Q I am using Windows Media Player 11 in Windows Vista to rip my music CD collection. I want to make sure that the music is recorded in mp3 format because my mp3 player cannot play WMA files.

A This is simpler to change than previous versions of Window Media Player. Insert the Music CD you would like to copy and left-click on the Rip tab. Left-click on the small arrow just beneath the word Rip to show the Rip menu. Move the mouse over the Format entry in the menu and then left-click on mp3 in the second menu that appears.

This menu can also be used to change the size and quality of the music files by selecting a different option in the bit rate menu. The larger the file, the better the quality.

Windows Media Player will display a warning message when the first CD is copied, asking whether or not copy protection should be applied to the music files. As mp3 cannot include copy protection this will change the format to one of the Microsoft equivalents. You will need to repeat the advice above to change the format to mp3 if you click yes to adding copy protection.