as above guys tried a few just would like some input on
what you recommend,freeware would be nice...
cheers.

Check out the sticky post in the audio forum.

My recommendations: CDEX, www.cdex.n3.net and Exactaudiocopy, www.exactaudiocopy.de

Get the latest Lame mp3 encoder from here: http://home.pi.be/~mk442837/
CDEX has the newest Lame encoder bundled, and is probably the easiest to use, but EAC has far more options, including cd burning.

Both is free, so why not try both? :)

cheers for that fella....off to try.

not freeware but I use easy CD-DA Extractor.. I've read on various forums that it is quite nice, althought I don't have such an experienced ear to understand the differences...

As long as the discs you are extracting from are not very scratched, most programs will actually do fine.
What I like about EAC is its secure ripping mode, it is slow, but gives you the comfort of knowing the copy will be allright, if not, EAC will tell you.

I use the converter in Nero, does a great job, conversion rate of about 2.1Mb per sec. Sorry not freeware though.