I'll do this once - proceed at your own discretion, I am not responsible for your actions!
This adds the LAME codec to your OS.
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Download Lame MP3 .. ver. 3.100 is latest
Zip is here -
https://www.rarewares.org/mp3-lame-bundle.php (get 64 bit version if you have 64 bit OS)
Extract it to a new folder - C:\lame (!important) (or copy it there after, the script below relies on that location)
Open command prompt as Administrator
(type CMD in your search window, when Command Prompt pops up right-click it and select Run as Administrator - again important!)
Copy/paste below into command prompt -
cd C\Windows\SysWOW64
Hit Enter
(This takes you to the system folder)
again copy/paste the line below -
rundll32 setupapi.dll,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 0 C:\lame\LameACM.inf
Hit Enter
You'll need to restart the computer for changes to take effect.
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/All of this info is included in the ZIP as a TXT file once extracted
//The only change I made was using "C\Windows\SysWOW64" instead of "%windir%\SysWOW64" because in my experience some machines do not find the SysWOW64 folder using "%windir%\SysWOW64"
Oh!, and the Run as Administrator part .. because some people need Admin rights to make system changes like adding a codec.
I have also had luck simply installing Lame FrontEnd (which is a nice 3rd party tool that adds a ton of options to Lame) but the above is what most Windows users find success with in getting LAME installed to Windows. Plus Lame FrontEnd is getting harder to find.
If this makes you nervous then find another way, such as K-Lite Codec pack .. just be careful where you download that from (scan it) as it is popular with video work and does occasionally include malware.
Again, no guarantees, just what worked for me, but I am comfortable using Command Prompt.
Hopefully mods don't remove this, and only add a 'Use at your own risk' comment.
LAME site links to rarewares for the latest version ...