How to create ringtones with iTunes for your Motorola RAZR

Almost a year ago I posted an article on how you can create ringtones from any audio file that you have for your Motorola RAZR phone. While it was great to do that, let's face it -- most people use iTunes these days to keep track of their music. Not all of us, but a lot of us. Wouldn't it be easier if I created ringtones for my Motorola RAZR (and subsequently for Ashley's iPhone) with iTunes?

The short answer is that it is not only easier, but it is a great way to store and track them centrally. Plus, with dual use for multiple phones, using iTunes to create, clip, store, and transfer ringtones is really easy. With that, here is the way that I was able to quickly take short sounds clips of songs, reduce their size so they are compatible with the Motorola RAZR, and then transfer them as ringtones.

All you need for this guide is a current version of iTunes, I used version 7.6 -- although almost any versions will work as the functionality used here has been available for a couple of years.

Here is the step-by-step tutorial on how to create ringtones on iTunes for your Motorola RAZR:

1. Create a new playlist in your iTunes software by clicking on File --> New Playlist or by hitting Control+N and name it. We will be adding your MP3 files to this playlist in order to create the files for your RAZR V3 ringtones.

2. Drag and drop any music that you want to convert to a ringtone to your playlist.

3. Open the new playlist by double-clicking with your mouse.

4. We now need to clip or shrink the song down to a reasonable size (less than 30 seconds) for your ringtone. In order to do this, select the song to be clipped or cut, right-click and select "Get Info".

5. Now select the "Options" tab and select the appropriate start and stop time for this song. In this case, the start time is at one minute, seven and a half seconds and the end time is at one minute, twenty-four seconds. Click on 'ok' to modify the setting and test out the time in iTunes. Adjust if necessary to get your desired cut.

6. You now need to change the settings for your MP3 encoder, so make sure to first keep track of where it is currently set. Now, go to iTunes, select Edit --> Preferences, then the Advanced Tab, then the Importing tab, and from the settings drop-down choose Custom. Change the settings to a Stereo Bit rate of 64kbps, no VBR, a sample rate of 22.050 kHz, and Channels set to Mono. Click on 'Ok' twice to save.

7. Now we can convert your cut clip into a MP3 file for a ringtone. To do this, right-click on the song, select Convert Selection to MP3 and the new ringtone MP3 is created. There is now a second copy of the song in your music library with only the clipped content.

8. Find the file that was created, mine was in "C:\My Music\AC_DC\AC_DC Live (Disc 2)\2-10 T.N.T. 1.mp3", and transfer to your phone via Bluetooth -- if available, or via file. If you need to know how to do it via a file, there is a how-to guide on transferring ringtones to your RAZR here: How to transfer audio and ringtones to your Motorola RAZR

9. Make sure and change back both your song settings as well as the MP3 encoding settings and now you can use your new RAZR ringtone!

Did this work for you? If so, please let me know with a comment.

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iTunes Sync Speed Varies Greatly between Minimized and Maximized

This past weekend, Ashley’s 8GB iPhone had considerable issues with the music syncing between her iPhone and iTunes on her computer. Although I was able to solve the issue and get the music to sync again, it was not until after I had already wiped the music off of her iPhone that I realized the issue.

On a side note, I think the source of the issue might have been the network connectivity between my machine and Ashley’s – I store both high quality VBR MP3’s and lower quality ACC files on my computer. Ashley’s iTunes connects to my computer to sync up the music. Although iTunes did not complain, I wonder if the network drive was severed.

However, back to the subject of this post. First, the remove of all music from the Apple iPhone meant that some 2500+ songs needed to make their way back to her iPhone through iTunes. After a couple of tries, it was going really slowly. I mean really slowly.

Checking the bandwidth utilization between my computer and Ashley’s revealed that it was only using about 14k average network rate between the two machine. At that rate copying 6GB of music would take oh, about 3 days.

Something was wrong. I tried a number of various things.

First, I thought the problem might be the network. I flipped both computers to use 100/full settings rather than auto-negotiate thinking the router was having an issue. No luck there.

In fact, why trying to sync song #6, I received a message that iTunes had a problem connecting to the network and stopped the process.

I looked at the processor (CPU) utilization – nothing there. Memory utilization – nothing out of the ordinary there either. Disk utilization – no activity worth mentioning was happening. I could not understand what the deal was.

As a last ditch effort, I rebooted both my machine and Ashley’s thinking that might fix the issue. Oddly enough it did.

But, it was not because of the reboot. Ashley’s computer is set to automatically start Apple’s iTunes on startup, in minimized mode and sync. When I check on iTunes, it had magically already synced about 700 songs. A quick inspection on my computer and sure enough, the transfer rate was up in the 3MB/second range – about where it should be.

