Can someone please tell me – did Microsoft configure the Xbox only to recognize RETAIL cds and not cds I burned off my computer (from my legal mp3 collection I might add.) I’d prefer to copy 20 songs from 1 cd rather than 1 song from 20 CDs.
Quite annoying. I’ve tried burning Musicmatch and Media Player – neither disc is recognized by the Xbox.
The early Xbox’s have drives that won’t recognize most burnt CD’s. The newer Xbox drives don’t have that problem evidently.
The older Xboxes will recognize a CD-RW though for some reason. That’s what I’ve done to transfer mp3s for my Xbox (bought on day 1).
I’ve heard that Karaoke “game” they’ve released can use a program you can download from Microsoft to transfer mp3s directly from your computer over the network to your Xbox, as well as images. The images are just for use in the karoake game for some kind of slide show or something, but I’m told the mp3s go into playlists just like the ones you rip from CDs. If you’re serious about getting a whole bunch of mp3s to your Xbox, that may be worth the $30 I’ve seen it for. Unfortunately I haven’t seen the Karaoke game available to rent, probably because it includes hardware (a wireless microphone).
Anyway, I haven’t tested that personally, so I’d investigate just a bit more before I dropped $30 on that. The CD-RW solution I can vouch for personally, and as triggercut says, some Xboxes can read CD-Rs anyway; I believe it’s just a question of when it was manufactured. They must have switched the DVD drives they were using.
Thanks to you both – I’ll try a CDRW. And then look at the other route…
The xbox has hardware to recognize and ignore burned cds, same as the PS2. Or at least, was originally intended to. I suppose it’s possible that they took it out, but I doubt it. The PS2 has the same thing.
Boil the XBox.
Oh I’ll have to try that, I have a first run Xbox and it won’t do CD-Rs, I didn’t even think about using CD-RWs.
— Alan
Sure enough, the CDRW worked.
Thanks for the suggestion Wholly!!!
I wonder if this means that DVD-RWs would work…
— Alan
90% certain DVD-RWs won’t work, a friend of mine has a modded Xbox upstairs that he burns games to DVDs to play on and an unmodded downstairs for the big TV and Xbox Live, he can’t play the DVD-RWs on the unmodded Xbox. So unless that changed with later revisions of hardware…
For a list of which CD-Rs you can use with the XBox, check this out:
If you are using Win XP, and have your Xbox hooked up to your home network, you can use their PC tool to transfer MP3s to your Xbox. You can only transfer a total of 250 songs though, in case that matters.
Hmm, interesting. I wonder how you do it with a wireless setup.
Not that it matters in the end, because I’m still using Win98. I was curious in case I want to try it in the future.