Tag Archives: CD importing

[How to] Bulk import/rip multiple CDs easily in Windows. (Windows 7 and Windows Media Player)

Recently I had the task of importing a large number of CDs. Being one that doesn’t boring and tedious task like this I set out to make it as easy as possible. It seems that Windows Media Player is rather good at this (or at least version 12 is, the one with Windows 7).

I was able to get it to a point where I had 2 piles of CDs. One to rip and one that had been ripped and all I had to do was take 1 from the to Rip pile, insert it into the CD tray and then after the tray ejected (automatically) I placed it in the ripped tray and then proceeded with the next CD, so on for the next 30 or so CDs. All with no software interaction.

Here is how I did it.

1) I inserted the first CD and opened up Windows Media Player.

2) In the library video click on “Organize”  -> “Options” -> “Rip Music” Tab.

3) I set all the information required:

  • Location of files
  • Format (I used MP3 at Best Quality or 320 kbps – Hard drive space is cheap these days).
  • I also ticked “Rip CD automatically” and “Eject CD after Ripping.

4) Finished up with Clicking Ok and then Rip. Then I carried on some other tasks on the computer. When the CD finishes it opens the tray, I had to change it, insert the next and away it went – automatically.

Side note – I also had iTunes opening each time that I inserted a disc. To fix this I did the following.

  • Click on Start (or what should be start, the round ball in the bottom left corner).
  • Searched for “AutoPlay” (Can be found the long way under Control Panel -> All items).
  • Under “Audio CD” I changed the setting from “Play audio CD in iTunes” to ” Play audio CD using Windows Media Player” – Easy fix.