Hi Dom,
only
FAT32 formatted USB sticks can be used on Yamaha keyboards like PSR-S/SX, Tyros models or Genos.
USB sticks with other file formats like
exFAT or
NTFS are
not recognized by the keyboards, and you will get a message to
format it (although there may be data on the stick, but in a different file system that the keyboard does not recognize).
If you are sure that the particular stick really does not contain any data (e.g. with a newly purchased stick), you can format it directly on the keyboard when this message appears.
However, if there might be data on it, you should first check it on the computer. If you still want to use a stick that currently contains data but is not recognized by the keyboard, you must first copy the relevant data to the hard drive of the computer (or possibly to another stick). Then you format the original stick again (preferably directly on the keyboard) and copy the desired data back to the stick on the computer.
P.S.
It is
not absolutely necessary to format a USB stick directly on the keyboard. In almost all cases it will work without problems even if it is formatted on the computer (in FAT32 format).
However, every now and then there are sticks that do NOT "want" to work with a certain keyboard model, i.e. are not recognized at all, although they are formatted with "FAT32". The reason for this is that each keyboard model only has certain USB device drivers that are permanently integrated in the firmware and that a computer cannot simply download a suitable driver from the Internet if an "unknown" device is connected.
For every Yamaha keyboard model there is a list of USB sticks that have been tested by Yamaha, for the SX700 here:
>>>
https://uk.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/5/1279945/en-PSR-SX700.pdfHowever, in my experience,
almost all other sticks also work. So if a certain stick should "cause problems" on the keyboard, although it is formatted with FAT32 (but works on the computer), I would simply mark this stick accordingly and then only use it
on the computer. USB sticks are so inexpensive these days that you can simply buy another stick and try it out.
However, you shouldn't use "no name" sticks, but only sticks from well-known brands. I also recommend using USB
3.0 sticks. The current keyboard models only have USB
2.0 ports, but you can use USB 3.0 speed when the stick is connected to the computer.
Best regards,
Chris