How to Rip Music from a CD to a Computer

Co-authored by Luigi Oppido and Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: May 6, 2021 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to rip the songs from an audio CD onto your computer. You can use both iTunes and Windows Media Player to do so.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using iTunes

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1
Insert the CD into your computer. Place the audio CD that you want to rip logo side-up in your computer's CD drive.
- If a pop-up window appears when inserting the CD, close it before proceeding.
- If you're using a Mac (or a Windows computer that doesn't have a CD drive), you'll need to attach an external CD drive to your computer for this step.
2
Open iTunes. Click or double-click the iTunes app icon, which resembles a multicolored musical note on a white background.
- If you don't have iTunes installed, download and install it before proceeding.
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It's in the top-left corner of the iTunes window. This will take you to the CD's page.
This button is in the upper-right side of the page. Clicking it prompts a pop-up window to appear.
5
Select an audio format. Click the "Import using" drop-down box at the top of the drop-down menu, then click the format in which you want to import the audio CD's contents.
- For example, you would click MP3 encoder to rip the music to MP3 files on your computer.
- By default, iTunes will save the CD's files as AAC files, which are playable with most audio players and actually have higher inherent quality than MP3 files.
6
Select an audio quality if necessary. Click the "Setting" drop-down box, then click the quality with which you want to import the files.
- For example, if you want to import the audio files in extremely high quality, you would click the Higher Quality option in the drop-down menu.
It's at the bottom of the pop-up window. Doing so prompts iTunes to begin importing your CD.
Once the import is complete, iTunes will make a confirmation chime, and the progress bar will disappear from the top of the iTunes window.
Click Music in the upper-left side of the iTunes page, then scroll down to the imported CD's album and click the album once to open it.
10
Right-click one of the songs. It doesn't matter which song you right-click as long as the song is in the album you imported. A drop-down menu will appear.
- On a Mac, click once the song, then click File in the upper-left corner of the screen.
11
Click Show in Windows Explorer . This is in the drop-down menu. Doing so opens the folder location of the imported songs; at this point, you're free to move, rename, copy, or edit them as you please.
- If you're using a Mac, click Show in Finder here instead.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using Windows Media Player

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1
Insert the CD into your computer. Place the audio CD that you want to rip logo side-up in your computer's CD drive.
- If a pop-up window appears when inserting the CD, close it before proceeding.
- If you're using a computer that doesn't have a CD drive, you'll need to attach an external CD drive to your computer for this step.
Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
3
Open Windows Media Player. Type windows media player into the Start window, then click Windows Media Player at the top of the Start window.
- If you don't see Windows Media Player at the top of the Start window, it isn't installed on your computer. You'll need to install and use iTunes instead.
Click your CD's name in the left-hand side of the Windows Media Player window.
It's at the top of the Windows Media Player window. A drop-down menu will appear.
This is in the Rip settings drop-down menu. A new window will open.
7
Select a format. Click the "Format" drop-down box, then click the format you want to use (e.g., MP3 ) in the drop-down menu.
- Windows Media Player's default format (WMA) isn't compatible with some audio players, so it's best to choose a more popular format like MP3.
Click Change... in the "Rip music to this location" section, then select a folder (e.g., Desktop ) and click OK .
It's at the bottom of the window. Doing so will save your settings and close the window.
This tab is at the top of the Windows Media Player window. Your CD will begin ripping to your specified file location.
Once Windows Media Player alerts you that the process is complete, you can proceed.
Go to the folder location you selected, double-click the "Unknown artist" folder, and double-click the album folder inside. This will display all of the music files your ripped; at this point, you're free to move, rename, copy, or edit them as you please.

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Question

Will the songs on the CD remain there? It's just copying, right?

Community Answer

The songs will remain on the CD. It will just copy them to the desired path on your computer.

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Do I need to put a folder in the library first?

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Not necessarily. There is already a folder created by the library. What you can do is to rename that folder from the default 'untitled' to a name of your choice.

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How do I do it on a laptop?

Community Answer

Use the same process as a PC (computer). You can't rip from a CD if the laptop doesn't have a CD drive.

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Tips

Some songs may be covered by copyright laws which may prevent the distribution of songs. Copying a CD for backup purposes is OK, but giving it to family and friends or selling it to the public is not.

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You can also copy CD music to a USB drive .

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Warnings

Unfortunately, ripping a CD via Windows Media Player will result in a group of untitled tracks (e.g., "Track 1", "Track 2", etc.). You'll need to re-title these by hand, as WMP's album information lookup tool no longer works.

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How to Rip Music from a CD to a Computer

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Using Windows Media Player

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