# Devices supported for music collection import?



## 559056 (Oct 8, 2016)

Thanks to Apple, my current music (iPod) devices are rapidly being decommissioned. Does anyone have experience importing their music collection to the BMW internal storage?
If so, what device did you use?

Thanks.


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## jjrandorin (May 8, 2013)

Glaird said:


> Thanks to Apple, my current music (iPod) devices are rapidly being decommissioned. Does anyone have experience importing their music collection to the BMW internal storage?
> If so, what device did you use?
> 
> Thanks.


I have only done a few (as in 3-4 ) CDs. The issue with importing music is, if you are leasing then you have to clear all of that out. I only have 3-4 CDs worth of music there for if I have problems on a particular drive with playing music / pandora from my phone.


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## IndigoGlass (Mar 23, 2017)

Glaird said:


> Thanks to Apple, my current music (iPod) devices are rapidly being decommissioned. Does anyone have experience importing their music collection to the BMW internal storage?
> 
> If so, what device did you use?
> 
> Thanks.


I've imported from CDs and via USB without issue.

Sent from my iPhone using Bimmerfest mobile app


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## 559056 (Oct 8, 2016)

IndigoGlass said:


> I've imported from CDs and via USB without issue.


Well there are a few issues. What was the file structure on that USB (whatever)? Was it a thumb drive? Was it a USB interface to an Apple handheld product? Was it a USB cable, connected to a Mac Computer, that you had used 'finder' to point to a particular sub folder of 'iTunes'?

Sometimes details are important. Implying that one is clever, not so much so.


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## IndigoGlass (Mar 23, 2017)

Glaird said:


> Well there are a few issues. What was the file structure on that USB (whatever)? Was it a thumb drive? Was it a USB interface to an Apple handheld product? Was it a USB cable, connected to a Mac Computer, that you had used 'finder' to point to a particular sub folder of 'iTunes'?
> 
> Sometimes details are important. Implying that one is clever, not so much
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Bimmerfest mobile app


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## IndigoGlass (Mar 23, 2017)

IndigoGlass said:


> Glaird said:
> 
> 
> > Well there are a few issues. What was the file structure on that USB (whatever)? Was it a thumb drive? Was it a USB interface to an Apple handheld product? Was it a USB cable, connected to a Mac Computer, that you had used 'finder' to point to a particular sub folder of 'iTunes'?
> ...


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## Enthusiast 456 (Jun 23, 2014)

Can't you just BT stream from your new phone to the car?


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## 559056 (Oct 8, 2016)

I have an iPod Classic, w/90GB of music. That doesn't work. I have an iPod touch, iPhone w/o phone, w/32GB. If my first option doesn't work, I will either buy a new iPod touch with 128GB or bring over my music, one chunk at a time. However you, Enthusiast456, are the first person on all the forums, to actually identify a handheld device that has verified to actually be accepted by iDrive (iPhone which an iPod touch is, less phone).
My 1st choice, is to use the 128GB USB thumb drive (supposed to have arrived 2 days ago), to copy my iTunes music folder from my Mac, then save to the iDrive (read that as an obscure post on some off site). That is why the directory/folder structure is important.

I do have another option, but iDrive's behavior makes me very hesitant to try it. Although it would not import music from my iPod Classic, it felt free enough to move settings, browse composers, albums, songs, and genres via the iDrive console on my Classic, w/o even asking my permission or requiring me to use the Classic's primitive keys. I could use my Mac laptop, the ultimate source of my music collection, a USB cable, and try navigating to the iTunes DB. But, what if the same out sourced software group that gave us the 90% functional iDrive unit, also wrote the interface SW for the import mechanism? My business computer file system could be corrupted.


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## Zeichen311 (Mar 31, 2011)

Glaird said:


> I do have another option, but iDrive's behavior makes me very hesitant to try it. Although it would not import music from my iPod Classic, it felt free enough to move settings, browse composers, albums, songs, and genres via the iDrive console on my Classic, w/o even asking my permission or requiring me to use the Classic's primitive keys. I could use my Mac laptop, the ultimate source of my music collection, a USB cable, and try navigating to the iTunes DB. But, what if the same out sourced software group that gave us the 90% functional iDrive unit, also wrote the interface SW for the import mechanism? My business computer file system could be corrupted.


