Making music CDs

Insert the music CD you wish to copy in your computers CD drive.

Off the shelf retailer computers come with accessory software installed not related to
the operating system that automatically opens when you insert the disc. To use the operating system's close this program and open the operating system's media player. The media player window opens. If you don't see the CD contents turn your attention to the left pane clicking the "CD Drive" (or "unknown Album" ).  The contents of the disc will display.

If the drive starts ripping automatically the auto rip feature is set to rip automatically to rip the CD to your operating system's music library. To stop it turn your attention to the top bar of the window clicking "Stop rip". A residue of this automatic rip is recorded in the music library. If operating off line a folder will be labelled unknown with the file inside.

If you don't delete the folder the operating system sees fit include it in the burning processes causing some frustration if not wanted in your preferred set up. To turn the auto rip feature off click the "rip settings".

When the rip menu displays a tick in the rip tick box displays. Clicking "Rip automatically" turns it off automatically closing the menu. Go into your music folder and delete the residue folder.

Back to the rip menu by default all track tick boxes are ticked. At this point you have the opportunity to click out songs you don't want before you start ripping. Any blank tick boxes will not be ripped. When finished the player will let you know. If the automatically eject CD is turned on will automatically eject it.

Now remove the music CD and replace with a blank.

Go into the music library and open the recorded folder to access the files.  Minimize the window to at lest half you monitor. Open the player and minimize so the two programs are opened side by side.
This is because we all can take advantage of modern operating systems use typical easy to use drag and drop method.

Highlighting all files in the ripped music folder drag all into the right burn pane. Turn your attention to the to the top menu bar clicking start burn. The same tick box ripping procedure as the music folder in burning to blank CDs.

Special notes

The character of CD burning is now part of history theses days. Very few operating systems will support it now. Consumers are driven by a trend by business giving users no choice but to play along with smart phone/internet technology the cause of a decline in CD Players and operating system supporting burning music CD's. CD burning is already history as far as businesses is concerned. The smart phone generation has gotten used to the no choice policy to adapt in doubling their phones as hand held players instead.

Phones can be connected into users home entertainment systems at home. Habitual no choice of business policy users are forced to abandoned CD Players in favor of advances in technology. The following is now considered dinosaur technology.

Making a copy is copied to the hard drive called rip. Recording from the hard drive to a blank CD is called burn. The beauty of hard drive copies, one you have a copy of the CD in your music folder you can open the folder accessing the files you can use your operating system's cut, copy, past and rename system as you normally do with your personal files to reorganize your music files inside the folders as you like.

Ultra thin laptops and mini note books don't come with built in CD drives. Alternatively a supplementary external drive is required connected to the standard USB sockets we use typical flash drive memory sticks and printers. Since modern computers are stand along burners no software is necessary so any instillation disc that comes with a burner can be ignored.

Make sure the silver play side hasn't become dull. If the silver side is dull media players tend to have trouble ripping. As an insurance carefully wipe the silver side with cotton wool material ( glasses cloth ect ) to a mirror finish before you insert the disc. Don't scourge just polish.
When you open the media player there should be  CD or unknown in the left pane in the rip window.
Clicking  CD or unknown contents displays the CD contents.

If the disc plays as soon as you inserted it, an auto play feature may have been set to automatically play. All the familiar multimedia player controls are present as any media player to stop it. Click stop and close the window. The behavior characters differ from media player to media player. If nothing happens you can alternatively manually opened by clicking the player icon in the task bar or dock.

If unfamiliar with the operating system features the media player icon  can be identified by the operating system icon identifier. Rest the mouse pointer over each icon in the task bar, or dock, for a second or two. If the media player doesn't seem to be there check the frequently used programs list. If not there either it can be be found checking start, all programs, clicking accessories. For Windows 8 computers go into the tile window. Type media player. Clicking the media player box will open the media player displaying the CD contents.

Observe the media player icon displays on screen a dock or task bar at the bottom of the window with the bars icons. In windows operating system if you right click the task bar media player icon displays an option of pinning or unpinning any icon to the task bar you please where you can pin the media player icon to it. Next time when ever you need to open the media player again just click the task bar icon. It will open.

If the drive starts ripping automatically the auto rip feature is set to rip automatically to rip the CD to the hard drive. If you don't want to automatically rip you can stop the processes clicking the stop rip button shown. It will change to "rip CD". The rip CD is now on manual stand by. You are now on manual control when ever your ready to start ripping.

Note. Stopping the rip doesn't stop the player ripping the first song. Microsoft have programmed windows to record in the music library folder automatically named unknown artist that often causes confusion to the unfamiliar. If the automatically rip is turn off the player will do nothing on stand by you manually start ripping at any time.

