How To Download Music to PSP

Preparing to Download

Before you can learn how to download music to PSP, you must first have the right supplies.

Audio Files

The PSP will only play certain types of audio files, including music in MP3, MP4, ATRAC3Plus, WMA and WAV formats. Older versions of the PSP may be unable to play certain audio types, as recent system upgrades have increased its playing capabilities. However, MP3 files are universally playable on all PSP systems.

Before uploading MP3 files to your PSP, make sure you're not disobeying any terms of service or any other regulations on your files. Some download sites only allow you to play purchased MP3 files on a single computer or otherwise restrict the transfer of files. Other online music sources provide music files that will only play within their proprietary system or after going online to check the file's license, so all the information in the world on how to download music to PSP won't help you take these songs with you.

If you want to use music from your CD collection, you will have to use a CD ripping program to create MP3 files that can be transferred to the PSP. Possible programs include Cdex, Audiograbber, and Easy CD-DA Extractor.

Hardware

You will need a memory stick to store music on your PSP. The SanDisk SDMSG-1024 Pro Duo was designed for the portable system, with 1 GB of memory making the transfer of large gaming, video, and audio files feasible. There are smaller, cheaper memory sticks available, depending on your storage needs. You will also need a USB cable to connect the PSP to a computer. The USB cable must be a USB 2.0 cable, with a Mini-B connector on one end.

How to Download Music to PSP

1. Place a memory stick in the PSP.
2. Plug the USB cable into the PSP and a USB port on your computer. The Mini-B connector must go into the PSP while the standard connector goes into the computer.
3. Press the "Home" button on the PSP, and navigate to "Settings" using the left and right buttons.
4. Within "Settings", find "USB Connection" with the up and down buttons.
5. Press the PSP's X button to select "USB Connection".
6. Once the PSP is connected to your computer, it should appear under "My Computer" as an additional drive. For the sake of this explanation, we'll say it appears as the F: drive. It really could be any letter, depending on the set-up of your personal system.
7. On your computer, select the F: drive.
8. Create a new folder, and label it PSP.
9. Select the PSP folder and create another new folder and label it MUSIC.
10. Select the MUSIC folder.
11. You should now be at F:\PSP\MUSIC. Make sure this is the only file your music appears in. If you create any additional sub-folders, the PSP will be unable to find the music files.
12. Find the music files you would like to transfer to your PSP. Copy and paste them to the MUSIC folder.
13. Press the PSP's O button to disconnect the device from your computer.
14. You may now unplug the USB cable and enjoy your new selection of portable music. Make sure you don't unplug the USB cable before pressing the O button to disconnect the device, as doing so can potentially corrupt files.

Note: You will only need to create new folders the first time you transfer music files to your PSP. On subsequent uses, you can simply access the PSP and MUSIC folders.