How do I convert MP3 audio files to WMA?

Well, I can't resist trying to help someone who is at the very end of their proverbial rope, so I pulled a few sample MP3 flies out of my Windows Media Player library and dropped them onto my desktop to see what I could figure out.

Then I went to Download.com and searched for "mp3 wma" to see what it would show avaliable for download, and scored! The application Free MP3 WMA Converter looked quite promising, so I downloaded it and installed it on my Windows XP system. (Tip: if the above link doesn't work for grabbing a copy of the program yourself, you can always go to the developer's Web site)

During the install process, it complained about the lack of some WMA codec libraries, but I indicated that I was okay with it installing those during the process and everything went swimmingly. I then launched the program and dragged my three test songs into it (Big Swing Face by Bruce Hornsby, I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You by Alan Parsons, and Army Dreamers by Kate Bush). It looked like this:

Once I'd added all three, I then changed the settings to specify where I wanted the output files saved (I've opted for my Desktop), what format to use (WMA) and then let it default to the correct WMA settings.

Finally, ready to go, I clicked on the "Convert!" button:

Notice on the bottom the progress bar shows that we're almost done, 84% through the conversion process. It took just a few seconds per track to convert all three to WMA format.

The final test? I opened up the WMA version of Army Dreamers in Microsoft's Windows Media Player and it played perfectly:

A straightforward process and a very nice application, especially for free.