Buy an external hard drive. These storage devices range in size from a couple hundred gigabytes to over several terabytes. Go to the Consumer Search website (see Resources) and read consumer reviews before buying a unit. Because you may store a large number of files, it is necessary to purchase an external hard drive that will last.
Transfer your music files onto the external hard drive. Connect the USB cable to the hard drive and computer, and then plug in the power cord. Go to "My Computer" to view the external hard drive icon. Copy and paste your entire music collection into this folder. Your collection may include MP3 files from the iTunes Music Store or from other download sites. Overall, the process may take several minutes depending on the number of files and the size of your collection.
Rip your CDs onto your hard drive. Download and install a free ripping program such as FreeRIP (see Resources). Insert a CD and then click "Rip" to convert the audio tracks into MP3 format. Choose either to drag the converted files into your external hard drive folder or to create a backup CD.
Copy and record your music onto CDs. Open a CD-recording program such as Roxio Creator, which comes standard in most Windows operating systems. If you do not have a burning program, go to the CDBurnerXP website (see Resources).
Insert a blank CD-R disc into the disc drive to create an MP3 CD. Click "Audio Disc" in CDBurnerXP or "Audio CD" in Roxio CD Creator. Browse for the songs or albums that you want to back up, and then click "Burn."
Insert a CD into the disc drive to create a backup copy. Select "Copy Disc > Copy Audio" in CDBurnerXP or "Copy Disc" in the Roxio CD Creator main menu. Wait until a copied disc image has been created, and then remove the CD and insert a blank CD-R. Click the "Burn" option on the bottom of the screen to record a copy of the CD.