Cowon J3 and Macintosh (Mac) - Compatible?

ocean2026 · 12-15-2010, 08:07

I've been hearing horror stories of the J3 bricking if one makes even a simple mistake such as disconnecting the usb cord or the J3 before its been properly ejected. Some have complained that it bricked anyway.

Have these problems been fixed?

Can one simply go -even if they have ITUNES- to the MP3 files on their hard drive and drag them to some folder on the J3?

johnamix · 01-25-2011, 17:16

To the iTunes question the answer is yes, you can.

Enzyme · 01-26-2011, 09:03

not according to cowon, in a email they say to never drag and drop but to always cut/copy and paste.

they must know something related to dragging causes problems.

edit:

just thought i should post the reply directly for the world to see. i was basically poking them for answers to do with compatibility etc., if you check the information included with the product/cowon website, you will see that cowon claim no compatibility with sync'ing software on the mac.
I imagine this is also why you cant get jetaudio for the mac os. some of the questions they ignored but this was the response:

Dear Customer,

I would have to say its safe to use macs with our players since they are compatible for file transfer through the mass storage device. Our dev. team in Korea advises that when you are transferring your files over, instead of drag/drop try Copy/Paste instead.
Thank You,
Technical Suppport Staff
Cowon America Inc
"Digital Pride"

the word "try" is very comforting

amoergosum · 05-06-2011, 06:15

WHY don't they offer jetaudio for Mac OS X ???

GregVDS · 06-10-2011, 07:56

I will take the plunge, order a J3, and as I'm only with a Macbook, will attempt at making these two live together.

Skerry2006aj · 06-10-2011, 09:34

yes, the problems can be solved, but they must be done by you... use tcctool... and, yes, you can use itunes, if you want..

and a moderator, should come to move this post, because it does not belongs to the "j3 uci themes and stuff"...

GregVDS · 06-27-2011, 10:05

Hi,

here is a quick report how the J3 and Macbook are going together.

J3 is definitively a different beast than iStuffs. You have access to it as if it is simply an external drive.
At first boot, ok, then installed a firmware update, went ok, but in Korean. I didn't note down what I had to follow so as to change language back to English. Installed another firmware, went ok. Fiddled arount in the settings, with no music, I did a DB update, and then, next reboot... it blocked during the start menu (the AlbumArt part).

Well, went here, read some stuff, and decided to try and reformat J3. I did that with Disk Utilities, using FAT, 4Kb. Reboot, ok. Pfiuuuu

I begun then to stuff it up with mp3, FLAC, WAV, videos, txts.

It's working perfectly, boots up really quickly from my point of view, and plays practically everything. No luck with m4a lossless. They are not found at all.

I have to mention that I use a small Python script I did to search and destroy all hidden files and folders, and unmount the J3.

As soon as I receive the 32Gb micro SDHC, I'll mod my script to clean both J3 and microSD before unmounting them. I'll let you know how it went.

Now I have a question:
I formatted the J3 with FAT option, 4Kb... I read somewhere (anythingbutipod I think) that someone formatted his S9 or D2 or X7, don't remember now with Apple Extended stuff format, and was pleased with the results, specially with the transfer rates...

Anyone has some experience in that domain here?

Thanks,

12-15-2010, 08:07	#1
ocean2026 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Rockport TX Posts: 4	Cowon J3 and Macintosh (Mac) - Compatible? I've been hearing horror stories of the J3 bricking if one makes even a simple mistake such as disconnecting the usb cord or the J3 before its been properly ejected. Some have complained that it bricked anyway. Have these problems been fixed? Can one simply go -even if they have ITUNES- to the MP3 files on their hard drive and drag them to some folder on the J3?

01-26-2011, 09:03	#3
Enzyme (A)rrogance (B)reeds (I)gnorance Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 975	not according to cowon, in a email they say to never drag and drop but to always cut/copy and paste. they must know something related to dragging causes problems. edit: just thought i should post the reply directly for the world to see. i was basically poking them for answers to do with compatibility etc., if you check the information included with the product/cowon website, you will see that cowon claim no compatibility with sync'ing software on the mac. I imagine this is also why you cant get jetaudio for the mac os. some of the questions they ignored but this was the response: Dear Customer, I would have to say its safe to use macs with our players since they are compatible for file transfer through the mass storage device. Our dev. team in Korea advises that when you are transferring your files over, instead of drag/drop try Copy/Paste instead. Thank You, Technical Suppport Staff Cowon America Inc "Digital Pride" the word "try" is very comforting Last edited by Enzyme; 01-31-2011 at 15:39.. Reason: updated info

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01-25-2011, 17:16	#2
johnamix Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 2	To the iTunes question the answer is yes, you can.

05-06-2011, 06:15	#4
amoergosum Junior Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 10	WHY don't they offer jetaudio for Mac OS X ???

06-10-2011, 07:56	#5
GregVDS Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 206	I will take the plunge, order a J3, and as I'm only with a Macbook, will attempt at making these two live together.

06-10-2011, 09:34	#6
Skerry2006aj Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 54	yes, the problems can be solved, but they must be done by you... use tcctool... and, yes, you can use itunes, if you want.. and a moderator, should come to move this post, because it does not belongs to the "j3 uci themes and stuff"...

06-27-2011, 10:05	#7
GregVDS Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 206	Hi, here is a quick report how the J3 and Macbook are going together. J3 is definitively a different beast than iStuffs. You have access to it as if it is simply an external drive. At first boot, ok, then installed a firmware update, went ok, but in Korean. I didn't note down what I had to follow so as to change language back to English. Installed another firmware, went ok. Fiddled arount in the settings, with no music, I did a DB update, and then, next reboot... it blocked during the start menu (the AlbumArt part). Well, went here, read some stuff, and decided to try and reformat J3. I did that with Disk Utilities, using FAT, 4Kb. Reboot, ok. Pfiuuuu I begun then to stuff it up with mp3, FLAC, WAV, videos, txts. It's working perfectly, boots up really quickly from my point of view, and plays practically everything. No luck with m4a lossless. They are not found at all. I have to mention that I use a small Python script I did to search and destroy all hidden files and folders, and unmount the J3. As soon as I receive the 32Gb micro SDHC, I'll mod my script to clean both J3 and microSD before unmounting them. I'll let you know how it went. Now I have a question: I formatted the J3 with FAT option, 4Kb... I read somewhere (anythingbutipod I think) that someone formatted his S9 or D2 or X7, don't remember now with Apple Extended stuff format, and was pleased with the results, specially with the transfer rates... Anyone has some experience in that domain here? Thanks,