Don't give up on your old cassette tapes. Give them new live by converting them to a CD.
Do you have all your favorite old bands on cassette? Don't despair and don't throw those old cassettes away until you convert them to CDs. The process is simple and painless, and well worth saving all those memories and the hard-earned dollars you spent on those cassettes in the first place.
Instructions
1. Connect a cassette player to your computer. Plug one end of the stereo cable into the headphone jack of the cassette player, and the other end into either the microphone or "line in" jack of your computer.
2. Insert the tape into the cassette player, and set it to a second or two before the point you want to record.
3. Record the cassette on to your computer. Open your audio recording software, such as Audacity or Acoustica, and navigate through the menu to capture audio. Most programs will provide an option for capturing audio through the microphone or line-in jack of the computer. That is the option you want. Click the record button on the software program and then quickly press the play button on the cassette player. Wait while the program records the tape. Save the audio file on your computer when the recording is done, noting where you saved the file.
4. Convert the audio files. Navigate to the file you just recorded. Right-click the file and choose "properties." If the file type listed is .wav or .mp3, skip ahead to Step 4. If it is any other file type, it will need to be converted.
Using the audio software, open the audio file and find the "convert" file option. Set the file output option to either .wav or .mp3. Wait for the software to convert the files and then save them.
5. Locate the option on your audio software for burning a CD. Drag or select the .wav or .mp3 files you created from the cassette tape on to the list of files to be burned to CD. Make sure the software settings indicate audio output to the CD. Insert a CD in your CD burner, and follow the on-screen instructions given by your computer software for burning a CD.
