How do I download songs to my MP3 player?

Hi Dave, I just got a brand new Samsung D500 and I want to put music onto it via USB cable, but it won't work. How do I do it?

Dave's Answer:

First off, a disclaimer: I don't have a Samsung D500 so I can't test out what I'm going to explain here. However, just about all the MP3 players on the market work in the same way - and it's how the Sony PSP works too, in fact - so let's just talk about the general solution for downloading music onto an MP3 player.

The first step is to see if there's any special software available from the vendor to help the process along. With the D500, for example, go to the Samsung Web site and click on "Support", then type in the product name. I typed in D500 and then choose "TV, video and audio". Wrong choice: no matches. I tried again with "Computer and related products" and got a list of three possible matches, one of which is your product, the SGH-D500.

Turns out that the D500 is a mobile phone, actually, not a simple MP3 player at all (wish you would have mentioned that, btw!) but I figured it out. Turns out that there's a raft of different user manuals available on the D500 download center page, and, clicking on the Software tab, it turns out that there's software you can download from Samsung too, including "Samsung PC Studio PC Sync (ver 2.0)" which is probably what you'd want.

Generally, though, if you don't have any software or can't find anything for your MP3 device (which, as you can see, includes cellphones!) then you should be able to copy across MP3-format audio files by:

Hooking up the device to a USB connection on your computer.
Going through the settings on your device to find a "USB CONNECT" or "USB MODE" option. Some devices do that automatically when they detect power on the USB cable, others (like the Sony PSP) require you to do it manually).
Your computer should now automatically detect the device, probably showing it as a removable hard disk. Both Macs and Windows XP computers do a very good job with this, older operting systems can be more challenging (e.g., Windows 98, MacOS 9).

Now you just need to rummage around a bit and figure out where music files should be stored. One way to do this is to pay for one song to be downloaded from a service, if that's an option, then see if you can find where it's stored on your MP3 device and drop other songs into the same place. If that's not an option, then just put a few songs in different directories and see if your device can find it once you disconnect and try to play a song or two.

Hope that helps you out! If anyone wants to send me a fancy MP3 player so I can test it out, I'd be happy to hear from you. :-)

More Useful Computer and Internet Basics Articles:

✔ How do I blur my house on Google Maps Street View?

I was poking around on Google Maps looking at satellite views of my neighborhood and when I switched to street view, was upset...

✔ Create a custom vanity URL for Kickstarter?

I was reading some updates on Twitter and saw someone had posted a URL that would let me see what projects they'd backed...

✔ Export or Save Subscription List from Google Reader?

Just heard that Google Reader is going away this summer. That stinks! How am I supposed to read my RSS feeds? More importantly,...

✔ Shrink or Reduce a Photo File Size on Mac?

I'm trying to upload some photos to a social media site and it's complaining that they're too big. They are, as they come...

✔ Can I organize my Yahoo Mail with folders?

I've been on Yahoo Mail for years and while most of my friends are now on Gmail or their own Web-based email programs,...

Let's stay in touch!

Sign up for my weekly AskDaveTaylor Newsletter and you'll receive even more tech and gadget help right to your inbox, along with exclusive news and industry updates. It's good stuff. I promise!

Categorized: Computer and Internet Basics (Article 4694, Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged:
Previous: Managing Yahoo Instant Messenger (YIM) Buddy Lists?
Next: Sirius versus XM: What's the better satellite radio network?

Reader Comments To Date: 671

Tiara said, on March 9, 2008 6:22 PM:

hi dave i have a e200 mp3 plyer and i don't know how to music on it i have downloaded music on computer but i dont know how to put it on my e200 so canyou please help me .

THANK, TIARA

Femin said, on March 10, 2008 1:25 AM:

hai how to format and reinstall OS in an MATSUI IPOD

femin said, on March 10, 2008 1:27 AM:

from where v can get OS for MATSUI IPOD....

chaila nelson said, on March 12, 2008 11:04 AM:

hi, my name is chaila i got a Sony mp3 player and i dont know how 2 download music on it!!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

blogger said, on March 12, 2008 12:46 PM:

How do I add a playlist to my acoustic solutions mp3 as it does not work in windows media player and I can't get the book in chapter order.