Not sure what you're getting at, here...the iDrive (combox) is _supposed_ to let you browse the iPod collection by metadata, per design. I have never seen anything corrupted or altered on the iPod as a result of its connection to iDrive. Not to say that's impossible, of course (computers being the infamously-reliable devices that they are), just that there does not seem to be a design or implementation fault there.

The reason you can't import directly from the iPod/iPhone music database to iDrive's music collection is that the former is stored in a proprietary format, which iDrive does not understand. When you play a song from a USB-connected Apple product, iDrive commands the device to stream the digital audio through the USB port to the car, where it is decoded by the on-board DAC for playback. The car never sees or reads the original audio file.

OTOH, when you import tracks from a USB flash drive, iDrive copies the unaltered audio files to its internal hard drive. The files must be in a format understood by the in-built media player software, which IIRC supports fewer formats than (or at least, not the same ones as) an iWhatever. The filesystem format, folder structure and file naming conventions are all important here, because collectively they determine whether--and *how*--iDrive will import the contents of the drive. Metadata tags from individual tracks are not used to derive the imported collection structure (_e.g._, top level by artist, next level by album). It's up to you to create the desired folder hierarchy on the USB device, before import.

More importantly, the music collection does not let you browse by metadata *at all*. That's only supported for external players. The only navigational method for the on-board collection is by folder (and your 50 most-recent playback selections).


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## 559056 (Oct 8, 2016)

Thanks for the insight into how BMW handles their heap in the music DB on iDrive. The manual implies that they have an interpretive algorithm/interface that is supposed to talk to i{apple device}s. The manual claims it is literally plug/play and in the background import directly from said devices.

Back to my paranoia with device interfaces, SW engineers I don't personally know, and fast & loose designs that are always over deadline and under funded. The short of it is, many junior engineers do not consider all the things that can go wrong when designing complex interfaces (or handshakes in the case of two alien devices communicating with one another). In a one way exchange (which this most certainly should be); such as, collecting/importing music data from a device, to the iDrive HD, I should not be surprised by iDrive manipulating anything on the device supplying the raw data. If I do, it sets off alarms that the junior engineer has over stepped his design limitations and is monkeying with data/system space/program space he/she is not ethically suppose to tamper with. Can I trust that he/she is just activating options on my i{apple device}? Or, due to immaturity, are they altering memory locations, preferences, or worse yet actual tracks on that i{apple device}, because in their hubris, they think they are smarter than the user (me) or the creator of that i{apple device}?
The manual doesn't even say what I am seeing is possible.

Now full circle to your revelations about the DB structure on iDrive. Why is that not published? Or, why does BMW not recommend the application that encodes music in that file structure, be used to operate on all devices that export music to iDrive?


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## 559056 (Oct 8, 2016)

Just to let anyone listening know, experiment with USB stick failed. I walked down the folder list under iTunes' DB, to iTunes/media/music and copied everything including the music folder. Neither iDrive knew what to do with the contents. I am waiting another 10 hours for everything under {me}/library/music ... iTunes ... to copy onto the USB stick. I suspect iDrive will give me the same dumb stare as before. But, I have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

Myth A: Export from iTunes a playlist. That will give you a text file, with a list of all the tracks. But, it will not give you any actual music files.
Myth B: Export from iTunes, the entire {blessed} music library. That will give you an XML file. For non-software types, that is a mark up language, not a whole lot different from cryptic English, that will give you a description of the folder list for every single track in your music library. But, it will not give you actual music files.

I'm really getting the feeling that BMW out sourced their iDrive programming.


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## Zeichen311 (Mar 31, 2011)

Glaird said:


> The manual implies that they have an interpretive algorithm/interface that is supposed to talk to i{apple device}s. The manual claims it is literally plug/play and in the background *import directly from said devices*.


