How to Upload Music From an Mp3 Player to Windows Media Player

With the advent of the MP3 player in recent years, it has never been easier to take your favorite songs with you wherever you go. Windows Media Player in particular is an invaluable tool for making sure you can easily transfer songs from your computer to your MP3 player. Situations may arise, however, that require you to get songs from your portable device back onto your computer. For instance, if your hard drive needs to be reformatted and the only copies of your music files are on your MP3 player, you’d need to be able to get them back to your computer’s hard drive. By following a few easy steps you can use Windows Media Player to transfer songs from your portable device back to your computer.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A Windows Media Player-compatible MP3 Player.
• Windows Media Player.

1. Open Windows Media Player. When the program is fully loaded connect an MP3 player that is compatible with Windows Media Player (the Zune, for example) to your computer.

2. Click the “Sync” tab on the upper right portion of the main window. The contents of your device will be displayed.

3. Find the files in your device that you want to copy to your computer. You can either right-click on the files and click “Add to Sync List” or drag the files to the Sync List on the right side of the screen.

4. Click “Start Sync” to begin the file transfer. Files you choose to copy to your computer will be transferred at this time, and also automatically added to a playlist called “Copied from Device” in Windows Media Player. Once the transfer is done you can disconnect your device and enjoy your music on your computer.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have an automatic sync relationship set up between Windows Media Player and your device, any new files the program recognizes will be automatically synced to your hard drive. For some users, uploading MP3s from an MP3 player to your computer may be as simple as simply plugging in the device. If it isn’t already selected this option can easily be turned on in the “Options” submenu of the “Sync” button at the top of the screen.
• Unfortunately the Apple iPod will not be recognized by Windows Media Player unless you install a variety of third-party plug-ins to get it to do so. For managing songs and files with the iPod, Apple’s own iTunes software is still the best method available.