How-to: Music in Windows Media Center

You can scroll through your music library automatically by using the left and right arrow buttons.

1. On the start screen, scroll to Music, and then click Music Library.

2. Click albums, artists, genres, songs, playlists, composers, years, or album artists, and then navigate to the music you want to hear.

Make your selection, and then click Play Album or Play Song. The music begins playing.

3. (Optional) To see what songs will play next, click View Queue.

In Windows Media Center, you can specify which folders on your computer or on your local network contain your digital media files. When you do so, the digital media files in these folders are added to the pictures, video, and music libraries for you to play and enjoy in Windows Media Center. If you add or delete digital media files, the libraries are automatically updated.

1. On the start screen, scroll to Tasks, and then click Settings.

2. Click Library Setup.

3. Click Add Folder to watch and then click Next.

4. Depending on where your digital media files are stored, click one of the options under Which folders do you want to add?, and then click Next.

5. Navigate to the folders you want to add, and select the check box that is next to each one.

6. When you have checked all the appropriate folders, click Next, and then click Finish.

After you have finished adding files, it may take several minutes for the files to appear in the libraries.

You can rip (or copy) tracks from your audio CDs to your computer. After that, the tracks that you rip become digital media files on your computer. Settings such as the file format—for example, Windows Media Audio (WMA) or MP3—file location, and bit rate are determined by the settings specified in Windows Media Player.

1. Insert an audio CD into the CD-ROM drive on your computer. The CD begins playing automatically in Windows Media Center.

2. On the now playing screen, click Copy CD.

3. If you have not ripped audio CDs before in Windows Media Player or Windows Media Center, follow and complete the steps on the Copy Options screens.

4. In the Copy CD dialog box, click Yes to rip the tracks to your computer. The ripped music tracks are automatically added to your music library.

You can burn music to an audio CD in Windows Media Center. After you burn an audio CD, you can play it on your computer or in a standard CD player, such as a CD player you have at home, in your car, or even a portable device.

1. Start Windows Media Center. Insert a recordable CD into your CD or DVD burner.

2. Click the Burn a CD or DVD notification that appears in Windows Media Center or on the start screen, scroll to Tasks, and then click Burn CD/DVD.

3. On the Select Disc Format screen, click Audio CD, and then click Next.

4. Using the keyboard, enter a name for your CD, and then click Next.

5. On the Choose Music screen, navigate to the album or playlist you want to burn, click Select All, and then click Next.

6. If you want to add more music files to the disc, on the Review & Edit List screen, click Add More.

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until you have added all the digital audio files to the disc that you want to burn.

8. After you have added all the audio files that you want to burn to the CD, on the Review & Edit List screen, click Burn CD.

9. At the Initiating Copy notification, click Yes.

10. After the disc is burned, in the Completing Disc Creation notification, click Done.