X5 to PSP USB To Go transfer issue! Any solutions?

DrewN · 06-12-2005, 12:53

I've been fiddling around with the x5's USB to Go's functionality with the Sony PSP and it works well in terms of transferring files back and forth without a problem. I've moved files as big as 100 MB without incident--at least the file is transferrable and readable as I move them to and from each device ( I will not discuss speeds in this post, although the 100 MB file took approximately 2 min counting 1 potato, 2 potato, i.e. very unscientific).

However, I have one pretty major issue--the x5 is not reading the capacity of the memory stick pro duo correctly! For example, after transferring all the files back and forth I decided to start fresh with a clean memory stick. I used the PSP to format the stick, then reconnected the PSP to the x5.

The problem is--the x5 is not reading the storage capacity of the memory stick correctly. It reads the stick as having 235MB free when in actuality it has 486MB free. I have tried everything to try and fix the problem (disconnecting and reconnecting both devices, powering down and "rebooting" both devices, etc.) but I simply cannot get the x5 to read the proper size of the memory stick.

This is really frustrating, and pretty much ruins one of the major features (in my mind) of having an x5. Using it as a portable hard drive for my PSP was a pretty big deal for me :(. If the x5 cannot read my mem stick size correctly then kills my ability to store files for my PSP on the x5 to switch back and forth.

If anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears...hopefully it's something I'm doing wrong :(

klinikl · 06-12-2005, 12:56

Does it prevent you from copiing more than 235MB though?

DrewN · 06-12-2005, 13:00

Yes, when trying to copy more than 235MB the x5 returns a "storage exceeded" message and prevents the transfer. Ugh, this stinks...

DrewN · 06-12-2005, 13:44

OK, so I've played around with this a little more and have come to the conclusion that the x5 memory size gauge for external devices is inaccurate and needs to recalibrate itself after every file transfer...

I tried copying a large file (over 230MB) to a clean 512MB memory stick pro duo. "Storage Full" from the x5, no go. So I try transferring a smaller file, about 30 MB, OK.

I disconnect and reconnect the PSP to the x5 and the x5 recalculates the size of the memory stick. I continue adding files to the memory stick from my x5, the file size being less than what the x5 calculates as remaining on the stick. Each time I transfer a file the x5 recalculates what's left on the stick.

I continue doing this , writing smaller and smaller files (from 30MB movies to 5MB mp3s) until I get the following result:

Actual size of files on mem stick 435MB
Actual remaining memory left on mem stick: 33MB

Actual remaining memory left on mem stick (according to x5): 18MB

So in the end it's frustrating that I can't transfer very large files over due to the inaccurate gauge on the x5--however, if you stick to small files the x5 eventually recalibrates and allows you to fill up the card.

Any conspiracy theories, anyone? Ha ha....

BTW it would be great if someone else can validate this for me. Hopefully I have a bad mem stick. If this is valid then hopefully a firmware update can address this.

tridion · 07-01-2005, 10:25

Anyone else experiencing this. I was hoping to copy video files to my PSP so this could be a deal breaker

DrewN · 07-01-2005, 21:24

bumpity bump. Can anyone confirm this? I still haven't found a solution. BTW I'm using Sandisk memory sticks, could this possibly be the problem? Maybe high-speed Sonys are more agreeable with the x5?

Just a shot in the dark

tridion · 07-02-2005, 06:05

I doubt it's a Sony/Sandisk issue.

But, yes can anyone else confirm that this is or isn't a common issue.

I am holding off buying a 30Gb X5L until I know the answer to this. Thanks in advance.

@DrewN - Are you using the latest x5 firmware ? What firmware do you have on your PSP ?

DrewN · 07-02-2005, 07:03

x5 firmware - 2.07e
PSP firmware - 1.52

Both the latest firmware.

BTW if you look at this thread:
http://www.iaudiophile.net/forums/viewtopic.php?id=2063

One of the posters is claiming a write failure on a 300MB file, but tried it on a 1GB stick and it was fine. I think in a way he's confirming this problem.

I don't think we'll be able to move files even close to the size of 600MB - 1 GB because of this "bug"--which is a shame because high quality full length movies on the memory stick/PSP approach this size IIRC.

sougen · 07-02-2005, 08:58

I just wanted to confirm the problems and a possible solution I found.

My hardware:
X5 30G, firmware - 2.07e
PSP firmware - 1.00

I got the same issues as well with write errors and size discrepencies.

- The first time I tried transferring files, I got the 'Write Failure' message.
I reformatted my memory stick and the file transferring worked fine after that.

- I have two 1G and two 512 sticks plus the original 32mb sony stick and did these tests with all of them to make sure:
This was after a clean format through the PSP menu function

MemoryStick PSP Stats iAudio USB-OTG Stats
-----------------------------------------------------------
1GB Sandisk 949 MB 475 MB
512 MB Sandisk 467 MB 235 MB
32 MB Sony 30 MB 11 MB

It looks like the x5 is reporting about half the size of actual free space.

