How to Copy or Burn a CD Using Windows Media Player (2024)

Written byDarlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: May 21, 2024Fact Checked

Quick Steps

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1. 1

   Insert the CD into your computer's CD/DVD drive. 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. 2

   Open Start

   . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. The Start menu will pop up.

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3. 3

   Open Windows Media Player. 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. 4

   Select the CD. Click the CD's name on the left side of the window.

5. 5

   Change the rip location if needed. 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. 6

   Click Rip CD. 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. 7

   Click OK when prompted. 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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1. 1

   Insert a blank CD into your computer's CD/DVD drive. This must be a brand-new CD-R or CD-RW (or, if you're creating a storage CD, a brand-new DVD).

   See Also

   How to Burn Cd in Windows 10 Without Any Software?How to Rip CDs in Windows 10 - dummiesThe Common LawCD Burning Service - DiscMasters

   • 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. 2

   Open Start

   . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. The Start menu will pop up.

3. 3

   Open Windows Media Player. 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. 4

   Click the Burn tab. It's on the upper-right side of the window.

5. 5

   Select a CD format. 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. 6

   Add songs to the CD. 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. 7

   Arrange the songs in your preferred order. Click and drag the songs up or down to set a play order.

   • Skip this step for a data CD.
8. 8

   Click Start burn. 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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