Share via

How to create a playlist on USB device to play on car stereo

Anonymous
2014-03-30T11:49:40+00:00

Original Title: Creating a playlist.

I have many CDs saved on a USB stick which will not now play in my new car which requires a playlist. Unfortunately I managed to wipe the USB stick and need to start from scratch. I have tried to follow all the various guidance but my version of WMP (Windows 7) does not have the symbol in the top RH corner and nothing I have tried works. Can anybode send me a step-by-step guide on how to do this?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

  1. Anonymous
    2015-02-07T09:19:01+00:00

    Hi Jenoseel,

    I do really appreciate all the efforts that you have put regarding this issue.

    Here are some steps to prepare a playlist on USB:

    1. Store your files on your USB stick in your usual manner.
    2. Open Notepad in windows. (Press Windows+R to open RUN, type NOTEPAD, click OK)
    3. In the Notepad window, type one song per line in the order you want the playlist to play them.You need to put the full name of the file and the extension (e.g.:- .mp3 or .m4a).If you have a file in a subfolder, put the name of the subfolder first, then abackslash () then the song name. Continue like this if you have

    subfolders within subfolders.

    1. In Notepad, click File then Save.
    2. Select your USB stick from the Save In list.
    3. Note:- Select "All Files" from Save As Type!.
    4. Enter the name for your playlist in the File Name box, and put ".m3u" after it.
    5. Press Save and close notepad.

    Note: To edit your playlist in future, simply right click the playlist in Windows Explorer and select “Open With” -Notepad.

    Try these steps and see if that help, and let us know if you have any other queries regarding Windows, or any additional update about the current issue. We will be glad to assist you.

    200+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments

19 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2015-04-19T12:47:03+00:00
    1. Alternately to make matter simple You can
    2. Press Windows+R to open RUN-> type CMD -> PressEnter

    You will get a black screen with command prompt

    1. Change the drive to your USB drive. Say if your usb drive is H then type H: and press enter4. Enter the command DIR /B /S > playlist.m3u
    2. Your playlist is created. But there is one issue here. All files will have H:\ as prefix
    3. Open this file using explorer-> Open with-> Notepad
    4. Press CTRL+H. In find box enter H:\ (or whatever drive corresponding to your usb stick). In replace box leave it empty. Press button replace all. Press CTRL+S to save.
    5. Your file is ready.

    8 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2015-01-10T23:26:35+00:00

    It is easy to create a playlist on a USB stick but you need to find out what format you need. My car stereo use *.M3U file format but you can create few common file types and try in your car. it is better to format the USB stick on FAT32 format before you copy your music and then you can use any media player to do the job. I used portable VLC player which I saved on to my USB stick then i dont have to change file location details. If you are still interested I can give you step-by-step instructions.

    5 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2016-08-20T12:46:36+00:00

    Really?  Really?  WMP SHOULD have an option to create a "music" drive.  From it you should have the option to choose they format of the playlist you need to create the drive to take to your car(s), motorcycle(s), or other places you may need it.  WMP works very well and is I think overall easier to use than iTunes and all of the other players I have tried.  If it had this one other item of functionality it would be my sole choice for media, purchases too!

    4 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2015-09-23T15:26:35+00:00

    I wanted to create a USB stick with a lot of music on it, and have a playlist with all the songs.  I found a way to do that if you are interested.

    in DOS, (cmd.exe)

    change to the drive that has all your music.  In my case, this was H:

    run "dir /a-d /b /s >>allsongs.m3u"

    This will create a play list in the root of the folder.  Next, edit the file with your favorite text editor, and remove the drive letter.  In my case this was H:.  I did a search and replace for H: and replaced it with nothing.  Save your file, and put the USB stick in your car.

    I can then sort the list alphabetically or however I want to save it, and the system find the list.

    This worked well for me at least.

    4 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments