Solved Convert DRM wma files to mp3 for iPod

[spitemonkey]

I have a music library half full of DRM wma files and have recently bought an iPod Touch. Back when I had Windows XP I had ripped my entire CD collection to wma not knowing about DRM. Later I began converting the wma files to mp3 but never finished. I didn't have a need at the time and freeware converters and DRM strippers were easy to find.

Now that I have Win 7 it is somehow impossible to convert a DRM wma without shelling out cash. I can find nothing free that works with WMP 12. The other options are to re-rip most of my CD library into mp3 format, or to use something like Virtualbox XP and download WMP 11. This seems like a lot of hassle just to move music onto my iPod.

iTunes states it does not work with DRM wma files. MGTEK also doesn't work with DRM wma and says I have to re-rip my CD to mp3 format to transfer to iPod! FairUse4WM doesn't work for WMP12. I'm not trying to do anything illegal but listen to my music on my iPod. Does anyone have any ideas on the easiest way to do this?

64met posted a similar question in another post but none of the programs listed work with DRM.
http://www.sevenforums.com/music-pictures-video/130566-wmp12-wma-mp3-converter.html#post1125433

Thanks.

 

[spitemonkey]

OK, I guess there isn't an easy or free answer to this question. No problem, I did a little research and this is what I found just in case someone else is curious.

Currently there is NO FREE PROGRAM to convert any DRM WMA files to MP3. This is because of the Windows Media Player 12 program which is packed with Windows 7. Somehow the DRM is controlled differently in WMP12 than in the previous versions. Maybe someone knows the reason for this.

There are, however, plenty of programs that cost between $20-$30 and more you can use to accomplish this. I was trying to avoid paying for a program because once I've transferred my library to MP3 I'm never going back to any DRM format!! For those who are interested I have listed a few of the more popular paid programs. Some offer trial versions, but I downloaded one and it only gave me one min per song! Here they are:

Daniusoft Digital Music Converter
TuneClone Audio Converter
Drm-Removal
TunePat DRM Music Converter
Noteburner Audio Converter
SoundTaxi
Switch Audio File Converter

There are tons of free programs on the web that claim to convert WMA to MP3. But I could not find any that worked with DRM files and WPM12. This included FairUse4WM and MGTEK which is designed to work with WMP.

There are a few options left. One, of course, is to re-rip your entire CD collection, this time into MP3 format instead of WMA!

You can re-burn the WMA onto a CD to strip it of it's DRM, and then re-rip the CD. Hope you have a lot of CD's to waste. I was looking into a way of doing this virtually, but I'm not tech savvy enough to figure that one out. I have a virtual drive but couldn't get WMP to recognize it. Since this is the process TuneClone uses and it is a pay program, I guess it is not an easy process. Maybe someone knows more?

Another option I read about was to install x86 virtualization software like VirtualBox onto your system with WMP 11, then you could use any of the many freeware programs to easily do the job.

My final answer to my problem was to simply hook up my older XP computer which I still have, transfer the music to the system and use Jodix Free WMA to MP3 Converter to do the job. It was a hassle but to me was the easiest.

Hope this helps

 

[allend66]

Bite the bullet. chalk it down to experience & a lesson learned. Ditch your wma's and re-rip to mp3. Not probably what you want to hear but, you can't win them all...

If you have an ISO maker, couldn't you make virtual CDs then rip? Either that or use a CD-RW.

 

[spitemonkey]

I agree. It's a lesson learned. I would just buy a program, but it will take less than an hour to convert the rest of my library, and $30 is a bit much for something I won't use again. Besides I still have the files on my old PC so it wasn't much trouble.

I have the program ISO Recorder 3.1 for Windows 7 but it's pretty basic. Maybe something like Aclohol 120% or Daemon Tools might do the job, and then will WMP recognize a virtual drive? I didn't delve into this much but I would be interested if anyone know more.

I guess my main grievance is that this shouldn't be a problem for people to do. I'm not doing anything illegal. I purchased the music and I just want to listen to it on my iPod. In the end I feel that we are the victims in this war between Apple and Microsoft.

 

[allend66]

...

I have the program ISO Recorder 3.1 for Windows 7 but it's pretty basic. Maybe something like Aclohol 120% or Daemon Tools might do the job, and then will WMP recognize a virtual drive? I didn't delve into this much but I would be interested if anyone know more....

I'm sure it would be easier to just go back to your source CDs and re-rip, but if you haven't got access to them (mine are all at my parents' house) you could use, for example, CDBurnerXP (free, listed in the free great apps thread) to make a virtual CD of an album.

Then with this ISO saved, mount it to a virtual drive using for example Elaborate Bytes' Virtual Clone Drive (again, free) then open Windows Media Player and point to the virtual drive.

Note though that you will probably lose all metadata (depending...) so as I say, best to re-rip original CDs

 

[spitemonkey]

Audio CD to ISO

Sorry about the late reply. I download the CDBurnerXP and it wouldn’t allow me to create an audio disk ISO image. I could burn music to a real disk but it still wouldn’t handle DRM WMA files. I tried the “Copy or grab disk” option to see if I could copy an audio disk, but it will only save it as mdf/mds files to backup and re-burn. I have ImgBurn and it gave me the option to copy a CD to ISO, but when it saw it was audio it gave me the error message below.



I think what we are trying to do is create an image of an audio CD and then re-rip the CD via a virtual drive so as to strip the DRM and convert WMA files to MP3. I did some more research and I think we cannot create an ISO image of an audio CD because they are divided into several tracks (one for every song) and ISO only supports one track. So it might work if there were only one song on the CD? I also think that you can only mount a virtual drive with an ISO. I know TuneClone claims this is the process it emulates, but I don’t think it is anything we can duplicate directly.

Like you said before, it is probably easier to re-rip the original CD. Or if you don’t have the original to go with a CD-RW. I have already taken care of my original problem, but I am still interested in any ideas. Thanks for your reply.

 

[allend66]

In theory, you could play the DRM protected wma, taking the audio output into a sound recorder and save that as an mp3. But seems like an awful lot of work, much more work than ditching all the wmas and re-ripping original CDs at mp3.

You win some, you lose some...

 

[spitemonkey]

I'm sure someone will come out with a freeware or open source program in the near future and this won't be an issue. Or maybe Microsoft will realize their attempt at copy protection is a turn off to anyone who has an iPod? Anyway, it won't matter because I'm never going to burn another WMA again!

Thanks for the help friend!

 

[allend66]

You're welcome, sorry it couldn't have been resolved in a more favourable manner.

 

[spitemonkey]

No problem. SevenForums has helped me out before and I enjoy figuring things out. I think I got a pretty good idea on how to handle this problem from several angles, and maybe it will help someone else reading this post. So thanks again for the help.

 

[Tommy99]

Hi. Similar problem. Have Nokia drm wma music on WinXP laptop and want it on my new Win7 box. I can copy music (via cross over cable or external HD) onto new Win7 pc. I have registered my Win7 pc as my default 'registered pc'. I am told I have to down load all the music again. this seems a joke. any help would be great.

 

[spitemonkey]

robinson18, this post was originally about stripping the DRM from WMA files so as to copy them to iTunes, not PDF files.

For anyone stumbling on this topic I ended up purchasing the program SoundTaxi. Don't remember much about the program other than it cost me a little money and it fixed my problem pretty quick. It's been 2 years so there might be some freeware alternatives out there now, but at the time this was the best I could come up with. Thanks for everyone who tried to help.