Hard drives for cam and sentry

[Burrito]

i’ve read a few threads and the consensus seems to be go bigger than 64gb, more isn’t better but requires less “dumping” of files.

Can one larger drive be used for teslacam and sentry if the drives are partitioned? Is this better or worse than 2 separate smaller drives?

Between ssd drives vs flash drives. Which is better and why? Is one better?

I’m looking at something like this
SanDisk SDCZ880-128G-G46 Extreme PRO 128GB USB 3.1 Solid State Flash Drive https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MU8TZRV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_cyj3CbZZB9F3P
Vs
Samsung T5 Portable SSD - 500GB - USB 3.1 External SSD (MU-PA500B/AM) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073GZBT36/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_3Dj3CbAZSQRSD

Thoughts?

 

[Wodensthrall]

I am using a thumb drive; don't recall the capacity, but 64gb sounds about right. You need to create one folder on the drive at the root level (name it TeslaCam), and then the car will take care of sub-folders for the "dashcam" feature and Sentry mode saves (at least mine did). Don't sweat it too hard, just plug in a USB drive, practice once or twice with the dashcam to make sure you know how to save properly (there are some great YouTube videos on how to do this), and you'll be good to go. Have fun, and I hope you never *need* the footage!

 

[Stach]

I was lucky and had an 500GB SSD laying around that I put in a rugged USB case. I partitioned it into two partitions (128GB for DashCam and 384GB for music) and it's lightening fast with music and has not failed me yet. IMHO, with the issues that I've heard about with Thumb Drives and DashCam videos, I would recommend an SSD since they are higher performance and more robust.

-Stach

 

[Ralindo14]

I had a 2TB external drive sitting around that I was waiting to use with my ps4. I formatted the 2TB drive for fat32 and it works perfectly. No need for partitioning.
It’s a 2TB seagate external hard drive

 

[sduck]

Numerous posts about this already, but I'll add that i'm using one of those sandisk ssd's, partitioned into 2 parts for music and dashcam/sentry. It works great, haven't had any issues in the 3-4 months or so I've had it.

 

[TiggerTime]

I've been using a WD 64G thumb drive with no issues and the couple times I've pulled it to look at saved video it has never been more than 1/2 full. It is always on when driving and I use Sentry at least 5 times a week while at work and it is parked in a fairly high traffic parking garage.

 

[vnxs]

More storage means you can go much longer without having to worry about cleaning up Sentry and TeslaCam files. I'm using a 500GB Samsung 860 EVO with about 350GB partitioned for video recording and I delete files once a month. Using a SSD should provide better long-term reliability too.

 

[RickW]

Hi,

Just received my Tesla over the weekend. I used a USB Flash drive already formatted for Fat32 and it worked very well for a while. However after (powering down the cameras) and removing the USB stick, I placed the stick back in the Tesla and only the SentryCam will show up or the Dash cam, but not both. Now it records nothing. My car will state that there are 4 incidences but the folder is empty.

I have a 500 gb SSD unopened from a few years ago hanging around. I'm obtaining an enclosure this weekend and will format that and see if it works better (EVO). I won't really partition since I have most of my music on my phone. If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[Kitfox]

Hi,

Just received my Tesla over the weekend. I used a USB Flash drive already formatted for Fat32 and it worked very well for a while. However after (powering down the cameras) and removing the USB stick, I placed the stick back in the Tesla and only the SentryCam will show up or the Dash cam, but not both. Now it records nothing. My car will state that there are 4 incidences but the folder is empty.

I have a 500 gb SSD unopened from a few years ago hanging around. I'm obtaining an enclosure this weekend and will format that and see if it works better (EVO). I won't really partition since I have most of my music on my phone. If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

• Be sure to turn off the cam function before unplugging the drive from the car. Not doing so can cause file system corruption and make it so the car can't understand the drive.
• Be sure to TURN ON the cam function when plugging it back in. Despite "red is negative", the camera is -on- when the icon has the red dot, and off when it's all grey.
• Be sure to "eject" the drive before unplugging it from the computer.

SSDs have more write life than flash drives do. Music on the drive is very useful when you have no phone for any reason or, if your phone music is cloud-based, no network.

 

[Wennfred]

i’ve read a few threads and the consensus seems to be go bigger than 64gb, more isn’t better but requires less “dumping” of files.

Can one larger drive be used for teslacam and sentry if the drives are partitioned? Is this better or worse than 2 separate smaller drives?

Between ssd drives vs flash drives. Which is better and why? Is one better?

I’m looking at something like this
SanDisk SDCZ880-128G-G46 Extreme PRO 128GB USB 3.1 Solid State Flash Drive https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MU8TZRV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_cyj3CbZZB9F3P
Vs
Samsung T5 Portable SSD - 500GB - USB 3.1 External SSD (MU-PA500B/AM) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073GZBT36/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_3Dj3CbAZSQRSD

Thoughts?

I’m using the Extreme Pro one posted above but it’s the 256gb version, I don’t recommend it because it does get hot and also sometimes it doesn’t start, I have to open up the console and remove the accessory tray to get to it, remove it from the USB connector and re-install it to get it to work. Look into the 500gb SSD drives people are posting here or other threads.

Fred

 

[charandhistesl]

I had a 2TB external drive sitting around that I was waiting to use with my ps4. I formatted the 2TB drive for fat32 and it works perfectly. No need for partitioning.
It’s a 2TB seagate external hard drive

How did you do that, I am not able to do that, pls help!