While it's more common to want to know how to get MP3 files from a computer onto an MP3 player, there are a few reasons why the reverse might be necessary. For instance, maybe you have had a computer accident or upgrade, and your music library is now stored on your MP3 player. The method for getting MP3 files off your MP3 player and onto your computer varies between players, but here are a few pointers.

File Navigation

Many MP3 player models double as an external hard drive, storing music in a navigable file structure. With your MP3 player plugged into your computer, use the "Finder" (for a Mac) or "My Computer" (for Windows) menu to navigate to the MP3 player as if it were an external hard drive. Many models by manufacturers such as Sandisk and Samsung allow you to navigate this file structure and simply copy and paste the files you desire onto your computer.

Renaming by ID3 Tags

ID3 tags are the metadata that MP3 software and hardware uses to recognize the title, artist and other information of an MP3 file. Many MP3 players store MP3 files by stripping the title and indexing by this ID3 metadata. To access these files, simply find them on your MP3 player, then copy into a new folder on your computer. There are programs that will access the ID3 tags in these files and rename the files, so you are able to browse them more easily. One such program can be found below.

Accessing Music on an iPod

The most popular portable music player, Apple's iPod, stores music in MP3 and MP4 formats. These files cannot be copied using iTunes, the default software for interfacing with the iPod. However, there are programs that can navigate the music on your iPod, which can then be copied from the iPod track-by-track or in bulk. One such program can be found below.

Source:

Ask Dave Taylor

"User Manual: Sandisk Digital Audio Player"; Sandisk Corp.; Not Dated

Audio Video Revolution

Resource:

ID3 Renamer

iPod Music Rescue