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How to Build My Audio Jukebox Using a PC

It's the eternal challenge for bars, restaurants and even neighborhood parties: how to have the music playing back and have all the tunes suit everyone's taste. Fortunately, the PC revolution has made it much easier to play back high quality music to your guests. All you need is an old PC, a spare hard drive and a little bit of time, and soon you'll have a great jukebox for little money.

Things You'll Need

  • A PC capable of playing back MP3s, with at least 100 GB of storage and audio playback capability
  • External memory device, such as a hard drive
  • Canned air
  • MP3 playback software
  • Speakers
  • Speaker cable
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Instructions

    • 1

      Export all the MP3s you want for playback to an external memory device. Drag and drop from your music folder under "My Documents" to your external device. If you have designed any playlists that you'd like to keep, those can usually be found in the folder holding your MP3 playback application. Drag and drop those onto your external device as well.

    • 2

      Clean your jukebox PC of any extraneous material. You will not need to run a special program. Simply delete everything you do not need off of the computer by putting it in the Recycling Bin. If the computer does not have an MP3 playback program, download one now and fully install it. Thoroughly clean the PC with the canned air to prevent any future dust damage.

    • 3

      Connect your external drive to your jukebox PC, and drag all the music and playlists into the "My Music" folder under "My Documents." Once it has fully transferred, go to the File menu in your MP3 playback software and select "Add Folder." It will automatically add your music and your playlists.

    • 4

      Connect your speakers to the computer by plugging them into the "line out" port in the back of the computer. This port is usually light green, and may be labeled with either a headphones icon or a speaker icon. Then play back your music to make sure both speakers are working properly.

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