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Learn About Music on Your PC

Microsoft Windows XP Starter Edition


Play
and
copy
music


Playing your own music CDs with Windows Media Player is as easy as using any ordinary CD player.

To play a CD

  • Insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive.

Then relax and enjoy listening to your music! Windows Media Player automatically loads, appears on your screen, and begins playing the first track on the disc.

Display CD details

When you load a CD into your computer, Windows Media Player reads the information on the disc and matches it to information contained in a database it can connect to over the Internet. Windows Media Player then displays details of the track titles, artist names, and other information about the CD recording.


To display details about a CD

  1. Connect to the Internet.
  2. Insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive.
  3. When Windows Media Player is displayed, click copy from CD.

Sometimes, an exact match with information in the database is not found, especially on older CDs that might lack information. In that case, Windows Media Player displays the message: Unknown Artist, Unknown Album. In this situation, you can just enter the information manually, and the player will display those details each time you play that CD in the future.

Here is how to display album details when you see the message Unknown Artist, Unknown Album.

To display album details

  1. Make sure that you are connected to the Internet.
  2. Insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive.
  3. When Windows Media Player is displayed, click Copy from CD.
  4. Click Get Names. On the screen displayed, click Next.
  5. Type in the name of the CD's artist or group.
  6. Click Next.
  7. Click the CD name from the list and then click Next. The CD track titles will be displayed. Click Finish to save the list and display it each time you load the CD.
  8. Click Album Details to see database information about the album.

If you don't see the album listed, click Not Found in the Choose Artist window. You can then enter the details of the album and artist manually, using your own knowledge or reference source. Next time you play this CD, the album details you have entered will be associated with it.

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Copy tracks from a CD

When you copy favorite tracks from a CD to your hard drive, you can you play them on your computer without loading the CD. Here's how.


To copy tracks from a CD

  1. Insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive.
  2. When Windows Media Player is displayed, click Copy from CD to display all tracks on the CD.
  3. Clear the check boxes beside any tracks you do not want to copy. (Click a check box to clear it.)
  4. Click Copy Music. This copies all selected tracks to the Media Library area of Windows Media Player and lists them in the Media Library directory by genre, artist, and title.

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Media Library

Windows Media Player contains an area called Media Library for storing audio and video files and related information, such as favorite music-related Web sites. Any time you copy audio or video files from a CD, DVD, the Internet, or other source, they are automatically stored in Media Library and can be located by browsing the Media Library directory, which is visible on the screen.


To go to Media Library

  1. Click Start, and then click Windows Media Player.
  2. Click Media Library.

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Download music from the Internet

Hundreds of artists have placed music on the Internet for you to sample and download free of charge. The Media Guide feature in Windows Media Player makes it easy to find your favorite artists and songs. Media Guide searches the Web for sites containing the music you are looking for. You can also type the Web addresses of sites you know or hear about into a search window at the top of the guide.

Tip

Click here for a helpful tip!



Licensing
Some sites require you to obtain permission from them to play their music that you download from the Internet. Licensing is usually free, but you must provide your name and e-mail address and agree to the terms of the license. Doing so releases a coded security lock on downloaded files and allows them to be played. It sounds much more complicated than it is in practice.



To download music from the Internet

  1. Click Start, and then click Windows Media Player.
  2. Click Media Guide, and then click the Music tab.
  3. Scroll down, and then click Music Downloads under Find Music, or click one of the featured music Web sites.
  4. Select from the list of Featured Downloads displayed on the screen. Or, to search by genre or artist's name, select by Category or by Artist Name.
  5. Click on the artist's name when it appears on the screen in the Find Music area.
  6. Click on selections under Audio Downloads.
  7. Follow the instructions that appear for transferring a file containing music to your computer.

Tip

Click here for a helpful tip!


Instructions for downloading vary from site to site. In general, look for a button that says Download. Depending on your Internet connection and the amount of traffic on the Internet, the length of time it takes to download a music file can also vary. Expect most songs to take three to six minutes with an ordinary modem connection. After downloading is complete, follow these steps.

To download a music file

  1. Click Save this file to Disk when prompted by the computer.
  2. Choose an easy-to-find location on your hard drive, such as My Music, in which to save the music file.
  3. Type the name of the file if it is not already named.
  4. Click Open to save the file, and then click Close.

After you have completed the steps above, you can place the downloaded file in the Music Library.

To place the file in the Music Library

  1. On the File menu in Windows Media Player, point to Add to Media Library, and then click Add File.
  2. Click the desired musical track, and then click Open to add the file. Any artist and album details available with the downloaded music will also be transferred to the Media Library.

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Conserve storage space

Windows XP Starter Edition is designed to minimize the amount of space used on your computer by audio recordings, and you can reduce the amount even more by choosing to save music at a slightly lower reproduction standard. It will still sound great but it won't use up as much space on your computer. Here's how to save storage space by regulating recording quality.



To regulate recording quality

  1. On the Tools menu in Windows Media Player, click Options.
  2. On the Copy Music tab, move the sliding control to where you'd like it - to the left for the least memory consumption, to the right for best audio reproduction.
  3. Click Apply.

You can quickly glance at all the media files on your computer using the Windows Media Player. Here's how.

To view all media files

  1. Click Start, and then click Windows Media Player.
  2. Click Media Library.
  3. Click All Audio in the Media Library directory.

You will see a list of audio recorded on your computer on the right side of the player. Double-click any file to play it.

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Give your player a new look

Programs called skins change the appearance of Windows Media Player. If you don't like the look of the standard skin, you can select from 13 different designs that come with Windows XP Starter Edition, or select from others added frequently to the Windows Media Player Web site. Your player directly connects you to the place where you'll find an ever-expanding choice of new skins. And remember, you can change the skin at any time. Here's how to give Windows Media Player a new look.

To give Windows Media Player a new look

  1. Click Start, and then click Windows Media Player.
  2. Click Skin Chooser, and then click the skin you want from the list that appears.
  3. Click Apply skin.

Back

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Next

Next

Display CD details

Display CD details
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Search for album information

Search for album information
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Copy tracks from a CD

Copy tracks from a CD
Click to enlarge

The Media Guide

The Media Guide
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Copy music quality options

Copy music quality options
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