This article shows you how to burn data, for example audio tracks, files or programs, to a blank CD / DVD. You can do this on both Windows and Mac computers by remembering that they will need to have an optical drive capable of burning data to disc.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Create a Data CD on Windows
Step 1. Understand what it means to create a data CD
If you need to store files and folders on optical media, you can do so by burning them to a CD / DVD. In this case it is a data CD. This type of media cannot be played as it does in the case of an audio or video CD, but must be used as if it were a memory unit (for example a USB stick or an external hard drive).
- Files that can be safely burned to a CD include photos, documents and videos.
- If you need to create an audio CD that can be played with any CD player, please refer to this article method.
Step 2. Insert a blank CD into your computer's optical drive
Make sure you are using a new CD that is completely blank.
- If you have chosen to use rewritable media (marked "RW") that you have used before, you will need to erase its contents before you can burn it.
- The optical drive will need to be a DVD player capable of burning data to disc. Look on the outside of the player for the "DVD" logo and "RW".
Step 3. Open a new "File Explorer" window by clicking the icon
It is characterized by a small folder and is located in the lower left part of the "Start" menu or directly on the Windows taskbar.
Alternatively, you can press the hotkey combination ⊞ Win + E
Step 4. Navigate to the folder that contains the files to burn
Use the left sidebar of the "File Explorer" window to navigate to the directory that contains the data to be saved on the disk.
Step 5. Select the files to burn
Draw a selection area that encompasses all the items to be burned to the CD / DVD. Click an empty spot at the top or bottom of the list of files of interest to you, then drag the mouse pointer in the correct direction to select them all. Alternatively, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard while clicking the files to include in the selection one at a time.
- If you need to burn a single file (for example an ISO image), click its icon to select it.
- Most CDs have a storage capacity of around 700MB.
Step 6. Go to the Share tab
It is located in the upper left of the "File Explorer" window. Its toolbar will appear.
Step 7. Press the Write to disc button
It is located within the "Send" group of the appeared bar. A new dialog will appear.
Step 8. Hit the Burn button
It is located in the lower right part of the appeared window. The selected files will be burned to the disc in the optical drive of the computer.
Depending on the number and size of the selected files, the process of writing data to the disk may take some time
Step 9. Press the Finish button when prompted
It is located at the bottom of the window. The CD / DVD is now ready for use and you can take it out of your computer drive.
Method 2 of 4: Create a Data CD on Mac
Step 1. Understand what it means to create a data CD
If you need to store files and folders on optical media, you can do so by burning them to a CD / DVD. In this case it is a data CD. This type of media cannot be played like an audio or video CD, but must be used as if it were a memory unit (for example a USB stick or an external hard drive).
- Files that can be safely burned to a CD include photos, documents and videos.
- If you need to create an audio CD that can be played with any CD player, please refer to this article method.
Step 2. Insert a blank CD into your computer's optical drive
Since most Macs on the market don't come with a built-in CD / DVD player, you'll need to purchase an external optical drive.
You can buy a burned CD / DVD directly from Apple product retailers for less than $ 100
Step 3. Enter the Spotlight search field by clicking the icon
It features a magnifying glass and is located in the upper right corner of the screen. A small search bar will appear.
Step 4. Launch the "Disk Utility" app
Type the keywords disk utility into the search bar that appears, then double-click the icon Disk Utility present in the list of results.
Step 5. Go to the Burn tab
It is characterized by an icon depicting the radioactivity symbol and is positioned at the top of the window. The Finder window will appear.
Step 6. Navigate to the folder that contains the files to burn
Use the left sidebar of the Finder window to navigate to the directory that contains the data you want to save to disk.
Step 7. Select the files to burn
Draw a selection area that encompasses all the items to be burned to the CD / DVD. Click an empty spot at the top or bottom of the list of files of interest to you, then drag the mouse pointer in the correct direction to select them all. Alternatively, hold down the ⌘ Command key on your keyboard while clicking the files to include in the selection one at a time.
If you need to burn a single file (for example an ISO image), click its icon to select it
Step 8. Hit the Burn button
It is located in the lower right corner of the window. This will close the Finder window.
Step 9. Press the Burn button when prompted
It is located within the pop-up window that appeared at the top of the screen. The selected files will be burned to the disc.
The process of writing data to disk can take some time, so please be patient
Step 10. Press the OK button when prompted
It is located in the lower right corner of the window. The burning process is now complete and the disc is ready to be used.
