How to Rip Music to an MP3 Player

by Arlen Hershey, Demand Media

An MP3 player is a portable device that plays digital music files. There are various sizes and styles of MP3 players, but they all perform the same functions. To listen to music on an MP3 player, upload songs to it from a personal computer. Before a song is uploaded onto an MP3 player, you must rip it from a CD onto your computer, or download it, legally, from the Internet. Transfer songs to and from an MP3 player to suit your desires.

Items you will need

USB cable

Step 1

Plug a USB cable into a USB port on your computer, then plug the other end into your MP3 player. Your computer will automatically recognize the device. On your computer's desktop, an icon of the MP3 player will appear. This is where you'll have to drag your song files to transfer them from the computer to the MP3 player.

Step 2

Find the song on your computer that you want to put onto the MP3 player. Click once on the title, holding the mouse. Now drag the title on top of the MP3 player icon on your desktop. The icon will highlight. Once it does, release the mouse click. The track will copy itself onto the device, which shouldn't take more than a minute. The original will still be on your computer. What transfers onto the MP3 player will be a copy. Do this for as many songs as you want or until you've reached the limit of your storage capacity. Wait for all of your tracks to finish uploading onto the device.

Step 3

Eject the MP3 player from your computer. To do this, click once on the MP3 player icon, and drag it on top of the trash bin or recycle bin. Once the trash bin highlights, release the mouse click. This will not delete anything. It will remove the MP3 player icon from your desktop. Once it disappears, you may now take the USB cord out of the computer.

Step 4

Scroll through the music library of your MP3 player to make sure all of the songs are there. Plug in some headphones and enjoy your music.

Resources

Pocket PC Central: MP3 Players

About the Author

Arlen Hershey has been writing science curriculum for informal science education organizations since 2006. She has written for Experiencia and Sea World. She has a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Illinois.