Great Site! a few questions...

[TheProffessor]

Just wanted to start off by saying great site, you guys have done a lot of work that has been extremely helpful.  NOW on to the questions...

1) I managed to mod the PhatBox (Music Keg version) itself and I updated the firmware on my DMS to include VIOT support.  The functionality works fine, but whenever I switch the sort method the friendly announcer will come up and say "Your current genre is ____" and there is nothing after that.  I'm guessing I am supposed to include artist/genre/album clips myself, but where and how?  Also is it possible to just turn him off entirely?

2)  I use flac exclusively for all my music (hence its a great thing I found this site because 10 gigs in my DMS is way too little) and I have noticed that both the PhatBox and the Music Manager software only read id3 tags and not the native flac/vorbis tags.  Why they decided that was a good idea I don't know, and I have found a few programs that will add id3 tags to all my flac files, but it's kind of a pain in the ass.  I was wondering if there was a firmware hack or plug in that can add support for native flac tags in both the PhatBox and the Music Manager?

3)  I am planning on getting a larger HD for my DMS and am looking forward to filling it with a ridiculous amount of music.  I am not, however, looking forward to waiting for it to load through my old USB1 DMS cradle.  Now, I was hoping that after I format the drive for use in the DMS I can then use a spare enclosure I have around to plug it directly into my computer and transfer all the files that way.  The only problem is that I have noticed there are various data base file on the DMS and these will probably need to be updated somehow... Is there any way to do this, or will I have to use the USB1 cradle and transfer files through the Music Manager.

4) Last random question...  I managed to strip the screws on my DMS a little when I opened it up, has anyone else done this and found some quick and easy replacement ones? 

Thanks again to all you guys for compiling this information and any help is appreciated. Peace.

[TheProffessor]

I've been going through some of the ini, xml, and various configuration files on the DMS itself and it seems like there are a decent amount of settings you can change... so heres a new question... are there any good guides that explain the settings in these files?
thanks again

[sbingner]

http://wiki.phathack.com/Phatbox.ini_info or http://phatbox.sixpak.org/ should have most of what you would be interested in, in regards to ini files

[sbingner]

Just wanted to start off by saying great site, you guys have done a lot of work that has been extremely helpful.  NOW on to the questions...

1) I managed to mod the PhatBox (Music Keg version) itself and I updated the firmware on my DMS to include VIOT support.  The functionality works fine, but whenever I switch the sort method the friendly announcer will come up and say "Your current genre is ____" and there is nothing after that.  I'm guessing I am supposed to include artist/genre/album clips myself, but where and how?  Also is it possible to just turn him off entirely?

It should be playing the same song, but now be in the genre mode.  When you hit next track, it will give you the next track in that GENRE.  When you hit next disk, it will give you the next GENRE.  There should be no configuration required, so long as the genre is set properly on your tracks.

EDIT: You mean it's not SAYING what Genre it is?  PMM is supposed to generate this... there's an option somewhere to regenerate voice prompts, that would probably do it.  Save/Eject should get them normally.

2)  I use flac exclusively for all my music (hence its a great thing I found this site because 10 gigs in my DMS is way too little) and I have noticed that both the PhatBox and the Music Manager software only read id3 tags and not the native flac/vorbis tags.  Why they decided that was a good idea I don't know, and I have found a few programs that will add id3 tags to all my flac files, but it's kind of a pain in the ass.  I was wondering if there was a firmware hack or plug in that can add support for native flac tags in both the PhatBox and the Music Manager?

I believe the newest version of Phatnoise Media Manager will read FLAC tags... or at least OGG tags... otherwise, you can have something go through and read all your flac tags then add an ID3 tag.  Not an ideal solution but a possibility.

3)  I am planning on getting a larger HD for my DMS and am looking forward to filling it with a ridiculous amount of music.  I am not, however, looking forward to waiting for it to load through my old USB1 DMS cradle.  Now, I was hoping that after I format the drive for use in the DMS I can then use a spare enclosure I have around to plug it directly into my computer and transfer all the files that way.  The only problem is that I have noticed there are various data base file on the DMS and these will probably need to be updated somehow... Is there any way to do this, or will I have to use the USB1 cradle and transfer files through the Music Manager.

PMM will not like you if you don't have it connected via a USB cradle... but you CAN copy up all the files that way, then have the NEW Phatnoise Media Manager scan for files on the DMS that are missing from the database....

4) Last random question...  I managed to strip the screws on my DMS a little when I opened it up, has anyone else done this and found some quick and easy replacement ones? 

Take one of the other screws to your local hardware store....  all the other parts are detailed at http://forum.phathack.com/index.php/topic,393.0.html

Thanks again to all you guys for compiling this information and any help is appreciated. Peace.

Wait, I helped?  ... DOH! I meant to flame you.  Oh well

[TheProffessor]

No flaming? well, plenty of time left yet... 

After doing some more research and thinking about the problem, I have come to a few conclusions about the VIOT problem...

1) I should probably get the very latest version of PMM, I think I only have the version that came with my Music Keg

2) Due to the fact that I am using flac files and have not yet added id3 tags to all of them, the tag fields are currently blank.  That might explain why it is not saying what genre/artist etc.  it is... Or should it just say "unknown"?  Either way it should be remedied when I get a new HD and the latest version of PMM...

[sbingner]

If it doesn't have tags, it won't have any genres... or it will just put everything in "unknown" -- one or the other

[markbowen]

About using a USB2 enclosure instead of your USB1 cradle:  PMM is looking for the phtsys and phtdta partitions, and as long as it finds those, even if connected via enclosure, it should work to do whatever you want.  (Do stick with the cradle when creating a new DMS, though.)  However, after the whole save/eject procedure, you will get an error along the lines of "cannot eject DMS."  Everything you did will still have been saved, you just have to cancel out of PMM and remove the drive using the "safely remove hardware" procedure in Windows.  At least, that was how I did it before getting a USB2 cradle (which is worth the investment if you frequently add files to the DMS).

[sbingner]

I could have sworn the newest PMM had issues with enclosures... I know the older ones just looked for label.  Either way, worth a shot to do the way mark said