Looking for some free software to play and record music.

[Jr.]

I had a software application called music match juke box. This would allow me to record my music to the computers hard drive or at least it woud be on the computer without having to insert the cd again. Music match no longer offers a free juke box. Does anyone know of such a free software to play record and edit music and is easy to down load. Good quality one.

2nd question is: I am also looking for a good, well known quality site to download free music.

[jon 0]

winamp.com for a media player

don't know about editing though

[ChopperChick]

Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but I use Bearshare

[tprewitt]

I use Windows Media Player to copy from CD to my hard drive and www.edonkey.com for downloading and file sharing.

[LaoziSailor]

Although I wouldn't discount some commercial software that is not very expensive:
Music Creator by CakeWalk -- http://cakewalk.com/homemusicians.asp -- $29

If you really want to be a superhotshot then that's real buck$$z
http://www.sibelius.com/products/sibelius/index.html

This area you will have to spend a bit of time on exploring -- Open Source (free)
http://sourceforge.net/softwaremap/trove_list.php?form_cat=113

[Shantanu]

audacity is best and it is open source. you need to download a separate plugin for mp3 music. which is free too.

[Patonb]

Quickime, realplayer all work well

[LaoziSailor]

I use Windows Media Player to copy from CD to my hard drive and www.edonkey.com for downloading and file sharing.

Re.: edonkey
Some sites to keep in mind:

http://p2pcore.com/index.php
http://p2pnet.net/

[Jr.]

I use Windows Media Player to copy from CD to my hard drive and www.edonkey.com (http://www.edonkey.com) for downloading and file sharing.

I'm still using windows 98 and i can't to find any record button. Using Windows media Player, how can i get the music off the cd on to the hard drive: Also thanks for the link, i'll try it tonight.

[Johnnyquad]

As far as a simple jukebox goes, the Yahoo music engine works really well for me. For music downloads these days I pretty much rely exclusively on Shareaza (again, I've tried others. So should you. Whatever best fits your needs.) and download to the Yahoo music engine. I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking and so far for some reason Yahoo is the only player I've tried where playback is clean and not distorted. (So far I'm not smart enough to figure out why) So, works for me.
Good luck

[jimnms]

http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

[bob clark]

I'm still using windows 98 and i can't to find any record button. Using Windows media Player, how can i get the music off the cd on to the hard drive: Also thanks for the link, i'll try it tonight.

Hi Jr.,

In Windows Media Player 10 there is a set of rather large buttons up on top. They are "Now Playing" "Library" "Rip" "Burn" "Sync" and "Guide".

Just click on the Rip button and record the tracks from the CD onto your hard drive. You'll have many options to choose from. Windows own brand of compression or the standard format of mp3. If you use the mp3 format the default "quality" is set at 128kbps. I would increase that to about 191 or 256kbps. The files are bigger but the quality is better. You can choose 320kbps if you want but again, bigger files, better sound.

With the CD that you want to record (it's actually called "ripping") you can go online and get the album info for each track title and artist genre etc. It's the "Find Album Info" button on the top right of the player. You may need to adjust some settings in your Options for that. It will tell you how to do it. I just ripped an entire CD as an experiment in about 2 minutes.

I usually use Nero to rip CDs and a free program like the dBpowerAMP (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/) music converter to convert mp3s that I've gotten off the Internet to convert into wav files then cda files and burn them onto a CD so they'll play on any CD player.

If you're still using Win98 you may want to upgrade to Windows Media Player 9 Series (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/9series/default.aspx) (for Windows 98 SE, Windows Millennium Edition) for better performance and more options if you haven't aleady done so. I don't believe they make the Windows Media Player 10 Series for Win98 (which I'm using.... so the 9 series may be a bit different) but the 9 Series should work fine.

Or go HERE (http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/3120-20-0.html?qt=rip+cd&tg=dl-2001) and look for another CD ripping program. There are at least 3 free ones on this page. But WMP 9 Series should work fine for you. I'm pretty sure they have a Rip button on the player. Rip = Record.

But take a little time and read how it's done. On the Toolbar there is a "Help" function. Click on it, then click on "Windows Media Help" or you may just need to hit the F1 key on your keyboard.

I am also looking for a good, well known quality site to download free music.

What ISP (Internet Service Provider) do you have?

Good luck.

[Jr.]

I use Windows Media Player to copy from CD to my hard drive and www.edonkey.com (http://www.edonkey.com) for downloading and file sharing.
What version of Windows Media player are you using and what operating sys, are you running?

[Jr.]

audacity is best and it is open source. you need to download a separate plugin for mp3 music. which is free too.


audacity comes up as a Janitorial company. Check your sources again please.

[Jr.]

What ISP (Internet Service Provider) do you have?