Not quite. The car imports the _metadata_--ID3 tag data from every track--not the music itself. The audio data is streamed when you play a track.



> The manual doesn't even say what I am seeing is possible.


I still do not understand what you are seeing that implies a fault in the iDrive software. Did it alter your iPod in some way? The only setting it changes, that I am aware of, is the repeat preference. iDrive's playback model is "repeat selection" (track/album/artist/playlist). It is not sloppy programming, it is deliberate.

Think of this from the BMW designer's perspective: If the car were to honor the repeat-mode selection set on the player, the mode might change when different players were connected--or if the _same_ player were disconnected, changed offline, and reconnected. This would yield inconsistent playback behavior in the car (sometimes music repeats, sometimes it doesn't), and that potential inconsistency was deemed unacceptable. So, iDrive enforces a repeat mode.

As to why it does so by commanding the iPod, instead of managing the sequence itself, I couldn't say. It's not as though iDrive cannot do so (in fact, it must, when playing music from a flash drive instead of an MP3 player), but am willing to accept that there may have been a technical reason or other benefit to doing so.



> Now full circle to your revelations about the DB structure on iDrive. Why is that not published? Or, why does BMW not recommend the application that encodes music in that file structure, be used to operate on all devices that export music to iDrive?


Nothing has to "encode" music in an iDrive-specific file _structure_. The internal metadata database is irrelevant to external devices. iDrive takes care of reading ID3 tag data, importing it to its database, and correlating the tag data to the source audio files on the external device. Per the manual, it can do so for up to four devices or up to 26,000 tracks.

The _audio files_, however, must be in a supported industry-standard digital audio format. The supported audio file formats are specified in the manual:

MP3
WMA
WAV (PCM)
AAC, M4A (both optional)
Playlists in M3U, WPL or PLS format.
The manual does not clarify why AAC/M4A support is optional. My interpretation is that iDrive might not have native (on-board) playback support for those formats, but can play them from an external player that does support them. That is, however, a guess.



Glaird said:


> I walked down the folder list under iTunes' DB, to iTunes/media/music and copied everything including the music folder. Neither iDrive knew what to do with the contents.


As expected. The iTunes database is in a proprietary format that iDrive does not know (or need to know) how to read. Apple even renames the audio files so that one cannot easily correlate the file name to the artist & track.



> Myth A: Export from iTunes a playlist. That will give you a text file, with a list of all the tracks. But, it will not give you any actual music files.
> Myth B: Export from iTunes, the entire {blessed} music library. That will give you an XML file. ... But, it will not give you actual music files.


No mythology involved. Both of these are iTunes usage problems, not operational faults in iDrive. In both cases, iTunes did exactly what it was asked--which was to export information *about* your music, not the music data itself.

Before I address your problem here, let's take a step back and review iDrive's USB & digital audio support (leaving aside Bluetooth, snap-in adapters for mobile phones and the AUX input). In broad terms, there are basically three types of playback sources:
A portable media player (Apple iPod/iPhone, Microsoft Zune, Sony Walkman or many of the hundreds of competing devices) connected to the center-console USB port.
A USB flash drive containing digital audio files, connected to the center-console USB port.
The media collection in the on-board hard drive.
In the first case, a media player, iDrive has a non-trivial communications protocol with the external device. Details vary with the degree of compatibility for a given device; support for Apple devices in particular is more sophisticated than other products. At a minimum, iDrive is able to index the collection for searches. All that really matters is that this is the only way to play DRM-encumbered (Digital Rights Management, _i.e._, licensed/copy-protected) media files. The player handles rights-management and decryption, sending the digital (or analog, if not well-supported) audio stream to iDrive for playback.

In the second case, an external USB drive, iDrive simply indexes the files it finds on the external device. No iDrive-specific data is written to the external drive. When you play a track, iDrive obtains the file location from its index, reads that audio file from the device and plays it. Note that any DRM-encumbered tracks *cannot* be played, because iDrive cannot decrypt them.

