By default, Windows Media Player is configured to rip music CDs in the WMA (Windows Media Audio) file format. Since an Apple iPod cannot play WMA music files, you need to configure Windows Media Player to use the MP3 format instead.

MP3 is the standard for storing music, and can be played by virtually any portable player, while WMA can only be played on certain portable devices that comply with Microsoft’s PlaysForSure specification.

Note   If you already ripped CDs using the WMA file format, you need to delete the WMA music files, and rip the CD again using the MP3 file format.

Configure Windows Media Player to use MP3

1. In Windows Media Player 11, click the Rip tab twice, to open the pull-down menu.
2. In Windows Media Player 12, insert a music CD and wait until the CD is recognized. Then click the menu Rip Settings.
3. Under Format, select mp3.

Configure the MP3 bit-rate (optional)

1. In Windows Media Player 11, click the Rip tab twice, to open the pull-down menu.
2. In Windows Media Player 12, insert a music CD and then click Rip Settings.
3. Under Bit Rate, select the desired bit-rate. We recommend a MP3 bit rate of 128kbps or 192kbps.

Determine the format of your music files (optional)

To determine the music file format that the songs in your music library are in, do the following:

1. In Windows Media Player, click the Library tab, and select Songs from the tree-view to the left.
2. In the main window, right-click the list-view column header and click Choose Columns.
3. From the list of columns, check the box Type and click OK.

Now, you should see the Type column in the Library view. Only songs with the type MP3 can be played by an Apple iPod.