• Creating a secure password
  
  
• How to protect yourself against identity theft
  
  
• Wireless networking basics
  
  
• How to create mp3s and burn CDs using media players
  
  
• How to protect your computer from power surges
  
  
• Know when to upgrade your video card
  
  
• Know when to upgrade your memory or hard drive
  
  
• How to choose your next computer
  
  
• What is broadband and do I need it
  
  
• What is VoIP and should I choose it

How to create mp3s and burn CD's using media players

Quickly Rip CD's to Your Computer Using Windows Media Player 10

Windows Media Player 10 is bundled with Microsoft Windows and ComputerGeeks2Go recommend that you use this software for your music. You can rip (copy) songs from your CD's to your computer, you can synchronize the songs to a portable music player, burn a mix CD for a party, play the songs you have copied without the hassle of ever having to find the CD again.

To rip music from a CD to your computer -

1. If you are not connected to the internet, connect. Start Windows Media Player. By connecting to the Internet, media information about the songs being ripped will be obtained from a music database on the internet and displayed in the Library.
   
   
2. Insert an audio CD into the CD drive, and then click Rip, as shown in the following screen shot.
   
   Screen shot of the Rip feature showing tracks to be ripped. All songs are selected to be ripped if you have not previously ripped them.
   
   
3. If there are any songs that you do not want to rip, clear the check box next to each track. You can use the check box at the top of the list to select or clear all check boxes.
   
   
4. Click Rip Music.
   
   
5. The first time you rip music, you are prompted to choose the format for the files being created. Click one of the following options:
   
   
   • Keep my current format settings. This option keeps your current file format and audio quality level settings and immediately starts ripping the songs you selected to your computer. By default, the Player uses the Windows Media Audio format, which optimizes the balance between file size and sound quality. However ComputerGeeks2Go recommend you change this to mp3 (see below).
     
     
   • Change my current format settings. Select this option if you want to change the format, bit rate, storage folder, or other options.
     
     
   After you click an option, click OK. (To change the format or audio quality settings later, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Rip Music tab.)
   
   
6. After the songs have been ripped, you can find and play them in your library.

Choosing a Format

By default, the Player uses the Windows Media Audio format, which optimizes the balance between file size and sound quality. You can also choose one of the following formats:

• Windows Media Audio (variable bit rate) - this can reduce the file size but may also take longer to rip.
  
  
• Windows Media Audio Lossless - this provides the best audio quality but increases the file size.
  
  
• MP3 format - ComputerGeeks2Go recommend mp3, which provides more flexibility when choosing a format. mp3 format is used for portable mp3 players.

How to Burn mp3 CDs

You can use Windows Media Player 10 to burn (copy) any mix of songs you want from your library to an audio CD. Once you've burned a CD, you can play it in any standard CD player. Burning mix CD's makes it easy to listen to only the songs you want. Before you begin, you need the following:

• A Windows XP-compatible CD recorder. This can also be called a CD burner, compact disc-recordable (CD-R) drive, or compact disc-rewriteable (CD-RW) drive. If you have a DVD R/RW then this will also function as a CD-R
  
• A blank CD-R or CD-RW disc. ComputerGeeks2Go always recommend CD-Rs and not CD-RWs. CD-Rs are cheaper and are compatible with more devices.
  

1. In Windows Media Player, click Library and then, in the List pane, click List Name List, and then click Burn List, as shown in the following screen shot.
   Screen shot showing the Burn List menu
   
   
2. In the burn list, drag songs up or down to arrange them in the order you want them to appear on the CD.
   
   
3. Insert a blank CD-R or CD-RW disc in the CD drive.
   
   
4. In the List pane, verify that the songs you have selected to burn will all fit on the disc. If necessary, remove songs from the list by right-clicking a song and then clicking Remove from List, as shown in the following screen shot.
   
   
Screen shot of the Burn List showing status
5. It is possible that a song will not fit even if the total time exactly matches the CD length, because the Player inserts two seconds between songs when burning.
   
   
6. Click the Start Burn arrow and verify that Audio CD is selected, as shown in the following screen shot.
   
   
7. Click Start Burn.
   
   
8. As the CD is burned, you can check its progress in the burn list. Burning a CD will take some time.

Notes: It is recommended that you do not try to perform any other actions while burning a CD. For example, playback may be affected if you try to play a music CD while burning a CD.

You cannot burn additional files to a CD after burning is completed. If you are using a CD-RW you can erase the entire CD before using the Player to burn files to the CD again.