ARCHIVED: In Windows 8, 7, Vista, or XP, how do I write a CD?

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Note: Illegal copying of copyrighted materials is a violation of copyright law. To familiarize yourself with some of the laws regarding copyright, read the No Electronic Theft Act.

Windows does not require any third-party software to create a music or data CD; this capability is built into the operating system.

Note: You must have a CD drive with write capability (i.e., a CD-R or a CD-RW drive, not a CD-ROM drive) to write CDs.

On this page:

Creating a data CD in Windows 8

Insert a blank CD or DVD into the disk drive.
Press Win-e to open a File Explorer window.
Note: For help navigating in Windows 8, see About views in Windows (Start screen/menu, Control Panel) and Microsoft's Windows 8 FAQ.
In the column on the left, click Libraries, and then navigate to and select the files you want to put on the disc.
At the top of the window, click the Share tab, and then select Burn to disc.
Name the disc, and then choose to use the disc With a CD/DVD player. Click Next.
A window showing all the files waiting to be burned to disc will appear. At the top of this window, select the Manage tab, and then click Finish burning.
Click Next. The files will begin to write to the disc.

Creating a data CD in Windows 7 or Vista

Insert a blank CD or DVD into the disk drive.
From the Start menu, open Computer.
Navigate to and select the files you want to put on the CD. On the blue bar at the top of Windows Explorer, click Burn.
Name the disc, and then click Next. The files will begin to write to the disc.

Creating a data CD in Windows XP

Insert a blank CD-R or CD-RW into the disk drive.
Find, highlight, and right-click the file(s) you want to copy. Select Send To, and then CD-RW Drive or CD-R Drive.
Alternatively, you can drag the file to the CD-R Drive or CD-RW Drive icon in the My Computer window or Windows Explorer.
Open My Computer (if it's not open from the step above), and double-click your CD-R or CD-RW drive.
On the left, under "CD Writing Tasks", click Write these files to CD. The CD Writing Wizard will appear.
Name the disc, and then click Next. The files will begin to write to the disc.

Creating an audio CD in Windows 8, 7, or Vista

Creating an audio CD from files on the hard drive

Insert a blank CD into the disk drive.
Open Windows Media Player, and click the Burn tab.
Drag and drop items from your library into the Burn List on the right.
When your list is complete, click Start Burn.

Creating an audio CD from another CD

Note: Windows Media Player 11 requires that content intended to be burned to discs be first stored on the computer's hard disk.

Insert the source CD (the one you're copying from) into the disk drive.
Open Windows Media Player. In Windows 7 and Vista, click the Rip tab.
Click Start Rip.
After the files have been ripped to your computer, follow the instructions in the previous section to create an audio CD from files on the hard drive.

Creating an audio CD in Windows XP

Creating an audio CD from files on the hard drive

Open Windows Media Player, and, on the left, click Copy to CD or Device.
From the Music to copy drop-down box, select the playlist or album with the desired songs. Alternatively, select All audio to bring up a list of all audio files currently on the hard drive.
Select the titles to copy to the CD, and then click Copy Music.

Creating an audio CD from another CD

Put the source CD (the one you're copying from) into the CD drive.
Open Windows Media Player, and, on the left, click Copy From CD.
Check the boxes beside the tracks you are copying.
Select Copy Music. Once the tracks have been converted and copied to your hard drive, insert the blank CD.
Click Copy to CD or Device, and under Music to copy, select the correct album.
Select the titles to copy, and then click Copy Music.

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Last modified on January 03, 2013.