to reflect on your OS.
- Open the file folder containing your compiled music selection. Right-click on every music file and hover your mouse pointer on the send to option to access advanced options. Point and hoover until it populates a new list. Locate and click on your USB drive on the new list to send a copy of the selected music file to your USB drive. Sending files one by one ensures that the integrity of your music files is not compromised. Sending your music files this way keeps a backup copy of your music selection on your computer.
- Avoid saving and sending your music files inside zipped folders, folders, or sub-folders. Copying your music files directly to your US guarantees play-back features on your car stereo work flawlessly.
- Right-click on your USB partition and click on the eject option to safely remove your USB from your computer after transferring all your music files.
5. Test the music on your USB drive
The test stage gives you definitive feedback on whether you were successful or not. You can follow the following steps to check if you successfully saved your music on your USB drive.
- Plug the USB drive on your car stereo and wait for it to load. You can restart your car Stereo with the USB still plugged in if your music system doesn’t detect it automatically.
- You should be able to see your music selection if everything works as it should.
- Play any music file to test the navigation properties like fast forward, skip, and auto-resume features.
- Repeat the above process to update music files on your USB drive if you were successful in your first attempt.
6. Troubleshooting USB Playback Issues on a Car Stereo
Below are two of the most common issues that prevent music on USB drives from playing on your car stereo.
- USB not detected: The USB port on your stereo device is sometimes faulty and prevents your USB from connecting to your system. Replace your USB connection cable if you prefer using a USB extension cable to connect your USB drive. Check and ensure there is no debris inside your stereo’s USB port. You can also check if your USB partition format is FAT 32 if it does not register on your stereo.
- The file format is not supported: This is a common problem for earlier or less advanced car stereos. You can solve this problem by converting your music files into standard file formats like Mp3 and WAV.
FAQs
Q. Can I play music on a USB drive on a car stereo without a USB port?
Yes. You can use innovative gadgets like an FM transmitter to link and play your music from your USB drive.
Q. Why do music files keep getting corrupted on my USB drive?
The plausible causes for this problem are file corruption (from a computer Virus) or a faulty USB drive. You can remedy the former problem by formatting your USB drive using a PC with an updated antivirus.
Ensure you also transfer music files from a computer with a reliable antivirus program to prevent file corruption on your USB drive. The only solution to a faulty USB drive is replacing it with a new one.
Conclusion
Putting music on a USB drive for a car has never been easier. You can always refer to the steps outlined in this post to get it done quickly and easily.
That said, we wrap up this post. I hope you found it very useful. If you have any questions or suggestions, do not hesitate to drop them in the comments section below.
