It may happen that at some point you want to move your music collections saved on CDs to your iTunes music library. Well, you should not worry, since this procedure is quite simple to do. However, you must take several steps to be successful. In the following article we show you how to proceed to import music from CD to iTunes on Windows OS using iTunes for PC, I invite you to continue reading. We already started.
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Import your favorite songs from CD discs to the iTunes music library on your PC
You can import all your favorite songs stored on CD Compact Discs to your iTunes music library easily and simply. Once you have carried out this procedure, you will be able to enjoy these songs without needing to have the original disc in your computer’s drive.
As a fundamental requirement is that you must have the iTunes for Windows application installed. If you do not have it, you must search for it on the official Apple site and install it on your operating system.
The default audio encoding format is CCA and when you import the songs iTunes will convert them to this format. If you want you can change this format to the format in which you have your songs. You can choose between the formats AIFF, Apple Lossless, MP3 and WAV.
Options when inserting a CD
You can choose how the iTunes for PC application behaves when you insert a CD into your computer’s optical drive. In this application go to the menu Edit -> Preferences and select the General option.
In this window, click on the drop-down menu “When inserting a CD”. When you press on this menu you will see a series of options. Select one of these.
- Show CDs: In this case the application will show that you have inserted a CD, but it will not play it or import anything from it.
- play CDs: This action will play any CD you insert into the disc drive, but will not import it into the music library.
- Confirm Import CD: In this case, the application will ask if you want to import the CD once it is inserted into the drive and opened.
- Import CDs: iTunes will automatically import the contents of the CD without asking you first.
- Import CD and eject: In this case it works the same as the previous option, with the addition that once the CD is finished importing, it is ejected from the computer. This option is very useful in case you want to import a CD with many songs and want to continue with other tasks. When you eject the CD, you will already know that the process has finished.
Steps to import music from CD to iTunes
The process of importing music from CD to iTunes It can last about ten minutes. To proceed, perform the following steps:
- insert a CD on your computer’s optical drive and open the iTunes application. In case you cannot see the information for the CD, press the CD button in the upper left corner of the application window.
- In the next window you must choose between two options:
- Import all the songs from the CD, which will import the entire contents of the CD into your music library. At the end you just have to press the Eject button to extract the CD.
- Prevent certain songs from being importedwhich allows you to choose which songs will be imported and which will be skipped.
- If you chose the second option, in the next window you should choose which songs on the CD are not going to be imported. In case you do not see the boxes to select the tracks, go to the menu Edit->Preferences->General and select the option «List display options«. If you’re not connected to the Internet or iTunes can’t find the information about the CD, the track names will appear as “Track 1”, “Track 2”, and so on.
- To proceed with the import of the selected tracks, press “Import CDs”.
- Next, choose the appropriate import options and press okay. During the import process you can continue to use iTunes.
- When all the songs are imported, press the button Expel to remove the disk.
Common problems when importing music from CD to iTunes
You may encounter some problems when importing music from CDs to iTunes. Sometimes it may be the product of CD damage to some software configuration that is blocking the process.
iTunes does not recognize the CD
One of the most common situations is that iTunes does not recognize the CD. In case the window does not appear when the CD is inserted, close iTunes and open it again. This time try to open the application directly from the folder that contains it in Program file. Do not use the shortcut that is created on the desktop.
In case this procedure solves the problem, delete the desktop shortcut and create a new one. If you have more than one optical drive, try using each one to check if one is damaged.
Importing music from CD to iTunes takes a lot of time
In this case it may be that the error correction option is active. Go to the menu Edit -> Preferences -> General. Within this menu press Import settings. In case the option “Use error correction when reading audio CDs” is on, turn it off.
In case it takes more than ten minutes to import a song, it may the CD is damaged or scratched. Eject it from the reader and clean it.
Software update
In case you have problems importing the songs, check that you have installed the latest firmware updates from the drive manufacturer. Or versions that have the correct device driver installed for your computer and system.
On the other hand, also check that you have the latest Windows software updates installed or specifically for the CD or DVD drive. You can visit the official Windows site or hardware manufacturer to check if there is any system update available. Also, keep updated to the latest version of iTunes for PC.
When importing music from CD to iTunes the tracks do not sound right
In the event that when playing a track they have noises or skip, it is likely that the disc has not been read correctly and that the songs with errors were imported. To correct this, you must turn on bug fixes and proceed with the process again.
- Go to the menu Edit -> Preferences -> General.
- Press the button Import settings and select the option “Use error correction when reading audio CDs.”
- Put the CD back into the optical drive and import your songs.
- Should delete imported songs in the above process to avoid duplicate items in your music library.
Keep in mind that activating this option can slow down the import process of each song, and therefore increase the final import time of the disc.