I have windows 8. I am very new to this and not technologically inclined. When I export to a disc, and try to play it on a cd player, I can hear the recording but very very faint regardless of the volume setting. Thank for the help.
That’s weird…
Did you also save (export to) WAV/MP3 file(s) on your hard disk?
Although Windows may allow you to write WAV or MP3 files to a CD from Audacity, Audacity cannot make a regular audio CD. You need “CD burning” software for that. (See the [u]Audacity FAQ[/u].)
So, I assume your CD has regular “computer formatted” WAV or MP3 files etc? That might be the problem, but I’ve never heard of that happening… Usually the CD player can play computer-formatted files or not… I’ve never heard of it playing computer-files quietly.
What happens when you play the CD on your computer?[/b] Have you tried a different CD player? (That might give us a clue).
If your CD has WAV or MP3 files, what happens when you open them in Audacity? (Audacity also cannot open/read audio-formatted CDs.)
First thank you. Am I mistaken in thinking that audacity has cd burning soft ware. If not is there a good download for one? Sorry, but the mp3 is something I have heard of a d seen but never used one. Real novice here.
Windows media Player, iTunes (etc.). I use [u]ImgBurn[/u].
[u]Tutorial - Burning music files to a CD[/u].
Sorry, but the mp3 is something I have heard of a d seen but never used one.
That’s OK. 
You didn’t say where your files came from, or if you recorded the audio, and I thought you might have MP3s. You DON’T WANT AN MP3 if you’re making an audio CD. Most CD burning applications can make an audio CD from MP3, but it’s not ideal.
WAV files are ideal. A 44.1kHz, 16-bit, stereo WAV file is the same underlying format as CD audio, but the audio data on a CD isn’t “packaged” in WAV format.
MP3 is the most popular file format for digital music files. If you download music from Amazon, it’s MP3. iPods & smart phones can play MP3s.
MP3 is lossy compression which can give you a high-quality file that’s about 1/5th the size of the uncompressed data on a a CD. It can often sound identical to the uncompressed original, but since data is being thrown away, you should avoid the unnecessary lossy-compression if you are making a CD. You can compress the file more for even smaller files but as some point the audio quality begins to suffer.
If you download songs from iTunes, they are in AAC format which is another very popular lossy format. Of course iPods & iPhones can play AAC files, as well as almost every other smart phone and every computer.
Windows Media and iTunes on a Mac are both Audio CD Authoring and Burning software. Export WAV (Microsoft) from Audacity and open the music or sound in one of those two.
Past knowing how to run the burner, the software will also allow you to rearrange the song order and the spaces between songs. Regular burning software won’t do that.
They’re right. Audacity won’t burn anything.
Koz
Thanks again, I will try. More information is always better. I recorded the music, my own playing through a micophone.
Got it to work. Thanks to all