How transfer music to nook

First in the OS make sure that recording device is USB (Start > Setting > Control Panel > Sounds and Audio > Audio). Adjust the audio recording volume, as well (Start > Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Volume Control > Options> Properties. Click on Adjust Volume For Recording, for some versions of Windows). Unfortunately you can't directly listen to the recording on USB in this software. You would need a regular turntable with amplifier and then RCA L/R audio to 3.5 mm audio adapters. Connect this to the Line In of the computer (blue port) on the sound card. Then set the recording device to Line In and unmute Line-In in a similar way as above.

Now try recording in Cakewalk Pyro. (I recommend making a short recording and then playing it back to check the settings.) Try the Windows Sound Recorder (similar to finding the audio recording volume) to record if Pyro doesn't work. You may have a problem with the USB turntable or your USB port. You should see a waveform if the software is recording anything. Adjust the audio so that the entire waveform is consistently less than 100% of the maximum. A flat line in the center of the audio trace is a sign that there is no incoming audio signal. I usually start the software recording and then start the turntable at the correct track. Thus a flat line for a few (~10 seconds on my system) is normal.

After recording, you need to export the file or files as MP3s. (I subdivide a longer recording into tracks but that can be a pain. Identifying the "break points" is not always obvious.) Then File > Export (iirc). Select the MP3 option and the quality. I put all my music into the myusername/music/recordings subfolder (I created the folder) to make them easier to find again.

Connect the USB cable from the Nook to the computer. Access the Nook from the File Explorer. (Double-click on the Computer (My Computer) icon with Windows, it's the Devices icon on a Mac.) Then double-click on the Nook's icon (there may be more than one).

Open a second explorer window to the directory where you saved the MP3s. Then just drag and drop the files/folders to the Nook. If you put the files onto the internal memory of the Nook, make sure to put them in the My Music or My Audiobooks folders. (You can do transfer the files to the memory card without plugging in the USB cable, if you have a card reader. Just be careful not to lock the read/write switch on the card and do not reformat it.)

I've used several programs and found Audacity (free) to be just as good and straight-forward to use. However, the programs all work the same way. If the USB device isn't working (or the default recording device), you get nothing.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells
(I will note that most of my recordings were done from cassettes using Line-in from the headphone jack. Thus I only had to diagnose problems with the patch cable and the default recording device once I checked that my headphones worked for the tape. I saved my recordings as WAV and then burned them to CD as Disc At Once for a player that didn't read MP3s.)