How Do I Rip CDs to a Computer?

Ripping a CD to a computer means transferring the music from an audio CD to your computer's hard drive. Windows Media Player is the audio player and CD ripper for the Windows operating system. iTunes is the audio player and CD ripper for Macs and is available as a free download for Windows. Windows Media Player will, by default, rip the CD into the WMA audio format. iTunes will rip the CD into the AAC format.

Things You'll Need

• Windows Media Player
• iTunes

Instructions

Windows Media Player (Windows)

1. Open Windows Media Player.

2. Click the "Tools" menu.

3. Click "Options" in the list presented.

4. Click the "Rip Music" tab.

5. Check the "Rip CD when inserted" option.

6. Click "OK."

7. Place the CD into the computer's CD drive. Media Player will start ripping the CD automatically.

iTunes (Mac and Windows)

1. Open iTunes.

2. Place the CD into the computer's CD drive. iTunes will automatically populate the "Source" column with the CD's information, such as track numbers and song titles.

3. Click the "Import" button on the top right of the screen (or in the bottom right of the screen, on a Windows computer). iTunes will begin ripping the CD.

References

• Microsoft: Ripping CDs in Windows Media Player
• iLounge: How to import CD tracks to iTunes