How to Write on a CD Reader
You can use a CD reader to copy your CDs, but only if the drive has the capability of recording CDs. CD readers with writing capability have been around since the late 1990s, so most newer computers can read and write CDs. There are two writing formats. The one you choose depends on whether you will be playing the disc on a computer, a device capable of reading data files, or an audio CD player.
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Instructions
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Opening the Recording Window
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Verify that your CD reader can also write CDs. Older computers might have drives that are only capable of reading CDs. Look on the front of the drive for a symbol that says "CD-R," "CD-RW" or "Compact Disc ReWritable."
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Open the drive by pressing the "Eject" button on the front. You can also right click on the drive under the "Computer" screen in Windows and left-click on "Eject".
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Insert a blank CD-R or CD-RW disc into the drive and close the door. A window will pop up on the screen asking you what you want to do. Select "Burn files to disc using Windows Explorer".
Creating a Data Disc
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Type the name of the disc in the "Disk title" box, then select "Like a USB flash drive" and click "Next". The computer will open a blank window.
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Click on the files you want to copy to your CD reader. You can select multiple files by holding down the "Ctrl" button and clicking on the file names.
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Drag the files to the empty box and release the left mouse button. They will automatically be written to the CD.
Creating an Audio Disc
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Type the name of the audio disc in the "Disc title" box, then click "With a CD/DVD player" and click "Next". The computer will pop up an empty window.
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Open the folder that holds the songs you want to record to the disc, then drag and drop them into the empty folder.
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Click the "Burn to disc" option in the toolbar at the top of the window. Follow the on-screen directions.
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Tips & Warnings
If the Autoplay popup box doesn't appear, open the "Computer" icon on the Windows start menu, then double click on your CD reader drive.
You can also burn files as a data disc by holding down the "Ctrl" key and left clicking on the files. Right-click on one of the selected files, then left-click on "Send to" and left-click on the letter of your CD reader.
The disc can hold either 650 or 700 megabytes of data as a data disc, but only 74 to 80 minutes of audio as an audio disc. The total capacity depends on the disc.