Allie said, on March 13, 2008 7:59 PM:

k so i just got a sorda new 1gb mp3 player and i have no clue how to put music on i t please help me:)

flip35th said, on March 16, 2008 7:57 AM:

dave, i have a coby mpc883 and when i try to put it in the usb ports on my comp it says the usb device is not recognized i didnt not get any software with it what do i do?????

justin dunville said, on March 18, 2008 10:58 AM:

i cant get songs on it, when i go to windows media player it says no device detected,what am i doin wrong??

Adam said, on March 19, 2008 9:25 AM:

I have an mp3 player which has some 800 songs on it. I got an ipod. Is there any way to transfer my songs from my mp3 player to my ipod?

tanequa said, on March 19, 2008 4:10 PM:

i can not get music on my mp3 player and i am getting mad

Linda said, on March 20, 2008 2:53 PM:

The same as the rest of you mail,how do I download my sons mp3 player from the computer?Please help us.Thank you

ersi said, on March 22, 2008 1:18 PM:

Hi dave can you tell me how to put songs in a mp326

brandon said, on March 22, 2008 7:46 PM:

I got an mp3 player for christmas a muvo tx fm and I tried to put music on but it doesn't work. Please help me find where to go on the internet. Thank you.

salena said, on March 23, 2008 1:13 PM:

i have a sansa clip
and i cant put music
song or whatever
please help
how can install my sansa clip on the computer

tara said, on March 28, 2008 6:27 PM:

i have a dvr mp3 player & how do i put songs on it i don't know how to plug it into my laptop so will you please help me

george said, on March 30, 2008 2:44 PM:

i do have an mp3/mp4 player,but i can't seem 2 download songs into it,infact i don't know where the USB plug-in is on the computer system. Just teach me everything 4rm A 2 Z on this issue.

Bethany said, on March 30, 2008 4:27 PM:

I have a samsung yp-u3 mp3 player and On EZ-Tracks,I find a song and it says download.I press it and it says "your song is now downloading" but it doesn`t appear on my mp3.Please email back to me and explain what I am supposed to do.

shanze said, on March 31, 2008 10:52 AM:

how should i put the musics to my mp4

Kim said, on March 31, 2008 7:50 PM:

I need some help with this mp3 player. A disk came with it but it won't work. I've been searching to fid out how this thing works and how you load music onto it. the manual that came with it is confusing. this is an IQ sound SC-960 MP3 WMA player. Any help you can offer would be wonderful. thanks

DANNY said, on April 2, 2008 7:37 AM:

DAN YOU PLEASE HELP ME? I GOT A MP3 512MB AUDIO PLAYER AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PUT MUSIC ON IT.

deonta williams said, on April 3, 2008 3:59 PM:

hi i cant put any music on my mp3 player can you help me

chad said, on April 5, 2008 8:56 AM:

i got an e200 mp3 player and ive tried every thing to download music to it but its still not working i put in the cd downloaded that and it deleted the sons after bout 2 months and i cant download songs bak to it??

joei said, on April 10, 2008 12:27 PM:

downloaded music from limewire...it usually goes into my windows media player also...in order to put music on my mp3 you have to do that through the media player....i downloaded a few songs today and they are not in there...i only have a few hundred songs to search through and they are not there....how do i get them to go there???..never noticed them not showing up in the media player before...hope you can help....thanks, JOEI

eyeguy590 said, on April 11, 2008 9:06 PM:

I was reading waht your wrote on a simple question of puting music on a cell phone mp3. I love the part where you were upset that they didn't tell you it was a cell phone. WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE. yOU ARE TOTALLY WRONG. To put music on any mp3 device download the music, copy it and send the song to the device which should be recognized in my computer. THAT'S IT. My 12 year old daughter is a master at it. Get lime wire everyone. Free and legal.
Bye

Destiny said, on April 12, 2008 10:58 AM:

How do i download music on my mp3 player

Julie said, on April 14, 2008 1:18 AM:

I have a cheap mp3 player (made by Craig). It has always worked and "synced" with my windows media player. Even after downloading limewire music and transferring to MediaPlayer. But now all of a sudden, when I plug it into the USB port, it does not work. At the bottom of the player, it says "mscnnmmc detected", and couple of quick boxes appearand disappear. But it is NOT reading the player even though it detects it. I click over the the sync-section, and it still says "connect a device".
It was working fine up until a few days ago.
Please Help if you can! Thanks.

tim wheeler said, on April 14, 2008 9:45 AM:

hi dave

I have a samsung YP - K3 MP3 player. Cant for the life of me figure out how you download music from the pc to the mp3. Could you help an idot pc user??