Good luck.
I'm using AOL. Thanks for all the good info. I have examined all of it carefully. SO your knowledge will be put to use.

[Jr.]

I usually use Nero to rip CDs and a free program like the dBpowerAMP (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/) music converter to convert mp3s that I've gotten off the Internet to convert into wav files then cda files and burn them onto a CD so they'll play on any CD player.

I tried to use the version of Media player that was already installed on my computer, version 6.01.05.0217.CopyRight (1992-1999). I examine the windows media player on their homepage for the 9 series and couldnt find the copy right or verion. I dont know what series this is, the 9th or what? Anyhow, when i go to the file menu, click open and locate to the directory D: drive and open the dialog box and then locate within the files of type window,*allfiles* ,and click on the specific track, the error message window pops up and says can not open it. It also list the path name which is correct?. I wanted to print the screen and send it via email, but failed. ANy suggestions?

[Jr.]

One more question? When error messages come up with an Error code such as 14-80070005 , how does one know what this pertains to. Is there a guide of some sort to compare it to, so as to know what this means. Some Error message do not provide any info other that the error code. Example, While i was at Yahoos site, without logging in I clicked the audio tab, then type in the artist, it came up with a list of thee albums under that name with icons besides them saying i can click here for a short sample. SO i click and then the error message 14-80070005 comes up. How can we know what this refers too? Also, what of Internet Explorer Script Errors, What to do with these? What is more, how do you turn the error dialog window off. It just keeps coming back.

[Katja]

audacity comes up as a Janitorial company. Check your sources again please.


Audacity is an excellent program and can be found at audacity.sourceforge.net (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) (incidentally, this was the FIRST result Google returned when I searched on "audacity" - the janitorial company was second).

[pash8605]

Hey, I use itunes to listen to music and burn cds. And to download music I use limewire. I've never had a problem with eith. You can get them from download.com

[Jr.]

Audacity is an excellent program and can be found at audacity.sourceforge.net (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) (incidentally, this was the FIRST result Google returned when I searched on "audacity" - the janitorial company was second).Thanks for the link. Neat web page.:)

Hey, I use itunes to listen to music and burn cds. And to download music I use limewire. I've never had a problem with eith. You can get them from download.com Hey there Pash, Thanks for the tip.;)

[bob clark]

I tried to use the version of Media player that was already installed on my computer, version 6.01.05.0217.CopyRight (1992-1999). I examine the windows media player on their homepage for the 9 series and couldnt find the copy right or verion. I dont know what series this is, the 9th or what? Anyhow, when i go to the file menu, click open and locate to the directory D: drive and open the dialog box and then locate within the files of type window,*allfiles* ,and click on the specific track, the error message window pops up and says can not open it. It also list the path name which is correct?. I wanted to print the screen and send it via email, but failed. ANy suggestions?

Hi Jr.,

Its been so long since I had Windows 98 (SE) and used that old Windows Media Player that I don't know what its capabilities are. Whether it can rip CDs or not. Ripping a CD means converting a rather large CDA file that's on a CD and compressing it by about a factor of 10. So a 40MB CDA file on a CD will rip down into a 4MB mp3 file. This is good for storage and such because it doesn't take up as much space on your hard drive. But there's a certain amount of audio quality that's lost.

If you just want to save the music from your CDs onto your hard drive so you don't need to insert the CD into your CD-ROM player and hard drive space isn't a concern to you then convert the CDA files off your CD and convert or copy them into WAV files. You can do it with the free dBpowerAMP Music Converter™ (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/). And you also can rip them into mp3s with that program if you want.

The Windows Media Player 9 Series, to my knowledge, only rips them into mp3s. Which is cool if you want to save space on your hard drive and don't mind a slight degradation in audio quality. Most people can't even tell the difference. But rip them at a higher bitrate than the default 128kbps. Increase it to 191kbps or so.

Why didn't you download the newer version 9 Series at Windows Media Player 9 Series (for Windows 98 SE, Windows Millennium Edition, and Windows 2000) (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/9series/default.aspx) Just click on the "Download Now" box.

But it's imperative that know what version of Windows 98 you have. Do you have Windows 98 or Windows 98 SE (Second Edition). The older Windows 98 can't play the newer 9 Series version.

If you only have Windows 98 (the non-SE version) then you should update to Windows Media Player 7.1 (for Win 98) (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/AllDownloads.aspx?displang=en&qstechnology=). You now have version 6.1 or whatever and it may not have the necessary features in it for ripping CDs.

Copying tracks from CDs using Windows Media Player 7.1 (for Win 98).

