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How to Burn a CD

This wikiHow teaches you how to burn information, such as songs, files, or programs, onto a blank CD. You can do this on both Windows and Mac computers, though you will need a computer that has a DVD drive. Understand what creating a data...
Method 1 of 4:

Burning a Data CD on Windows

  1. How to Burn a CD Picture 1How to Burn a CD Picture 1
    Understand what creating a data CD does. If you just want to store files and folders on your CD, you can burn the files/folders in question to the CD in order to store them. Data CDs are not playable, but can be opened and viewed like other forms of storage (e.g., a flash drive).
    1. Examples of files you can burn to a CD include photos, documents, and videos.
    2. If you want to burn music to a CD in order to create a playable disc (e.g., one you can use in a CD player), skip ahead to the music CD method.
  2. How to Burn a CD Picture 2How to Burn a CD Picture 2
    Insert a blank CD into your computer's disk drive. Make sure that the CD is blank before doing this.
    1. If the CD has been used before, you'll need to erase the CD first.
    2. The drive must be a DVD drive. You can determine this by looking for the "DVD" logo on or near the drive's tray.
  3. How to Burn a CD Picture 3How to Burn a CD Picture 3
    Open File Explorer
    How to Burn a CD Picture 4How to Burn a CD Picture 4
    . Click the folder-shaped icon in the taskbar at the bottom of your computer's screen.
    1. You can also press ⊞ Win+E to open the File Explorer window.
  4. How to Burn a CD Picture 5How to Burn a CD Picture 5
    Select a file location. Click the folder in which the files that you want to burn are located. You'll find this folder on the left side of the window.
  5. How to Burn a CD Picture 6How to Burn a CD Picture 6
    Select files to burn. Click and drag your mouse across a group of files to select all of them, or hold down Ctrl while clicking individual files to select each one independently.
    1. If you only want to burn one file (e.g., an ISO), just click the file to select it.
    2. Most CDs can only hold around 700 megabytes of files.
  6. How to Burn a CD Picture 7How to Burn a CD Picture 7
    Click the Share tab. This tab is in the upper-left corner of the window. A toolbar will appear near the top of the window.
  7. How to Burn a CD Picture 8How to Burn a CD Picture 8
    Click Burn to disc. It's in the "Send" section of the toolbar. A new window will open.
  8. How to Burn a CD Picture 9How to Burn a CD Picture 9
    Click Burn. This option is at the bottom of the window. Doing so will prompt your files to begin burning to your CD.
    1. This process can take a while to complete depending on the size and number of files you're burning.
  9. How to Burn a CD Picture 10How to Burn a CD Picture 10
    Click Finish when prompted. It's at the bottom of the window. You can now eject your burned CD from your computer.
Method 2 of 4:

Burning a Data CD on Mac

  1. How to Burn a CD Picture 11How to Burn a CD Picture 11
    Understand what creating a data CD does. If you just want to store files and folders on your CD, you can burn the files/folders in question to the CD in order to store them. Data CDs are not playable, but can be opened and viewed like other forms of storage (e.g., a flash drive).
    1. Examples of files you can burn to a CD include photos, documents, and videos.
    2. If you want to burn music to a CD in order to create a playable disc (e.g., one you can use in a CD player), skip ahead to the music CD method.
  2. How to Burn a CD Picture 12How to Burn a CD Picture 12
    Insert a blank CD into your computer's disk drive. Since most Macs don't come with a built-in CD slot, you will likely need an external CD reader to do this.
    1. You can buy an external disk reader from Apple for less than $90.
  3. How to Burn a CD Picture 13How to Burn a CD Picture 13
    Open Spotlight
    How to Burn a CD Picture 14How to Burn a CD Picture 14
    . Click the magnifying glass-shaped icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
  4. How to Burn a CD Picture 15How to Burn a CD Picture 15
    Open Disk Utility. Type disk utility into the search bar that appears, then double-click the Disk Utility result.
  5. How to Burn a CD Picture 16How to Burn a CD Picture 16
    Click Burn. This radioactive symbol-shaped icon is at the top of the window. A Finder window will open.
  6. How to Burn a CD Picture 17How to Burn a CD Picture 17
    Select a file location. Click the folder in which the files that you want to burn are located. You'll find a list of folders on the left side of the window.
  7. How to Burn a CD Picture 18How to Burn a CD Picture 18
    Select files to burn. Click and drag your mouse across a group of files to select all of them, or hold down ⌘ Command while clicking individual files to select each one independently.
    1. If you only want to burn one file (e.g., an ISO), just click the file to select it.
  8. How to Burn a CD Picture 19How to Burn a CD Picture 19
    Click Burn. It's in the bottom-right corner of the window. This will close the Finder window.
  9. How to Burn a CD Picture 20How to Burn a CD Picture 20
    Click Burn when prompted. It's in the pop-up near the top of the Disk Utility window. Clicking it prompts the burning process to begin.
    1. This process will take some time, so be patient.
  10. How to Burn a CD Picture 21How to Burn a CD Picture 21
    Click OK when prompted. It's in the bottom-right corner of the window. This signifies that the burning is complete.
Method 3 of 4:

