How to Transfer Songs From iTunes to an MP3 Player

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Transfer your music collection to your MP3 player to listen to your music on the go.

Apple's iPod is built to work specifically with the iTunes software program, which organizes, displays, transfers and converts music files. However, many other MP3 players, such as those manufactured by Sony and Zen, also are supported by the software, making it a simple solution for households with one computer but multiple personal music devices. Learn how to organize and transfer your music between iTunes and your iPod or other MP3 player to listen to your collection on the go.

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Step 1

Connect your MP3 player to your computer using the included transfer cable. Open iTunes. The software will recognize that a device is connected and display the iPod/Portable Player preference menu. Type a name for your device in the "Device Name" field, and it will appear in the device list to the left of the preference window.

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Step 2

Transfer every song in your iTunes library to your MP3 player by selecting "Sync To Library" in the preference window. Every time you connect your MP3 player to your computer, iTunes will update it, deleting and downloading songs according to changes made to your library. Keep in mind that this setting will work only if your player has enough space for the entire library.

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Step 3

Include only songs that you choose to transfer by selecting "Update Player Manually" in the preference window. With this setting enabled, you must manually update your MP3 player by dragging songs to the MP3 player's icon at the left of the screen. ITunes will not update the player automatically with this setting enabled.

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Step 4

Transfer only the songs in a specific play list by selecting "Sync To Playlist" in the preference window. Create a play list by clicking the "+" icon at the bottom of the iTunes window. Drag any songs you wish to transfer to your MP3 player to this play list. Evey time you connect your MP3 player, iTunes will update it according to changes made to this playlist.

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Step 5

Before removing the transfer cable from your MP3 player, click the "Eject" icon next to the device icon. If this is not done, iTunes will not finalize the sync process, resulting in missing songs in your player's library.

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