Pia said, on April 17, 2008 8:35 PM:

How CAn i download musics in my mp4?

Alex said, on April 20, 2008 11:31 AM:

I got a mp3 player that came with software but the software doesn't work!

Allen Snowball said, on April 24, 2008 1:37 PM:

I want to purchase an MP3 player,but I do not Know how to download music on my PC.Can you please help.
Allen

julian said, on April 24, 2008 6:14 PM:

hi

i dont know how to down load music can you tell me how

sincerly,julian

Tracy said, on April 25, 2008 2:46 AM:

hi im trying to put songs onto my bosses mp3 and havent got a clue where to start please help?

jade said, on May 2, 2008 10:44 AM:

how do i download music from the computer to the mp3 without having to download any softwares to deal with it ??????

jeff said, on May 2, 2008 5:03 PM:

how do u music on a mp3 cause it keeps sayin its write meida

Veronica said, on May 3, 2008 7:51 PM:

ok i just got a mp3 player for my birthday and i have these cds that i love , and i want them on my mp3 player , but i cant figure out how to put them on there ...help me!!

thanks
veronica

babyshambalz.dizzle said, on May 4, 2008 5:53 AM:

I have a USB and i have a music of a file and i try to send it to the drive but it says it is PROTECTED how do i UN-PROTECT it?

sammi said, on May 8, 2008 4:26 PM:

HELP........i dont know how to download songs onto my MP-C827 MP3 player

Tabia said, on May 12, 2008 2:18 AM:

I have got an mp3 bt i just dont how to put songs into it. Pls help me by sparing me a few minutes. I tried to copy an dpaste but it just doesnt work.
hELP ME PLS
THANKS

Breana said, on May 14, 2008 3:27 PM:

thinks

Breana said, on May 14, 2008 3:27 PM:

thinks

Carol said, on May 15, 2008 8:09 PM:

I have an MP3 player from Nextar, and I lost the papers and I can't download music from my computer,I also have the wires. Model number 94424 voltage 3.7

kaytlin said, on May 21, 2008 7:10 PM:

dave, im trying 2 download songs on my mp3 player from CDs dat i saved on my comp 2 files i cant seem 2 remember how 2 download load them can u help???? FAST?????

brie said, on May 22, 2008 5:34 PM:

hey Dave i just got this new spi mp3 player and i dont know how to download music onto it

justine said, on May 27, 2008 9:32 PM:

i just got a mp3 player im trying to download songs on it but nothing works wat should i do.

seneta said, on May 30, 2008 10:48 AM:

hi, listen tell me fast how do i down load songs into my mp4 player?the dumb brand is IMPEX.HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

ismael said, on May 30, 2008 12:25 PM:

Hey Dave!I bought a Sandisk Sansa Clip a while ago and I still have trouble downloading songs on it.I want to download music from my windows media player but I dont know how.What should I do?

Abdullah said, on May 31, 2008 3:55 PM:

i cant transfer songs to my mp3 player

MONTY said, on May 31, 2008 4:00 PM:

I LOVE POKING UMARS CHOOMI ITS SPONGY MARNONI I TAKE U 2 DA CHOOMI SHOP OW OW BIYIY NO MIYIY IS DOING IT TO IT BUNAN!!!1

connor said, on June 2, 2008 2:55 AM:

i have a accoutics solution 1GB mp3 player and i plugged it into my computer and it doesn't show, but i did see it install when i clicked on it, it said USB human interface read to use. please shelp me

alyssa said, on June 2, 2008 7:47 PM:

i have a mp3 player and i got it yesterday itz a usb mp3 player and it holds 500 songs how do i download them pleaze tellllll me

Claire said, on June 5, 2008 9:04 AM:

ive had my GPX MP3 player since this past christmas. and i have already put 102 songs on it. but now all of a sudden when i try to pull up the page with all the songs on it, it comes up blank and wont let me add anything. is it my computer or my MP3 player?

lisa mccain said, on June 6, 2008 11:53 AM:

