The macOS operating system allows you to burn data to a CD without the need to install special third-party software. A large amount of audio files can be stored on a single CD, which you can then play on any player. However, you can use a blank CD to burn another disc image. In this case you will get an identical copy of a data CD. Follow the instructions in this article to burn a CD correctly without wasting time.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Burn an Audio CD
Step 1. Launch iTunes
Create a new playlist by clicking on the File menu and moving the mouse pointer over the "New" item. At this point select the "Playlist" option from the menu that will appear.
You can rename a playlist by clicking on the current name displayed in the right pane of the window after creating it. The playlist name will also be used as the name for the CD and will appear on the player display during playback (only if the device is compatible with this function)
Step 2. Add the songs to the playlist
Drag the individual audio files into the playlist pane. You can add all the songs of an album at the same time by clicking on the album cover image and dragging it to the playlist.
A standard CD can store a maximum of about 80 minutes of music, equal to 650-700 MB. This means that your playlist can have a maximum duration between an hour and twenty minutes and an hour and a half (the total duration of all the songs included in the playlist is shown in the lower part of the window). As this is a somewhat imprecise measurement method, you will know if your playlist can only be written to disc when you actually try to start the burn process
Step 3. If you wish, rearrange the order of the songs within the playlist
At the top of the list of songs that make up the playlist, under the name of the playlist, there is a drop-down menu. Choose by what criteria the audio files should be sorted. To rearrange the playlist according to your personal criteria, click on a song name and drag it to the position you want.
Step 4. Insert a blank CD into the CD player
Click on the "File" menu, then choose the "Burn Playlist to Disc" option. If the playlist is too long, you will be given the option to split it across multiple discs. At this point you can choose to adopt the proposed solution of using multiple CDs or you can cancel the burn and edit the playlist.
- If you do not know how to open the CD player basket in order to insert the blank disc, click on the iTunes "Controls" menu and click on the "Eject disc" item. This will eject the carriage from the CD player, whether or not there is a disc in it.
- Normally if you want to create audio support you will have to use a CD. There are also DVD audio players, but they are quite rare.
Step 5. Configure your burning settings
If you are using iTunes 10 or earlier, the process of writing data to disc will start automatically. If you are using iTunes 11, you will be given the option to change some settings before the data is actually written to disk.
- You can change the writing speed. A higher write speed allows you to burn the disc faster, but choosing very high speeds and using poor quality CDs or older burners may cause errors when writing to the disc.
- You can choose whether to insert an interval between the various songs.
- You can choose the format to use. The "audio CD" format is the most often used and is compatible with virtually any type of CD player. The "MP3 CD" format requires a special optical drive for the disc to play correctly. Choose this option only if you are sure that the player you are going to use is compatible with this format and if the files in the playlist are all in "MP3" format and not in another format (for example "AAC").
Step 6. Click on the "Burn" button
A progress bar will appear within the iTunes window showing the status of the CD creation process. When the burning process is complete you will hear a beep.
Method 2 of 3: Burn a Data CD
Step 1. Insert a blank CD-R or CD-RW into the CD player
Remember that a CD-R can only be burned once, after which it can only be read. Conversely, a CD-RW can be burned, formatted and remastered over and over again.
The steps described in this method are also functional for creating a data DVD, but in this case your computer will need to be equipped with a DVD burner
Step 2. Open a Finder window
When the Mac detects the blank CD in the drive, you will be offered a few options. Choose the one that lets you open a Finder window, so you can use the drag and drop function to easily select files to put on the CD.
Step 3. Look for the CD player icon which should have appeared directly on the desktop
It should be identified by the name "Untitled CD". Double-click the icon in question to open the corresponding Finder window.
Step 4. Then drag the files and folders you want to burn into the Finder window for the CD player
Before starting the burning process rename the files and folders as you wish. Once the data is written to the CD, it can no longer be changed.
Step 5. Start the burning process
Click on the "File" menu and select "Burn Untitled CD". You will be given the option to name the CD. This is the information that will be displayed when you insert the CD into a computer drive.
Step 6. Click on the "Burn" button after choosing the name to assign to the CD
The files and folders you indicated will be saved on the CD. The process of writing data to disc will take between a few minutes and an hour to complete, depending on the number and size of the files to be burned.
If you have chosen to use a CD-RW, you will be able to reuse it numerous times. Just format the media and repeat the burning process
Method 3 of 3: Burn an Image File to CD
Step 1. Launch the Disk Utility program
It is one of the programs listed in the Mac's "Utilities" folder located in the "Applications" directory. An image file represents the identical copy of the contents of a CD or DVD and can be used to burn the data onto a blank disc. The CD or DVD you get will be a perfectly identical copy of the original media.
Step 2. Insert the blank disc into the drive
Depending on the size of the image file, you will need to use a CD or DVD. Normally the capacity of a CD is around 700MB, while that of a DVD is 4.7GB.
Step 3. Select the image file
Individual within the Mac. Normally an image file is in ISO format. Drag the ISO file into the left side panel of the Disk Utility window.
Step 4. Burn the disc
After transferring the ISO file into the Disk Utility window, click on the disk image that appeared in the left panel, then click the "Burn" button displayed at the top of the window.
Step 5. Configure your burning settings
After clicking on the "Burn" button, click on the small arrow located in the upper right corner of the dialog box that appeared to display the burning options. At this point select the check button "Verify burned data" located at the bottom of the window and click on the "Burn" button.
Advice
- If you are burning an audio CD using files of different formats, you can save time by selecting the audio CD burning setting. If you choose MP3 CD mode, all files with different formats will be converted to MP3 before being written to disc - a process that takes a great deal of time.
- The steps described in this article also work if you need to burn data to one of the following media: DVD-R, DVD + R, DVD-RW, DVD + RW, or DVD-RAM. Remember that DVDs are capable of storing more information than CDs.
- It is possible to write information to a CD-R in multiple sessions, but each session will be permanent and cannot be erased or overwritten with other data. Conversely, using CD-RW media it is possible to burn the data and erase it multiple times.
Warnings
- By selecting the audio CD mode, in theory, you should get a media that can be played without any problem by any CD player. However, remember that not all types of CDs can be played by a normal CD player. (for example, not all players on the market are capable of playing CD-RW discs).
- If the CD is scratched or damaged, it may not be burned correctly by the computer. Make sure the disc surface is in perfect condition and clean before inserting it into your Mac's optical drive.
- Depending on the type of CD and the data files, you may get media that will not be usable on a Windows computer.
