[StarMerc698]

First time using the USB for music this morning. I noticed that, no matter the album I picked, all of the songs were in Alphabetical Order and not the Album Order.

Is this something fixable through the head unit (10 in if it matters) or will I have to relabel my catalog numerically to get the songs back into Album Order?

 

[sracer]

First time using the USB for music this morning. I noticed that, no matter the album I picked, all of the songs were in Alphabetical Order and not the Album Order.

Is this something fixable through the head unit (10 in if it matters) or will I have to relabel my catalog numerically to get the songs back into Album Order?

I experienced similar issues when I first tried to get my USB thumbdrive (64GB Sandisk Nano) working in my K5 EX. None of which were resolvable through the head unit.

Here are a few things to look for....

1. WARNING: The K5 head unit doesn't always refresh the directory info of the USB drive. After a lot of troubleshooting, I discovered that the system doesn't always update its internal directory info for the USB drive. It was driving me nuts to add files to the drive and not have them show up in the car. There was no rhyme or reason for when it would update and when it wouldn't. Performing a quick-format and copying over the files again worked consistently. I don't always do that, but if I notice that new files don't show up, that's what I do.
   
   
2. Do your mp3 files have metadata tags? This is the most important thing to check. If you're using a Mac and iTunes, depending upon the version of iTunes you're using and settings, album/track information may only be stored in the iTunes Library database and NOT embedded as metadata tags in the physical .mp3 files.
   
   You'll need to use an MP3 tagging app to verify what tags are embedded in the files. On Windows I use MP3Tag. You'll want to make sure that Artist, Album name, Album Artist, Track name, and Track number are correct and consistent.
   
   
3. How are you loading the drive? I have found that dragging and dropping from a MacOS system brings with it all of those hidden files. (files where the names start with ".") You'll need file manager (like "Double Commander") to delete those hidden files from the thumbdrive.
   
   If dragging and dropping from a Windows system, it's possible for hidden files to copy over, but they're less likely to exist in the first place.
   
   
4. Delete any non-mp3 files from the drive. Sometimes there are image files (.jpg, png, etc.) that contain the album art. They should be deleted from the drive.
   
   
5. Make sure to use only 1 set of ID3 tags. MP3 files can contain multiple versions of metadata information. There are different versions of the ID3 standard. Make sure that the files have only one version. MP3Tag can remove multiple versions of tags and keep the one that you want.

Following these steps should result in a USB drive that is properly recognized and sorted by the system. I've managed to have over 3000 mp3 files on a drive that work as expected.

I hope this helps.

 

[StarMerc698]

Thanks for the reply. I will have to take it in the house one night and check it over.

 

[Ringo1965]

1. WARNING: The K5 head unit doesn't always refresh the directory info of the USB drive. After a lot of troubleshooting, I discovered that the system doesn't always update its internal directory info for the USB drive. It was driving me nuts to add files to the drive and not have them show up in the car. There was no rhyme or reason for when it would update and when it wouldn't. Performing a quick-format and copying over the files again worked consistently. I don't always do that, but if I notice that new files don't show up, that's what I do.

This drives me batshit crazy...I wasn't sure if it was the flash drive (64GB) causing the issue or what. I have done what you did. Copy to hard drive, add new stuff, format and copy back.

 

[sracer]

This drives me batshit crazy...I wasn't sure if it was the flash drive (64GB) causing the issue or what. I have done what you did. Copy to hard drive, add new stuff, format and copy back.

Does that method work for you?

 

[Ringo1965]

Does that method work for you?

I can see all the music again, but I have an issue where it does not resume to whatever song was playing when I turn off the car. It always goes back to the first song on the first folder aphabetically. I just re-read the manual and it recommends that USB drives be formatted FAT32. I am right now trying that. Of course WIndows 10 will not format FAT32 itself so I am using a third party tool to do that. I will update when I finish.

 

[Kommute5upgraded!]

👀

 

[jsolo_sx2011]

If the k5 media player is like the stinger, I had to edit all my folder names to append something to the title. Specifically, I added the date the folder was created.

20210911 - Album Name

This way it will sort by date in the root folder. Once it plays a given folder, I generally don't care what order. Many folders contain tracks starting with 1 or 01.

 

[slimguy]

It’s a PITA for sure. I’ve still not found an easy, simple solution that doesn’t require renaming ever damn folder.

Now, I only use the flash drive to play on shuffle when I don’t have another source connected. It’s too cumbersome to navigate anyway IMO.