In both of these cases, iDrive copies available _metadata_ for the index (artist, album, genre, _etc._), but the digital audio remains on the external device. It does not copy any digital audio data to its hard drive, nor does it write its index data to the external device.

The final case--the music collection on the internal HD--*does* consist of audio files stored on the on-board HD. There are two ways to get them there: Rip a CD from the in-dash CD player; or import MP3, _etc._ files from the USB data-transfer port _in the glove compartment_, not the center console.

It is not possible to *copy* audio files to iDrive from a USB drive or media player connected to the *console* USB port. That interface is for playback only. Conversely, it is not possible to *play* audio files on a USB drive or media player connected to the *glovebox* USB port. That interface is for data-transfer only.

Back to your problem: You want to get digital audio files out of iTunes in a format that iDrive can play. Three possibilities:
You have DRM-encumbered music in your iTunes collection, _i.e._, copy-protected stuff you have purchased through the iTunes Store. If so, you are SOL: Unless you break the DRM, you must use a licensed device (iPod, etc.) connected to iDrive to play such music. Even if you could find and copy the files, iDrive cannot play DRM-encumbered files, period.
Your library is DRM-free but stored entirely in iTunes. To use something other than an Apple player, you can copy (not export) music out of iTunes to an external folder/device. I admit I don't know how to do this with any semblance of organization. It's easy to copy any single album or track (on Windows: Right-click in iTunes, choose *Copy*, go to any external folder in Explorer, right-click, choose *Paste*). Copying an artist flattens all albums to a single directory. I saw no way to copy the entire collection in one step, let alone keep it organized. If you could, iDrive would index the resulting pile just fine, hiding the non-existent structure. However, copying it to the music collection via the glovebox would be tedious, because you'd first need to re-organize it into folders by artist, album, _etc._
You keep your music collection in an external library, using iTunes only to sync content with your iPod/iPhone. This is easiest: Go to the (presumably organized) original source library and copy *that* to USB. You can play it directly from USB or copy it to the HD (as much as will fit, anyway).
My own situation is case #3. All of my music is in DRM-free, variable-bit-rate MP3 files stored on a home server. The iTunes library is linked to that server to manage my iPod, but I can just as readily (and have) copied music to other devices (_e.g._, my phone) directly from the source library, bypassing iTunes altogether.

Incidentally, with 90GB of music your only options are a media player or a USB drive. The on-board HD has only ~12GB available for the music collection.


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## 559056 (Oct 8, 2016)

So far, Zeichen311 gives the most succinct response to my problem.

Clarifications: My assertions under 'myths' are discoveries that I made, while attempting to follow other forum user's advice. Since they did not work, I don't know how those other forum users got them to work.
Yes, iDrive reset and changed settings and states on my iPod Classic, while plugged into the console port. If I use a generic USB charger, an I/O audio cable to the port, I can control the music via the iPod menu, and not fear iDrive interference. It is when I use the Classic USB interface cable that I see this disturbing bisynchronous exchange. (But, even with the proper interface USB cable, bisynchronous capability, iDrive will not accept any iPod Classic data. But it will play it.)
I am trying file structures on the USB drive, because it is my next least expensive method to try and store my music on the iDrive. All those USB techniques also were posted as sure fire solutions on this/other forums.
At least one of my BMWs does not have a glove box USB port. It may be both. The manuals published/in my glove boxes, both distinctly picture the center console USB port and audio I/O port. They also state briefly, that simply plugging the i{apple handheld} into that USB port, via the Music Collection->import command, will transfer my music DB from handheld to iDrive. (The few sentences in the manual are so brief, the implication is that it is a simple plug & play procedure.) Of course, it is not working out that way.
According to the manual (based on my recollection from a week ago), my 2016 & 2018 models have sufficient RAM to hold my entire music collection of 90GB.

Now, if I were to write an iDrive interface. I would require 2 structures on my import device. A simple XML file that mapped the entire library, down to the music file level, as it appears on the same memory device. And of course, the actual DB structure as specified in the XML file. Then I could care less what format, which OS was the ultimate source, or what ultimate player the user had his/her music on. But then I was an American SW engineer. The one caveat as mentioned, iTunes or other store protected data.