As soon as I opened up iTunes into the maximized start it grinded to a halt. Immediately the sync speed slowed and the network utilization went down to 14k/sec again. Crazy behavior. Testing to verify, I minimized the iTunes application again and sure enough the rate was increased to 3MB/sec again.

I decided to leave iTunes in the minimized states and it was not more than 5 minutes until I heard the synchronization complete with the iTunes. Unexplainable.

Has anyone else experienced this odd behavior with Apple iTunes? We’re running the latest version here and it appears there is something locking the program from quickly syncing the files from the computer onto the iPhone when it is in the maximized state.

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Fixed! iPhone Stops Syncing Music with iTunes

Ashley's iPhone stopped syncing her music. She only found out when she was on her flight last week to San Antonion and found out that her updated playlist that included all of her Holiday music did not exist on her Apple iPhone.

Naturally when she arrived home, she let me know of the issue. ;-)

After taking her iPhone and getting it to sync with iTunes, I too noticed that the music from her playlists would not sync. I tried a number of basic attempts to see if I could get it to sync.

I exited out of the iTunes software, and restarted it on her Windows Vista machine. That did not fix the issue.

I adjusted the smart playlist itself to see if it was the cause of the music not syncing. That did not fix the issue.

I changed the setting from 'Selected playlists' to 'All songs and playlists'. That did not work.

I unchecked 'Sync Music' on the music tab in iTunes, but that did not work either even though it removed about 2500 songs.

I even turned off 'Automatically sync when the iPhone is connected' and tried a manual sync. That did little good.

Finally after looking at a couple of site that suggested the above routine of manually syncing iTunes to get the iPhone to receive the music I just shut the computer all the way off.

After it rebooted and came back up, I changed my setting to the way they originally setup and it is working again. Now she just has to wait for all 2500+ songs to sync between the iPhone and computer. That will take awhile.

At least the proble with the iPhone won't sync music for iTunes is fixed. Lesson learned, next time just reboot first!

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Apple iTunes 7.4.3 Gets it Right for Vista 64-bit!

Apple released an update to their iTunes software with version 7.4.3 in the last day or so. Admittedly, I was a little apprehensive about installing it on my Microsoft Vista Ultimate 64-bit (x64) operating system due to the problems I had with a recent version of Apple iTunes, 7.4.2. So, with some concern as well as a curious mind -- I downloaded the latest version from the Apple iTunes website.

After a full download, the installation went fine. Then the moment of truth came, the start-up of Apple iTunes. Would I get the infamous:

"iTunes was not properly installed. If you wish to import or burn CDs, you need to reinstall iTunes."

Nope, not this time.

So, whether or not in version 7.4.3.1 the 64-bit (x64) and Vista problems were fixed or if my fix applied last week proved to be the solution, we'll never know. Yet, my Apple iTunes is still working!

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Fire Incident at Apple Store in San Francisco - 2 Fire Department Engines!

I know that the Apple iPhone is really hot, but it looks like they were really on fire earlier today. At the San Francisco Apple Store at 1 Stockton had a 2-alarm San Francisco Fire Department response to a fire alarm including hook and ladders! The incident, which happened shortly before 11:00am on Sunday morning before the store actually opened.

Ashley and I happened to be walking by to pick up a couple of accessories for her new Apple iPhone 8GB. You can imagine our surprise and the commotion around the front of the Apple Store with the fire alarm blaring. We arrived shortly before the Fire Department made their appearance.

Fortunately, no Apple iPhones, iMacs, or iPods were harmed in the incident. While the store was completely evacuated and two separate fire departments showed up, it appears that the incident was a false alarm. Speaking with an employee a few minutes later revealed that this has happened a couple of times since the opening for no apparent reason.

However, you do know those iPhones are really hot, apparently flammable as well! Below is a video and a couple of quick photos I snapped during the Apple Store fire incident in San Francisco.

Here are a couple of video clips I shot. In the last clip, you can see the firemen leaving, plus the Apple Store employees entering back in so they can open back up and sell all the iPhones, iPod Touches, iPod Nanos, and iPod classics that they can along with a load of accessories:


Picture 1: Second Hook and Ladder arrives to the Fire Alarm incident at the Apple Store


Picture 2: Partial group of San Francisco Firefighters entering the Apple Store to check out the alarm and make sure everything is ok.


Picture 3: Apple employee talks with a Fire Chief about the incident and the progress inside.

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Ashley's New iPhone 8GB

I mentioned some weeks ago around the launch of the Apple iPhone that it was not a device for me. Primarily for two reasons, 1 - the lack of GPS functionality, and 2 - the lack of intergration for Corporate E-mail systems. However, Apple's new iPhone -- the 8GB version (MA712LL/A) turned out to be the perfect phone or iPhone for her!



Ashley carries too many devices around in my opinion, an Apple iPod Nano, Motorola RAZR V3 phone, and a Palm Pilot personal organizer. In addition to all of those devices, she was out of space on her Apple iPod Nano 4GB. With that in mind and in search of the new iPod Nano, we elected to purchase the new Apple iPhone 8GB for here, especially given the recent price drop.

