How to Play MP3s From a USB Flash Drive

Music can be stored on a USB flash drive.

USB flash drives offer a portable way to transport many different files, and as the memory capacity of USB flash drives continues to increase, the drives are becoming a viable way to carry music and video files, including MP3s, which are compressed audio files. Playing music directly from the USB will ensure instantaneous access, but means the music will not be stored on your computer.

Instructions

1. Insert the USB drive into your computer. If you are using a desktop computer the main USB ports will be located on the facade of the CPU unit. If you use a laptop the USB ports can be found on either side of the laptop. Simply plug the USB drive into the USB port.

2. Locate you flash drive on your computer. It will be inside your "Computer" folder, where you will see a new folder in addition to the "C:" which is always present. Double-click on that folder to open the USB flash drive.

3. Double-click on which ever file you want to play. You will be able to identify an MP3 file by the .mp3 extension which will be present at the end of the file name.

4. The file will play using whatever your computer's default media player is. It is most commonly Windows Media Player, but your file may open in RealPlayer or even QuickTime.

References

• The Travel Insider: USB Flash Drive