Files not appearing in Print UI list

[zslane]

I have a 16GB USB stick with 14GB free. There are 68 .ctb files on it but not all of them show up on the Print list on my Elegoo Mars Pro. If I copy the files that don't show up onto a different USB stick, the files show up and print just fine. Also, any new folders that I create on the USB stick don't show up as folders in the Print list on the machine.

Is there some limit to the number of files/folders that the Print list can show?

[Van Valen]

Just ran into this issue myself on a USB 3 drive. Switching to a USB 2 drive seem to fix this situation at least for me.

[martyadem]

Just ran into this issue myself on a USB 3 drive. Switching to a USB 2 drive seem to fix this situation at least for me.

Hi, I am also having this issue where the files don't show up on the screen for me. Was it that a USB 2.0 worked for you? How much GB memory does it have?

The first time I did a test print, I think i used the usb that was included, but now I can't seem to find it!

[cliffyk]

The USB drive must be formatted as plain ol' FAT32 with a master boot record (MBR) in order to function properly with most semi-intelligent devices such as our printers. Accomplishing this will depend on your computer's operating system. If the flash drive was once partitioned to be bootable or as something other than FAT32 you'll need a low level partitioning tool to clear all existing partitions.

Flash drives with "built-in" data security crap can be troublesome a well.

[zslane]

The USB drive must be formatted as plain ol' FAT32 with a master boot record (MBR) in order to function properly with most semi-intelligent devices such as our printers. Accomplishing this will depend on your computer's operating system. If the flash drive was once partitioned to be bootable or as something other than FAT32 you'll need a low level partitioning tool to clear all existing partitions.

Flash drives with "built-in" data security crap can be troublesome a well.

I should point out that the USB thumb drive in question is the USB thumb drive supplied with the Elegoo Mars Pro printer. Surely that is formatted properly. Why would it exhibit this problem?

[cliffyk]

I should point out that the USB thumb drive in question is the USB thumb drive supplied with the Elegoo Mars Pro printer. Surely that is formatted properly. Why would it exhibit this problem?

Because it's format was damaged for whatever reason (static electricity, hesitation while inserting the drive, removal from a device while active, or any of a dozen other reasons)--it needs to be reformatted. This is a common problem with FAT32 formatted USB drives used in devices lacking a formal operating system.

I have seen some operating systems (Win 8 and 10, a the latest MAC o/s for example) decide on their own that the directory on a WIN95 FAT32 device needed to be "updated", thereby causing directory read problems when used in the intended device.

[zslane]

I should point out that the USB thumb drive in question is the USB thumb drive supplied with the Elegoo Mars Pro printer. Surely that is formatted properly. Why would it exhibit this problem?

Because it's format was damaged for whatever reason (static electricity, hesitation while inserting the drive, removal from a device while active, or any of a dozen other reasons)--it needs to be reformatted. This is a common problem with FAT32 formatted USB drives used in devices lacking a formal operating system.

I have seen some operating systems (Win 8 and 10, a the latest MAC o/s for example) decide on their own that the directory on a WIN95 FAT32 device needed to be "updated", thereby causing directory read problems when used in the intended device.

This makes it sounds like normal everyday use will just randomly cause a perfectly good USB thumb drive to suddenly become unreliable for use with the printer. I would request that improvements to the printer firmware be made so that it is more robust in this regard. Since there is no other way to supply models to the printer other than via USB devices, this is a serious flaw that needs to be addressed.

Is there a formal process for submitting bugs to Elegoo?

[cliffyk]

This makes it sounds like normal everyday use will just randomly cause a perfectly good USB thumb drive to suddenly become unreliable for use with the printer. I would request that improvements to the printer firmware be made so that it is more robust in this regard. Since there is no other way to supply models to the printer other than via USB devices, this is a serious flaw that needs to be addressed.

To quote our new president, "BINGO!", however as I state below this is more of a problem with the cheap USB drive Elegoo provided than the printer.

Is there a formal process for submitting bugs to Elegoo?

Elegoo can be contacted at service@elegoo.com, I have found them to be quite responsive. AFAIK this forum is not officially linked to or associated with Elegoo.

However this is more of a problem with inexpensive USB flash drives than the printer. I'd bet the included no-name flash drive was not chosen by Elegoo because of it's high quality--but because it was cheap...

Get a high quality drive from SanDisk, PNY, KInston, Samsung, etc. And if you want to be dog nuts about protecting it's data and formatting shut off the printer before inserting or removing the drive. I can't be bothered doing this so I have gotten good at deleting, recreating and reformatting the partition.

As the printer is a "read-only" device this should not be necessary, however there are many things in life that "should be" but are not.

Also, do not leave the flash drive in a powered device for any extended period of time--plugged into a powered device they are of course also powered which can cause internal overheating and subject the flash drive to transients or other nasties on the device's USB shared 5 V supply and data lines. The el cheapo drives (like the one Elegoo supplied) especially are not as well protected from this as are the higher quality units.

Used for temporary data transport devices in sneakernet connections they (USB "jump" drives) are pretty good, but there's no way I'd ever put my only copy of anything important on one.