UnseenMenace i have the LAME encoder downloaded but do not have administrator rights on the pc to be able to edit the registry thanks anyway

Thrush, BigMouthBillyBass guess that is my best option, to use something else

of course i could just have them in WMA format and take them home, but the rest of my collection is in mp3 format for compatiblity with my other devices at home. i have a Squeezebox and an Archos 604 wifi that both support WMA, but I also share files with mates with ipods and other mp3 players that don't.

i have WMP10 at home, and it does a good job of organising media i find. play most music via my squeezebox though, which has a very convenient user interface.

DanRSturbo converting WMA to mp3 would be a hassle and is lossy. i may as well just take the cd's home after ripping them to WMA here and rip them to mp3 at home

having said that, i may as well rip them to mp3 at home and bring the files in on memory stick. why didn't i think of that earlier? just that i had the cd's at work and had some spare time