How to Use Windows Media Player 7 to Copy Audio CD Music Files to Your Computer (271807)

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The speed of your CD-ROM and the quality of your source audio CD may affect the quality of the files you copy. Because of these variables, you may not obtain an exact copy of the music even though you are copying digital information from an audio CD. Some minor flaws that you may notice are faint scratches or pops in the audio playback. This behavior is normal and is caused by the way your CD-ROM reads information from an audio CD. Although Windows Media Player tries to correct defects in the copied music, you may still notice minor flaws in the copied music.

IMPORTANT: By default, the tracks that you copy from an audio CD have associated licenses. The license enables you to play the tracks on the computer you used to copy the tracks and on supported portable devices. If you reinstall or upgrade the operating system, your licenses could be lost. Because of the importance of these licenses, you should back up your licenses periodically. For additional information about how to back up and restore licenses, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

How to Copy an Audio CD

To copy an audio CD:

1. Insert your audio CD into the CD-ROM drive.
2. Start Windows Media Player if it is not already running, and then click CD Audio.
3. If you have not previously copied tracks from the CD, all of the check boxes that are next to the tracks are selected, and this indicates that all of the tracks will be copied. Click to clear any of the check boxes that are next to the tracks you do not want to copy or leave all of the check boxes selected, and then click Copy Music.

How to Listen to a CD While You Copy Music Tracks

If you want to listen to an audio CD while you are copying tracks, digital copying must be enabled or your computer will use analog recording, and you will not be able to listen to your CD during the copy process. Note that you may not be able to listen to your CD while you are copying tracks if you are using digital speakers. Also, limitations of your CD-ROM may prevent you from listening to CD audio while you are copying tracks. To enable digital copying so that you can listen to a CD while you are recording music:

1. In Windows Media Player, click Options on the Tools menu.
2. Click the CD Audio tab, and then click to select the Digital Copying check box if it is not already selected.

How to Choose a Folder for Music Storage

By default, all of the tracks you select for copying are copied to the "My Documents\My Music" folder and are listed in the Media Library. If you decide to copy a large amount of tracks to your computer, it may be useful to change the location of the folder you use for music storage to a drive that has a large amount of free disk space. To determine where your music is stored or to choose a different folder for music storage:

1. In Windows Media Player, click Options on the Tools menu.
2. Click the CD Audio tab, and note the location of the folder that is used to store your music files. If you want to choose a different folder for music storage, continue to the next step.
3. Click Change, click a new folder to use for music storage, click OK, and then click OK.