usb mix copying help

November 4, 2009 1:54 PM

how do i save a mix of songs on a usb stick in order?

i'm trying to give someone a mix on a usb stick and when i copy over the songs, they are not in the order i want them to be.

thanks so much!

posted by anya32 to technology (8 comments total)

Put numbers at the front of the filename? Or save a playlist file that has the correct order?
posted by o0dano0o at 1:56 PM on November 4

01 - Song Title - Artist Name.mp3
02 - Song Title - Artist Name.mp3
etc.
posted by nitsuj at 1:58 PM on November 4 [3 favorites]

Yep, just name them "01 Beck - Cold Brains" or whatever. Make sure to use that leading zero for 01-09 if you've got more than nine tracks.
posted by echo target at 1:59 PM on November 4

Also, if you want to make sure software like iTunes doesn't reorder the mix as soon as they're opened, change the id3 tags so that the Track Number tag is also in the order you want. This will allow them to import the songs into any music player that supports id3 tags and get the proper order.
posted by DiamondGFX at 2:03 PM on November 4

If you're already editing the tags a la DiamondGFX's suggestion, you should also mark it as a compilation and give it your own custom album name such as "anya32's super awesome mega mix" so that everything works nice in media libraries.
posted by utsutsu at 2:10 PM on November 4 [1 favorite]

Sounds like you're playing straight from the USB instead of opening a directory to play -- on a car stereo that accepts a USB (I have one), or some old memory stick "players" (I have a Creative MuVo that does this). The filename will not help you in this situation.

You need to reformat the drive space (a full reformat, not a quick one). Then you need to copy each song, one a time, in the exact order you want them to play -- being careful to complete each transfer before starting the next one. If you do this in a batch copy on a cleanly formatted stick, you'll probably end up "mostly" in the correct order; if you do it on a stick that's been used and re-used, the order is likely to be a serious jumble.

In some cases, making a folder for each song, with the FOLDERS in the order you want to play them, will also solve the problem... without the reformat or crazy careful copying.
posted by Pufferish at 2:29 PM on November 4 [2 favorites]

"Audacity is a free, easy-to-use and multilingual audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems." You could use it to create an actual mix that results in one large MP3.

<>>
posted by ElDiabloConQueso at 7:19 PM on November 4

Sorry... that trailing mess was supposed to be a shrug. It worked on preview, but on posting it appears I am made of fail.
posted by ElDiabloConQueso at 7:21 PM on November 4