Qu-Drive Compatible USB Device Database

[Barry]

WRT the mis-reported size and time remaining – this has little to do with the FAT32 file system. This is about free space on the device. The FAT32 fs is able to handle devices up to 2TB on 512 byte sector – more for larger sectors. This is plain and simple shitty code and shitty testing. Even a 32 bit processor can do the 64bit integers necessary to get it right. If you look in the drive stats the figures in there do not report properly a lot of the time.

Yes 4G is the maximum file size – the recording would probably stop at that point but worse still you probably will be lucky to get a usable recording depending on how it deals with the error. Whilst it tells you time remaining on the recording it also tells you time on device iirc.

[A3aan]

Like I suggested before: A&H should sell USB-sticks that comply, with guaranteed recording success. Luckily I did manage to find sticks that work, but the not-solving-the-problem attitude is a disgrace, A&H unworthy. My next one won’t be an A&H model, due to the lack of serious responses from the great innovative company I visited about 15 years ago. Things have changed I suppose…

[Lollorollo]

Ok. I give up with sticks and just tried with a Maxtor M3 2 TB HDD. On a 20 minute trial record it perfectly works with no error or problems.
I’ll try longer with a real live recording.

[gerardodechile]

I have been using this usb sticks for the last months and they work flawless. No errors. You have about 90 minutes on each, recording 16 channels; https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DZPUOTE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Dick Rees]

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gerardodechile

Participant
I have been using this usb sticks for the last months and they work flawless. No errors. You have about 90 minutes on each, recording 16 channels; https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DZPUOTE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have also used these successfully for years.

[Stephen]

Hi,

you can take the ‘Transcend jetflash 810 32GB’ off the list.
I have just bought one and it’s not recognised. I can’t even get to formatting it.

I am so confused with all of this. I thought the link to the database was a golden source of what drives will work.

[Dancing Brook]

A&H,
Can you please make the list so we can sort it again?? And lock the headings?

Thanks,

PM

[Dancing Brook]

Hi,

you can take the ‘Transcend jetflash 810 32GB’ off the list.
I have just bought one and it’s not recognised. I can’t even get to formatting it.

I am so confused with all of this. I thought the link to the database was a golden source of what drives will work.

Steven,

Sadly, manufacturers will change components midstream, without changing any model information. So though the list is useful, it is limited.
In your case, you might have chosen the USB 3.1 drive? That one is listed as not working, while the USB 3.0 drive is listed as working.

My strategy: order a few good choices from the list and try them. The ones that don’t work, simply return them, or use them for something else.

PM

[Dancing Brook]

Hi,

you can take the ‘Transcend jetflash 810 32GB’ off the list.
I have just bought one and it’s not recognised. I can’t even get to formatting it.

I am so confused with all of this. I thought the link to the database was a golden source of what drives will work.

Steven,

Sadly, manufacturers will change components midstream, without changing any model information. So though the list is useful, it is limited.
In your case, you might have chosen the USB 3.1 drive? That one is listed as not working, while the USB 3.0 drive is listed as working.

My strategy: order a few good choices from the list and try them. The ones that don’t work, simply return them, or use them for something else.

PM

[cafewalter]

The points I’d like to make here are:
1. Allen and Heath have been completely silent on this discussion.
2. It’s well documented that drives that work for one person, might not work for another. Whether this is because of variation in mixers or variation in drives is irrelevant: it means that you cannot reliably purchase a drive that works.
3. If I just wanted to record to my own devices, I could record to a laptop. The point of recording to a thumb drive, for me, is that I can tell a band to give me a thumb drive and I can give them a multitrack recording at the end of their set. That only works if the vast majority of drives are supported. Obviously, the set of supported drives is small and unpredictable.
4. This is true not only for recording, but for playback. If acts want to give me a thumb drive of music to play pre-show, I cannot trust that my mixer will read it. In fact for my mixer – and again, I think there may be variation between units – I have only found one drive so far that it *will* read. I have tried dozens. I’m just talking about whether it will recognize the drive, not even whether it will play back or record.

I talked to A&H tech support and they were polite but completely useless.

[Dancing Brook]

I don’t typically defend companies, but I have a different experience and perspective.
1) A&H provides this forum, the referenced list and test drives that seem popular enough to spend time testing.
2) I’d suggest Drives that work for one will work for others, given all circumstances beeing the same (same firmware, really the same drive, formatted and used the same way, etc…). I suspect there may be some differences in the A&H hardware, just as there are differences in all hardware versions/iterations. I’ve had some drives that don’t work yet several that do, including a hard drive (not SSD). I think much of the discrepancy in user experience is based on misinformation, misunderstanding or not following directions (eg, not reformatting for every session).
3) I always record to my tested drive,s and then transfer to whatever the band brings. I would of course do the same if recording directly to laptop.
4) I don’t do anything with playback so…but I’ll have to try. It just occurred to me that I could use a recording to fix some problems it is hard to fix in the middle of a show, so we’ll see how that goes. Very excited to try.

