Skip to content


How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Windows

Windows iPod

note: the OS X version of this tutorial can be found here.

You’ve downloaded a concert or two from http://bt.etree.org and now you want to convert the flac files to mp3 to take with you on your iPod or MP3 player. This tutorial will walk you through the steps to do just that, using Microsoft Windows. Read on

First things first, make sure you’ve downloaded and installed Winamp, the Flac with library support plug-in for Winamp, and iTunes, all of which are free.

There are two steps in converting your .flac files to .mp3. The first is to decode the .flac’s into .wav files. After that’s done, you’ll encode the .wav files into .mp3’s.

Decoding .flac files with Winamp
Encoding .wav files with iTunes


Decoding .flac files with Winamp

  1. Open Winamp and select Options and then Preferences… (note: if you’re using the “classic version” skin, open the Winamp Preferences by clicking the Control and p keys on your keyboard)
  2. setting up winamp
    Click to enlarge

  3. Select Output from the Plug-ins section of the left window, and then select Nullsoft Disk Writer. Click Configure.
  4. setting up winamp
    Click to enlarge

  5. Click the Directory: button so you can choose a location to save the .wav files
  6. setting up winamp

  7. Navigate to the folder you want to save the .wav files in. I usually save them in the same folder as the .flac files.
  8. setting up winamp
    Click to enlarge

  9. Click OK to return to the Preferences window, and then Close to return to Winamp. Now select File -> Play file… and navigate to the folder with your .flac files. Select all of the .flac files by single-clicking the first file, holding down the Shift key on your keyboard, and then single-clicking the last file. When all of the files are selected, click Open
  10. setting up winamp
    Click to enlarge

  11. Press the Play button. Winamp will now decode the .flac files and turn them into .wav files. It typically takes about 20 seconds to convert a 5 minute song, but this depends on how “fast” your PC is.

    Once Winamp is done decoding the files, make sure to set the Plug-ins -> Output back to DirectSound output, or the next time you try to play a file using Winamp, it will decode that file instead.

    Check to make sure all of the .wav files were created.

  12. setting up winamp
    Click to enlarge

Encoding .wav files with iTunes

  1. First you need to make sure that iTunes will encode the songs to .mp3 (rather than the default, which is .aac). Start by selecting Edit and then Preferences…
  2. setting up itunes

  3. On the General tab click the Import Settings… button.
  4. setting up itunes
    Click to enlarge

  5. Select MP3 Encoder from the Import Using: list, and then choose a quality from the Setting list. Click OK when you’re done.
  6. setting up itunes

  7. Back in the main iTunes window, select File and then Add Folder to Library…
  8. setting up itunes

  9. Navigate to the folder that you saved the .wav files in and select it. Click OK
  10. setting up itunes

  11. Find the newly imported .wav files in iTunes and select them all (single-click the first file, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard, and then single-click the last file). Right-click on any of the selected files and choose Create MP3 Version. You may want to get a cup of coffee right now, as this step will take a while (depending on the number of files you’re converting).
  12. setting up itunes

  13. iTunes will let you know it’s done converting the files by playing a little “beep”. Now is also a good time to remove the .wav files from your iTunes library so you don’t confuse them with the (identical looking) mp3 files. With the .wav files still highlighted, click the Delete key on your keyboard. If prompted, click the Remove button.
  14. setting up itunes
    Click to enlarge

That’s it, you’re done! Rename the files in iTunes (if you wish), give them a listen or transfer them to your iPod/mp3 player. Don’t forget to delete the .wav files if you no longer need them – they’re pretty big and take up quite a bit of space on your hard drive.

The .mp3 files can be found by going to My Documents -> My Music -> iTunes -> iTunes Music -> Artist Name -> Album Name

If you’d like to speed up the conversion and encoding process, try out RegistryBooster 2009. Not only will it make speed up converting your flac files, your whole system will run faster.

Posted in Windows, iPod.

