How to burn a CD Step-by-step guide

1Backup CD

Back up a CD

Insert a blank CD into your recordable disc drive. In the box that appears, click Open writable folder > OK. 

In the window, click Minimize to reduce its size. Click Start  > My Documents > Minimize. 

Browse to the files you want to record, then drag and drop them into the blank CD's window. Under CD Writing Tasks, click Write these files to CD. In the CD Writing Wizard box, type in a name for your CD > Next.

2Record an audio CD

Record an audio CD

In Windows Media Player, click File > CDs and Devices > Burn audio CD. Click Edit Playlist and, in the box, click the artist's name > album and then any tracks you wish to add. 

Click OK > Start Burn. Use a CD-R (CD recordable) disc rather than CD-RW (CD rewritable), as CD-Rs are more compatible with standalone CD players.

Though you're in breach of copyright if you copy albums with your PC, we argue, provided it's a CD you've bought legally, it should be fine.

3Build a slideshow

Build a slideshow

Many DVD players can read CDs containing digital photos. This means you can view your holiday snaps on a TV. 

Check your DVD player's manual to find out whether it can do this, then follow step 1 (above) to record to a CD-R only image files that end in '.jpg'.

If the images you want to burn are saved in another file format, such as '.tif', open each file in turn in your image-editing program, click File > Save As and then use the drop-down Save as type menu to resave them in the .jpg format.