How to Burn or Create a CD or DVD on a Computer (2024)

Updated: 07/13/2023 by Computer Hope

To learn how to create or copy a CD (compact disc) or DVD (digital versatile disc) on your computer, review the sections below.

Note

You must have a disc drive capable of burning a CD and a blank recordable CD-R (compact disc recordable). For example, a CD-RW (compact disc re-writable) and DVD-RW (digital versatile disc read/write) are examples of drives capable of burning a CD. A standard CD-ROM (compact disc read-only memory) drive cannot burn a CD with any program.

Create data and audio CDs

How to Burn or Create a CD or DVD on a Computer (1)

Creating a CD or DVD for files, videos, music, pictures, documents, or other data, is a great way to have a saved backup of those items. Numerous programs are available today for creating CDs. Below is a short list of some popular programs used to copy, burn, and create audio and data CDs.

  • CDBurnerXP Pro - Free Microsoft Windows CD and DVD burner program.
  • Nero - A popular program to create CDs.
  • Alcohol 120% - Another popular and widely used program to create CDs.
  • Easy Media Creator or Toast - Products from Roxio, Easy Media Creator is a widely used Windows computer program. Toast is a popular program to create CDs on Apple Macintosh computers.

Note

Because of the many different CD burning programs available, we cannot provide instructions on how to use each one to create a CD. We recommend you search on the Internet or check the software manufacturer's website for instructions on using the program of your choice.

Only create audio CDs

If you only need to burn an audio CD to store music, it's likely you already have a program installed on your computer capable of burning CDs. Below lists some commonly used programs to create audio CDs (in addition to those mentioned above).

  • Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 - All latest versions of Microsoft Windows have Windows Media Player installed and can create audio CDs.
  • Apple iTunes - All versions of Apple iTunes for the Mac and Windows computers can burn CDs. If you have this program installed on your computer, you can also create audio CDs.

Other CD burning software

Many programs enable users to create CDs. If you are interested in something other than any of the above solutions, try searching Google.

How to Burn or Create a CD or DVD on a Computer (2024)

FAQs

How to Burn or Create a CD or DVD on a Computer? ›

If your PC has more than one CD or DVD drive, select the drive you want to use. Search for the items in your Player Library that you want to burn to the disc, and then drag them to the list pane (on the right side of the Player Library) to create a burn list. When you're finished with the list, select Start burn.

Does Windows 10 have a CD burning program? ›

Burning music to a CD on Windows 10 is very simple because all you need to do is enter your library, in the music section, choose the songs, and finally click on 'burn. ' You will then add a blank CD to your CD drive, select the CD type you want, and click on 'add tracks from your library.

Can any computer burn a CD? ›

This wikiHow article 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 rewritable CD drive.

Can you burn a CD on a library computer? ›

Data and audio CDs may be burned on Library computer workstations. Copyright restrictions apply to Library materials, so please be sure that the burning of a CD is in compliance with copyright regulation.

Do I need a program to burn a CD? ›

You need specialised software to efficiently burn and manage CDs. Still, fortunately, there are many programs available from free ones such as Windows Media Player or iTunes to more complex applications like Nero or Roxio.

How can I burn a CD on my computer for free? ›

CDBurnerXP. CDBurnerXP is one of the best free CD burners. It supports burning to different forms of clear optical media discs such as CD, DVD, HD-DVD, and even Blu-ray. With this program, you will be able to burn an audio or data CD into AAC, MP3, ALAC, FLAC, OGG, WAV, and a number of other formats.

What is the difference between copying and burning a CD? ›

Put simply, “burning” is a popular term used when writing anything to a recordable CD. Copying is 'what it says on the tin'. In that, it is the process of reading data from one CD, and then writing, or “copying”, onto a second disc. This creates an exact duplicate of the original disc.

How do I burn files to a DVD in Windows 10? ›

Navigate to the files, select them, then drag them to the drive icon. The files display in a Files Ready to Be Written to the Disc window. Right-click the empty area, then select Burn to disc. In the Prepare this disc window, type the disc title (default is the date), select the recording speed, then click Next.

Is it illegal to burn CDs for personal use? ›

Generally, there's no legal right to digitally copy and distribute copies of copyright protected material. Burning a purchased copy of a DVD/CD onto your own digital device will not raise concerns as long as: The copy is made from an authorized original DVD/CD that you own. The copy is for your personal use.

Can you still burn CDs on iTunes? ›

Create a CD or DVD

Create a playlist that contains the songs or files you want to burn to the disc. Choose View > View As > Songs and make sure the items you want to include have a checkmark beside them. Insert a blank disc. Select the playlist, then choose File > Burn Playlist to Disc.

How long does it take to burn a CD? ›

How long does it take to burn a CD-R? It depends on how much data you're going to burn, and how fast your drive is. Burning 650MB of data takes about 74 minutes at 1x, 37 minutes at 2x, and 19 minutes at 4x, but you have to add a minute or two for "finalizing" the disc.

Will Walmart burn CDs? ›

There's no downloading required, nor is access to a CD burner or a portable digital music device necessary. Customers select songs that Walmart.com burns onto a physical CD and ships.

Where is the rip CD button in Windows 10 Media Player? ›

The Rip CD button is located in the Windows 10 File Explorer. To access it, open the File Explorer, go to the Manage tab, and click on the Rip CD button. The Rip CD button is used to rip music from an audio CD to an MP3 or WMA file. It also allows you to edit the metadata of the song before ripping it.

How do I burn an ISO to a CD in Windows 10? ›

Windows 8/8.1/10

Right click on the . iso file. From the menu select Burn disc image.

How do you finalize a disc after burning Windows 10? ›

To finalizing a CD or DVD, start with clicking the "My Computer" icon and then locate the icon of the CD or DVD. If you have labeled the disc, look for the icon with the name. When you have located the icon, right click and select "Close Session." You will then see a pop up box once the finalization is over.

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