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## IndigoGlass (Mar 23, 2017)

Glaird said:


> So far, Zeichen311 gives the most succinct response to my problem.
> 
> Clarifications: My assertions under 'myths' are discoveries that I made, while attempting to follow other forum user's advice. Since they did not work, I don't know how those other forum users got them to work.
> Yes, iDrive reset and changed settings and states on my iPod Classic, while plugged into the console port. If I use a generic USB charger, an I/O audio cable to the port, I can control the music via the iPod menu, and not fear iDrive interference. It is when I use the Classic USB interface cable that I see this disturbing bisynchronous exchange. (But, even with the proper interface USB cable, bisynchronous capability, iDrive will not accept any iPod Classic data. But it will play it.)
> ...


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## Zeichen311 (Mar 31, 2011)

Glaird said:


> The manuals ... state briefly, that simply plugging the i{apple handheld} into that USB port, via the Music Collection->import command, will transfer my music DB from handheld to iDrive. ... Of course, it is not working out that way.
> According to the manual (based on my recollection from a week ago), my *2016 & 2018 models *have sufficient RAM to hold my entire music collection of 90GB.


I missed the model years of your vehicles. My observations are with respect to the CIC/Combox-based iDrive, not the later NBT generation. For those earlier models, the manual makes it fairly clear that only metadata is stored, and that audio file importation from the media-player interface is not possible. Things may be different for the newer generation, so I'll bow out.


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## 559056 (Oct 8, 2016)

IndigoGlass,

Neither car has a port in that location. Plus, I just used a high intensity flashlight to examine the "glove box" (allowing for different national terms for car parts), the passenger side enclosure in the dash w/lid. None there either. [Actually, this directly conflicts with both printed manuals, that claim there is a USB port in the glove box.] The only receptacles are the USB & audio ports, in the center console. Very similar in appearance between both chassises.


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## 559056 (Oct 8, 2016)

Latest and best information from BMW genius.
BMW iDrive does not import any music from any Apple device. You can risk playing music from an Apple device, but as I have discovered earlier, iDrive may unethically (from a software design point of view) alter settings, parameters, and even content on your device, if you use the iDrive screen menu to navigate through the Apple device music collection.

So far no one at my local BMW outlet has access to BMW's internal file system structure, in which they store music on the iDrive. By that, I mean folder names, file names, folder hierarchy; not, music file format such as MP3 or WAV. To figure this out, I intend to play and import a selection of CDs from my library from different artists, albums, volumes, & composers. With about a dozen CDs imported, I will "export to USB" my iDrive music collection. If I find a meaningful file structure, I will publish it here.


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## darenz (Jun 4, 2005)

On my 2015 x1 there is a separate USB port in the glove box for importing to hard drive. 


Sent from my iPhone using Bimmerfest


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## darenz (Jun 4, 2005)

Hard to see but on the upper left side. Check yours...


Sent from my iPhone using Bimmerfest


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## 559056 (Oct 8, 2016)

I cracked it!

If on a Mac, find the following file structure of folders for iTunes:
{Your Short Name}, 2 ways to get to this in Finder window. {your computer name under Devices}/Macintosh HD/users/{your short account name} or {your short name under Favorites}.
Thus the folder path would be: {Your Short Name}/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music. Insert USB thumb drive of sufficient size (all are formatted in FAT). Create a folder named (Why didn't I think of this, dah?) "Music Collection" right next to the folder "BMWData" that contains your profiles. Select every folder under the iTunes path above. Copy that to "Music Collection". 
Insert into the USB port of choice on your BMW (I only have one in the console box). Media button. Find External Devices and the name of your USB drive. Select it. Your radio will start playing the first track on the USB stick. Scroll down the icon list of options to "import music collection" (or some such, it will be obvious). OK. A % amount will appear in the iDrive display upper right corner and begin increasing slowly. 
You can stop/cancel importing the music collection through iDrive options (close by but not looking at it now). And, if desired, you can select your Music Collection, click "options" button on console to manage the collection, including deleting.

