How to Burn a CD on Windows 11

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You might want to store data and files on external media. One option is to burn it to a CD and store it there. This can include games, movies, music, or operating system files.

To burn to a CD, your computer should have an optical media drive that can read and write data to your CDs. You also need a recordable or blank CD. Then, follow these steps:

  1. Insert the recordable CD into your computer. You’ll see an Autoplay notification at the bottom-right corner if autoplay is enabled. Click on the notification.

    Double click on the Autoplay notification
    Insert your CD and click the Autoplay notification.

  2. You now have to choose the action that you want to perform. Click on the first option, Burn files to disc.

    Autoplay options
    Choose Burn files to disc.

  3. Enter your title in the Disc title field.Under, you will see two options. The USB flash drive option allows you to save, edit or remove files. However, it only works on systems with Windows XP and above. A CD/DVD player works on older operating systems but doesn’t allow you to edit or remove individual files. Select your preferred option, then select Next.

    Enter the disc title
    Enter the disc title, and choose between the two given options.

  4. Windows formats the disc – wait for the formatting to finish.

    Formatting the disc
    After the disc gets formatted, you can use it like any other folder on your computer.

  5. The Files Explorer will open up now. You can now use the CD like any other folder – you can copy or remove folders and files from the disc. For example, we want to burn various folders onto the CD to keep a backup. First, drag them into your CD directory, then highlight the folders you want to burn (press SHIFT while selecting to highlight multiple folders).

    Select the files you'd like to burn
    Choose the files you’d like to burn.

  6. After selecting the files, go to the Share tab and select Burn to disc.

    Go to share and select burn to disc
    Go to share and choose burn to disc.

  7. Wait for the disc to burn the selected files to your CD.

    Burning the selected files to disc
    The selected files get burned to the CD.

  8. Once done, right-click on the drive and select Eject. This will eject your CD safely.

    Eject the CD
    Eject the CD safely.

Erik is a full-time product quality engineer at the IBM who has a passion for teaching others (and always learning) about technology. He has a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology. Erik is the chief editor for Windows, Linux and coding tutorials.

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