Thanks for the post Joe751!!

I've did the steps you mentioned and looks like its starting off okay but after about 10 seconds it stops and nothing happens.

It creates the .mp3 file in the output folder specified and it stops at like 1 of 2KB in size then that its. Tried reinstalling, uninstalling, reinstalling, again and again, but it still does the samething.

Just started with the conversion from .wma to .wav using winamp and after about 5 songs its stopped just like it is now.

Any suggestions...please!!

Thanks!

i fogot to mention you must have the full version of winamp. if you dont have that version it will not work.

xscorpion. im not sure what to tell you bro, i am not a pro at this, that is for sure, i have just gathered all of the info in this thread and put it toghether. make sure you have the winamp full version5.08.

uninstall everything. install winamp first. then install dietmers output stacker plugin, then install the out lame plugin, then the null output plugin in, that is the order i used. do not change any settins except the ones i have spcified. this is the option i have used. im sorry bro, i cant help you anymore bro. as i said i am far from a pro when it comes to doing this stuff. i know you can buy the full version of tunebite as it works to. but it does not allow you to do anything else while recording the wma to mp3. i learned that the hard way buy paying 12 bucks for the damn thing.

so all in all, uninstall the program, reboot your computer and try reinstalling in the order i provided above. i wish you the best and good luck.

also, make sure everything is shut down in your process, just have winamp open and start converting your songs. then once it starts going, then you can start surfing the net or whatever. i dont recomend trying to play any games or anything as this will probably not work to well.

Okay...I'll try it again!!

Thanks for the reply!

Where do I get the ull output plugin in program?

give me your email address and i will email you with all the stuff you need. maybe it is the versions i am using. maybe i got lucky with them

daachad@yahoo.com

Thanks!!

do you im? we can chat. either aol, yahoo, or msn?

yah i have aol. my screen name is j6lch

Virtusoa does work well at least for me, I don't actually use napster but I subscribed to the trial and downloaded a track and tried converting it.

If your running XP create a restore point before you install, as I don't know what method works properly, so you'll just have to try installing different versions.

Try googling for Virtuosa 4.20 and install, that might not work. If that doesn't work download version 5.0 from download.com (I got mine from here)

http://www.download.com/3000-2167-10018979.html

Now thats worked for me, I don't know about others but I can rip at 160kbs with no problem.

Just so people know, this is not in realtime, it's faster much faster (20s or so per song)

Thanks goes to Joe7511......looks like mine is finally working. Converting the files right now. Thanks again Joe7511!!!

dhorrocks thanks for the post. i'll keep this in mind if something should go wrong with the winamp thing.....everything looks good so far. Thanks!

dhorrocks: I downloaded the version you posted and it works, but there is one problem, it converts the song real quick. like 10-20 seconds depending on the size of the song. but once it is done converting it, it starts encoding it. and this process takes like 3-4 min. can you help me with this problem as i would appreciate bro

this would good to know!! thanks.

When you right click on the file click convert and replace, make sure the plugin is set to mp3 (well the name of mp3 then .mp3 in brackets)

Then click on advance, Then make sure encoding quaility is on fast, and set the bitrate to 128 or 160, click okay.

If it works what version did you use?

there is no encoding quality option.

What version you using? Make sure you select mp3 plugin first, as it's here for me right at the top of the page after clicking advanced

that option is only if you use the variable bitrate isnt it. shouldnt you use the constant bit rate. if not, what setting of fast should you set it on, there is medium fast, fast extreme, standard fast, insane. and also underneath that is an option of encoding quality and it has a scale of 1-10. if you should use the variable bit rate what should these settings be

im using the version in the link you provided. also when you install virtuosa. at the end of installation it says you need some kind of ms plugin, should you install this or not

it still starts encoding the file, even when i use the copy and replace option

Your using version 5 then I'm guessing... I didn't install it.

Sorry I can't help you, the encoding options there.

Add files to the main program (File -> add tracks)
Right click files on the right convert and replace
Make sure plugin is set to mp3
Click advanced and set encoding quality to fast and bitrate to 128kbs or 160kbs
Click okay and okay again, if it's slow at this point it's probably your computer.

