Winamp Lite - Portable MP3 Player

Winamp is probably the most popular MP3 player (Free Music Player) available. Originally created by Nullsoft, Winamp is also known as the Ultimate MP3 Player. It is not only skinnable but supports playlists, various cool plugins, a graphical equalizer, visualizations and much more.

It supports the playback of AVI, NSV, WMV, MPG video files as well. But perhaps best of all, it can easily be made to run from your favorite USB flash drive or other portable device.

Winamp MP3 Player

Winamp Lite

Winamp Lite Playlist Editor
Winamp Equalizer Screenshot

Winamp is a popular and iconic media player for Windows operating systems. Winamp gained widespread popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It was known for its user friendly interface, extensibility through plugins, and support for a wide range of audio and video formats.

Key features include:

  • Customizable Skins: Allows users to customize the player's appearance through the use of skins. Users could choose from a vast library of skins or create their own to personalize the player's look.
  • Extensive Format Support: Supports a variety of audio and video formats, including MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV, and more. This broad format support contributed to its overwhelming popularity, especially during the early days of digital music.
  • Plugins and Extensions: Uses a plugin architecture that allowed users to enhance its functionality with various plugins and extensions. This includes features like visualizations, additional format support, and third party components.
  • Playlist Management: Users can easily create and manage playlists within Winamp, allowing for customized playback queues.
  • Internet Radio Streaming: Features support for internet radio streaming, allowing users to listen to online radio stations.
  • Equalizer and Audio Controls: Includes an equalizer for users to adjust audio settings according to their preferences. It also had basic audio controls such as play, pause, stop, next, and previous.

Winamp's popularity began to decline in the late 2000s, partly due to the changing landscape of media consumption and the rise of other media players and streaming services. However, it remains a nostalgic and well remembered piece of software for many of us users.

Specifications | Winamp Lite Project Page

  • Authors Website: Winamp Lite Page
  • Developer: Originally developed by Nullsoft
  • License: Freeware

How to Make Winamp Lite Portable

  1. Download Winamp Lite
  2. Install to the default folder I.E C:\Program Files\Winamp
  3. Copy the Winamp installation folder to your USB device
  4. Create a winamp.cmd file in your Winamp folder including the following command:
    start winamp.exe /inidir=ini
  5. Run winamp.cmd to setup the initial configuration
  6. Your prompted to run through the setup process
    • During Step 2 uncheck all Association options:
    • During step 3 uncheck the allow anonymous usage statistics option.

    Winamp Lite File Associations

  7. Click Finish and enjoy running Winamp Portably!