Reference number: CH000975

Help and tips with ripping an audio CD with Apple iTunes.

Question:

Help and tips with ripping an audio CD with Apple iTunes.

Answer:

Below are steps for how iTunes users can rip or copy audio CD's to their computer.

1. Open Windows iTunes. If you do not have iTunes installed on your computer you can visit our iTunes definition page for a direct link to the download.
2. Insert the audio CD into the computer you wish to rip. Once inserted iTunes should prompt you if you wish to add the CD to your music library. If you do not get this prompt highlight the CD under devices and click the Import button in the bottom right-hand portion of the screen.

Note: By default Apple iTunes will save all ripped songs as AAC, while this format is an excellent choice for many users. Most users may want to preserve compatibility with all MP3 players and save their songs in MP3 format. If you wish to save your files in MP3 format using follow the below steps.

1. In Apple iTunes click Edit.
2. From Edit click Preferences.
3. Next click the Advanced tab and then the Importing tab.
4. Finally, under Importing in the Import using  drop down menu select MP3 encoder and we suggest using either the default 160 kbps or 192 kbps option.
5. Once completed click Ok.

In addition to the above steps we also suggest trying some or all of the below tips to make copying the audio CD's to your computer more enjoyable.

1. Be connected to the Internet. If you're ripping a CD and wish for the computer to automatically fill in the name of the CD, who sings it, and each of the names of the tracks you must be connected to the Internet for that information to be found. Although not every CD will be listed in the CDDB, if you're ripping multiple CD's to the computer this will save you a lot of time from having to manually enter the Information.
2. Finally, if you're wanting to use iTunes to rip multiple CDs we suggest having iTunes automatically start the import process and eject the CD when complete to speed up the process. You can do this by following the above steps to get into the Importing tab. Under the Importing section on the on CD Insert drop down menu select Import CD and Eject.

Additional information:

• See our rip dictionary definition for additional information about this term and related terms.