This is great news for Ashley, and just a few minutes after setting up iTunes 7.4.3 -- had the phone activated with her old phone number transferred over. Even better, this means a couple of things -- a whole new slew of Apple iPhone articles as well as additional Motorola RAZR V3 articles as I can really go to town on her old Motorola RAZR V3. Stay tuned!

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Fixed! iTunes 7.4.1.2 Installation Issue with 64-bit Vista

Whew! Now my Apple iTunes version 7.4.1.2 is working again on my Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit (x64) operating system! Ironically, unlike I reported earlier today -- the import, ripping, and CD-burning inside Apple iTunes was still working. However, I kept receiving the pesky Apple iTunes Setup Assistance window with the following message:

"iTunes was not properly installed. If you wish to import or burn CDs, you need to reinstall iTunes."

First, let me say to the Apple iTunes folks that this message was completely mis-leading. The product still functioned correctly, just the error messaging was inappropriate. Not really the best user experience. (Yes, I know 64-bit operating systems are 'technically' not supported by Apple. How long can they continue this though? It is bordering on unreasonable.)

Here is how you can fix the issue: If it works for you, please let me know with a comment below!

1. The problem is with the Gear Software driver for 64-bit operating systems which is integrated into iTunes. What you need to do is visit the Gear Software website and download the right driver for your operating system and processor type. Here is the website: http://www.gearsoftware.com/support/drivers.cfm

2. The right version for me was the middle one: Driver installer for AMD64 and Intel EM64T processors: Windows XP Professional x64, Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition, Windows Vista x64 Edition. I downloaded the file and saved to my desktop.

3. I ran the installation and completed the install for the Gear Software 64-bit drivers. It is just a series of 'next' and then it completes.

4. Fire up iTunes version 7.4.1.2 and it works as it is supposed to again!

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iTunes 7.4.1.2 Installation Problems with Warning on Windowsw Vista

Apple itunes 7.4.1.2 problems warning

A couple of weeks ago, Apple released version 7.4.1.2 of their iTunes software that help you manage your music and other media in relation with your computer. While the upgrade process is usually seamless given the Apple Software Update, this time it failed consistently over a several day period. A bad sign, given that it failed during the download of the combined iTunes and QuickTime updates -- only 11MB through the ~50MB or so package.

After the failures, I turned to Apple's iTunes download to get the complete version and complete the upgrade. The download worked fine and the installation completed without any further problems. Then I attempted to use iTunes...

Before even starting up iTunes, the Apple iTunes Setup Assistance window pops up with a warning message:

"iTunes was not properly installed. If you wish to import or burn CDs, you need to reinstall iTunes."

Update: This issue has been fixe! Check my post for the solution: http://www.somelifeblog.com/2007/09/fixed-itunes-7412-install-problem-64.html

Since I import most of my CDs to rip them in iTunes this presents quite a significant issue. I went ahead an rebooted the machine just in case something was a little off on the Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit (x64) system. After reboot, still the same problem message occures every single time I start up iTunes:

"iTunes was not properly installed. If you wish to import or burn CDs, you need to reinstall iTunes."

Heeding the advice of the Apple iTunes 7.4.1.2 warning message, I went ahead and uninstalled my Apple iTunes 7.4.1.2 completely. I then rebooted my machine and installed Apple iTunes 7.4.1.2 from scratch. Still the issue persisted with the now annoying message:

"iTunes was not properly installed. If you wish to import or burn CDs, you need to reinstall iTunes."

I have installed iTunes and upgrades to Apple iTunes probably close to 20 times at this point. This is the first time I have encountered anything of this sort. Now I know that Apple states that they do not support the 64-bit versions of Windows explicitly, but it would seem that if previous versions worked then this one would as well. Who knows whether it is a Windows Vista or a 64-bit issue, but hopefully it will get fixed in the next release.

Apple should really start explicitly supporting the Windows 64-bit explicitly as practically all processors produced today are strictly 64-bit or higher.

Hopefully I can do some research and resolve the issue. Has anyone else had this problem?

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Sony PS3: Stream iTunes and MP3s, plus other media!

Connecting the multiple devices in your home to deliver a seamless experience can be very difficult at times. In my case the desire was to stream all of my music meticulously organized in iTunes to my home theater system so that I could stream all of that wonderful music through the best sound system in the house. If only everything was quite that easy.

The most logical point for an integration in my home was through my Sony Playstation 3 (PS3) with a 60GB hard drive and a WiFi connection. However, the path to accomplish it was not as easy as it might seem. You might think iTunes would connect direcly to your Sony PS3, or perhaps you could easily stream DLNA media servers to your PS3. However, those seem to be a little bit problematic, working but have some serious inconveniences.

So, in an effort to easily and reliably stre