Why Doesn't the Audio CD I Burned Play on My CD Player?

Compatibility issues, burn errors and outdated hardware are some of the many reasons why your burned audio CD won't play in your CD player. After you've verified there is nothing wrong with the CD by testing it in another CD player (computer or standalone), continue to troubleshoot the problem after referencing the commonly encountered issues listed.

Software

The software used to burn the audio CD may be out of date or cannot produce a disc compatible with your CD player. Experimenting with different disc burning programs may help you determine which works best with your CD player.

Disc Burner

Burning at the fastest speed available on your disc burner can result in burn errors, which can affect the likelihood that the CD will play on your machine. Lowering the burn speed (switching from 16x to 8x, for instance) in the software used to create the disc can reduce future errors.

CD/Burner Compatibility

The disc you burned may be CD-RW (rewritable), which may be incompatible with your CD-R CD player. It's also possible that your CD player may only support MP3 files and cannot read other audio file types (such as WMA) you may have on the CD. Also, dust and other obstructions on the CD player laser can prevent the disc from being read.

References

• AndyBrain: Burned CD not working in car CD player
• Windows: Burn a CD or DVD in Windows Media Player frequently asked questions