The Sound Recorder in Vista 6 saves files as wma, but the system sounds are all wav. This is a curious arrangement, and I cannot understand why it is. I changed the name of the extension from wma to wav, and the system played it ... reluctantly. I would prefer to make a proper conversion of the files. Is there some way to convert wma to wav using Vista? Alternately, is there some way to change the Sound Recorder default to save to wav?
Rick

/Rufus/ said:

Some Vista versions save as WAV, but apparently not the one you have. I am not aware of any provision to change that.
Be aware that WMA files are much more compact (less disk space) than WAV files.
Many converters are available; see google.com and in the search box type "sound file conversion."
Here's one of the best... dbpoweramp.com/

Dev
All Vista editions (versions mean NT, 2K, XP, Vista, Blackcomb/Fiji etc.) save as wma or wav. ***Using only WMP, it's not possible to change the format of previously ripped files.
From WMP 11 Help:
" What is ripping? Ripping is the process of copying songs from an audio CD to your computer. During the ripping process, the Player compresses each song and stores it on your hard disk as a Windows Media Audio (WMA) or MP3 file. After that, you can sync the files to a portable music player, burn the files to a mix CD, add the files to a playlist, or simply play the files without having to find and insert the CD.
Where do I find the files that I ripped? Ripped files are automatically added to your Player library. On your computer, the files are located in the folder that is specified on the Rip Music tab of the Options dialog box. You can change the folder at any time.
Can I change the format or bit rate of files that I have already ripped? It is not possible to use the Player to change either the format (for example, from WMA to MP3) or bit rate of previously ripped files."
Tools>Options>Rip Music>Rip Settings>Pull Down:
I enclose pic.
CH
"dev"

Note that changing the extension does not touch the data at all. It's still a WMA file, just misnamed. This could cause problems with applications that expect one thing based upon the file extension and instead get the wrong thing. =\
Speaking for myself only. See zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info. This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
"Rufus" The Sound Recorder in Vista 6 saves files as wma, but the system sounds are all wav. This is a curious arrangement, and I cannot understand why it is. I changed the name of the extension from wma to wav, and the system played it .... reluctantly. I would prefer to make a proper conversion of the files. Is there some way to convert wma to wav using Vista? Alternately, is there some way to change the Sound Recorder default to save to wav?
Rick