By default, Windows Media Player is configured to protect content that is copied from a CD to your computer from unauthorized use by using Personal Rights Management. When this feature is enabled, each track that is copied to your computer is a licensed file that cannot be played on any other computer unless you backup and restore your licenses on the other computer. If you want to transfer the content to another computer, you must backup and then restore your licenses on that computer.

-To turn off Personal Rights Management
-On the Tools menu, click Options.
-Click the CD Audio tab.
-Clear the Enable Personal Rights Management check box.

-For more information about backing up and restoring your licenses, see Windows Media Player Help.

So make sure you turn off the Personal Rights Management as explained above or if you get a new computer or want to share your music with a friend you'll be able to.

Or just download and install the free dBpowerAMP Music Converter™ that I linked to above. It's easy to use and does a good job. To select all the tracks from a CD hold down the CTRL key to highlight them all one by one for transfer. Then hit Okay or Open and you can choose how you want to convert them. Into mp3 or wav files and at what quality (bitrate) level. You can also choose where to store them at by using the Browse Button. You can create separate folders for different CDs.

If you're getting a lot of errors it could be a few things. First is that not everything on the Internet works with the older Windows 98 OS... even the newer SE version. Or works with the older Internet Explorer browser.... especially anything in the 5.x or lower versions. Or your computer may be infected with a virus(es) or malware. Or you hard drive is getting too full and needs to be cleaned up and defragmented. Or your copy of Windows 98 is really screwed up and your hard drive needs to be formatted and Windows 98 clean or reinstalled. A Windows 98 computer is old and lots of things can screw up on an Operating System (OS) over time.

Have you scanned your hard drive for errors lately? I forget what it's called in Win98... scandisk maybe. In XP it's called chkdsk. Or go to your hard drive manufacturer's website and download the utility for checking your hard drive for errors. Get the one for your model#. Be careful.... if it finds errors it can usually fix them but sometimes can make things worse. So backup anything that you can't live without first!

Or click on Start, then Help or Help and Support and type in scandisk for directions.

When was the last time you formatted (fully deleted everything on your hard drive) and installed your Win98 Operating System from scratch?

AOL doesn't carry the newsgroups anymore. If you ever change your ISP try out Worldnet or EarthLink because they carry the newsgroups for free and there's a lot of Christian Music there. See screenshot inset:

http://bcee1.home.comcast.net/Jr.Christian_Newsgroups.JPG

There's Christian, Christian Rock and Christian Traditional there. And every other genre of music too. All the latest hits, blues, country everything etc. It would be up to you to figure out if they're copyrighted or not and if you want to be 100% legal about downloading free music.

I hope you get it figured out. If you lived close by I'd come over there and shape that old box up!

[Jr.]

Bob, should I go ahead and delete the older version of media player first? If so is the add and remove programs technique sufficient? For a certainty, I am using the second edition of windows 98. Also, I am pretty good about formatting the hard drive once in a while, that is installing a fresh copy of 98 SE. After doing this so many times, I noticed that any problems I usually experience are never do to the operating system. So I format once a year or every other depending upon my Internet usage! I also run scan disk once in a while, but never come up with errors. The only thing that I think I am lacking is the updates for Win 98 se, but I am uncertain as to which one's of the 22 so-called critical updates I really need!

I don’t own an Mp3 player except on my DVD /VCR system for the TV set that can play MP3 format!
Question: Even though I don’t use mp3's right now, do you think it would be a good idea when I am downloading music to store them on the hard drive as mp3 format since it takes up less space. With that converter as I understand can convert it whatever format I need to put on a regular CD. By the way I have plenty of hard drive space.

Sometime soon I will be buying a dell with the Xp operating system. I just never upgraded since everything I do is menial and what I have in the way of operating system usually does the task. However, I am studying Visual Basic and currently using the program on my Pc. I have owned a computer since late 1999 just after my spinal cord injury. It had widows 95 and later I upgraded in 2000 to my emachine which came with 98SE!

Later that year I enrolled in CIS105 an introductory course in hardware and software for computers. In 2002, I took a class on Command line prompt under the XP's operating system. I don’t even no why, but I learned a little bit about what happens under the GUI. I have most certainty benefited from all your information. Please know that I appreciate your sharing this knowledge with me!

[Jr.]

Thanks everyone for your input.

[Tufelhunden]

Jr.:
Just like Pash8605 said, use limewire to download music off the internet and into your hard drive and use itunes to get the music from your cds onto your hard drive. itunes is a very user-friendly program which enables you to organize all the music on your hard drive and create playlists. All of the issues with compression, converting formats, etc etc. are handled with ease through itunes and limewire. For example I have 1030 songs stored which is 3 days worth of music. itunes automatically stores the music compressed (all that music stored at 4.27 gb) so it saves space, but when I burn music to cds, it expands it back to normal size, so you can play your burned cds anywhere.