I’ve done tech support for computer users and aI can assure you user error, lack of training, reading manuals, etc. is the cause of the vast majority of problems users run into.
Peter

All that said, it would both be nice if A&H would grab this bull by the horns and just contract with a manufacturer to provide reliable drives, but I can imagine there are a slew of reasons they don’t, least of all being (my experience) if you choose one of the drives listed, and use it as directed, you are very likely to have no problem.

Now, I would really like to hear from those using Hard Drives (SSD or otherwise) and hear if they can partition the drive so they can use the balance of the drive for something else, or does it even matter (can you just keep adding to the drive, including external files, and it still keeps working? Can we load it up with shows, and sound check files??

[Barry]

Whilst I agree with some of what you said, Im a software engineer with just over 29 years experience of developing C,C++, assembler, & java. ‘ve worked on Embedded SoC (System on chip) and I designed and was part of the development (and managed the team!) of the anti-virus kernel modules and was the project lead & lead developer on that team for the world’s 4th largest anti-virus company.

Part of my earlier SoC included work on the USB kernel code. These chips I worked on were found in devices such as Western Digital’s NAS.

Whilst you may defend A&H all you want (and I would love to do so) the fact of the matter is the code/hardware has a serious issue. A&H are not even prepared to acknowledge this.

So, whilst your tech support life may give you some insight. I can tell you, absolutely and categorically the reason this is pretty simple in essence. There is a bug – either in the h/w or the software – but there is a bug. A&H either did not test adequately or have released knowing the problem.

So given my background – are you telling me that the reason I have 5 sticks that wont work and 1 that did is because of “user error”??? Perhaps this would explain why every single one of those sticks worked readily on all the systems I had available to me (around 7 different types of hardware)on both USB2 & USB3 systems, 32bit & 64bit running everything as far back SuSe 9 through to the latest Manjaro (oh and windoze).

PS. Out of 6 sticks 3 I have chosen from the list and have had 2 with unresolvable problems – the other 2 were punts on newer models of stick than were on the list but from the same product line, 1 was a punt in the dark. You have made a mistake in your statement. You are assuming that the issue in the A&H is not chip sensitive (which it appears to be), and that manufacturers always use the same chips throughout the lifetime of a given product (based on model number which is what the list is based on – we cant see hardware revision numbers on the USB stick boards and the manufacturers do not provide that information). This is not always the case. Hardware can be substituted for numerous reasons.

[Dancing Brook]

OK, you are likely an exception, but then it sounds like you might be as old as me, and I know I’m not as smart as I used to be, or at least my boys let me know that. 😉

I assume part of the problem is related to simply dumping a bunch of data on a drive quickly, and not all hardware can handle that. Just like my computer bigs down if I try to do too much at once.

And I don’t assume the thumb drives are all the same just because the model number; in fact I agree that is a potential problem with the list, but what else can you do?

Anyway, it is good that most of us have found a solution that works, and I agree that A&H should be more active in providing answers and solutions. Too many companies just don’t seem to care how much of our time they use up. A&H is certainly not the only one.

[cafewalter]

My experience is similar to Barry’s. Like him, I’m an old EE with plenty of hardware experience, and I’m pretty good at reading directions. But more to the point: I have tried several of the units that are listed as good – matching down to the detailed part number – and on my board they simply are not recognized. I have spent hours on the phone with A&H tech support so I don’t think I’m missing an obvious step. I’ve tried formatting with every possible file system from both Mac and Windows machines. The bottom line is that, at least on my particular mixer, the vast majority of thumb drives are completely unusable – not only by me, but by A&H’s techs. It has nothing to do with “dumping a bunch of data on a drive quickly”. The drive is NOT RECOGNIZED. Not formattable, not readable. Regardless, as I said, of how and where it is formatted.

I know that everyone is having different symptoms. That is precisely the point. A&H have developed something that is highly unpredictable and highly unreliable, and they are not admitting it and are not supporting their users nor (apparently) doing anything to fix the problem.

[fwrend]

Wow, 3 years & a month and nothing has changed! <sad>

I’ve no answers but thought I’d add that the first USB stick that worked for me was a cheapo advertisement stick for our local CO-OP (my drummer works there and brought one with data for a funeral service). He left after the funeral – said they have a bunch left over. Lo, and behold – I plug it into our Qu-32, format it and have been using it to record our stereo traditional service for the local radio station. It is only 2GB so no room for an hour of 16 tracks but perfect for about 1:55:00 Stereo!

He brought me several more for backup haha!

[Author]

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