Get Simple Help tutorials just like this one in your email inbox every day - for free! Just enter your email address below:

 

You can always opt out of this email subscription at any time.

612 Responses

Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.

  1. Kingsley de los Santos says

    No Sweat!

  2. Alex says

    Great! Thanks

  3. Allyra says

    Thank you so much for this, all the other websites i went to i couldnt understand not being computer literate, you’ve totally made my day!!!

  4. nietpiet says

    or.. just download the VLC player and convert the .flac file directly to mp3.

  5. Alvaro Degives-Mas says

    Or, download and use the free Audacity audio editing program, open the FLAC files and export them directly to MP3 – using any of the preset options, or tweak its settings to suit your needs – at zero cost.

  6. bott says

    awesome!!!!! thanks so much!

  7. Jay Barney says

    I downloaded a two CD album in .flac format. After the conversion, which I followed precisely, I ended up with two .WAV files, the numerous songs were not segmented. They must have been encoded, at some point, separately, how can I re-convert them so I can listen to individual songs?

  8. elaine.kraus says

    this is just great. simple, no sweat instructions!
    Thanks!

  9. Lily says

    Just wanted to say thank you very much for this post. Very helpful :-)

  10. mike says

    great tut, everthing worked and flow perfectly.

  11. bluebelldell says

    I love step by step instructions – thanks so much for doing this!

  12. Mariya says

    Wow tnx so much!

  13. asdfasdgafg says

    I don’t use Itunes and it’s too much trouble to download for just this purpose. Other programs?

  14. DJ Kozz says

    Thank you so much :) I don’t need Xilisoft to do this ;)

  15. Lawrence Romero says

    Flac url is broken
    new url
    http://www.winamp.com/plugin/flac-plugin-with-library-support/143614
    very nice site
    thank

  16. nixer6er says

    Thankyou soooo much!

  17. alex says

    Thanks a lot…that really helped…easiest tutorial ever…

  18. Thomas says

    Thank you, very, very VERY much ;)

  19. SG says

    WOW! ty so much!!!! my music supplier recently changed to.flac files and didnt kno what to do, until i found this. THANK U!!!

  20. Soj says

    Good tut. I want to play a list of SELECTED .flac files. I put a list of them in a file C:\PlayList.txt as follows.

    C:\My Music\Album 1\Number 5.flac
    C:\My Music\Album 3\Number 2.flac
    etc. – one file per line.

    Then I write in biterscripting, the following script in file C:/PlayScript.txt.

    echo “DEBUG – Starting winamp”
    system -s “C:\path\to\winamp\winamp.exe” “/START”
    var str list, file
    cat “C:\PlayList.txt” > $list
    lex “1″ $list > $file
    while ($file “”)
    do
    echo “DEBUG – Playing ” $file
    system -s “C:\path\to\winamp\winamp.exe” “/ADD ” (”\”"+$file+”\”")
    lex “1″ $list > $file
    done

    Then I execute this script in biterscripting ( http://www.biterscripting.com ) as follows.

    script “C:\PlayScript.txt”

    This should play the songs I have specifically selected.

  21. Jpuck says

    Thank you so much for the tutorial. It worked great!!!!

  22. Greek says

    You are great! Thanks a lot…

  23. Randall says

    Thanks!!! Very helpful and easy to understand.

  24. Angie says

    Thank you so much! What a comprehensive walkthrough :-)

  25. nicole says

    thanks:)

  26. David Vanderschel says

    I think iTunes is overkill for converting .wav files to .mp3 files. EAC is a good alternative. (See “Compress WAVs” on the Tools menu.) CDex will also do it. Both of those programs are free. iTunes may be less confusing because it makes many of the configuration choices for you; but that also means that you have less control over the results.

  27. Andrew says

    Thank you so much for this guide!

  28. Prima says

    This is perfect, exactly what I needed. Thank you!