Burning a Music CD on Windows

  1. How to Burn a CD Picture 22How to Burn a CD Picture 22
    Insert a blank CD into your computer's disk drive. Make sure that the CD is blank before doing this.
    1. If the CD has been used before, you'll need to erase the CD first.
    2. The drive must be a DVD drive. You can determine this by looking for the "DVD" logo on or near the drive's tray.
  2. How to Burn a CD Picture 23How to Burn a CD Picture 23
    Open Start
    How to Burn a CD Picture 24How to Burn a CD Picture 24
    . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. A menu will appear.
  3. How to Burn a CD Picture 25How to Burn a CD Picture 25
    Open Windows Media Player. Type in windows media player, then click Windows Media Player at the top of the search results.
    1. If Windows Media Player doesn't appear at the top of the search results, it isn't installed on your computer.
    2. If your computer doesn't have Windows Media Player installed, you'll need to use iTunes instead. Download and install iTunes on your computer, then skip ahead to the next method.
  4. How to Burn a CD Picture 26How to Burn a CD Picture 26
    Click the Library tab. It's in the upper-left side of the Windows Media Player window.
    1. Skip this step and the next one if Windows Media Player opens to your Music library.
  5. How to Burn a CD Picture 27How to Burn a CD Picture 27
    Navigate to your Music library. Double-click Music to open the categories page, then double-click All music to open a list of your computer's music files.
  6. How to Burn a CD Picture 28How to Burn a CD Picture 28
    Click the Burn tab. It's in the top-right corner of the Windows Media Player window.
  7. How to Burn a CD Picture 29How to Burn a CD Picture 29
    Select music to burn. Hold down Ctrl while clicking each song that you want to add to your CD.
    1. You can generally burn between 70 and 80 minutes of music to one CD.
  8. How to Burn a CD Picture 30How to Burn a CD Picture 30
    Add the music to the "Burn" tab. Click and drag any of the selected songs to the "Burn" tab's sidebar on the right side of the window, then release the song there. You should see all of your selected songs in the "Burn" tab.
  9. How to Burn a CD Picture 31How to Burn a CD Picture 31
    Click the "Options" icon. It's a white box with green checkmarks on it near the top of the "Burn" tab. A drop-down menu will appear.
  10. How to Burn a CD Picture 32How to Burn a CD Picture 32
    Click Audio CD. This option is in the middle of the drop-down menu.
  11. How to Burn a CD Picture 33How to Burn a CD Picture 33
    Click Start burn. It's at the top of the "Burn" sidebar. Your songs will begin burning onto the CD.
  12. How to Burn a CD Picture 34How to Burn a CD Picture 34
    Wait for the CD to finish burning. Your CD should eject when it's finished burning. Once your CD is complete, you should be able to play it in any CD player (e.g., your car's stereo).
Method 4 of 4:

Burning a Music CD on Mac

  1. How to Burn a CD Picture 35How to Burn a CD Picture 35
    Insert a blank CD into your computer's disk drive. Since most Macs don't come with a built-in CD slot, you will likely need an external CD reader to do this.
    1. You can buy an external disk reader from Apple for less than $90.
  2. How to Burn a CD Picture 36How to Burn a CD Picture 36
    Open iTunes. Click or double-click the iTunes app icon, which resembles a multicolored musical note on a white background.
  3. How to Burn a CD Picture 37How to Burn a CD Picture 37
    Select songs to burn. Hold down ⌘ Command (or Ctrl if you're on Windows) while clicking each song you want to add to your CD.
    1. Most CDs allow for between 70 and 80 minutes of burned music.
    2. You may have to click the Songs tab to view a list of your iTunes songs before you can begin selecting them.
  4. How to Burn a CD Picture 38How to Burn a CD Picture 38
    Click File. It's in the top-left corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
  5. How to Burn a CD Picture 39How to Burn a CD Picture 39
    Select New. This is in the File drop-down menu. Selecting it will prompt a pop-out menu.
  6. How to Burn a CD Picture 40How to Burn a CD Picture 40
    Click Playlist from Selection. It's in the pop-out menu. This will create a new playlist with all of your selected music.
    1. If you want to name the playlist, type in a name and press ⏎ Return before proceeding.
  7. How to Burn a CD Picture 41How to Burn a CD Picture 41
    Click File. This is in the upper-right corner of the screen. The drop-down menu will reappear.
  8. How to Burn a CD Picture 42How to Burn a CD Picture 42
    Click Burn Playlist to Disc. It's in the File drop-down menu. A pop-up window will open.
  9. How to Burn a CD Picture 43How to Burn a CD Picture 43
    Check the "Audio CD" box. This is at the top of the pop-up window.
  10. How to Burn a CD Picture 44How to Burn a CD Picture 44
    Click Burn. It's at the bottom of the window. Your songs will begin burning to the CD.
  11. How to Burn a CD Picture 45How to Burn a CD Picture 45
    Wait for the CD to finish burning. Your CD should eject when it's finished burning. Once your CD is complete, you should be able to play it in any CD player (e.g., your car's stereo).
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