- But then I wondered if formatting through my PC will be any different.
Well to my surprise, the x5 showed the correct free space!! (This was by formatting the memory stick in my PSP when connected up to the PC).
I tried transferring a 448 MB mp4 file (to my 512MB sandisk) and it succeeded and played back properly through the PSP.
I just tried transferring a 614 MB mp4 file to my 1G sandisk right now, and it succeeded and played back fine as well.

Just a note though, after formatting through the PC, you will have to remember to manually create the folders MP_ROOT/100MNV01, otherwise you won't be able to play the videos.
Also, I couldn't paste the file while I was inside the 100MNV01 folder, I had to click on 'Paste In' while I had the 100MNV01 folder selected.

My guess is that the x5 must be using the extra files that the PSP creates (eg. the IND file in the root directory) to determine the free space. But one of those files gives incorrect information... (just a guess, I could be wrong though)

In any case, the USB-OTG is too slow to transfer large files (ie. movies), but bearable for smallish files (like less than 50MB).
The most fiddly thing though, is not being able to select a bunch of files to copy across (does anyone know if there is currently any way to do this?)

Hope that helps someone.

DrewN · 07-02-2005, 21:03

sougen, thank you very much, that did it =). I can confirm everything you said is true. If you format the stick using your PC (right click on the removable drive in explorer and format using FAT 32) the x5 reads the correct size of the mem stick.

So on the road, as long as you don't format your memory stick using your PSP, then you should be fine to transfer files back and forth without a problem. "Full" functionality, finally confirmed! I'm happy again.

I do agree about the transfer rate, though, it's as slow as molasses. It may not be practical to move huge files, but at least we know it can be done successfully. As long as you have AC power in some form imo the pair still make a good combination, especially for extended trips.

Well, that pretty much puts this baby to bed in my mind. Maybe we should put this in the x5 bug sticky?

tridion · 07-03-2005, 04:42

How long does it take to transfer a 600Mb file (for example) ?

06-12-2005, 12:53	#1
DrewN Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: NJ, US Posts: 80	I've been fiddling around with the x5's USB to Go's functionality with the Sony PSP and it works well in terms of transferring files back and forth without a problem. I've moved files as big as 100 MB without incident--at least the file is transferrable and readable as I move them to and from each device ( I will not discuss speeds in this post, although the 100 MB file took approximately 2 min counting 1 potato, 2 potato, i.e. very unscientific). However, I have one pretty major issue--the x5 is not reading the capacity of the memory stick pro duo correctly! For example, after transferring all the files back and forth I decided to start fresh with a clean memory stick. I used the PSP to format the stick, then reconnected the PSP to the x5. The problem is--the x5 is not reading the storage capacity of the memory stick correctly. It reads the stick as having 235MB free when in actuality it has 486MB free. I have tried everything to try and fix the problem (disconnecting and reconnecting both devices, powering down and "rebooting" both devices, etc.) but I simply cannot get the x5 to read the proper size of the memory stick. This is really frustrating, and pretty much ruins one of the major features (in my mind) of having an x5. Using it as a portable hard drive for my PSP was a pretty big deal for me :(. If the x5 cannot read my mem stick size correctly then kills my ability to store files for my PSP on the x5 to switch back and forth. If anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears...hopefully it's something I'm doing wrong :( __________________ iAudio X5L 30GB - Sony PSP - Shure e5c - Sennheiser PX100 - Sennheiser HD485

06-12-2005, 13:00	#3
DrewN Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: NJ, US Posts: 80	Yes, when trying to copy more than 235MB the x5 returns a "storage exceeded" message and prevents the transfer. Ugh, this stinks... __________________ iAudio X5L 30GB - Sony PSP - Shure e5c - Sennheiser PX100 - Sennheiser HD485

06-12-2005, 13:44	#4
DrewN Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: NJ, US Posts: 80	OK, so I've played around with this a little more and have come to the conclusion that the x5 memory size gauge for external devices is inaccurate and needs to recalibrate itself after every file transfer... I tried copying a large file (over 230MB) to a clean 512MB memory stick pro duo. "Storage Full" from the x5, no go. So I try transferring a smaller file, about 30 MB, OK. I disconnect and reconnect the PSP to the x5 and the x5 recalculates the size of the memory stick. I continue adding files to the memory stick from my x5, the file size being less than what the x5 calculates as remaining on the stick. Each time I transfer a file the x5 recalculates what's left on the stick. I continue doing this , writing smaller and smaller files (from 30MB movies to 5MB mp3s) until I get the following result: Actual size of files on mem stick 435MB Actual remaining memory left on mem stick: 33MB Actual remaining memory left on mem stick (according to x5): 18MB So in the end it's frustrating that I can't transfer very large files over due to the inaccurate gauge on the x5--however, if you stick to small files the x5 eventually recalibrates and allows you to fill up the card. Any conspiracy theories, anyone? Ha ha.... BTW it would be great if someone else can validate this for me. Hopefully I have a bad mem stick. If this is valid then hopefully a firmware update can address this. __________________ iAudio X5L 30GB - Sony PSP - Shure e5c - Sennheiser PX100 - Sennheiser HD485