I got a mp3 player for my b-day i cant get songs in it lisa mccain

marina said, on June 8, 2008 6:47 AM:

i´ve got a transcend T.sonic 520 mp3.many instructions with cables and other confuse me. Tell me an easy way to download music please.
thanks

nuvia said, on June 11, 2008 5:19 PM:

hi i just got my my4 and i am having a problem with it i dont really know how so put music in it my mp4 is a 0705kc mp4 can you please leave a comment on my myspace explaining how to put in music please and thanks for reading this thanks bye

latomia said, on June 15, 2008 12:11 AM:

how to put music on a GoGear 8GB

mayar said, on June 17, 2008 6:12 AM:

I HAVE PLAY VIDEOS ON OMNITECH MP4 PLAYER and iwant converter for him

Emma said, on June 21, 2008 2:44 PM:

ive had an mo3 player for a while now but i still dont know how to put songs on it

Barbara said, on June 21, 2008 6:30 PM:

I need help with my mp3 player Nextar ma99T). How can I copy cd's on my computor and download to my mp3 player?

shanique said, on June 24, 2008 5:04 PM:

i have a mp3 it came with a little cd but i donot know how to download music

Caroline`Knowles said, on June 26, 2008 9:00 AM:

I just want to download songs to my Mp3 its a Creative - Stone Plus, can you help?

antoinette said, on June 27, 2008 3:42 AM:

Hi

I am trying to download songs for my son onto his mp4 player from piolet but dont know how to do it please can you help

sue said, on June 27, 2008 1:47 PM:

I am trying to gain access to eAudiobooks and for that I need a mp3 player.I bought a 1 gigabite Sansa Clip. I know nothing about using a mp3 and very little about computers in general. I think what I'm trying to ask is do I have to download software to use this or ANY mp3? I use a public computer at the library and can't download anything as it's for public use. Any help or info. would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Kathryn said, on June 28, 2008 5:10 PM:

Dear Dave Taylor, I am going to bye a new Phillips mp3 player. How do I get music on it?

ghada said, on June 29, 2008 4:24 AM:

i have an mp4 and i want to download music but i cant please help me??!!

Marissa said, on July 1, 2008 2:41 PM:

Okay,
I have three songs from limewire that I want onto my Ipod. I'm only trying three at once to see if it will work. Once the three songs were downloaded, it automatically moved them into a folder called 'Marissa's Limewire....' and i have the three songs in there. But I don't know how to get them onto my ipod. Help!(:

chelsea said, on July 5, 2008 10:33 AM:

how do i copy songs onto the mp3 player please

thank you

joni said, on July 10, 2008 5:34 PM:

how do i download free music into my T10 samsung mp3 pleyer

ray said, on July 15, 2008 9:29 AM:

i got an mp3 wma player but i don't know how to put music on it

zach said, on July 15, 2008 11:24 AM:

how do i get mp4 songs on my mp3

Earl Herbert said, on July 20, 2008 11:22 AM:

Dave Help me unlock the safe feature protecting my 1GB IQ Sound SC-960 made by Supersonic

imelda said, on July 22, 2008 2:19 PM:

hi i dont know how 2 put songs on my mp4!from a computer make it easy ,cause im only 11!thx

sanajhi said, on July 31, 2008 12:23 PM:

i have a coby mp3 player it downloads the music but wont let me dwnload movies or videos

Ann said, on August 2, 2008 12:03 PM:

I get a new laptop and i can't find my CD for my mp3 where can i go too get the download for this YP-U1 samsung

augustine said, on August 2, 2008 7:57 PM:

I need a website where I can download music for free onto my mp3 player......must have

adam said, on August 8, 2008 4:00 PM:

hi,
how do u check if there's any special software on you'r computer

reply a.s.a.p

chloe said, on August 10, 2008 5:46 PM:

hi, i just got an mp3 player and i have no idea how to download music on it,even with the directions! please HELLLLP!!!!!!!

abdirizak said, on August 16, 2008 4:50 PM:

i put 48 songs in my mp3 but only one sound playa nd that sound had 16kbps and the others said 00kbps please help me

Dayana said, on August 17, 2008 10:35 AM:

hi, dave i got an mp3 player for christmas i have tried to put music in but i just can't seem to put or download music in it.can u help please!!!!!!!! if you could just tell me how to music on with the simple steps it would realley be a big help. please help me please help me put music in my mp3 player!

veach said, on August 18, 2008 9:01 PM:

How can I get my songs from itunes to my mp3 player that is not an apple?

