How to burn a CD on Windows 11 for music files?

Windows Media Player may no longer burn music CDs on Windows 11 because Microsoft has shifted users toward the newer Media Player app, and CD/DVD burning features are not as visible or may not be included in the same way as the old classic Windows Media Player.

The most common reasons are:

You are using the new Media Player app

The modern Windows 11 Media Player is mainly for playing music and video. It does not work like the classic Windows Media Player that had a clear Burn tab for audio CDs.

Classic Windows Media Player is missing or disabled

On some Windows 11 installs, the old Windows Media Player may not be enabled by default. You can check it from:

Settings > Apps > Optional features > View features, then search for Windows Media Player Legacy and install it if available.

No CD/DVD burner is detected

Many newer PCs do not include optical drives. If you use an external USB CD/DVD drive, make sure it supports writing/burning, not just reading discs.

The disc type is wrong

For a standard music CD that plays in older CD players, use a blank CD-R. Some players do not support CD-RW well. A DVD disc will not work as a normal audio CD.

If these don't work, then you should find a dedicated app to burn a CD on Windows 11.