www.dcdykes.com - Winamp Skin Instructions

If you wish to use .mp3 files for computer sounds, such as startup or empty recycle bin in windows, you first need to convert the sound to a .wav file. For years, .wav was the standard file type for sounds on your computer. A few years ago, .mp3's started becoming more used. The difference between .mp3 and .wav is compression. A 10mb .wav file can become a 2mb .mp3 file. The only problem is that you might want the file in .wav format. If you have Winamp, it is easy to convert any .mp3 file to .wav. Just follow the steps below.
Note: If you have downloaded the new Winamp 3 beta, these instructions are different. While I love Winamp, I suggest that you wait until version 3 is out of the beta testing.
These instructions are for Windows. If you have a Mac and would like to let us know what the best program to convert .mp3 to .wav files is, please contact us.

Before you do anything, you need to have Winamp installed on your system. If you don't already have it, visit Winamp's website and download the program. Winamp is free.

1. Click the little icon on the upper left corner of your Winamp screen. This will show you the pull-down menu with all of Winamp's options.
Winamp Pull-down menu

2. Mouse over the word Options. A menu will slide out (either to the right or left). This menu let's you setup how you want Winamp to behave while you are listening to sound files.
Winamp Options Menu

3. Mouse over the word Preferences on the side pull out menu and click on Preferences.
Winamp Preferences Menu

4. This is where it can get tricky. You need to look under Plug-ins and find the word Output. Since you will be converting your sound file from an MP3 file to a Wav, you need to tell Winamp how it will Output the sound.
Winamp Output Menu

5. From the list under Output plug-ins, you need to select NullsoftDisk Writer plug-in v1.0 (x86) [OUT_DISK.DLL]. This is a plug-in that comes with Winamp when you install it. If you do not see the Disk Writer plug-in, you may need to download a newer version of Winamp from the website.
Winamp Disk Writer Menu
6. Once you have highlighted the Disk Writer plug-in, you need to select Configure.

7. Configure actually just let's you select the folder on your hard drive where you will save the .wav file. You will need to locate a folder from the list. Just highlight the folder name and click OK.
Select Directory

Winamp Open File Screen 8. Now, either double click the file you want to convert from the folder it is saved in on your hard drive (this is assuming that Winamp is your default MP3 player) or go to the File Menu located on the lower left corner of the Winamp screen (see image to the right) and select either File or Directory.

9. Click the Play button on the Winamp screen. Your sound files will be converted in much less time then it takes to listen to the song. A two minute sound file will only take about 10 seconds to convert. Winamp will convert all of the sounds you have in your play list.

10. When you are done, you MUST follow steps 1-3 and on step 4, select Nullsoft waveOut plug-in v2.3 [OUT_WAVE.DLL]. If you do not change your settings back to the way they were before, you will not be able to hear any other sounds in Winamp. It will just convert everything you try to listen to.

That's it. You can now take any MP3 file you have and convert it to a .wav file which you can then you as a Windows event sound (i.e. startup or empty recycle bin) or even press to a CD.

If you have any other questions, you can e-mail me or visit Winamp's Website. If you find that I missed a step or didn't explain something enough, please let me know.

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