I will bet dollars to donuts that Windows based computers with iTunes will have a very similar folder structure. Obviously you will want to drill down to the artists/composer folders under the {music} folder to select and copy.


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## jaye944 (Jul 5, 2015)

I copy mp3's straight onto my pen drive (I also use a directory structure)
pop it in the usb in the glove box and import it
piece of pi$$



Glaird said:


> Thanks to Apple, my current music (iPod) devices are rapidly being decommissioned. Does anyone have experience importing their music collection to the BMW internal storage?
> If so, what device did you use?
> 
> Thanks.


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## 559056 (Oct 8, 2016)

The problem with the above statement; "I also use a directory structure" is that any directory structure will not work. I had to experiment with what turns out to be the top folder name. iDrive will only accept a top level folder named "Music Collection", followed by sub folders ordered by artists, albums, & tracks as they appear exactly in the app iTunes, internal DB.
Apparently, from my search of forums, videos, BMW documentation, and live geniuses, no one has bothered to publish those simple but crucial details.


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## jaye944 (Jul 5, 2015)

does on mine'

for example. on the pen drive i have for example

rock
led zep hello mary lou

reggae
bob marley 3 birds

make out
ricky nelson hello mary lou
ricky nelson travelling man

hip hop
NWA express yourself

I import the pen drive, when I open my music collection, I see all the folders
then I can go into each folder and each song is listed,
I can even set it to play everything at Random



Glaird said:


> The problem with the above statement; "I also use a directory structure" is that any directory structure will not work. I had to experiment with what turns out to be the top folder name. iDrive will only accept a top level folder named "Music Collection", followed by sub folders ordered by artists, albums, & tracks as they appear exactly in the app iTunes, internal DB.
> Apparently, from my search of forums, videos, BMW documentation, and live geniuses, no one has bothered to publish those simple but crucial details.


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## jaye944 (Jul 5, 2015)

mind you I dont use I tunes,
on my laptop, I have folders with music so...

(laptop)
Music
(sub folders)
Classic, rock & roll, jive, classical

drag and drop the sub folders directly onto the pen drive,
then the pendrive is imported, shows exactly what I would expect to see

mine is a PC with mp3 files


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## jaye944 (Jul 5, 2015)

an example , though he doesnt have a directory structure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lpeanbRGfs


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## 559056 (Oct 8, 2016)

jaye944,

I've seen that video under numerous searches. It doesn't work on my '16 550i or '18 M4. Even the BMW geniuses said it will not work, using an Apple device. And, not knowing the file/folder structure preferred by iDrive, a USB drive is useless.
At least, you posted a primitive folder/file structure. I don't know why that works. I tried topping off the hierarchy by using a folder called "Music". I tried putting "Music" under "BMWData", which pre-existed by saving our profiles. The iTunes DB structure has two folders called "Music". I tried copying the entire structure under both, based on a very fast and loose forum posts identifying the folder name "Music" as well. It didn't work. 
As a retired SW Engineer, I give credit to the iDrive folks for building in the ability to parse a different folder tree structure (yours & iTunes) than used by iTunes alone (Apple's primary depository for music.). Of course, I posted that folder/file structure above. 

Ultimately, things only happened, when iDrive encountered a top level folder named "Music Collection" on my USB drive. And, as you say, I was able to use iDrive to parse, navigate, and select albums, artists, playlists, composers, and ultimately tracks/songs. I even had the album picture displayed, when I navigated into that part of the structure. 

One more advantage that supersedes all the "save your music collection" blather in the BMW manuals and on iDrive. Once one's entire 'music collection' is stored on a USB drive, of sufficient capacity, with (apparently) either of the two structures above, there is no need to 'save' it. There is no need to worry about power to a separate device. There is no need to worry about iDrive altering settings on said device. One only has to carry the USB drive/stick around and plug it in.


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## jaye944 (Jul 5, 2015)

so,kk
I guess a couple of things
is it an issue with copying itunes or the idrive fullstop.