  29. Mags says

    Very clear, concise, and easy instructions thank you for an excellent posting, probably the very best I’ve ever used!

  30. Michelle says

    Simple! Thanks a million for the easy to follow instructions :)

  31. Yogi says

    Thank you for the flawless explanation and diagrams, I didn’t need to understand a thing just follow the easy instructions :-)

  32. Tuvia says

    Thanks a million!

  33. garrett says

    thank you so much for this, now I can relive my concert experiences on my ipod!

  34. Lindsay says

    thank you so much…. the directions were really clear and precise i had no issues

  35. Eric says

    http://www.iommo.com

  36. Mark says

    Great Tut! Thanks!

1 ... 10 11 12

Continuing the Discussion

  1. How to open a FLAC file? - XTREME-SOURCE linked to this post on November 10, 2006

    [...] How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Windows – Simplehelp FLAC Converter – Convert to AIF, MP3, OGG Vorbis, WAV or WMA How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using OS X – Simplehelp http://www.coolutils.com/flac-to-mp3 FLAC Converter, Convert FLAC to MP3 – FairStars Audio Converter Download AAC audio converter and FLAC to MP3 converter- convert AAC file, convert AAC to MP3 and convert FLAC to MP3 If you need more just put convert FLAC into any search engine and you will come up with pages and pages of stuff. __________________ V7 with fliptop & V12 w/ DMS4 Pro, Summone Laser Fix, HD Combo case W/ 250GB HDD Xbox with DuoX2 & 300GB HDD [...]

  2. leuschke.org linked to this post on March 18, 2007

    links for 2007-03-19…

    Free TimesSelect for students and faculty with a *.edu (or maybe even *.ac.uk?) address (tags: nytimes web free) Whatever became of the wranglers? nifty article about the Tripos and its history. it was to blame for the ascendance of……

  3. A beginners guide to lossless audio - Simplehelp linked to this post on April 24, 2007

    [...] How to convert flac files to mp3 in Windows [...]

  4. Flac To Mp3 - TechWatch Technology & Hardware forums linked to this post on May 3, 2007

    [...] Re: Flac To Mp3 go to Winamp Media Player » MP3 Player, Free MP3 Music, Videos, SHOUTcast Radio, Winamp Skins and Plug-ins, Sync your iPod, Get Mobile Music and download winamp player then go to the link below and follow the instructions How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Windows – Simplehelp __________________ [img]http://www.tech-tronix.com/sigs/theinsaan.gif[/img] [...]

  5. Simplehelp - stats for the first year - Simplehelp linked to this post on August 1, 2007

    [...] How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Windows viewed 168,799 times sources of traffic: 90% Google Search, 10% misc referals and other search [...]

  6. Is it dangerous installing "The Flac Decoder for Windows" on your Desktop or Computer - India Broadband Forum linked to this post on October 30, 2007

    [...] Is it dangerous installing "The Flac Decoder for Windows" on your Desktop or Comp How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Windows – Simplehelp __________________ "It’s a basic truth of the human condition that everybody lies. The only [...]

  7. Good FLAC --> Mp3 convertor ? - TechEnclave linked to this post on December 31, 2007

    [...] How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Windows – Simplehelp This Tut will help you converting the [...]

  8. Live At The Phoenix Concert Theatre - City and Colour - Fan Community linked to this post on February 28, 2008

    [...] how can i convert them so they’ll play…they won’t work for me. i had the exact same problem How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Windows – Simplehelp that should help x [...]

  9. Live At The Phoenix Concert Theatre - Page 2 - City and Colour - Fan Community linked to this post on February 28, 2008

    [...] Posted by youtoldmelifewasarisk i had the exact same problem How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Windows – Simplehelp that should help x woah woah woah guys, watch it. notice what the guy said: [...]

  10. Note to Self… » iPhone Ringtones linked to this post on May 11, 2008

    [...] Used WinAmp to convert FLAC to WAV format. And then used iTunes to import the WAV files as MP3. The instructions on how to do this bit can be found here. [...]

