Set-up FAQ

Is there a download manager?

No, there is not. That's one of the benefits of the site. This site uses your browser to download the files. It works with multiple browsers.

Is there Digital Rights Management (DRM) on these files?

No! These files are downloaded as MP3 files for compatibility reasons. That means that if your device plays an MP3 file, and most devices can, and has enough memory (a song is generally 4-6 MB), then you can play it. You can transfer it or burn it to a cd. You just can't do anything illegal with it.

Will the downloads work on the iPod? The iPad?

Yes. The easiest thing to do is to download the files to your desktop. Then, open your iTunes and drag the song in. Presto, there it is! Next time you synch up, you will see that song.

How do I burn music to a CD?

Put a blank CDR in your computer. If a dialog box opens up, choose burn files. Then, just drag the song file into the folder and press "burn" if you need to. If your CD drive does not automatically open, save the file to your desktop. Open your CD drive and drag and drop the file. When you click on the song, Windows Media Player, iTunes, or your music player, will open. You will find the song under "Now Playing." Double click on it and it will start playing. If you download a group of songs to your CD Drive, select all the files you want to copy and go to "File" then select "Write these files to CD."

I log in to Freegal, accept the terms and conditions, and then I'm taken to the About Us page or given a notice that I'm not authorized to view the site.

There may be a setting on your computer that is preventing you from logging in to Freegal. There are a couple things you could try that may enable you to get through.

Try clearing your browser history and deleting your browser cookies. How to clear the browser cookies and history varies from browser to browser, but typically, you can do it by opening the browser, and clicking on the Tools menu. From there it might be under a "Delete browsing history" option (if you're are using Internet Explorer) or "Clear Recent History" (if you're using Firefox). From there, you should see options specific to browser history and cookies. If you are using Internet Explorer, you may also try putting your security settings back to default. Internet Explorer setting

If you are using Internet Explorer 7 or 8, you may need to adjust how your browser treats temporary internet files. You can get to this option by following these steps:

    1. Open Internet Explorer
    2. Click on the Tool menu
    3. Select "Internet Options"
    4. In the General tab section, in the "Browsing history" area, click on the Settings button
    5. In the "Temporary Internet Files and History Settings" dialog box, select the option for "Every time I visit the webpage" (by default "Automatically" is selected)
    6. Click the OK button
    7. Click the Apply button
    8. Click OK
    9. Close Internet Explorer and then re-open it and try accessing Freegal again.

Firewall setting

It's possible there's a conflict with any antivirus or firewall settings you have on your computer. If you are comfortable doing it, please try turning off your antivirus and/or firewall settings and try accessing Freegal again.

I only downloaded two songs, but when I go to download the third song, I'm told I've exceeded my limit. What happened to my third download?

It's possible you inadvertently clicked on the "Download Now" link. Anytime you click on the "Download Now" link, even if you cancel the download, a download is used from your weekly allotment. If you're confident this isn't what happened, please send us your library card information and we'll continue to troubleshoot the issue.

I downloaded a song, but I can't find where it is on my computer.

We highly recommend that when downloading a song, you select the option to save the file to a specific location on your computer. However, if you didn't specify a location or you opted to open the file without saving it, there are a couple things you can try to locate where the song was saved. If you are using Windows Media Player...

    1. Open Windows Media Player
    2. Click on the File menu
    3. Toward the bottom of the menu, you should see a list of all recently played music
    4. Click on the song file you got from Freegal, this should cause it to play
    5. While in the Now Playing mode (you can click on the "Now Playing" tab to get there), you should see the song listed under Now Playing
    6. Right-click on the song title and select Properties from the menu
    7. You should now be able to see where the file has been saved to on your computer, listed next to "Location:" in the properties window
    8. From the Properties window, you can also select "Open file location" and this will cause a dialog box to open the folder that contains the file. From there you can copy or drag it to your desktop or wherever else you'd like to keep it.
If you're using iTunes...
    1. Open iTunes
    2. Locate the song in your music
    3. Right-click on the song title
    4. Select "Get Info"
    5. Select the "Summary" tab (by default it's the tab that's open in the "Get Info" dialog box
    6. Toward the bottom of the dialog box, there is a "Where" section which tells you the folder path where the song is located
You may find through Windows Media Player or iTunes that the song file is located in a Temporary Internet File. You can go to "My Computer" from the Start menu on your computer and double-click through each of the folders listed in the "Location:" or "Where" box (depending on which media player you are using). Typically you'd start with your C: drive (usually called the Local Hard Disk), then click through "Documents and Settings" then the next folder and so on and so forth, to get to the song MP3 file. Once you get to the file, you can then drag it (or copy and paste it) to another location (your desktop for example). If it's left in the temporary folder there's potential for it to be deleted by your computer system automatically.

You might also try searching your computer for the files. Try limiting your search to music files and using the artist's name or part of the song title as the search term. You may need to adjust your advanced search settings so that hidden folders are included in the search.