Burning with Windows XP

Did you know that Windows XP has built-in CD burning software? That's right, and I'm gonna tell you how to use it...

STEP 1.

First, you need to tell Windows what files you want copied to CD. You can do this in a couple of different ways:

Method 1 -

The first method is to right-click the file you want to copy, then select Send To, CD-R (or whatever your CD writer is called).

Of course, you can use your CTRL key to select multiple files then send the whole mess to the CD burner.

When you do this Send To thing, you'll get a little "balloon" from your system tray telling you that the files have been added to your recording list. Click that little balloon and you'll open the list.

Method 2 -

The next method is to open My Computer, then your CD-R or CD-RW drive. It's probably best not to have any CD in the drive at this point, since all the files on that CD will show up and make things a little confusing (OK, I guess a blank CD is alright).

Just drag and drop (or copy / paste) the files you need to copy to the open window.

Note that when you send, drag, or copy these files, it only puts them on a list, it doesn't automatically start making the CD.

STEP 2.

OK, at this point you should have some files that have been sent to the CD burner. Now it's time to actually make your CD.

So, insert a blank (writable) CD into your drive, open My Computer (if it isn't already), then double-click the CD-R/RW drive. You should see the list of files you've selected to record.

Note that you may already be on this screen if you either did a Send To and clicked the balloon or if you did the drag & drop thing (since this was where you were dragging & dropping to).

Now, look for the CD Writing Tasks section. It should be at the top left of the screen.

Click the Write these files to CD link and it will start Windows CD burning wizard. From there, just follow the prompts.

Note that if you accidentally stick a file on the list that you don't want on CD, you can remove it by right-clicking the file and selecting Delete. Don't worry, it won't delete the file from your computer, just from the CD writing list.

During the actual CD writing process, it's best not to perform other tasks with your computer, just let it write the CD.

Why? Most CD recorders record on the fly. If the computer is busy and can't get the info to the CD burner fast enough, you'll get a buffer underrun error and your CD will not be created properly or be un-usable.

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