How to Copy a Music CD to a Hard Drive Using Windows Media Player 10

You may have music on a CD that you wish to record to your hard drive. You can quickly and easily do that with Windows Media Player 10. It's a free download if you don't already have it on your computer. There are other programs available to copy music from a CD to the computer's hard drive, but the directions that follow are for Windows Media Player 10.

Instructions

1. Choose the music CD that you wish to copy to your hard drive. Choose "Take No Action" from the screen that may pop up on your computer when you insert the CD into the CD drive.

2. Open the Windows Media Player from the "Start" menu. Select "Rip." A list of music tracks on the CD opens.

3. Go to "Tools" on the toolbar. Select "Options." Pick the "Select Music" tab. Choose where you wish the CD to download to on your hard drive.

4. Pick the "Rip Settings" tab now. Select what format you wish to record the music onto your hard drive as.

5. Select the "Audio Quality" tab now. Use the slider to choose a higher bit rate to get better quality music. The higher bit rate does take up more space however. Click "OK" when you finish this task.

6. Uncheck any music tracks that you don't want to copy from the CD. Click "Rip Music." Track the progress with the progress bar.

7. Remove the CD from the CD drive and store it in a safe place. Click on the music you copied. Listen to it to make sure it copied correctly.

Tips & Warnings

• You can get album information online to include in your ripped CD or you can fill in the information yourself.

Resources

• You can get Windows Media Player 10 here