Portable Hard Drive Playback through Car Stereo (Pioneer DEH-P6050UP)?

Question

I have a Pioneer DEH-P6050UB that supports iPod (don't necessarily want to buy one!), USB and "other external portable digital device". I want to connect my Western Digital 160gb Passport Essentials Portable Hard Drive to the head unit and play my tracks off that.

Problem: - Hard Drive seems to power-up (the power light illuminates) but the Headunit does not recognise the usb device.

Is there anyway in which i can format the drive or install any particular software so that the HDD acts like a digital music player similar to the way the iPod and other MP3 players work?

Answer 1

Many car stereo's only supply enough current to power memory sticks, not portable hard drives. You can buy a cigarette lighter adapter along with a split USB cord to provide the proper power to the USB device. Also, some car USB inputs only support FAT32, not NTFS.

Answer 2

From the feedback I've gotten, you can use a hard drive with these head units, but not if you use the USB extension cable that comes with the deck.  This suggests that the head unit doesn't have enough current capacity in its USB connection to maintain a stable voltage through the cable.

You might try using a powered USB hub to stablilize the voltage.  Of course, you'll have to find some way to power the hub in your car.