Make a perfect copy of a CD track

If you right-click an audio CD and choose Explore from the shortcut menu, you'll see that each track is listed as a small file with the .cda extension. CDA is not a file format; instead, these pointers, serve as shortcuts to the actual files, which are stored in a format that is essentially identical to a WAV file. You can't copy a CD track directly to your hard drive from Windows Explorer, and the default Rip options compress the resulting file so that it loses some quality. Using Windows Media Player 10, your best alternative is to use the Windows Media Audio Lossless format. Specifying this as the format when you rip a CD resultsin files that are smaller than a WAV file but still quite large. This format is the right choice if you want to create a custom CD without degrading audio quality by using a compressed format.

The process of ripping a track from a CD is not perfect. Tiny errors-a single bit here and a couple of bits there-can creep in when you rip a file. Similar errors can result when you use the "copy CD" option available in most commercial CD-burning software. These errors are mostly imperceptible to the human ear, but if you repeat the rip/mix/burn cycle several times the errors can add up and create a click, pop, or other noticeable glitch during play-back. Perfectionists who want to make a perfect copy of a sigle music track or an entire  CD  should use Exact Audio Copy, written by Andre Wiethoff and available for download from http://www.exactaudiocopy.de this highly regradrd program can reliably extract every bit of digital information from the disc, without allowing any data to be lost.

Taken From Microsoft Windows XP  Inside Out 2nd Edition

Written by Ed Bott Award-winning computer journalist.

Carl Siechert Windows documentation expert.

Craig Stinson, Contributing Editor, PC Magazine.