It's meant to encode the file, it's not protecting it, it's just making it mp3. After this theres no protection on it, or at least I can see as it works fine in iTunes and on my iPod

on the options tab, i click on plug ins and at the top it says type and it has a drop down box. in the drop down box it has output format[encoder]. is this the option it should be on

and also underneath that it has plugins found. in mine it has 2 plugins, i have highlighted the Lame Mpeg plugin and checked the box. the other one is Ms windows media audio encoder, i have unchecked this box.

what version are you using dhrocks. and where did you find it

Click the mp3 plugin ([Plugin] Fraunhofer Mpeg Layer-3 (*.mp3)), no options menu involved

Then click advanced, and select fast encoding and 128kbs encoding.

i think the fraunhofer plug in is inversion 4.2, so i take it thats the version you are using. well i followed all of the steps and it dont work, said the file is secured, but in version 5.0 it works. im taking it is because it is a diff. mp3 plugin, and updated one. thats why it works in 5.0 and not in 4.2. but like i said it has to processes it converts it(which is real quick)then it encodes it which takes 3-4 min. my computer aint that slow. it can handle itself. lol, but thanks for your help dhrokks. i appreciate it very much, i will figure something out.

okay, well I installed version 4.2 first and then version 5. It works for me. My about menu says "Virtuosa Version 5.0"

Alright guys here it is. The newest and fastest way to convert your drm wma's to mp3 format. Yes it is faster than using winamp. On my computer it takes about 1 min. to convert one drm wma file to mp3 format(note i am running winamp in the backround and also a antivirus. and also my computer is only 900mgz and 256 mb ram, so it will be much faster for you the better the computer you have.) the downfall to this is you cannot do anything else while vertuosa(yes i said vertuosa, it works like a charm with a little modificaion)is running in the backround. Follow these steps and you will be jamming your legal backup copies of your songs in your car and on your house system.

1. download virtuosa v5.0 you can get it here
http://www.download.com/3000-2167-10018979.html

2. download the lame 3.97a7 zip file found about halfway down this page:
http://www.filemirrors.com/search.src?file=lame3
note: get the lame 3.97a7 zip folder that is about .58mb, if there is more than one, just pick one

3. Install virtuosa v5.0

4. open up virtuosa system folder, the one found on C: drive>program files>virtuosa

5.once you have opened the program file, double click the plugins folder, then once in there double click the MpgL3 folder, you should see a lame dll file in there.

6. unzip the lame 3.97a7 file you downloaded

7. right click on the lame dll file found in the zip file and hit copy

8. go back to the Mpgl3 folder and paste the new lame dll file in there. it will say file already exist do you want to replace, and you will say yes.

9. close everything out and start up virtuosa 5.0

10. BAM!!!! import the tracks you want to convert. click on the first track that you imported located in the movies and audio database located on the right side of the virtuosa media player screen. then scroll down to the last song in the database. click on this while holding down shift. this will highlight all of your songs in the database.

11. right click on the highlighted area. and hit convert and replace.

12. an options box will appear, change the output format to mp3 then hit advance.

13. use the constant bitrate and set your bitrate to whatever you want. i use 128 and it works, i havnt tried it with any other bitrate.

14. check the box support ID2v2 tags(as im assuming this will tag the song when it is converted)hit the checkmark, then hit the next checkmark and give it some time to start up. once it starts up it is smooth sailing. Dont get frustrated if it dont start right away, as the more songs you have highlighted the longer it will take to start up. but like i said once it starts there is no stopping it. Like i said it takes about 1 minute on my computer, with nothing running and a 2.0ghz computer i bet it does take 20 seconds. This sure beats the winamp way. as you can convert 5 to 1 using virtuosa. 5 to 1, that sounds familar, oh yah thats right, that is a Doors song i downloaded off of napster,(hahahahhahahah).

note: when right clicking the highlighted area and hitting convert and replace, this will automatically replace your wma to mp3 in its original folder. Now i have heard that there is some kind of problem with napster in doing that, it might mess up the napster program. so i would recomend making a new folder and when you right click the highlighted area to convert and replace, instead of convert and replace use the option convert.. and convert them to the new folder you made.

Once again i would like to give a shout out to everyone that made this possible. good job guys, step out and take your curtain call.


joe