How to Download iTunes Music to a Garmin Zumo

by Ken White
Music from iTunes can be transferred to the Garmin Zumo motorcycle GPS internal memory or SD card.

Music from iTunes can be transferred to the Garmin Zumo motorcycle GPS internal memory or SD card.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images

The Garmin Zumo line of GPS devices is designed for motorcyclists. The Zumo controls are large enough to be operated by a rider wearing gloves. The unit is waterproof and made of fuel-resistant plastic. It has a built-in picture viewer and music player, and supports MP3 music files that you can transfer to the Zumo from iTunes. Songs transferred from iTunes must first be converted in MP3 format, which can be done within iTunes.

Step 1

Open the Windows start menu, click "All Programs" and scroll to the "iTunes" folder. Click the folder and click the "iTunes" file icon.

Step 2

Click the "Edit" menu and click "Preferences." Click the "Import Settings" button. Select "MP3 Encoder" from the "Import Using" drop-down menu and choose a file quality from the "Setting" drop-down menu. Click "OK."

Step 3

From your iTunes Library, highlight the files you want to convert. Hold the "Ctrl" key on the keyboard to select multiple files. Click the "Advanced" menu and click "Create MP3 Version." ITunes will convert the highlighted songs to MP3.

Step 4

Connect the USB cable to the Zumo and plug the other end into an open USB port on your computer. Windows will automatically detect the Zumo. Click "Computer." Two additional disk drives will be available under "Removable Storage." "Garmin" is the internal memory of the Zumo. The other is the SD memory card in the Zumo.

Step 5

Click your "Music" Library. Click "iTunes" under "My Music." Click "iTunes Media." Click "Music." Open the folders with your converted music files. Highlight the files you want to move to the Zumo. Right-click the files and select "Copy" from the context menu.

Step 6

Click the "Back" button at the top of the window to return to the list of disk drives. Double-click the "Garmin" drive if you want to transfer the songs to the internal memory of the Zumo. Double-click the SD memory card drive if you want to transfer the songs to the SD drive. Right-click in the window and choose "Paste" from the context menu. The files will be copied.

Step 7

Right-click the "Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media" icon in the Windows system tray. Click the "Garmin" drive and "OK." Unplug the USB cable from the Garmin Zumo and your computer.

About the Author

Ken White began his writing career in 1972 as a reporter for a local Florida newspaper. With a career in public safety as a police officer, firefighter and emergency manager, his fiction has also been published in magazines such as "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine." White studied history and psychology at Mercer University.

Photo Credits

  • Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images