Another confusion when you come to rip the CD the media player program automatically adds to the rest of your personal recoding list. If you want an independent recording go into the your operating system's library music folder and delete the folder labeled unknown folder.

Turning your attention back in the rip window of the media program clicking the rip CD button for the first time a copyright dialogue box displays. It won't let you continue until the instruction task is completed. When completed the OK button displays you can click to proceed. Observing the rip setting button in the top menu bar clicking it a drops down a menu where you can set the auto rip, and an auto eject off and on at you desire.

By default all songs are ticked. If you don't want one or two songs click out the tick of the songs you don't want. However the same thing can be achieved when you come to edit contents once recorded in the music folder. When you click the button the operating system automatically records to the music folder. If connected to the internet will automatically contact the site and fill in the details from there. If not the folder will be labelled "Unknown artist"

Any songs with no ticks will be ignored when ripping. In windows operating systems all the normal word processing cut, copy, past and rename editing commands are available where you can rearrange the play play list how you want.

If you have chosen the manual option when ready, click the rip CD button.  As you start the processes the player starts one at a time highlighting each track going though every ticked track as it goes. This will take time. A decent number of tracks could take up to five minutes. If no indication of progress don't assume it's not responding. It is working in the background.

Computers being internet oriented may attempt to connect to the internet to download the details of the tracks behind the scenes. If recoding off line a message box advises you it could not download the details. The media player had titled the ripped folder and songs as unknowns listings the songs in numerical order as it finds them.

Windows 8 display music app icon that will open and plays the files. For some reason Microsoft didn't build in any menu  so will play out of control. There is no stop control without shutting down or at lest restarting. There is a solution to the problem.

Don't click as normal. Right clicking the chose default program menu displays.
Click Windows media Player.

You will have no more problems with the files opening in the music app.

Playing in the media player you now have control. If you wish to listen to all the songs while you work, the top the menu displays a highlighted yellow Music tools tab. Click the "play all" button.

The great thing about computer technology and the internet operating systems can identify any folders titled unknown albums audibly. Connected to the internet open the media player.
The right pane shows the music library list. Click music. Right click the unknown folder. When the dialogue box appears click "Find album info" The operating system's browser will match the audio on the internet to what ever matches it finds.

Burning CD's has it confusions if using any blanks even if unknowing using a corrupted disk or not sure. The following will not work properly according to the instructions. There will be odd behavior the program will do rejecting the disk. Other problems that effects the media program is dodgy multimedia buttons ( broken or near broken shorting the program ) corrupting disks as soon as they are inserted. The burring sequence will not work the way it should.

Operating system manufactures program media players according to everybody's standards as if theirs. The media player can spoil things for what you may want from it. Everything is automatic with no personal control unless you do it manually in a separate sequence. Fortunately manufacture programming allows you can transfer a copy of the music file in the library to the desk top desk top where you can burn from their instead.

The following is the behavior of brand new or good non-corrupted disks. ( See for corrupted disks see above ).

Now all that's left is the burning to a blank processes. Media players tend to group all your Albans into one Album. If you don't want all this confusion go straight to the library's music folder opening the album you wish to record to a blank. You should see the main files.

You can work from, or alternatively if still feel uncertain to avoid any confusion an option is to transfer a copy of the folder containing the files to the desk top. Even in the desk top you can use the same right clicking rename technique we are all use to rename your folder and files. You have complete control of reorganizing the play list the way you want before you burn to a blank applies.

If you don't highlight the files ( you learnt in batch transporting cutting and copying from one folder into another ) the media player behaves somewhat oddly that can confusing and frustrating.
Operating from the liberties folder or a transferred copy to the desk top you can remain it using the
Music CD cover and open to the main files.

Leave the program open minimizing on the desk top.

Open the media player minimizing it.

You should have the two programs open side by side.
In the right media player right window pane is the pane you drag you files into and click the start burn.

Not. A word of caution. If dragging and dropping songs one at a time be careful with your mouse handling habits holding down mouse buttons while dragging and letting go. If you let go dragging from the folder pane to into the burn pane to early you risk damaging a file that won't work as expected. There will be a little red cross. When this happens before you click the burn to disc button you'll need to correct it by going back to the song title effected deleting the title and reinstalling it from the original CD.

Drag over the contents and drop into the media player burn pane you normally do transferring files from one program to another in your own programs.

Turn your attention to the "Star burn" clicking it. It will change to stop burn on stand by you can cancel at any time. Observe the progress monitor. Slow computers will take a few seconds to kick start so don't panic assume it's not responding. It will be working in the background. Once the monitor starts the processes will take time. A decent number of tracks could take up to a few minutes.