This is a request for any Polyend product that does only support FAT32 partitions.
It basically asks for exFAT file system support for any of the devices that could possibly support this.
What is the problem?
While there is no real benefit between exFAT and FAT32 (unless you want to write files larger than 4Gbyte), there is a usability benefit for users, when switching to eXFAT. Especially when using larger SD cards (64GB or more). Formatting a new SD isn’t as straight forward as it used to be on Microsoft Windows in those cases, as FAT32 is not an option anymore for larger cards (this is a change introduced in Windows 10).
Large FAT32 volumes may take ages and sometimes never mount on modern macOS based systems. If you search on the Internet, you’ll find several reports about that. There are also reports of file systems requiring repair after being used on macOS, something that doesn’t happen (or at least not as often) with cards & flash drive commonly used exFAT file system type.
The concern is, that Microsoft most likely will remove formatting support for FAT32 at some point, or at the very least make in inaccessible for regular users, that may not have the skills to dive into command lines or shells. Or at the very least they won’t fix any issues/provide any support. Apple could also do the same, sooner rather than later.
What do you want to achieve?
Add ability to use exFAT formatted SD cards on Tracker, Tracker mini, Play and Play+ with full support from Polyend. Or atleast on the devices that could support exFAT.
exFAT is royal-tea free since 2019, which should remove another barrier for Polyend to adopt it.
Are there any workarounds?
Use smaller cards and/or exclusively use a PC with Win 10-11 for file transferring (until Microsoft itself ends support).
Any links to related discussions?
Any references to other products?
Pretty much every other groovebox / synth / drum box product of any brand nowadays.
I don’t know if the Tracker/Play writes the firmware into an internal mmc storage/RAM or if it runs it directly from the sd.
However I believe if you encounter any of the issues with the Mac kinda corrupting the file system (triggering file system repair notices when back on Windows), that “unrepaired” state could also be problematic for the Tracker/Play.
I think most everything runs from RAM. The SD is purely reading/writing project data when needed. But i’m also just guessing, so don’t take my word for it .
It is very likely that the OG Tracker and original Play may not be able to support anything else but FAT32, based on the hardware. But from my limited understanding i think the Mini and Play+, which use a new MCU/Platform, could possibly support exFAT.
It is very likely that the OG Tracker and original Play may not be able to support anything else but FAT32, based on the hardware. But from my limited understanding i think the Mini and Play+, which use a new MCU/Platform, could possibly support exFAT.
Thank you @Sandroid for this. I was also wondering on the actual feasibility.
Probably FAT32 will still need to remain supported for those who use both og Tracker/Play and Mini/Play+ released later in their setup.
Support for exFAT will be very convenient for those (like me) who started and will start their Polyend journey will the mini or +.
I hope Polyend can make this happen at least on the newer units.
SanDisk Ultra 256 Gig Card user here. I had to take my Micro SD into work and use the Studios Mac to format the little cutie. The SD Card works like a charm.
Hmmm, I don’t know… if you turn the Tracker on without the SD-card, it asks you to put one in. So without anything in that slot pretty much nothing is going to happen. But of course I also don’t know.
Hmmm, I don’t know… if you turn the Tracker on without the SD-card, it asks you to put one in. So without anything in that slot pretty much nothing is going to happen. But of course I also don’t know.
I guess it reads the firmware from the sd and loads it into memory during startup. But the actual devs will know better than us
the reason it asks for a SD card has to do with how the software works. It tries to load the last open project/state (from a specific folder on the card). That’s why it’s asking for the card.
The firmware is written to ROM and/or flash memory during an update. So effectively you don’t need to have those files on the card anymore once the update is done.
I took out the card after loading a project. It asks immediately to put it back, so I guess that means it runs all the samples (etc. ?) from the card and does not pull them into the RAM?
Samples are loaded into RAM and not streamed from card.
The Tracker constantly stores the current state to the card, even if the open project has never been saved before. That’s why it always wants a card present.
Every single action you take, will be stored to the hidden Workspace folder present on the SD card.
It’s actually a very useful feature that prevents you from loosing what you are working on, in case of an unexpected crash
I don’t know if this has ever been shared, but some piece of gear I had at one point they suggested using the official SD Foundation formatter. I find it eliminates some of the guess work, and for users that don’t know how to navigate the built in OS drive management tools makes things a bit easier. I can’t recall if it defaults to exFAT for drives over a certain size or not though. SD Memory Card Formatter for Windows/Mac | SD Association
I don’t know if this has ever been shared, but some piece of gear I had at one point they suggested using the official SD Foundation formatter. I find it eliminates some of the guess work, and for users that don’t know how to navigate the built in OS drive management tools makes things a bit easier. I can’t recall if it defaults to exFAT for drives over a certain size or not though. SD Memory Card Formatter for Windows/Mac | SD Association
@surrealchemist It’s going to format in exFAT so currently not supported.
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