Hi - my first post - and certainly not a techie - so please be gentle. My query is virtually exactly the same as zonedout's query of 30/12/08 which was : Could someone please explain how to deal with the mp3 lame encoder files as they are when downloaded from the Lame site ? I want to use the Lame mp3 encoder with Foobar to create some mp3 files from flac files, there is a guide on this forum at http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/archive/...iles_to_mp3.cfm The information in this guide appears to be incorrect or am I misunderstanding it ? Firstly the guide says drag the files out of the downloaded Lame.tar file to a new folder on your hardrive. This does not work as the downloaded .tar file contains several files with the same name and is set up so when you hit extract it builds a directory tree, the folders in this tree have files with the same name distributed amongst them so if you just drag all the files out to a new folder as the guide says, instead of extracting them using the extract button, you end up having to either, replace files several times over as each one with the same name tries to copy to the folder, or rename each one file(2) file(3) etc. Secondly if you do use the extract button and allow winzip to create the directory tree in your new folder, you end up with a bewildering array of folders full of files none of which is an .exe file, which brings me to my next point, the guide says, once you have created your folder with the Lame encoder files, you need to point Foobar to the file called Lame.exe in your new folder. When you extract the files to a new folder there is no Lame.exe. The .tar file itself has a readme which talks about building this codec and needing a windows 98 DDK (I have no idea what that is)and a bunch of other techy stuff such as the required headers are also available in CYGWIN+w32api, MINGW32 or Wine (I have no clue what that means either) In my own case, I have downloaded Lame as an Zipped folder, which I have opened with WinRAR. This has opened number of folders ( VC Solution, DLL etc) and a number of files, but no matter where I look I cannot find the .exe file. So, when I move through the convert section of Foobar and it ask for the link to the .exe i am stumped ! I am not a techie so if anyone can see where I have gone wrong (perhaps starting from the point I have the Zipped Lame folder) and assuming I am an absolute idiot I would be very grateful.
http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/archive/how_to_convert_flac_files_to_mp3.cfm I downloaded the lame files from the link in the guide. Unzipped the files to a folder and the .exe file is there.
A much more important qustion... Scooby35, what are you trying to do? You do not impress me as someone that wants to do things the hard way.
Hi Attar - thanks for your post. I downloaded from another site, so I shall try what you suggest. Mez - you are quite right - I want a simple (hopefully free) method of converting .flac to mp3 - nothing more, nothing less. I am certainly not technically minded, so the easier the better but when looking at how to address my problem the consensus on my searches was via Foobar & Lame. Thanks guys for taking the time to help.
The solution you chose would have been painful. Doing a command line process for each file. What I do is near effortless. Plus you will get an amazing tool that will allow you to read the tag data from file explorer. I go for the easy, fool proof method. It does not use cue files so if you are using them you will need to update your cue files your self. I don't use them because my mp3 player can't use them. Check the post started by by Sixxer converting flac to mp3s or something like that. The biggest mistake newbies make is asking questions for solutions they devised. It is much smarter to post your real problem. I suspected you just wanted to transcode. I don't even use Lame to transcode flac to mp3. I use DNA/Helix encoder. It is not perfect like lame but it is very good and the only artifacts are well above my hearing and it is up to 50 times faster than LAME. I do use Lame to rip because that process is slow and LAME's impact is not all that much. The second biggest mistake is not trying to find the solution in previous posts.
Hi Mez - with respect, I did search this and other forums before posting: a very popular and accepted method of converting .flac to mp3 from many different posters on various forums (no purchase cost, good outcome) is Foobar / Lame; further searches led me to the Guide provided on this very site, which I am trying to work through; my post included a post from a forum member who had the same problem as me, but did not state how he had solved it. So, to address your concerns, I did not in any way "post a question for a solution I have devised", and I did a number of searches before making my own post. I trust this clarifies matters.
To each their own. This is a free world. I have seen posts of problems with your solution on this forum yearly. The process is far easier and far more relyable (0% failure vs a small amount of failure). dbpa is called from file explorer with a right click after highlighting the files you want to convert. You might be one of the persons that believes is it is much harder to do somehow the product is better. By the way foobar has its own forum. That is where I got my information. For both dbPowerAmp and the DNA encoder. dbPowerAmp is a preferred ripper on that forum and concidered second to none. Which is not saying everyone thinks it is the best.
Scoobie, Isn't it nice how a fellow like Mez, with potential Godlike abilities, cannot answer a simple question? Like anything at the potential phase, they equate to zero until realisation. The problem is that you have downloaded lame 3.98. Download 3.97 and all will be revealed.
No, I do not think I am a god but I poke fun at people that do. POKE! I love you too Xenoc69! I have always used dbPowerAmp with no problems, ever. It can be accessed with a right click for file explorer where you can group highlight. It is so simple even a moron like me can transcode vast quantities of music without even one hitch. I have never ever heard of it screwing up. We get several complaints a year with Foobar. I tried to steer people to foolproof methods if they are having problems. Is that such a crime? Why should that rankle you? Especially after so many months? Did it take you that long to figure it out? I have helped hundreds of users over the years. I see you as some ugly bug not happy with himself so he feels the need to sling mud. You must be one of those smug persons who believe they are better than everyone else. They believe doing things the hard way to achieve the same result some how makes them better. If you wish to debate me that Foobar produces a better product than dbPowerAmp them maybe I am on. Otherwise you are just a waist of time.
Touchy touchy Mez my man. Scoobie asked for a solution to find lame.exe, not hear you wax lyrical about how wonderful your totally different methodology works. I encountered the same problem this morning, and was directed to this forum for an answer, and unfortunately happened upon you instead. Also, learn some basic grammar - to whit: waist Vs waste
I use both f2k and DBPA, and for ease of use, I give the edge to DBPA..That said, when using Lame as the encoder with f2k you can set whichever Lame.exe version of your choice..That's what's important to me, not the Gui..It is nice to 'right click' an audio file-> Convert To?.. We all have our preferences..
I am a terrible speller. Sorry for going off... I normally do that if someone is critical of help honestly given. I am usually worse if the help provider was not me. If some one can point out that I crossed the line, I do back off. Peace!
Hi Xenoc69, thanks for your comment re using the previous version of Lame. When I followed Attar's suggestion of using a different download site it directed me to the old version of Lame, and it is this version to which the Afterdawn guide refers. I am now up and running, and Foobar/Lame works fine for me. Thanks again