Easy enough to check, get a PC, put some mp3s on there, format a usb drive, copy it over and see if it keeps the structure, if it doest then it's defo itunes. But as a "media" source which I dont believe is mac/pc based seems weird

I also noted .m4a's in the thread are itunes .m4a's if so that's the problem, I copied over some m4a's and I also think wmv's didnt read any of them, "mine" only reads and plays mp3 format.

2 other points,
yes your absolutely right about just using a usb stick so that may be the route to take

you can also update the idrive to the latest software easy enough to do) no specialised tools required and you can do it at home, I'm wondering if that is all that is needed ?



Glaird said:


> jaye944,
> 
> I've seen that video under numerous searches. It doesn't work on my '16 550i or '18 M4. Even the BMW geniuses said it will not work, using an Apple device. And, not knowing the file/folder structure preferred by iDrive, a USB drive is useless.
> At least, you posted a primitive folder/file structure. I don't know why that works. I tried topping off the hierarchy by using a folder called "Music". I tried putting "Music" under "BMWData", which pre-existed by saving our profiles. The iTunes DB structure has two folders called "Music". I tried copying the entire structure under both, based on a very fast and loose forum posts identifying the folder name "Music" as well. It didn't work.
> ...


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## 559056 (Oct 8, 2016)

1 issue; music file format. It seems to be irrelevant, since my collection has ~3-5 different types. Of course, I haven't tried to play, via iDrive, every single one.
2nd issue; SW updates. When I bought the 550 last year, the BMW USA site had a direct path, via login, to SW updates. That now seems to have been taken down. I know, being ignorant at the time, it caused a lot of ill will between me and my BMW dealership. They either didn't know what I was talking about, demonstrated that my car was versions ahead of the offered update, or the update was irrelevant bling only. Real updates came through the dealership only and were applied during scheduled visits.

Your speculations between Windows based and Apple based iTunes brings up some inside info I have from my Apple acquaintances, who have the unfortunate circumstances of having to still work. iTunes was a product offered originally by a start up company. Apple bought them out long ago, and renamed the product. I suspect that whatever iTunes use to be called, was some defacto standard for music library organization, among PC music app developers. I suspect it stuck, especially when Apple made it universal in circulation. As a developer, it only makes sense that the DB would be very similar in structure, to minimize development cycle times between versions. Plus, the last thing one wants is the Windows team to stray into a non-interoperable version to the Mac team. A fatal/serious mistake that Intuit made with their development of Quicken. Ergo, a new IPO of a separate Quicken company. Hopefully, to straighten it all out and regain customer loyalty. 

Also, I now have a new experiment. I just bought 4 albums from the iTunes store and incorporated them into my library. I also, used my understanding of the folder structure to manually insert those albums into my USB iDrive source. Tomorrow, we see, if I can access and play those particular albums.


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## luckstr (Jan 9, 2017)

jjrandorin said:


> I have only done a few (as in 3-4 ) CDs. The issue with importing music is, if you are leasing then you have to clear all of that out. I only have 3-4 CDs worth of music there for if I have problems on a particular drive with playing music / pandora from my phone.


Why do you have to clear it out?


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## 559056 (Oct 8, 2016)

It just occurred to me, that I'm looking at the folder/file structure on my Mac, using "finder". "finder" is an app, that translates the output of the unix command 'ls'. It is entirely possible that hidden files, and 'links' (placeholders that point to a real file in another folder anywhere else on the hard drive) would not show up with "finder". If I were to open a "terminal" window (another apple app), invoke 'ls -al', I would see the real entire file/folder structure.
In any case, I've found enough bread crumbs, anyone familiar with computer file systems can trace my steps.


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## jaye944 (Jul 5, 2015)

You don't need to, it's a simple push button operation anyway.
Sure the dealer wont think twice about doing it

I test drove cars which still had the old clients music in there
*Actually* it's a bonus of not trying to find music to play to test the system



luckstr said:


> Why do you have to clear it out?


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