  11. FLAC file linked to this post on May 25, 2008

    [...] flac files, i suggest converting it to mp3. For that you need WinAmp and these instructions How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Windows – Simplehelp I hope that was helpful __________________ "To face what we are in the end, We stand [...]

  12. Knowledge is Power Audio & Video Info Drops. Drop em here - Page 6 - Assata Speaks - Hands Off Assata - Let's Get Free - Revolutionary - Pan-Africanism - Black On Purpose - Liberation - Forum linked to this post on June 20, 2008

    [...] I didnt drop that so i have no clue why they chose flac. Im lookin up converting it now, How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Windows – Simple Help but maybe I can convert it myself. __________________ ALL is SELF, SELF is [...]

  13. » PS3 don’t know FLAC linked to this post on June 24, 2008

    [...] http://www.simplehelp.net/2006/08/14…using-windows/ [...]

  14. How to play and convert .flac files | Campodiez V2 linked to this post on July 5, 2008

    [...] can find the guide here at Simple Help [...]

  15. How to convert .ra to mp3? linked to this post on December 2, 2008

    [...] You may also opt to convert the RA files to WAV using dBpoweramp Batch Converter. Then convert the WAV files to MP3 using iTunes. I have found this easier. Follow instructions below – Ken First, download dBpoweramp App: dBpoweramp Second, provided you have iTunes on your PC, here are specialized conversion instructions (half way down page and after FLAC conversion notes): How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Windows – Simple Help [...]

  16. Flac - Tutorial Ninjas linked to this post on January 9, 2009

    [...] How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Windows – Simple Help step by step tutorial __________________ It’s nothing. It’s everything. IT’S AN EGG???!?! [...]

  17. .flac to Mp3 - TheDigitalSet.com Community Forums linked to this post on May 10, 2009

    [...] Minute Ago #4   Google? [...]

  18. FLAC to WAV software. linked to this post on June 6, 2009

    [...] on google. U might give it a try. It shows how to converts FLAC into wav using winamp. Link here. __________________ HP Pavillion DV51002AU CPU: AMD Turion 2x 64 2.0 GHz RAM: 2 GB + 2 GB DDR2 [...]

  19. anyone got a good flac to mp3 converter please recommend - AnimeOSTs DJ Society linked to this post on June 11, 2009

    [...] How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Windows – Simple Help and if you search in googles, they have alot of sites that have step by step guides in how to transport it and what programs you need to download __________________ [...]

  20. Malcolm’s Tech Tips » Blog Archive » How to convert .flac files to .mp3 in Ubuntu linked to this post on June 16, 2009

    [...] How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Ubuntu Linux – Simple Help.windows [...]

  21. flac files - Board67 linked to this post on July 3, 2009

    [...] http://www.simplehelp.net/2006/08/14…using-windows/ That’s the way I used to do it. __________________ “Today, in the pouring rain which has been [...]

  22. Conversion of Flac file - Marijuana.com linked to this post on July 28, 2009

    [...] is very good quality. These tell you how to convert it, first one is for windows second is for mac. How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Windows – Simple Help How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using OS X – Simple Help __________________ weed Self-control [...]

  23. Free Lossless Audio Codec - Retro Uprising linked to this post on September 4, 2009

    [...] :  +0 / -0  0 score      Re: Free Lossless Audio Codec How to convert .flac files to .mp3 using Windows – Simple Help Apparently winamp can do it. And I thought it was useless all this time. sorry for the double [...]

  24. Convertendo tudo para MP3 | bernabauer.com linked to this post on December 6, 2009

    [...] pesquisa a receita por exemplo para converter um arquivo FLAC para MP3, você precisa seguir uma receita utilizando Winamp e iTunes. Para outros formatos devem existir outras receitas e com certeza deve existir algum programa que [...]



Some HTML is OK

or, reply to this post via trackback.