Music Transfer & Backing Up

Backup your Brennan - using USB storage

You can backup the contents of the Brennan Hard Disk to a USB memory stick or hard drive.

The backup device should be formatted FAT32 - you can use the Brennan to reformat the device if necessary. The Brennan uses USB 3 compatible connectors but uses USB 2 (480 Mbits).

Backup the Brennan

Plug your USB backup device into USB C on B2 (or USB A on B3)
The B2 OLED display will display "USB C: Mass Storage Mounted". (The B2 cycles through several status lines so you may have to wait to see it).
On B3 you will see the USB symbol at the bottom left of the display to show the backup disk has been recognised.
On the main menu select USB Functions > Export to C (or A)
The Brennan will copy all music and playlists to the backup device. The display will show the progress.
You can stop the backup at any time by pressing and holding the Play Stop button,
Backup is quite slow but it is incremental - that means it only copies files that are not already on the backup disk. So backup as you go!
The Export function uses a folder called b2Export on the USB device.

Restore music from a backup on B2

Select USB Functions > Import USB C.
The B2 will copy all the music (but not the playlists - use Playlists > Import Playlists) from the backup device to the B2 internal disk.
The LED on the front panel will flash and the status line on the OLED will show the progress.
You can stop the import at any time by pressing and holding the Play Stop button
Import is incremental so it only copies music not already on the B2 hard disk.

Import music from a backup on B3 and BB1

B3 and BB1 are slightly more flexible and allows you to import a specific folder from the USB device.

Select USB Functions > Browse USB A.
You can now navigate through the files and folders on the USB device
The bottom line of the display shows what the buttons do
Next starts the import
Pushing the knob goes down into a folder
Back takes you back up
The Brennan will copy all the music (but not the playlists - use Playlists > Import Playlists) from the USB device to the internal disk.
You can stop the import at any time by pressing and holding the Play Stop button
Import is incremental so it only copies music not already on the Brennan hard disk.

Export Specific Music to USB

The USB export function is for copying the entire music collection to a backup disk.
To transfer specific tracks, albums or artists to a USB device you must first create a playlist containing the music you want to export - usually using the web UI.
On B2 Playlist Menu > Export Playlist will export the music to the USB device in USB C
On B3 USB Functions > Export Playlist to USB A will export the music.

Import music with the Web UI or Browse USB

You can import individual tracks or albums by using the Web UI USB Tab.

Navigate to a folder or file then click on the import icon on the right.

On BB1 and B3 you can use Browse USB on the front panel to do the same.

How much space do I need?

On B3 and BB1 you can find how much space has been used on the Brennan internal disk with Settings & Tools > Stats
On B2 press the info button on the remote control.
The same information is also available on the web UI if you press the cog icon.
On B2 this figure may not always up to date! Settings > Maintenance > Free Space Scans the disk and updates this figure - but it can take several minutes if you have a large music collection - but then the info will be up to date.
When you do a backup your USB memory device should be large enough to hold the Used figure.

Duplicates

Incremental backup works by comparing the names of files and folders.
If you rename an artist after doing a backup then the Brennan will think that this is a new artist and all the albums and tracks by that artist are new. So the Brennan will copy them - even if the albums are already on the backup.
If you do a lot of renaming then its easy to end up with duplicates on the backup disk.
We recommend that you backup routinely - even though the backup may contain duplicates - its better to have two copies than none. Then once in a while - after you have completed a batch of loading and organising your music - delete the backup - and create a fresh backup.
On B2 You can delete a backup using Settings > Maintenance > Delete Backup
On B3 you cannot delete the backup but you can reformat the USB device. Beware this deletes everything on the USB device - not just Brennan files.

Formatting a USB device

Formatting erases all the information on a usb memory device so only do this if you are sure there is nothing that you need
Some USB devices use different "formats" that Brennan cannot use. Brennan uses the FAT32 format. NTFS is a common alternative format.
If you plug a USB device with the wrong format the B2 will display "USB C: Mount failed - expects FAT format" on the status line.
On B2 you can format to FAT32 using Settings->Maintenance->Format USB C. This can take a minute or two depending on the size of your USB device.
On B3 use Settings & Tools > Maintenance > Advanced > Format USB A
Once it has formatted you can use the device to make a backup.
Note FAT32 has a limit of 2Tb so if you format a larger drive only the first 2TB will be useable.

Troubleshooting

Most of the functions above also work if the USB device is plugged into the alternate USB port.
Some USB hard disks can consume too much power for the Brennan. It might help to plug the USB hard disk into the alternate USB port (it has slightly more power) or try using a powered USB Hub between the USB hard disk and the Brennan (the hub powers the hard disk).
Sometimes it can help to turn the Brennan off before attaching the USB device.
You can look at the files in the Brennan backup on a PC or Mac. If you get a prompt on Windows select "Continue without scanning".

Import from other sources like iTunes

Import will cope with many file arrangements on the USB device - though the USB device should be formatted FAT16 or FAT32 (not NTFS).

This shows the sort of file structure the Brennan can import

The Brennan uses the parent folder as the album name and the folder above that as the artist. If there are no parent folders the Brennan will assign a name like USB C to the artist. You can rename it.

There is a depth limit of seven folders.

JB7 Backup and Restore

The Brennan JB7 is an older simpler Brennan player.
If you want to load music onto a B2 from a JB7 backup then use USB Functions > JB7 Functions > Restore USB C
On B3 use USB Functions > Restore JB7 Backup from USB A
B2 has a function to create a JB7 style backup USB Functions > JB7 Functions > Backup to C
The JB7 functions use a folder called hardfi. Do not mix JB7 and B2 style backups on the same USB device - use a different drive.
You can also export a playlist - described above - and then import that to the JB7. That would be a good way to transfer specific albums to JB7 for example.
JB7 cannot play FLAC files so on B3 transfer to JB7 before you compress to FLAC.

Is there a limit to USB folder depth?

Yes - seven folders deep - the last two are used as the artist and album name on import.