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

Written by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: May 21, 2024 Fact Checked

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Copying a CD

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Burning a CD

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Q&A

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Tips

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Warnings

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

Insert the CD you want to rip and open Windows Media Player on Windows 10.
Click Organize > Options > Rip Music.
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
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.
Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. The Start menu will pop up.

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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.
Click the CD's name on the left side of the window.
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
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
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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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Burning a CD

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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).
- 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.
Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. The Start menu will pop up.
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.
It's on the upper-right side of the window.
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
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.
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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
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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Question

Where do I find ripped CD files on my computer?

Community Answer

You can typically find ripped CD files in your Music Library. They are usually organized by the CD's title or labeled "Unknown" with the ripping date if metadata was unavailable.

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Question

I have an audio CD and a Windows 10 laptop with a single CD/DVD drive. What is the easiest and fastest way to copy this audio CD to another blank CD, or are there services that can do this for me?

Community Answer

You can rip the audio CD to your computer, then burn those files to a new blank CD. First, use Windows Media Player to rip the tracks from your existing CD to your laptop. Then, remove the original CD, insert a blank CD, and use Windows Media Player to burn the ripped tracks onto the new CD.

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My CD drive keeps rejecting the blank CD I'm trying to use and prompts me for a new one. What should I do?

Community Answer

If you are trying to use a blank CD that has been previously formatted or used, it will likely be rejected. Windows Media Player typically requires a brand-new, unformatted blank CD for burning.

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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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