This section of the FAQ answers questions about downloading MP3s from Usenet.

Genre   Crossposting   Subject lines   Zero-file/.nfo   Segment size   Cancels   Posting cap

Where do I find MP3s to download?

This FAQ covers MP3s on Usenet in the alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.* hierarchy. If you didn't understand the previous sentence, it would be a really good idea to start in the General Information section and get the basics down first.

If you are currently searching in alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.requests (the request group) or in alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.d (the discussion group), you are simply looking in the wrong newsgroups. Refer back to Sections 1 and 4 of this FAQ for more information.

If you are looking in the correct groups, but you're seeing something like:

begin 644 song.mp3
M_^,@Q``2@5#]&49(`ORFY(P``H\!A=`@1(`0/`870($800LF%L```H4&%Q6V
MD*!0Q#+GJA`*$"/5$"#)S4%;:@H),7;4!,V4!`,1(VZ1MJ($$4:.D;:G`$,$
M`@$0H%`(P7,&V`*$1N3_XR#$$1DS@KFYDE!!!+J".,F12W!K&07G\#X7`T)O
M^6%L`H"`VG^*X-XMA=@5R?_^)@KC<8`*`6"&__\>$CSQ89S/___GGW,:C/__
M__\QIAD]V'Y[F?_____,CP1Z0P_,`15NZFM,K/_C(,0'&`%>WG^,22#'K*0`
M$`'(V'M[#,I7=P_A%"]RS>DX&G\F]G)')1L7(S9144)!=&(MTDK3RR$G4$F#
M9^:4U;BVVM#4]<TX4*H-VYR<_S^[EM@,9__I____[O1_\7S^4W_U?P`(_^,@
MQ`(3P4;-Y<=``!L@#2+=!,1]D0C]1]O^2VO_$`!`75=9#L`<4;^10P[_N!`&
MFUZ$`H$AU^XN#<@PH$#.#[/_[*[1.+6=\R]JW]7&NS3!0H+%6G%_T_XK(@:X
M(`!.Z9OJ#MA!.MS_XR#$#A-`ON96*`1`Z_R&\A';J'"H^H[BHBQ82NB$1/4`
M@U#VNIG^3=H76932*+HC()LN%M(A881:D++2+A@BU2<;>@M=0JQK'"Z_4H8@
MT"FF7SPC##=!P;_5']%+[C'<ZVD%74WRP?_C(,0<$X"2UA='$`#:G!K!D!25
M*05K$;KG^E9&@"B(.BB,J)?UN56`2<]N'#CY`M#0-5N'+MS:XUM>]!9:OP)(
M&F",]-=_ST%0B/2K_-J'&SN?X+230Y"2SG'H).`Z1C)/5XPX[!W$_^,@Q"D<
MPV)X*9AH`+%O_EYQZF!2'[_\NFIL7EL7?_\G##&3#B)H\2<2/__X]1,1ZDE0
M/FIPGEQ&K5___122HHHF"-5$Q?____]!.7C(NS)(ZBLP-E>K____________
M____________XR#$$0```ELAP```________________________________
M____________________________________________________________
M_____________________________U1!1TAI(0``````````````````````
M`````````````%-U8VME<@```````````````````````````````$YO;F4N
M+BXN+BX@>65T+BXN`````````````````#$Y.3EW=W<N;7`S+69A<2YO<F<@
//"T@9&EG(&ET(0````$<
`
end

You probably need a new newsreader and should also check out the FAQs and references in Section 1.

Why can't I find any complete MP3 files?

Well, if you are using your newsreader correctly, the problem is probably your ISP or, more specifically, your news server. If you consistently see incomplete files, your news server is probably not receiving all of the parts that are necessary to get a complete file.

The solution? Either find a new ISP or look into an additional pay-news server.

Information on news servers in particular can be found in alt.binaries.news-server-comparison and alt.internet.newservers or at Yahoo's Usenet server page.

Some popular pay-newsservers are Altopia, Giganews, Newscene, Newsguy, Easynews and Airnews. See the Links section of this FAQ for more info.

I only see the last part of any post, like only (12/12) and not any of the first 11 parts. Why is that?

This can happen if your news server, or another news server up the pipe from yours, is filtering based on segment-size. The last segment is sometimes small, so it is the only segment small enough to get through the filter.

The FAQ recommends that you set your segment size to something between 5000 and 7500 lines or about 1/3 Meg to 1/2 Meg (see Section [4.13]) There are some ISPs that will filter out and not accept any posts that are larger than that. If you frequently see files posted and the only part that is available is the last one (which is inherently the smallest of the parts), it is possible that the other parts are being filtered out. You can either request that the poster changes their segment size, or try and find a different news server that doesn't have this particular problem.

Is there any way that I can sample a song without downloading the entire file?

Yes. One way is to just download the first part of the file (which may require that you split the file into its separate sections), decode it using your newsreader or a third party decoder, and play it with your MP3 player. You may get an error, but the file will probably play anyway.

I'm using Outlook Express and it's not automatically decoding the MP3 files. How do I get the files?

First download all parts, they will be listed as (1/5), (2/5), (3/5), etc. Right click on the highlighted parts click "Combine & Decode." Another window will pop up. Use the up & down buttons to put all the parts in their proper order. Click OK. When the file comes up - click on "file" then click on Save Attachments. (This may have been updated in later versions of Outlook Express. This FAQ is not really keeping up with OE development.)

I'm using AOL and it's really difficult for me to get the MP3 files. Any advice?

For information on uploading/downloading newsgroup binaries on AOL, check out the AOL Newsgroup FAQ at: http://members.aol.com/crystalsingerdg/AOL.htm.