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CDBurnerXP Pro

create a new data CD

Use this option to create a CD for backups of files like documents, pictures, MP3s, whatever. There will be two windows divided into two panes. The top window shows whats on your computer (the local disk). The left pane shows the directory structure (the folders laid out on the hard drive) and the right pane shows files and folders within the currently selected folder. Click on a folder to see what I mean.

The bottom window shows what will be burned onto the blank CD or DVD (the compilation). Drag your files from the top window into the bottom window to add files. Once again the left pane shows directory structure and the right pane the files and folders within the currently selected folder. Be careful where you drop the files. Dropping them in the right pane will place them in the currently selected folder. Dropping them into the left pane may be better so you may choose which folder to drop them into. Hover over a folder to select it and release the button to drop the files into that folder. Dropping on the disc name (the top of the directory listing) will place them at the highest directory so they will be the first things you see on the disc when inserted later.

At the bottom of the program window will be the "on disc", "total estimated size", and "remaining size". This tells you how much space has been used on the disc, the amount you're going to place on the disc, and the amount of space left on the disc before burning. If you're over the limit then delete some files from the compilation window (the lower window).

When you're done you can begin the burning process. At the top left of the compilation window will be a flaming disc. There will be a small downward pointing arrow to the right to allow a pull-down menu. This will allow you to finalize burning or leave the disc "open". Leaving the disc "open" allows you to add more to the disc later if you have space left. Usually the best idea is to fill the disc as much as possible and "finalize" the disc. Adding to an open disc several times may make the disc unreadable by some CD drives.

create a new audio CD

This option allows you to create an audio CD like the kind you should be buying at the store. "Arrr! A pirate's life fer me!"

rip audio CDs

If you've got an audio CD, you can turn it into MP3s to be placed on your computer or portable player. This is referred to as "ripping a CD"

  1. Select the bottom option after starting CDBurnerXP Pro to rip a CD.
  2. You'll start off with the "Audio Grabber Options". If you haven't already, put your audio CD in a CD drive. Make sure you've got the proper drive selected under "Current Drive" if you have more than one drive.
  3. Move downward to the "Audio options" where you'll see WAV, MP3, WMA, and OGG. Select MP3. A window wil pop open. Move on to the next step.
  4. The window that just opened relates to the technical audio properties of the MP3 we're creating. The only thing you may concern yourself with is the "Current Bitrate" slider. The default is 128kbits/sec. I'd suggest keeping it between 128 and 192. Anything above 192 is usually a waste (larger file size without noticing improvement in sound quality) and below 128 you may hear a drop in sound quality. Click "OK" when you're done.
  5. Place check marks in the "Write ID3v1 to the grabbed track" and "Write ID3v2 to the grabbed track". This places info about the track in the MP3. The info includes the artist, album, track number, etc. that you'll see later on in steps to follow.
  6. Move down to the "Save options" section. Click on the "..." button towards the right. In the explorer window that appears move upwards tso you can see "My Documents" at the top. Open this folder then select "My Music". Click the "OK" or "Save" button to finish.
  7. In the "File Options" section you'll be able to create a folder layout to sort the music. As an example I'll use the new CD by Lacuna Coil called Karmacode. For "Select Sub Directories to main path" I'd suggest choosing "<Main path>\%Artist%\%Album%\". This will place the MP3 file in My Documents\My Music\Lacuna Coil\Karmacode\. If you open the My Documents folder you'll see My Music. Open My Music to see a folder called Lacuna Coil. Open that folder and you'll see Karmacode. Open Karmacode to find the MP3 files.
  8. For "Select File Name Mask" I'd recommend <#>-<Title>.xxx which will create a file with the track number followed by the track title. If I were to rip track 3 from the CD the file would be named 03-Our Truth.mp3. The file would be located in My Documents\My Music\Lacuna Coil\Karmacode\03-Our Truth.mp3. This layout is good because you may run into problems with long file names later like burning a CD or limits imposed on certain media players.
  9. If you look towards the top of the window we're working with you'll see a folder tab named "Grab Audio Tracks". Click on it.
  10. This is where things get iffy. Place a check mark in "Get CD album information from FreeDB" and see what you get. Normally this should gather the CD info and fill in the artist, album, track title, etc. from a CD database on the Internet. In my experience I end up receiving totally different CD info than what I'm using. If you receive totally different data then uncheck the box and everything will return to the previous state. You'll have to manually input the info yourself, which is a time consuming task.
  11. In the box below with the listing of tracks you can palce a check mark next to the tracks you want to rip. Rip them all, some, or just one.
  12. Press "Grab track to MP3" to start the process. That's it. Rinse. Repeat.