07-01-2005, 21:24	#6
DrewN Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: NJ, US Posts: 80	bumpity bump. Can anyone confirm this? I still haven't found a solution. BTW I'm using Sandisk memory sticks, could this possibly be the problem? Maybe high-speed Sonys are more agreeable with the x5? Just a shot in the dark __________________ iAudio X5L 30GB - Sony PSP - Shure e5c - Sennheiser PX100 - Sennheiser HD485

07-02-2005, 07:03	#8
DrewN Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: NJ, US Posts: 80	x5 firmware - 2.07e PSP firmware - 1.52 Both the latest firmware. BTW if you look at this thread: http://www.iaudiophile.net/forums/viewtopic.php?id=2063 One of the posters is claiming a write failure on a 300MB file, but tried it on a 1GB stick and it was fine. I think in a way he's confirming this problem. I don't think we'll be able to move files even close to the size of 600MB - 1 GB because of this "bug"--which is a shame because high quality full length movies on the memory stick/PSP approach this size IIRC. __________________ iAudio X5L 30GB - Sony PSP - Shure e5c - Sennheiser PX100 - Sennheiser HD485

06-12-2005, 12:56	#2
klinikl Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 13	Does it prevent you from copiing more than 235MB though?

07-01-2005, 10:25	#5
tridion Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 23	Anyone else experiencing this. I was hoping to copy video files to my PSP so this could be a deal breaker

07-02-2005, 06:05	#7
tridion Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 23	I doubt it's a Sony/Sandisk issue. But, yes can anyone else confirm that this is or isn't a common issue. I am holding off buying a 30Gb X5L until I know the answer to this. Thanks in advance. @DrewN - Are you using the latest x5 firmware ? What firmware do you have on your PSP ?

07-02-2005, 08:58	#9
sougen Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 13	I just wanted to confirm the problems and a possible solution I found. My hardware: X5 30G, firmware - 2.07e PSP firmware - 1.00 I got the same issues as well with write errors and size discrepencies. - The first time I tried transferring files, I got the 'Write Failure' message. I reformatted my memory stick and the file transferring worked fine after that. - I have two 1G and two 512 sticks plus the original 32mb sony stick and did these tests with all of them to make sure: This was after a clean format through the PSP menu function MemoryStick PSP Stats iAudio USB-OTG Stats ----------------------------------------------------------- 1GB Sandisk 949 MB 475 MB 512 MB Sandisk 467 MB 235 MB 32 MB Sony 30 MB 11 MB It looks like the x5 is reporting about half the size of actual free space. - But then I wondered if formatting through my PC will be any different. Well to my surprise, the x5 showed the correct free space!! (This was by formatting the memory stick in my PSP when connected up to the PC). I tried transferring a 448 MB mp4 file (to my 512MB sandisk) and it succeeded and played back properly through the PSP. I just tried transferring a 614 MB mp4 file to my 1G sandisk right now, and it succeeded and played back fine as well. Just a note though, after formatting through the PC, you will have to remember to manually create the folders MP_ROOT/100MNV01, otherwise you won't be able to play the videos. Also, I couldn't paste the file while I was inside the 100MNV01 folder, I had to click on 'Paste In' while I had the 100MNV01 folder selected. My guess is that the x5 must be using the extra files that the PSP creates (eg. the IND file in the root directory) to determine the free space. But one of those files gives incorrect information... (just a guess, I could be wrong though) In any case, the USB-OTG is too slow to transfer large files (ie. movies), but bearable for smallish files (like less than 50MB). The most fiddly thing though, is not being able to select a bunch of files to copy across (does anyone know if there is currently any way to do this?) Hope that helps someone.

07-02-2005, 21:03	#10
DrewN Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: NJ, US Posts: 80	sougen, thank you very much, that did it =). I can confirm everything you said is true. If you format the stick using your PC (right click on the removable drive in explorer and format using FAT 32) the x5 reads the correct size of the mem stick. So on the road, as long as you don't format your memory stick using your PSP, then you should be fine to transfer files back and forth without a problem. "Full" functionality, finally confirmed! I'm happy again. I do agree about the transfer rate, though, it's as slow as molasses. It may not be practical to move huge files, but at least we know it can be done successfully. As long as you have AC power in some form imo the pair still make a good combination, especially for extended trips. Well, that pretty much puts this baby to bed in my mind. Maybe we should put this in the x5 bug sticky? __________________ iAudio X5L 30GB - Sony PSP - Shure e5c - Sennheiser PX100 - Sennheiser HD485

07-03-2005, 04:42	#11
tridion Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 23	How long does it take to transfer a 600Mb file (for example) ?

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