[Mac User #001]

It's an MP3 player, but shows up as a USB drive when inserted.

I'm dragging files from iTunes to the player (because, you know, some of us don't have smart syncing) and it works... at first.

I don't know when or why it stops, but eventually it will no longer add files to the player. It is definitely not full.

I've tried a few different players, all with the same result.

Sometimes, and far and few between at that, I can add single files to it, meaning 1 at a time, and it will accept them, but only sometimes.

All I can explain it as is that it just stops accepting files, and nothing more will add. (For the most part.)

Any ideas anyone?

[reader50]

Maybe the player is formatted FAT16, with limited directory space allocated, and you put in the max number of files the directory space can accept.

[Mac User #001]

It is formatted FAT16. So that definitely sounds like the problem.

Would creating a new directory (a new folder, right?) solve the problem?

[Mac User #001]

I don't suppose I could change the file system, huh? That would probably mess up the OS on the player.

[mattyb]

If you've deleted files on the drive, they might be in some sort of recycle bin that is taking up space and needs to be emptied.

[Mac User #001]

No, its most definitely got to be what reader50 said.

But thanks for the help anyways.

[Cold Warrior]

Originally Posted by Mac User #001 

I don't suppose I could change the file system, huh? That would probably mess up the OS on the player.

If you have one player you're not attached to, you could experiment and see if it works. Change it to FAT32, for example.

[Mac User #001]

Nothing works except FAT16.

"Could not read partition map" is the error I get.

But this is with the volume on the MP3 player, which kept the OS in place. When I tried putting FAT32 and others on the actual drive, it was able to, but erased the OS. I'm sure I can use the firmware updater that it came with to patch it back up. If not, oh well, I've got a perfectly good USB drive then. And thats why I used my old one.

So, since putting a new file system on it won't work, is there possibly another way of getting around the limits of FAT16?

[mishakim]

I've faced similar problems with picture frames, and for those, I can create multiple directories and put files in each. My frame shows them all in a single list, ignoring the directory structure.
In case it wasn't clear, the problem is the total number of files allowed in a directory.
I believe FAT32 has a similar problem anyway, though a higher limit than fat16.
The other thing to try is to remove extra files OSX created. For my picture frame, there were icon thumbnails for every single picture (that may have been iPhoto's fault), cutting the effective limit in half. For music, that may not be an issue

[Mac User #001]

Yea... It seems that's my only option. To create new folders.

I guess I can make some sort of playlists thing.

It's not much of a big deal, because the player will go to the next folder and play the first song in it, but when navigating, it doesn't handle folders too well. There is no way to go back to the folder that folder is located in. So once I'm in a folder, I'm stuck playing a song in that one. Which is why I haven't used them much. If its my only option though, I'm cool with that.

Thanks everyone!