Copy & Burn Audio CDs Using Windows Media Player

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A quick and easy guide to copying music from a CD to your computer using Windows Media Player
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This wikiHow teaches you how to use Windows Media Player to copy (or "rip") an audio CD's files onto your computer, as well as how to burn files onto a CD using Windows Media Player. For this to work, your computer must have Windows Media Player and a CD/DVD disc drive. Windows 10 is the only version with Windows Media Player; Windows 11 users can use Windows Media Player Legacy.

Quick Steps

  1. Insert the CD you want to rip and open Windows Media Player on Windows 10.
  2. Click Organize > Options > Rip Music .
  3. To burn a disc, insert an empty CD or DVD, then select Burn .
Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

Copying a CD

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  1. Place the CD from which you want to copy files face-up in your computer's CD or DVD player.
    • If Windows Media Player opens when you insert the CD, skip the next two steps.
    • If an autorun window or a different program opens, close it before proceeding.
  2. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. The Start menu will pop up.
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  3. Type in windows media player and then click the orange, blue, and white Windows Media Player icon at the top of the Start menu.
    • If you don't see Windows Media Player at the top of the Start menu, it isn't installed on your computer. Windows Media Player doesn't come installed on some versions of Windows 10, though clean-installing Windows 10 can add Windows Media Player to your computer.
  4. Click the CD's name on the left side of the window.
  5. If you want to change the folder into which the CD copies its files, do the following:
    • Click Rip settings at the top of the window.
    • Click More options... in the drop-down menu.
    • Click Change... in the upper-right side of the window.
    • Select a new folder, then click OK at the bottom of the pop-up window.
    • Click OK at the bottom of the window.
  6. It's at the top of the window. Doing so will prompt Windows Media Player to copy the CD's files onto your computer.
    • Ripping can take as long as a minute (or more) per standard song.
    • To stop the CD from ripping at any time, click Stop rip at the top of the window.
  7. This signifies that the files have been ripped from your CD onto your computer.
    • You can view the CD's files by opening the folder into which you ripped the CD, double-clicking the artist's name (or Unknown artist ), and double-clicking the album folder. [1]
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Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

Burning a CD

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  1. This must be a brand-new CD-R or CD-RW (or, if you're creating a storage CD, a brand-new DVD).
    • If Windows Media Player opens when you insert the CD, skip the next two steps.
    • If an autorun window or a different program opens, close it before proceeding.
  2. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. The Start menu will pop up.
  3. Type in windows media player and then click the orange, blue, and white Windows Media Player icon at the top of the Start menu.
    • If you don't see Windows Media Player at the top of the Start menu, it isn't installed on your computer. Windows Media Player doesn't come installed on some versions of Windows 10, though clean-installing Windows 10 can add Windows Media Player to your computer.
  4. It's on the upper-right side of the window.
  5. While you'll usually want to use Windows Media Player to create an audio CD that you can play in a car or CD player, you can also use Windows Media Player to create a data storage CD:
    • Click the "Burn options" checklist icon at the top of the "Burn" section.
    • Click Audio CD for a playable audio CD or Data CD or DVD for a file storage CD.
  6. You can add up to 80 minutes of audio to a standard audio CD, so click and drag your preferred songs from the main window into the "Burn" section.
    • If you're creating a data CD, you can also add videos and photos to the CD.
  7. Click and drag the songs up or down to set a play order.
    • Skip this step for a data CD.
  8. It's at the top of the "Burn" section. Doing so will prompt Windows Media Player to burn selected songs (or files) onto the CD. Once this process is completed, the CD will be ejected from your computer.
    • The burning process will take several minutes, depending on the selected CD format and how many songs you're burning.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    Where is the ripped CD located on my computer?
    Community Answer
    Look in your Music Library; it should automatically be there with the title of the CD, or called "Unknown" with the date you ripped it, if the CD did not have a title embedded.
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    Not Helpful 8 Helpful 18
  • Question
    What should I do if my burned audio CD will not play in my car's audio player?
    Community Answer
    There might be a defect in the disc, or your car's audio player doesn't support the audio file type. Most of the time, .wav and .mp3 file types work.
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    Thank you for your feedback.
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    Not Helpful 16 Helpful 23
  • Question
    I have an audio CD of someone speaking. Can that be copied to another CD, and if so, what is the easiest and fastest way? I have a Windows 10 laptop with one CD/DVD thing only. Or I can pay to have it done if there is somewhere that does it?
    Community Answer
    Copy the contents of the CD to your desktop. Remove the CD and insert the other CD. Copy the contents from your desktop to the empty CD. Done.
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      Tips

      • When selecting a new folder in which to store the ripped CD files, you can select a base folder (e.g., Desktop ) and then click Make New Folder on the left side of the pop-up window to create and choose a new folder as the storage location.
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      Warnings

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      References

      1. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/burn-and-rip-cds-235021d5-e1c7-8616-4efd-4f4965fe6b91

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      1. Insert the CD you want to copy.
      2. Open Windows Media Player .

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