There’s still a need for CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs. Whether it’s for music and movies when you go off-the-grid or for archiving important documents, disk-based storage is still here. Most devices don’t have a built-in CD, DVD, or Blu-Ray drive. Fortunately, you can get an external DVD drive, and Windows 10 and 11 are still capable of burning data to discs.

Microsoft has two tools to burn discs built into the Windows operating system. Windows File Explorer can format discs to be used as a flash drive or burn discs to be used with CD or DVD player. It can also burn an ISO image file to a disc. Windows Media Player can burn discs to be used with CD or DVD players. Look at both and see which is the right one for you.

To set a default burner, you can choose the first time you insert a blank disc.

This method assumes you have Windows set to automatically use File Explorer to burn discs. If not, just open File Explorer after inserting the blank disc, and the utility is available. You must use a CD-RW or DVD-RW format disc for this.

File Explorer will format the disc, so it works like a USB flash drive. This process takes about a minute.

The files get added to the disc. Depending on the amount and size, this could take a few seconds or minutes. It’s not as fast as a USB flash drive, though.

This method assumes you have Windows set to use File Explorer to burn discs automatically. If not, just open File Explorer after inserting the blank disc, and the utility is available.

You can use any blank CD or DVD format disc for this. If you use a CD-RW or DVD-RW disc, it will not be rewritable anymore. These discs will work on PCs but not necessarily all other CD or DVD players. CD-R and DVD-R discs are best for this, and they’re cheaper too.

drag and drop onto the disc.

Ensure the disc title is correct and choose a recording speed. Depending on the type of CD/DVD burner you have, this could be anywhere from 4x to 48x. This means it will write 4 to 48 times faster than the disc read speed. The higher the speed, the greater chance of it failing or creating a poor quality product, so choose wisely. If you’re sure you’re not going to burn another copy, choose to Close the wizard after the files have been burned. Then select Next.

When the disc burning is finished, opt for Yes, burn these files to another disc if you want to make another copy. Otherwise, select Finish to close the wizard.

You can use Microsoft’s built-in Windows Media Player app to burn audio CDs and data CDs and DVDs. The audio CDs will work on PCs and most CD players. Data CDs and DVDs can be used for data files or music and videos. Data disks with music and videos will play on computers and may play on some CD and DVD players. Check with your CD or DVD player maker to be sure.

For instance, in the Options window under the Burn tab, you can adjust the burn speed, apply volume leveling across tracks, remove gaps between songs and add a list of burned files to the CD. The default values are fine for most people. Select OK to return to Windows Media Player.

This method is for burning plain data, music, or video to CDs and DVDs. Music and video CDs and DVDs made this way may not play on all CD and DVD players, but they will work on any PC. It’s not the best way to make DVDs, but it works. Unfortunately, Microsoft stopped including Windows DVD Maker after Windows 7. For proper DVD authoring with classic DVD menus, subtitles, and more, check out the DVD-burning software apps suggested in the Burn Blu-ray Discs section below.

ISO disc images tend to be for operating systems or larger applications and even games. ISO files allow for storing a large number of files into one while maintaining the directory structure. So when you mount the ISO, whatever is in it will run as intended. It’s the preferred format for bootable disks too. This works on DVDs and CDs but make sure the disc has enough capacity for the ISO file.

Then select Burn disc image.

In Windows 10, just right-click and select Burn disc image.

            Once the burn completes, the disc will pop out. Select Close to end the session.

It turns out there’s nothing in the Windows operating system for burning Blu-ray discs. Also, most Windows PCs and laptops don’t come with an optical disc reader or burner of any kind. So you need a Blu-ray burner and Blu-ray burning software. Make sure you have the right Blu-ray disc type, too.

These three free apps have a good, long history and continue to work well. You may recognize CDBurnerXP, ImgBurn, and Ashampoo Burning Studio Free from the heyday of torrent downloads in the late 90s and early 2000s.

CDBurnerXP looks old-school, as the XP part of the name suggests. Still, it’s a solid Blu-ray and DVD burner software. It’s the only one of the three that has a portable app option so it can be run from a USB flash drive.

ImgBurn may look like a Windows 7 app, yet it works well to burn any type of disc, including Blu-ray. There’s also a strong ImgBurn community forum with plenty of guides to help you do just about anything.

Ashampoo Burning Studio Free is another free app that’s been around a long time. It does get updated though, as reflected in the app design below. Ashampoo Burning Studio Free does require you to register with an email to use the software, while ImgBurn doesn’t.

If you’re still rocking a CD player or prefer to pop in a DVD or Blu-ray on Friday night instead of Netflix and chill, you’ve got all the tools and info at your fingertips to do it. Or do you already have a favorite burning software? Please let us know in the comments.

Guy has been published online and in print newspapers, nominated for writing awards, and cited in scholarly papers due to his ability to speak tech to anyone, but still prefers analog watches. Read Guy's Full Bio

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