Method 3 of 4: Burn an Audio CD on Windows
Step 1. Insert a blank CD into your computer's optical drive
Make sure you are using a new CD that is completely blank.
- If you have chosen to use rewritable media (marked "RW") that you have used before, you will need to erase its contents before you can burn it.
- The optical drive will need to be a DVD player capable of burning data to disc. Look on the outside of the player for the "DVD" logo and "RW".
Step 2. Access the "Start" menu by clicking the icon
It features the Windows logo and is located in the lower left corner of the desktop. Alternatively, press the ⊞ Win key on your keyboard.
Step 3. Launch the Windows Media Player program
Type the keywords windows media player into the "Start" menu, then click the icon Windows Media Player appeared at the top of the results list.
- If the Windows Media Player program does not appear in the "Start" menu results list, it is not installed on your system.
- If your computer does not have Windows Media Player, you will need to use iTunes. Download and install iTunes on your computer, then directly skip to the next method in the article.
Step 4. Go to the Media Library tab
It is located in the upper left of the Windows Media Player window.
If after starting Windows Media Player you immediately see the "Music" section of the program's media library, skip the next two steps
Step 5. Go to the "Music" section of the "Media Library" of Windows Media Player
Double-click the "Music" entry to view the list of categories your music is divided into, then double-click the option All music files to have access to the complete list of all audio tracks stored on your computer.
Step 6. Go to the Burn tab
It is located in the upper right corner of the Windows Media Player window.
Step 7. Select the files to burn
Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard while clicking the files you want to include in the selection one at a time.
A normal CD can hold 70 to 80 minutes of music
Step 8. Transfer the selected songs to the "Burn" tab
Drag the highlighted files into the "Burn" tab on the right of the window, then release the mouse button. All selected audio tracks will be displayed within the "Burn" tab.
Step 9. Press the "Burn Options" button
It features a white square icon with several green check marks inside. It is located at the top right of the "Burn" tab. A drop-down menu will appear.
Step 10. Choose the Audio CD option
It is visible in the center of the drop-down menu that appeared.
Step 11. Press the Start Burn button
It is located in the upper left of the "Burn" tab. The chosen tracks will be burned onto the CD.
Step 12. Wait for the process of writing data to the disc to complete
The CD will automatically eject from the optical drive as soon as data burning is finished. At this point the disc will be playable on any CD / DVD player.
Method 4 of 4: Burn an Audio CD on Mac
Step 1. Insert a blank CD into your computer's optical drive
Since most Macs on the market don't come with a built-in CD / DVD player, you'll need to purchase an external optical drive.
You can buy a burned CD / DVD directly from Apple product retailers for less than $ 100
Step 2. Launch iTunes
Double-click the program icon with a multicolored musical note on a white background.
Step 3. Select the files to burn
Hold down the ⌘ Command key on your keyboard while clicking the files to burn to the CD one at a time.
- Most CDs on the market can hold 70 to 80 minutes of music.
- Before you can select the audio files to burn to the CD, you may need to access the tab Tracks of iTunes.
Step 4. Access the File menu
It is located in the upper left corner of the screen. A list of options will be displayed.
Step 5. Choose the New item
It is one of the options listed within the menu File. A submenu will appear next to the first one.
Step 6. Select the Playlist item from selection
It is one of the options in the new menu that appeared. This will create a new playlist using all the chosen audio tracks.
If you want to give your new playlist a custom name, type it now and press the Enter key
Step 7. Access the File menu again
It is located in the upper right corner of the screen. A list of items will be displayed.
Step 8. Choose the Burn Playlist to Disc option
It is one of the items in the drop-down menu File. A pop-up window will appear.
Step 9. Select the "Audio CD" checkbox
It is located at the top of the pop-up window that appears.
Step 10. Press the Burn button
It is located at the bottom of the window. All selected tracks will be burned to the CD.
Step 11. Wait for the process of writing data to the disc to complete
The CD will automatically eject from the optical drive as soon as data burning is finished. At this point the disc will be playable on any CD / DVD player.
Advice
- To burn your data to disc, always use new, high-quality optical media.
- You can burn a CD / DVD using a variety of programs which also includes iTunes.
- The process of burning data files to a CD is identical to the process of copying and pasting them into the disc drive window. On the contrary, to create an audio CD you need to use a special program.