Diana Miranda said, on August 21, 2008 11:41 AM:

i got an mp3 player for mom's day and downloaded music onto it. i was having issues with it and tech support had me 'format' it, thus deleting all my songs. i sync'ed it again and now it won't let me put any songs on because the 'license' is not valid. WHAT??????

mckinize said, on August 24, 2008 11:56 AM:

how do you download music on a mp3 player.are you going to read this if not you need to tell people this because it is just a big waste of time

Edgar said, on August 28, 2008 8:11 AM:

i got a creative zen v plus mp3 from family and thats is all they gave me and i cant install it with out the disk that comes with it where can i find one

bish said, on September 12, 2008 4:45 AM:

download to media player list add them to the sync list hey presto u need windows after 98

anneshwa said, on September 14, 2008 8:18 AM:

how can i download songs o my mp3 player it is a IItronics mp3.

vicky said, on September 15, 2008 12:53 PM:

hello
i have MP3 Philippis i dont know how can i download my music and photo to my rhapsody? and get some music to my library. and to my media player? hope heard from you soon.. thank you

Lola said, on September 17, 2008 11:30 PM:

I bought two rca mp3 pearls that i can't get to work on my windows vista i plug them into the usb port and nothing happens i try searching for new hardware but its not found any clue why? thank you, Lola

tameica said, on September 23, 2008 3:39 PM:

i have a bran new mp3 player but dont know how to song on it please help help help help help help!!!!!!!!!

crystal said, on September 24, 2008 10:14 PM:

i have downloaded songs for awhile now but all of a suden my mp3 player says system error and does not work . can i fix it myself or should i just trough it out and buy a new one cause i don;t have the receipt any more?

crystal said, on September 24, 2008 10:14 PM:

i have downloaded songs for awhile now but all of a suden my mp3 player says system error and does not work . can i fix it myself or should i just trough it out and buy a new one cause i don;t have the receipt any more?

isaac.l said, on September 25, 2008 8:33 PM:

how do you downlode mucis on to mp3 sansa sandisk

stanley billins said, on September 27, 2008 11:23 AM:

dave, i have a minton mmp-3015 mp3/wma player.the problem is that the instructions are in danish,german,and french!! It automatically goes to usb when plugged in,but after thatI need an interpreter(could you maybe send me a supermodel from either of these countries who will download with me?

Sharon said, on October 1, 2008 11:08 PM:

I have just purchased a Samsung YP-T10 mp3 player and have tried to download music for over a week with no success. Is there a simple way of doing this? Many thanks

Zohe said, on October 2, 2008 2:27 PM:

I've seen my ? many times up this wall. How do you download music onto a MP3 SanDisk. And can you download videos. Thax

Dave Taylor said, on October 2, 2008 2:46 PM:

Zohe, I don't have one of those to test, but I would imagine that if you start up Windows, launch Windows Media Player, then plug in your Sandisk device, it'll show up in WMP and you can then just sync or drag specific multimedia content onto the unit.

keisha said, on October 5, 2008 9:40 AM:

I just brought a RCA mp3 player and how do i download music i want from the computer. like the playlist for example that everyone uses for their myspace page

breann said, on October 5, 2008 7:36 PM:

HEY,
I HAVE A MP3 PLAYER AND IT'S A MA933ASC NEXTAR AND I WANT TO LEARN HOW TO PUT MUSIC ON IT.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS
IF YOU OFFER TO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Emanuel said, on October 14, 2008 4:36 PM:

i got a mp3 player from my dad. i do not know how to download songs. HELP ME!!!

erica said, on October 17, 2008 10:20 AM:

i got a mp3 player and i want 2 put my GORILLAZ songs on there but i dont know how...plz help

qj said, on October 22, 2008 5:21 PM:

i have a mp3 and i dont no how to put music on it

Ryan Clark said, on October 25, 2008 1:17 PM:

I got an MP3 player 2 weeks ago, but i don't know how to get music on it.

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

« First | Previous | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | All 7 Pages | Next | Last »

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

How do I download songs to my MP3 player?

Reader Comments To Date: 671

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

Check This Out Too...